subject: Hosted Ecommerce or Custom Ecommerce Solution? Which is best for your business? [print this page] Hosted Ecommerce or Custom Ecommerce Solution? Which is best for your business?
Launching an online business involves a series of well laid details. Each of these have a large impact on performance and future success. At some point during the process, a merchant must choose a platform to meet their needs. Amongst the many decisions in launching an online store is identifying whether to employ a customer or hosted ecommerce solution.This article will explore each opportunity.
What are the benefits and limitations of each
There is little argument that custom ecommerce solutions come at a greater expense. Some would argue, however, that the expense is well afforded given that the merchant, technology providing, can enlist a developer to design a platform to exact specifications they desire. The satisfaction of having an end product fitted to the retailers preferred look and feel is understandably attractive. A separate value add is a perceived savings over time, assuming that no further assistance from the designer will needed.
Those who elect to leverage the custom option must be ready and capable of regularly maintaining their store post launch. Failing to do so will assuredly yield an unwanted impact on the stores performance. With that said, any needed training or education should be done in advance of the websites launch. Also prior to launch, retailers should check with their developer and be certain that full rights for maintaining the website have been given to them. Otherwise, these limitations will prevent any updates moving forward. Developers who do not give full access may be willing to hire on for as needed down the line. The added time and/or money can make the custom ecommerce option more costly.
Though hosted ecommerce platforms are thought to be restrictive, the benefits often out way the losses. Besides costing less to initiate, having a company that can offer a department of design expertise mixed with solid technical knowledge can spare time, financial investments and frustration without compromise to the store. Providers commonly have dedicated departments for major tasks in establishing a store which can ensure efficiency for the merchant. As for customization, while templates are always available, there are providers whom, once clear on the retailers objectives, have the capacity to develop a store far beyond that scope.
All of the above presents great value and makes hosted ecommerce solutions usually the most suitable option.
How to Choose a Hosted ecommerce Solution
* Look for a one stop shop - Can they offer your analytics, ease of payment processing, inventory management, integration with quick books marketing assistance, ect.? The more that can be addressed in house the more fluid the experience will be.
* Ask for samples of work they have done - Ask the company you are investigating if they can provide you with samples of other websites they have created that has a similar business or product. This will help give you an idea of what they can offer you moving forward
* Be vocal about what you are looking to accomplish - Certainly a successful ecommerce business extends far beyond the sites design and hosting. Express to the company some of your goals and objectives for moving forward. Here you can find out if this is a good fit. If so, you will be pleased to find that getting to the finished product can be a faster process.
* Air out any questions at the beginning and pay attention to the answers: Once engaged in the process of building your new ecommerce solution, you don't want any gray areas. It's not enough for a company to solely answer your questions. They must show a vested interest in what you are trying to do with your webstore and showing you how to do it. Anything less will not do.
