Over 80% of internet users buy goods and services online. This is a major reason why businesses want to build an ecommerce website in 2020. While the intent is pretty strong, a lot of business owners have little idea how to build an e-commerce website.
Most people building an e-commerce website in 2020 decide between two options: hosted and self-hosted. This decision determines the overall ecommerce website development cost and, more importantly, the future of your online store.
Let’s talk about the hosted ecommerce solution first!
Hosted ecommerce solution
As the name suggests, a hosted eCommerce solution is an all-in-one online store building product that provides you with the website, hosting, shopping cart, and everything else critical to selling. When you use the services of reputable order fulfillment in canada provider, you’ll be distributing your inventory across numerous warehouses in the whole country. There are even better order fulfillment services that allow you to avoid paying a fee, and instead, you fulfill other orders for the network. This is known as a peer-to-peer exchange system, and it can save you a lot of money when you’re starting a new eCommerce business.
Shopify and Squarespace is the best example of hosted ecommerce website solution. Before building your ecommerce website using this option, better have a look at its pros and cons!
- Easy to manage: User-friendly approach and simplified processes make it pretty easy to set up and launch an online store on hosted solutions. All you have to do is select a theme, add products, and you are good to go.
- Pay according to need: Small businesses often want to get started in a small budget and don’t mind paying some more when they grow. A hosted ecommerce solution is perfect for this.
- Affordable & support: Launching a basic ecommerce store using hosted solution costs less than $200 per month. Struggling with setup or changes? No problem! Support is readily available.
While hosted ecommerce solutions have their pros, they also have their share of cons. Here are the biggest ones:
- Limited customization: The option to customize your ecommerce website is limited to the selected theme. In other words, you will be provided with a limited set of elements to experiment with on your store.
- Increasing price point: Building your ecommerce website using a hosted platform is expensive in the long run since you will be paying every month. If you want to do a lot of customization, expense will be huge.
From the above pros and cons, it is clear that hosted platforms work fine for small businesses with a very small catalog.
Let’s put the spotlight on the ecommerce website solution recommended for mid to large-sized businesses.
Also Read: Best Payment Gateways for Ecommerce Websites
Self-hosted ecommerce solution
The process of building a self-hosted e-commerce website is entirely different than that of a hosted solution. Under this, a team of developers builds the online store from scratch using modules, CMS, APIs, and custom programming.
PHP is one of the most popular technologies used to build ecommerce stores in 2020. Here’s why startups & entrepreneurs favor hosted solution for launching an online store:
Scalable: Custom-built online stores are easy to scale as the website grows. Adding new features and improving performance is super easy with an experienced web development company by your side.
Unique: Ecommerce entrepreneurs who want a unique experience for their audience go for a self-hosted solution. Deploying unique design, features, & experiences is easier with this option.
Performance-ready: Building an ecommerce website from scratch and hosting it on your own means you can deploy diverse infrastructure to get optimal performance. Unlike hosted solutions, there is no capping!
The only downside of self-hosted ecommerce solution is that it costs more initially in comparison to a hosted online store. But in the long run, they turn out to be cheaper. Email at info@techosquare.com for a specific cost idea!
Once you make the choice between self-hosted and hosted solution, everything else is pretty simple!
This was all about the most popular options for developing an online store. Drop your ecommerce store related queries in the comments section to get quick answers from top programmers of India.
Also Read: Ecommerce Fulfillment: What’s The Best Business Model?