Want to sell on the web? You need an online store.
Whether you’ve got a few simple products to sell or want to replicate your large ‘physical’ store online, I can help.
“Hosted” or “Standalone”?
There are essentially two ways to create an online (e-commerce) store – the “hosted” solution (Shopify, BigCommerce etc) and the “standalone” (or self-hosted) variety. It’s not always obvious which way to go.
“Hosted” pros:
- Easy startup
- Lower entry cost
- Relatively easy, wizard-based product management
- Pre-installed payment solutions
- Good stability and security
“Hosted” cons:
- Bigger continuing cost, often with a percentage commission or sliding scale based on sales
- Template based – stores can all look a bit “samey”
- Not always great SEO capabilities
- Limited customisation
“Standalone” pros:
- Infinite design possibilities
- Negligible ongoing costs
- Not locked in to one hosting supplier
- Generally better SEO facilities
“Standalone” cons:
- Higher start-up costs
- Product management, orders etc not always as idiot-proof
- Responsible for own security, backups etc.
Experienced, successful online retailers still argue long and hard for one solution versus the other, so if you’re in the market for a new online store – or your current one isn’t working too well – let’s have a chat and see if we can come up with the answer.