Which online store to choose? The best e-commerce platforms

The pandemic has caused many businesses to move online. Perhaps you also have a physical store, but you see the possibilities and potential that e-commerce offers. Or maybe you are just thinking about starting your own online store and wondering which platform to choose. There are many scripts to choose from. However, it is worth considering a few important issues and then deciding on the right platform.

Which online store to choose?

There are many online stores on the internet, so choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Therefore, the first step should be competitor analysis. Check what software your industry rivals are using, how their stores look, and how they promote them. Also, pay attention to the needs of your target audience. 

The next step is to answer a few questions:

• What range of products do you want to offer?
• How many products will you sell?
• How much traffic do you expect?
• Do you want to run a store only in Poland or also abroad?
• Do you want the store to be connected to a blog, for example?
• Will you need help setting up the store?
• What budget do you want to allocate for launching the store?

Various needs and requirements of people wanting to do business online result in various types of e-commerce platforms. Open Source and subscription platforms are distinguished. Of course, each of them has its advantages and disadvantages, so you will find different opinions about each of them on the internet. You can also choose a dedicated system, but creating such a store will take several months and will be very expensive. 

Open Source - can you set up a store for free? 

Open Source is free software that you need to install on your own server and customize to your needs. Thanks to this, you are the owner of the online store. The advantages of such shopping platforms also include scalability. When the store grows, we can easily adapt it to increased traffic and user requirements. Other advantages include a large number of free templates, add-ons, and functionalities, frequent updates, as well as compliance with SEO.

However, such platforms also have some disadvantages. If you don't have enough knowledge to configure the store, you will need to hire a programmer to do it for you. Hosting costs are also added to this. As you can see, although the Open Source system is free, it generates additional costs. One of the disadvantages is also that you need to adjust the store to comply with the applicable law on your own. 

The most popular platforms include: WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento, and Shopware.

1. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an Open Source e-commerce plugin designed for easy integration of an online store with WordPress, a popular content management system (CMS). The platform includes many free themes, allowing you to personalize the store's appearance and improve the online sales process. An important advantage of WooCommerce is the community around it, which is ready to help other users. The ability to use different language versions, currencies, or international payments opens the way to selling worldwide. However, this platform is more suitable for small and medium-sized stores, as managing a store with a large range of products can be complicated. 

Integrate Rating Captain with your WooCommerce store and collect product reviews.

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2. PrestaShop

PrestaShop is a solution that allows you to easily set up your own store. Of course, before you start selling, you need to have hosting and a domain. After configuring PrestaShop, you can manage products, monitor inventory, and customize functionality (payment methods, delivery methods, internal search, product highlighting, etc.). It is a good solution for medium and large stores. You also receive reports on the effectiveness of your actions. However, a disadvantage of this platform is frequent updates, which require a lot of knowledge to implement correctly.

Integrate Rating Captain with your PrestaShop store and collect product reviews.

3. Magento

Magento is another e-commerce store software dedicated to more complex stores. The platform has a free and paid version, but the basic version includes functionalities that are additionally paid in other scripts. An important advantage of Magento is that the platform allows you to manage multiple stores in one administrative panel and supports the mobile version of the store. It also provides many possibilities for SEO optimization. Unfortunately, this platform also has disadvantages. One of them is the requirement for larger server parameters than in the case of other platforms. Moreover, advanced programming knowledge is necessary when making modifications.

Integrate Rating Captain with your Magento store and collect product reviews.

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4. Shopware

Shopware is a platform that makes an effort to facilitate the internationalization of sellers' business. Shopware offers, among other things: adaptation to legal situations in a given country, optimization for handling multiple currencies and languages, specific sales channels for each country. Additionally, on the Shopware community platform, you can find many extensions that meet the individual needs of sellers. Shopware meets the needs of customers by creating a platform in such a way that it does not require extensive specialized knowledge. Moreover, Shopware allows you to easily create a landing page, category page, or product details page. The platform also allows you to manage and reproduce content for various sales channels.

Integrate Rating Captain with your Shopware store and collect product reviews.

Or is it worth paying after all? - subscription platforms (SaaS)

SaaS is a type of platform that you can lease in exchange for a monthly fee. This is a good solution for people who are just starting their adventure with e-commerce and do not have a large budget to set up their own store. The ready-made software provided by SaaS does not require hosting, installation, constant updates, plugin additions, or creating backups. The advantages also include easy management and an intuitive administrative panel. Moreover, the store software provider adjusts it to comply with the applicable law and provides technical support. Such platforms also offer a free trial period, so you can check if its functionality suits you.

The disadvantages of subscription platforms are that you are not the owner of the store. Additionally, the functionality and number of products in the store depend on the chosen package. The same applies to modules, as any graphic changes or additional features generate additional costs.

The most popular platforms include: Shoper, Shopify, TrisoSHOP, Comarch e-Sklep, and Selesto.

