Selling online is a breeze…
Said no one ever.
Not even Amazon.
Don’t get us wrong – nothing beats the flexibility and freedom which comes with a successfully run online business.
The setup period does come with its own challenges, though.
Many a headache has been caused when deciding which ecommerce platform to use.
No one will argue with this – picking a website platform is hard work.
You need to understand the importance of SEO tools, user experience and payment gateways.
If you need help with payment gateways- just check out our article on payment gateway comparisons.
Understanding what you need out of your website can be hard, but it’s the kind of hard work which will pay off over the years. So get yourself a cup of the sweet elixir known as coffee and kick back with us as we guide you through a few of the must-haves when it’s time to pick an ecommerce platform.
The ever-helpful folks at Selfstartr have done all the hard work for you with their comparative report on ecommerce platforms – we’ve condensed this info into a super simple resource which will show you what you need from your ecommerce platform.
#1. Ecommerce Load Speed
The average load time is 3.39 seconds. If your customers can’t successfully load your website, your sales will drop quicker than a millennial grabbing their morning coffee and smashed avo on toast.
Ecommerce platforms with a slow platform speed are costing you dollars in the long run so this is a metric you can’t afford to ignore.
The best ecommerce platforms for load speed
#1. 3D Cart
#2. Big Cartel
#3. Shopify
#4. BigCommerce
#5. Ultracart
#2. Ecommerce Mobile Performance
You can’t ignore the importance of mobile performance when picking your ecommerce platform- over half of online retailing is done through mobile devices.
A mobile responsive site will help you cater to your potential shoppers who fancy buying on the go. Google has a really helpful resource for creating mobile-friendly pages.
The top five ecommerce platforms that passed Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
#1. SquareSpace Ecommerce
#2. BigCommerce
#3. CoreCommerce
#4. Shopify
#5. WooCommerce
#3. Platform SEO Performance
SEO is critical for ecommerce success.
No one working in the ecommerce world will deny this.
Pick an ecommerce platform which will help you create SEO friendly URLS, edit metadata and structure your content in a way to help your customers (and Google) easily navigate and engage with your site.
The top five ecommerce platforms for SEO friendly URLS
#1. BigCommerce
#2. Lemon Stand
#3. Yahoo!/Aabaco
#4. SquareSpace Ecommerce
#5. Shopify
Working on an ecommerce platform which has all the bells and whistles may not be necessary for your particular business, but having options is always a good thing. Pick an ecommerce platform which gives you flexibility – this will only benefit you as your business grows.
The top five ecommerce platforms for website features
#1. 3D cart
#2. UltraCart
#3. BigCommerce
#4. Volusion
#5. SparkPay
Shopify and WooCommerce ranked #9 and #10, respectively.
#4. Ecommerce platforms that enable scalability
This may sound like a confusing phrase. Scalability in this ecommerce context means the ability of the platform to help your business as it grows. As your business grows, your ecommerce store will only benefit if you’re working on a platform which enables scalability
Top five ecommerce platforms for scalability features
#1. BigCommerce
#2. UltraCart
#3. CoreCommerce
#4. 3D Cart
#5. Volusion
Shopify ranks in at number 6 at 83%, compared to #1 at 95%.
#5. Ecommerce platforms which are easy to use
This should be a huge priority when picking the ecommerce platform your business will use, for two reasons.
#1. If you’re running the website yourself, you need to be able to use it.
#2. If something goes wrong, you need super quick and super helpful support.
Top five ecommerce platforms for ease of use
#1. Shopify
#2. BigCommerce
#3. CoreCommerce
#4. SquareSpace Ecommerce
#5. Volusion
A tip from us to you
Look for an ecommerce platform which allows for easy courier integration. There’s nothing worse than an unsatisfied customer, and if you don’t get your shipping right things can go wrong fast.
Transdirect offers an ecommerce shipping calculator plugin, with full API integration for ecommerce platforms. Keep your customers happy with easy and efficient shipping from Australia’s best couriers.
Contact Transdirect today for more information on our ecommerce shipping plugin.
