E-commerce is fast revolutionizing the way most businesses thrive profitably. If you are a business that aims to make a mark in the world of online selling, you need an enticing ecommerce website design to create a good impression on your customers. Ecommerce functionalities facilitate higher sales and along with better visibility of the business on search engines.
That said, ecommerce website development can be challenging for some. E-commerce businesses built on below-average technical foundations often suffer from unlimited downtimes and even fail to handle upticks in demand. Further, security breaches often pose a threat to precious customer data on e-commerce portals.
Businesses can either choose ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Woocommerce or choose to hire a web programmer to build a custom website. In this article, we discuss the varied benefits of settling for CMS platforms as against the interests of customized web development. We also help businesses choose, which is the right option for them in the long run.
CMS Ecommerce Platforms
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Shopify
Shopify allows businesses to choose from an array of pre-built e-commerce website templates that can customize an ecommerce store’s feel. It will enable business owners to use a dedicated analytics dashboard for observing their store metrics and KPIs to track growth. However, Shopify is not scalable to meet the needs of thriving businesses. It is risky to migrate the database from Shopify during the transition, which puts the ecommerce business at risk of losing or duplicating data. All in all, Shopify is designed to appeal to the mass-market and has limited customization options.
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Woocommerce
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that offers a basic set of features for ecommerce businesses. It provides an insight into Google Analytics to showcase the success of the company online. Features like best sellers and rating solutions for ecommerce offer convenience to businesses. The ecommerce storefront is easily navigable for users. Advanced features can be integrated with the help of add ons, extensions, and other WP plugins.
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Custom Built Ecommerce Website
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Higher Credibility
Businesses need to convey the right message to their potential clients to stand out amidst the crowd of their competitors. An engaging e-commerce website can be where they can start. Unlike pre-built templates of CMS ecommerce, custom websites incorporate the latest technology trends. Custom ecommerce websites can be built to load across all web browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc. Businesses that hire web programmers to create responsive ecommerce website designs earn higher credibility from their customers.
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Scalability
Only a website with scalable infrastructure can meet the demands of a flourishing business. With growth, the requirements of the company also evolve. For example, over time, ecommerce websites may need a higher number of pages or features. In that case, the business built on pre-existing templates would have to either buy a new website template or hire a web development company to customize the template, which may incur a massive expense. Having a bespoke e-commerce website makes scaling up or down relatively hassle-free.
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Search Engine Optimized
Out of sight on search engines can drive businesses out of the mind of the audience they intend to cater to. Not all pre-existing website templates are up-to-date in terms of code, and companies that leverage them often rank low on search engines due to slow loading speeds and other detrimental factors. Businesses that hire web developers online to build custom ecommerce websites have it optimized for search engines.
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Branding
Custom-built website design crafted keeping the requirements and target audience of a business in mind delivers superior customer experiences. Businesses that hire web developers online brief them about their unique challenges, goals, and objectives. When companies hire web developers for ecommerce website creation, they can ascertain that the outcome reeks of their customized brand tone. They can successfully mimic their brand image into their website through strategic web development.
Which is a Better Option for Your Ecommerce Business in the Long Run?
Pre-built e-commerce solutions like Shopify and Woocommece expedite the process of ecommerce store setup. In terms of cost, WooCommerce is cheaper, but Shopify is a more secure platform. If you are a business that can thrive with limitations on brand expression, functionality, and scalability, pre-built storefronts can be useful for you. However, up-front savings that platforms like Shopify and Woocommerce offer usually end up costing more as the business scales.
On the other side, custom-built ecommerce websites are built from scratch and allow different business options for product customization or handling special rules for shipping, etc. A custom-built website developed with the help of a seasoned web developer can successfully cater to potential challenges your business might face. They are designed to have functionalities that the company needs with no compromise on quality, brand image, and usability.
