How to Choose an Ecommerce Platform to Sell Online

Are you thinking of selling your products and services online but unsure how?

Choosing the right eCommerce platform to sell online is difficult because there are dozens of options. Each promises to deliver, but nearly 70% of all shopping carts get abandoned.

Knowing what makes a great online storefront is essential before you decide on a platform. We’ve created this simple guide to help you choose the best eCommerce tools.

From customizable product pages to SEO mobile-friendly content, we break down what you need to be successful.

Read on to discover if the best free eCommerce platforms stack up against their paid competitors. And which will increase your bottom line.

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1. Fully Featured Shopping Cart

At the heart of any eCommerce application is the shopping cart. It acts as a decision point when a visitor becomes a paying customer.

You may think that all carts offer similar functionality. That is 2020; everyone copied the tried-and-tested Amazon model to streamline the cart process.

Unfortunately, you would be wrong.

When selecting an eCommerce platform to sell online, analyze the cart functionality. And to help, we’ve listed three must-have features to look out for.

Customize Add to Cart

Your product pages contain Add To Cart buttons that take the current item and selected options and place them in the cart. But what happens next?

Traditionally, the customer would be taken to the cart review page to edit their order before checkout.

This process gives the impression that they’ve completed shopping and should leave after paying. And that’s something you want to discourage.

A customized cart button adds the item to the shopping basket but keeps the customer on the current page. Usually, a small pop-up appears telling them that their item is saved, and they can check out when they wish.

This encourages further browsing and acts as a powerful selling tool.

Save Cart Items

Cart abandonment can happen for various reasons, like customers getting cold feet or not having the right delivery information.

Whatever the issue, you want them to save their purchases to return later.

Instead of having to refill their basket, everything’s sitting ready. And that should include up-to-date prices.

Guest Checkout

Fourteen percent of customers decide not to checkout because they’re forced to create an account.

Adding a guest checkout option opens an easy path for infrequent customers to buy from you.

If they see that the process is friendly and discreet, they’ll come back and sign up. Then, they’ll share their experiences online with their friends, restarting the cycle.

Payment Gateways

Some of the best free eCommerce platforms offer dozens of payment gateways. Just ensure the one you choose includes a gateway you can use and afford.

The Magento eCommerce platform works with Worldpay, Sagepay, 2Checkout, and Stripe. Paypal is a popular choice for many small businesses as it’s easy to set up and integrates with most shopping carts.

To stand above the rest, look for those that accept cryptocurrencies. 3dcart, for example, accepts Bitcoins, Visa, Mastercards and eChecks.

2. Unlimited Product Pages

The best eCommerce apps give you full access to your product catalog.

You can add as many products as you want and edit their options. There should be no restrictions, and you can change the details as required over time.

Here are some of the essential features the software needs to allow:

Unlimited categories and subcategories
Keyword-rich description options
Customizable tabs
Dynamic images and video

Product option variants like size and color need to be flexible, too. Each requires its unique reference and should tie in with your stock count.

Free eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce grant you full control over stock with its Global Inventory system. You can even choose how long to hold your inventory for unpaid orders.

3. SEO to the Core

An online storefront can offer the best shopping experience in the world, but what’s the point if no one visits?

Google leads the search, having 92% of the search engine market. And if your website doesn’t rank well in its listings, you probably won’t succeed.

The eCommerce platforms offering standard SEO tools will always lead the pack. Those search engine-optimized features include:

Customizable title and meta tags
SEO-friendly URLs
Breadcrumb links
Schema.org markup and dynamic Google sitemaps
Canonical tags and page redirects

Google Search Console and Google Analytics should fit into the structure, too.

They provide insight into how well your site performs on Google’s systems. And they analyze your sales funnels and measure conversions.

4. Mobile-Friendly and Responsive

According to Google, 59% of shoppers say that shopping using their mobile is important when deciding who to buy from.

A responsive website works on any size of screen. If your eCommerce store looks great on a laptop and an iPhone, it’s a win-win for everyone.

The right platform also ensures pages load quickly and code is optimized to increase speed. Fast-loading sites get preferential treatment by search engines, so this feature is a must.

And if you want to edit your site’s appearance, pick a solution with in-built themes.

5. Data Integration

Product addition is a lot easier when you can upload your existing catalog onto the web.

This bulk upload procedure varies on each platform, as are the options it provides. The most common format is CSV, similar to an Excel spreadsheet. Type in the title, description, prices, etc., and your full list can go live within minutes.

Data flows the other way, too.

You should be able to export sales figures, orders, customer data, and analytics. Be sure you’re legally covered to store this information, especially if you handle data within the EU through GDPR.