The best eCommerce platform will be the one that meets most of your business requirements, and even though there are currently more than 500 eCommerce platforms, with different features and functionalities, we can assure you that it will be very difficult to find a solution that meets the needs of your business 100%.
Which is your business model? What product or service do you want to offer? Do you want to sell nationally or internationally? What is your budget? What channels do you want to use? Answering these types of questions will allow you to focus your search on those that, from the outset, fit your business best.
Factors such as budget, scalability, usability, support, functionalities, integrations and design options should be taken into account when choosing an eCommerce platform. This way, you will be able to make a more informed decision on the best eCommerce platform for your business.
Throughout this article, we will be covering some of the above factors and looking at 5 eCommerce platforms: LogiCommerce, Commercetools, Magento, Prestashop and Shopify.
5 eCommerce platforms
LogiCommerce
Since 1999, LogiCommerce is an eCommerce software, Headless, for medium and large companies that offers cutting-edge technology through a fully unified B2B & B2C platform.
This solution is offered through an innovative two service architecture; SaaS and PaaS. The Core in JAVA is delivered on a multi-tenant SaaS architecture, which provides greater robustness, non-disruptive upgrades and high scalability. And the Front-end is delivered on a single-tenant PaaS architecture, offering maximum flexibility to customize the design of your online store with total security and high speed.
At LogiCommerce we take care of the infrastructure and handle all technical aspects, including updates and upgrades, patch installation, backups and security of the infrastructure and application.
World renowned brands such as VW, GAP, Audi, eseOese, Munich, Nestlé, IMC Toys already use LogiCommerce.
Pros
- Headless eCommerce
- Very intuitive BackOffice
- Elastic Cloud infrastructure
- Open-SaaS modality
- 200+ native B2B & B2C features
- Omnichannel System
- 24/7 global support
- Invisible upgrades without interruption
- Highly customizable and flexible; integrates seamlessly with third-party solutions
- API Sync
- High-end SEO tools
- 99% minimum uptime with SLA
- Transparent pricing policy
- No hidden costs or transaction fees
- Keeps TCO to a minimum and reduces technical debt
Cons
- The biggest drawback of this platform is that it lacks some high-end features for large enterprises, such as multi-store. However, it can easily connect to multiple external tools.
Shopify
Shopify is a SaaS eCommerce platform for small businesses that was launched in 2006. It is a cloud-hosted software accessible through a monthly subscription, so it takes care of all hosting, updating, maintenance and security requirements, eliminating the need to hire additional support providers.
Shopify is a Do-it-Yourself platform, which means that you can easily create a professional online store, but at the same time, it comes with many design limitations. It offers 24/7 support, as well as a wide range of tutorials, tools and resources to help you build your online business.
However, Shopify has some hidden costs beyond the subscription cost that you'll need to be aware of. In addition, it also takes a percentage of every purchase made on your eCommerce, so you'll need to value transaction fees.
Pros
- Variety of themes and templates to choose from (some free and some paid)
- Large community of partners and developers
- Free SSL certificate
- Offers 24/7 support
Cons
- Limited customization
- Many modules and templates require extra costs
- Hidden costs (application purchases, themes, transaction fees).
- Limited scalability
- Higher commissions if you don't use their payment system
- Limited B2B functionality
BigComerce
BigCommerce is an all-in-one SaaS e-commerce solution. This means that you don't have to download any software, you can access the platform through your browser and an Internet connection. In addition, it provides everything you need, that is, web hosting, the database for your products, the tools to design your storefront, inventory management, etc.
BigCommerce is a great option for business owners looking to scale quickly, however, your plan may be determined by the amount of volume you generate in sales per year. This means that if you grow your sales faster than anticipated, you may need a more expensive BigCommerce plan.
In addition, the steep learning curve that BigCommerce can have when getting started may not be ideal for small businesses that prefer simpler alternatives. All in all, BigCommerce has been a very valuable platform for larger businesses and is definitely worth considering as an option if scalability is what you're looking for.
Pros
- Wide range of functionalities
- Scalability
- Integrations with third-party solutions
- 24/7 support
Cons
- No advanced multilingual options
- Long learning curve
- High costs depending on sales volume
- Advanced paid features
- High cost of templates
Prestashop
Prestashop is an eCommerce platform for small and medium businesses that was born in France in 2007, designed to build online stores from scratch.
It is an open-source software, which means that you can get it for "free". "Free" in quotation marks because, although it is free to download, you will need to get an external hosting (and an SSL certificate) and install the software as an on-premise solution. Since it is not a SaaS solution, updates of the software are not automatically taken care of which can result in higher costs and risks each time you decide to update to the new version.
Although the base version of PrestaShop offers basic features, if you want to achieve a higher quality online store, you will need to implement advanced features with several paid add-ons and extensions.
Setting up PrestaShop requires considerable technical knowledge, so if you are not experienced in web development, you will need to contact a web developer to help you with the integrations.
Pros
- Free installation, no subscription fees
- Large network of partner agencies and developers
- Time-to-market
- Wide variety of templates and modules
- Flexible and easy-to-use control panel
Cons
- Limited scalability
- Hidden costs
- Self-hosting
- Non-automatic updates and upgrades
- Funcionalidades nativas limitadas
- Limited free modules
- Requiere technical knowledge
- No software support included
- Security issues
- Limited B2B functionalities
Magento Open Source
Magento Open Source is an open-source eCommerce platform written in PHP for small and medium sized businesses that emerged in 2007.
As we all know: free software does not mean free implementation. Magento does not cover the cost of web hosting, domain names, add-ons, SSL certificates or payment platforms; all of these will incur additional costs that should be taken into account when estimating the cost of this platform.
Also, it is important to keep in mind that Magento is not easy-to-use: if you have no development experience (especially with PHP language), you will probably have to hire a developer, so you will have to count on this extra cost as well.
Pros
- Worldwide recognition
- Large community (Magento Community)
- Freedom of development
- Customization
- Numerous templates and extensions (free and paid).
- Handles large quantities of products and extensive product sheets
Cons
- Complex installation if you do not have great knowledge of web development.
- Hosting, domain and SSL certificate must be purchased
- Slow loading
- Most plug-ins are paid
- Non-automatic updates
- Lack of support
- Non-automatic scalability
- Security issues
- High TCO
- No native B2B functionalities
What is the best eCommerce platform for your business?
Actually, it all depends on the size, budget and needs of your business. Definitely, a fast-loading speed, a good customer experience, automatic updates, a scalable infrastructure, native features and a transparent pricing policy, among others, are elements that will help you select the perfect eCommerce platform for your business.
At LogiCommerce we are democratizing Headless eCommerce platforms. We firmly believe that everyone should have access to the best technology to create eCommerce stores. For this reason, we are offering a cutting-edge solution, with very powerful technology and very advanced functionalities at a very competitive price.
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