1. Shoper

This list could not miss a Polish e-commerce platform, which is a popular solution in our country. It is a paid platform, and the subscription depends on the size of the store, transfer limit, and additional features. Shoper is strongly adapted to the requirements of the Polish market. Its main advantage is integration with popular auction sites, courier companies, and accounting-warehouse systems. This platform has a simple and intuitive interface and is optimized for SEO. There is also a free store management application available. The disadvantage of this engine is the increase in package prices after the first year. As it turns out, the Shoper interface is insufficient for more advanced users.

Integrate Rating Captain with your Shoper store and collect product reviews.

2. Shopify

Shopify is the most popular SaaS e-commerce platform in the world, so it is perfect if you want to sell on the foreign market. Stores created on Shopify have a high level of user experience and follow global trends. Moreover, Shopify is compatible with social media, which allows you to sell, for example, on Facebook. It is also worth mentioning that the platform offers 24/7 professional technical support. Unfortunately, Shopify has limited product management capabilities. However, its advantage is ease of use.

Integrate Rating Captain with your Shopify store and collect product reviews.

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3. TrisoSHOP

TrisoSHOP is a Polish platform that is gaining increasing recognition in the e-commerce market. Its main advantages are ease of use and an intuitive administrative panel. The platform itself was created in cooperation with a professional SEO agency, so it is characterized by very good optimization for SEO. It also has advanced tools related to product listing, making it a good tool for more demanding users. In addition to a number of free templates, the platform is also equipped with a homepage builder, which allows you to customize the appearance of the store according to your own preferences using ready-made components.

4. Comarch e-Sklep

Comarch e-Sklep is a SaaS platform that is directly integrated with Comarch ERP class systems. It has four functional versions and allows for B2C and B2B sales. It is dedicated to small, medium, and large companies that manage their business through an ERP system. Customers interested in the solution can test it for free for up to 30 days. The advantage of the online store is the open source code of the appearance of the page, which allows for unlimited modifications, as well as two-way integration with Allegro enriched with automatic processes. Additionally, customers with individual business needs can count on support from Comarch specialists and authorized Partners.

5. Selesto

Selesto is one of the fastest-growing Polish e-commerce platforms in the SaaS model. It stands out from others due to its speed, which is possible thanks to the use of modern technologies and exceptional customer service. The interface itself is intuitive in terms of store configuration and sales system. Through Selesto, you can sell an unlimited number of products, also in the dropshipping model. Ready-made store integrations with external systems such as Facebook, Instagram, PayU, Google Ads, Baselinker, Allegro, Edrone, Dotykacka, iFirma, courier services, and many others are available. The subscription is also interesting and unique, as it depends only on the turnover. Initially, you pay very little, only 99 PLN net per month.

Integrate Rating Captain with your Selesto store and collect product reviews.

Which e-commerce software to choose? - summary

As you can see, it is difficult to give a clear answer to this question because the choice of an e-commerce platform is related to many factors. Much depends on how you want your store to look and what features it should have to improve store management. Of course, the budget and your own skills are also important aspects. When choosing an e-commerce platform, you should also take into account the type and quantity of products offered, as well as consider the market on which the goods will be sold.

Subscription systems are usually chosen by people who are moderately familiar with the e-commerce market and simply want to check if it is a good solution. On the other hand, Open Source platforms are preferred by more experienced individuals who expect more control over their store.

BaseLinker

If you don't have a store, you can manage your assortment directly in the BaseLinker system. However, if you own one or more stores, a useful solution may be a system for managing them in one place. This is exactly what BaseLinker offers. Within one system and subscription, you have access to popular marketplace platforms, stores, couriers, and accounting systems. An important advantage is the automatic synchronization of inventory levels and prices on multiple marketplace platforms at the same time. BaseLinker also allows you to shorten the order fulfillment process by automatically changing statuses.

Integrate Rating Captain with your account on BaseLinker and collect product reviews.

What about your store's reputation?

Once you have an online store, it is worth taking care of its reputation, as consumers check online reviews of companies before using their products. Positive reviews encourage potential customers to choose your offer. But how do you get them? The answer is simple - just ask your customers. You can automate this process with Rating Captain. The application sends invitations to your customers to leave reviews about the product or service they have used. What's more, the tool allows for monitoring reputation in one place and provides the possibility of mediation with dissatisfied customers and turning them into returning customers. All these actions will help you build customer trust and gain an advantage over the competition.

You can integrate each of the mentioned shopping platforms with Rating Captain to collect reviews of your products and also monitor and analyze them, which will help you better understand the needs of your customers. This is extremely important because as many as 90% of consumers check reviews before using a particular offer. Integrating with Rating Captain will take you little time, and we will be happy to provide you with guidance or do everything on our side. In addition to the standard sending of review invitations, the application offers many tools, among which customer review widgets that you can display on your store's website deserve special attention. We also understand that responding to customer reviews is time-consuming, which is why one of the application's functionalities is automating responses based on the content of the review left by the customer. With the Rating Captain application, you will increase your profits and save a lot of time.