Choosing an ecommerce platform for an online business is one of the toughest decisions an entrepreneur needs to make. If this choice is made hastily, without the right information, you risk investing time and money into a platform that does not meet your needs. The sunk costs associated with choosing the wrong ecommerce platform can significantly impact the success of your business.
We can help you approach your online business with a solid strategy that is designed to expand with you as your ecommerce presence grows and changes.
The benefits of hosted ecommerce
Easier to build with
From deciding what hosting service to use, to importing products from existing storefronts, starting an online store comes with many challenges that many entrepreneurs aren’t expecting. Luckily, hosted ecommerce platforms offer a turnkey solution that removes many of these early stage barriers.
The opportunity to start selling quicker.
Hosted platforms offer a simplified store setup process and easy day-to-day management, through robust content management systems (CMS) that are uncommon when compared to their open-source counterparts.
An all-in-one commerce solution. Merchants receive native hosting, shopping cart functionality, and sales channel integrations with no additional fees or integrations. This can save significant time and financial investment that would otherwise exist with open source platforms.
Ready for optimization
Store optimization is not only part of the launch phase, but is also an ongoing requirement. Hosted ecommerce platforms offer several advantages for optimization compared to open-source options, including these key benefits:
Easy access to extensions.
Easily build the store of your dreams with the functionality you need, through robust third-party apps and integrations.
An ever-evolving product.
Hosted platforms, like Shopify, host hundreds of thousands of stores, so they regularly are pushing new improvements to ensure all sites are built with industry-leading best practices.
Simplified store maintenance
Hosted platforms simplify store maintenance, so that entrepreneurs can focus on what really matters — running and growing their online businesses.
In general, most hosted ecommerce platforms offer merchants:
An army behind your business.
Going hosted means you get access to 24/7 technical support and ongoing platform maintenance to reduce downtime, and keep your business running smoothly.
Industry-leading security.
Hosted platforms look after SSL certification, security patches, and more, to ensure you can rest easy knowing your business and customers are secure.