Top 4 E-commerce Platforms In 2021

Posted On August 27, 2021 and By Rinkaj Solanki

3 POPULAR TYPES OF E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS:

1.  Open-Source:

a. Open-source e-commerce platforms offer the flexibility to modify and customize almost any code aspect.

b. This type of E-commerce is preferred by development and IT-specific businesses because it keeps them in complete control of their environment.

c. The point to focus here is that being in complete control of your E-commerce platform means that you as a brand/business yourself are responsible for things like -PCI Compliance, Hosting facilities (depending on if your open-source solution is on-premise or cloud), Security concerns

d. This is the reason that many businesses find open-source eCommerce platforms – too cumbersome, expensive to maintain, and difficult to completely configure.

2.  SaaS e-commerce platforms:

1. Its hosting environment is based on the latest Cloud technology.
2. SaaS e-commerce platforms are found to be much simpler to run online businesses.
3. SaaS platforms do not require you to build/develop a custom environment, rather it enables you to “rent” any platform that is much suited to your business requirements.
4. This helps you cut development costs as it is much cheaper when compared to open-source platform customization altogether.
5. The biggest relief of SaaS E-commerce is that it manages a load of Product updates, security, hosting, PCI compliance, and every other task that comes with managing your software.
6. So the brand/business gets a full support system for their technical aspects of online business.
7. SaaS also expands your reach in the market faster and affordably.
8. However, to ease out the concerns of your IT/ development department about the flexibility in customization, SaaS E-commerce provides – APIs and non-proprietary coding and staging environments for UX build-outs.
9. These types of SaaS are often referred to as – “Open SaaS”.

3.  Headless Commerce platforms:

• Its hosting environment is based on the latest Cloud technology.
• It is considered as a type of CaaS e-commerce in which the shopping cart is decoupled from the CMS.
• Here, brands can use a design experience platform (DXP) such as Adobe Experience Manager and Bloomreach or a content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal along with a plug-in shopping cart solution.
• This enables quicker set-up and is faster go-to-market with a significantly lower total cost of ownership.
• Other decoupled solutions a Headless E-Commerce works with include:
  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (for data collection and management)
  • Email Service Provider (ESP)
  • Content Management System (CMS) (for blogging and content purposes)
  • Product Information Management (PIM) (to sell via various channels)
  • Point of Sale (POS) ( for payment processes)
  • Marketplaces like Amazon or eBay.

4 TOP E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS IN 2021:

1- Squarespace: –

• Squarespace is the best solution for Startups.
• It is easy to use and beginner-friendly platform that enables users without any coding background to create beautiful websites.
• From startups to established businesses, it has all that it takes to either build e-commerce from scratch or grow the business further.
• Squarespace offers a variety of features and tools for building an eCommerce website and provides hostings affordable for all income groups.
• It is popular because of its amazing and award-winning designs that offer flexibility in creation for world-class designers.
• Squarespace helps create flexible designs using seamless templates and intuitive drag-and-drop tools to design your websites for personal customization.
• It extends functionalities like – Unlimited bandwidth and storage, Advanced website analytics to track conversions and sales, Email marketing features, and product waitlists.
• Squarespace also provides suggestions guidance for search engine optimization (SEO). Businesses can even sell in person using the Square point of sale (POS) system.
• Squarespace also offers a 14-day free trial, with no credit card required to get an idea of their platform environment.

2- Shopify: –

• Shopify is the best solution for Dropshipping businesses.
• It has a simple drag and drops interface and loads the website faster.
• Shopify is a fully responsive E-commerce platform so that users can easily track, manage, and modify their store anytime, anywhere from any device- mobile/desktop, etc.
• The best part is that Shopify helps you sync with your socials – Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Pinterest and helps you sell physical and digital items.
• Shopify provides over 100 payment gateways and is integrated with more than 3200 apps in the Shopify app store.
• It provides a live chat function and Online invoice creator.
• Shopify is preferred for dropshipping businesses as it sets up with just a free plugin-“Oberlo ” and can sell up to 500 products per month for free. To increase the number of items, you can choose from any one of Shopify’s monthly subscription plans.
• Even if you are still confused on whether to choose Shopify as your next online business set-up, try the14-day free trial.

3- Wix: –

• Wix is best for small businesses or startups.
• It has an easy interface and provides options to build a full-on website with serverless computing and hassle-free coding.
• It’s the best fit for brand new online stores with affordable pricing, 72 free themes, and a super simple setup.
• Wix offers a range of customization. It even allows adding new features when the business grows.
• The best part about Wix as an e-commerce platform is that it provides a mobile-optimized version of your store, which mutually benefits both you and your customers.
• It also provides a functionality called- mobile editor by which you can personalize the mobile interface.
• Wix also helps to keep SEO performance in check, through its personalized SEO plans about your website, your location, and keywords.
• All this makes it easier to capture leads, build customer relationships, and accept payments right from your website.
• With the Wix platform, you can add unlimited products and it has about 250 app integrations.

4- Magento E-Commerce: –

• Magento is preferred for setting large online businesses.
• It provides versatile content management i.e. you can customize your online store the way you want it to look.
• Its configuration is also Mobile-friendly i.e. its user interface and shopping carts design are responsive to smartphones, tablets, and other devices as well.
• Magento offers a store to add up to 500,000 products, and handling 80,000 orders per hour. This makes it a stable and steady choice for large online businesses.
• The best part is that you get SEO efficiency as well because of its Advanced search engine optimization.
• It also allows businesses to integrate with third modules or apps such as MailChimp, Google Shopping, and more efficiently.
• With large online stores, comes the responsibility of handling a large number of threats. But with Magento, you can set up multiple levels of security permissions, control internal access, and ensure your site’s safety.
• The most amazing feature is that you can manage different online stores at the same time as Magento is open-source and has several custom extensions that can share between multiple Magento users.
• Through one instance of Magento, you can manage numerous eCommerce stores with various languages and various currencies.

Written By : Rinkaj Solanki