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If you want your online sales to be productive and meet the last market trends, then using an integrated e-commerce platform is not a will but a necessity.

Let’s say you won’t use digital solutions for business development. Then, it might stop evolving at all. What goals will you reach in a year or two without digitalization? It’s hard to promise any positive changes. Instead, your competitors can double or triple their revenues and leave you behind with the innovative technologies and the whole selling process automation, widening borders for assortment diversity, payment options, and the international e-commerce market.

The world is changing and leading us to skills’ upgrading, optimization, and clever managing. The customers feel they can get more, and your task is to satisfy their desires, doing it faster and better than your competitors. Overall, e-commerce platforms could give exactly what both clients and entrepreneurs want. Just don’t be afraid to widen your horizons and leave a comfort zone from time to time.

You can’t deny the tendency for online shopping growth, especially during the last pandemic years. As for entrepreneurs, it was a period when people took a new look at the weak points in their activities and began strengthening an online presence. Moreover, the digital environment allowed businesses to become more flexible and adapt to fast changes in market demands.

Positive selling dynamics increase the complexity of business management, and product and customer data proceeding. Here, e-commerce platform integration becomes the only correct decision for facilitating online sales operations.

So what is an e-commerce platform? It is a specific management system that can handle all the work of your digital store in one area. No matter what kind of business you run: small, medium, or large, it will operate all the data concerning the website, orders, products, clients, payments, return policy, etc. A platform is like an assistant to your teammates which has certain responsibilities for coordination, storing, and communication.

There are plenty of marketplaces to trade on, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, eBay, etc. Each of them comes with its particular features. But one thing is common – they all are applied in specific niches and support business to improve your profitability and stable work. 

Building successful online sales channels is not about just making a product page. It is a more complicated process, requiring wise strategy. And an online e-commerce platform can handle this task. It provides an opportunity to sell and advertise goods to a wide variety of customers, whether you are a B2B or B2C player. And what is more important, it allows learning your customer's needs through the spectrum of their interactions in your online shop.

Online platforms can source precise data on your business performance and clarify future steps for better client interactions and sales growth. All you require is a tool integration, which will provide you with helpful information:

  • What is the number of visits on specific stuff?
  • How many clients return to your shop for the next purchase?
  • What content attracts visitors more than others?
  • What page do customers load first?
  • How many items from the basket end with a purchase?

The list of possible reports is huge enough. But what is a sense in analytics? Such robust data can show narrow places in the site performance, limiting sales levels. You may enhance these issues and raise customers’ engagement and conversion levels.

Choosing the right business software should be deliberate and thoughtful. Don’t jump the gun integrating the first found platform. It might not fit your online shop's operation. So what are the factors you need to consider in choosing an e-commerce platform? We’ve compiled 5 essential steps toward your business digitalization.

1. Set your goals

First, you should provide market research, and determine the target audience and products for vending. Second, compose your objectives, like testing different types of goods to find the bestsellers, concretizing clients’ niches, widening selling channels, etc.

In short, write what kinds of achievements you plan to reach using specific features of the e-commerce platform.

2. Outline your requirements

It‘s a good idea to notate what you search for in software. The list can be as extensive as your expectations from an e-commerce platform:

  • Will you sell on local markets or ship goods worldwide?
  • What budget will you set up for integration investment?
  • Are you going to become a wholesaler or a dropshipper?
  • What payment system do you prefer?
  • Have you enough knowledge and IT support to run a website on your own?
  • Are you working online or operating a brick-and-mortar shop?
  • What business growth do you expect in a month/year?

Answers to this question should clarify what platforms and features you need.

3. Draw the software characteristics

At this stage, you should define e-commerce platform criteria that will suit your business needs. Some solutions may provide extra functionality not necessary for managing an online store. So, there is no need for the overpayment. 

First, you should choose one of the possible types of e-commerce platforms. An open-source one, like WooCommerce, gives you more space for customization, but you have to configure and maintain the software yourself. Conversely, cloud e-commerce platforms like Shopify take responsibility for technical support, financial operations, security, etc. It’s a good decision for beginners, allowing them to start up faster. In this case, you should pay monthly fees for a software subscription.

Next, obtain the key functions of the e-commerce platform. Software that would lead your business to success must provide the following tasks :

  • Manage operations at your store: orders, listings, price, shipping (with apps integration), returns, and others.
  • Guarantee data and finances security with a safe HTTPS protocol and SSL encryption.
  • Offer suitable payment methods.
  • Have a friendly interface with the ability to blog and accept customers' reviews.
  • Provide mobile versions or applications for smartphones.

4. Choose an e-commerce platform

Now you may find the software that meets all the demands in terms of management, safety, and cost issues. In addition, you are not bound to one platform and can freely choose something else that corresponds with your current interests.

On the other side, you may pick the scalable variant to make further upgrading and integration with your profit growth.

5. Test your choice

Don’t rush to subscribe to a platform. Instead, enjoy the benefits of trials, if they are possible. If not, check the policy for canceling if something goes wrong.

At this stage, you may add a couple of listings and monitor how the software works. Is it convenient to navigate on your website? Does technical support (by SaaS) satisfy your requests? Finally, try to make some analytical reports and check your website’s performance on different gadgets.

If everything is ok, buy or subscribe to an e-commerce platform and begin to work on increasing sales.

We’ve created a list of popular solutions for business digitalization. So you can start examining them right now…

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