Well-known eCommerce platforms are often seen as the better options for businesses that want to enter the eCommerce world. This tendency stems from several reasons. First, well-known platforms usually offer a wide range of functionalities that are already well-tested and frequently updated. Second, larger platforms naturally have a bigger community of users and developers, making finding support and solving problems easier. Third, well-established solutions often integrate with more third-party services and tools, which is attractive to stores planning to expand.
Nevertheless, it is worth looking at even less known but equally good eCommerce technologies, which may be a better solution, e.g., due to the greater possibility of customization. Customization possibilities will be particularly important for businesses with specific legal regulations and products that require non-standard solutions, such as digital resources (video games), where we should care about management and access to licenses, data storage, product delivery to clients, etc.
Carrying out such a project on solutions, such as SaaS, may often be difficult due to platform policies and limitations in customizing functionality.
Which platform will be a good solution depends on the specific nature of the business. It is worth considering both those well-known platforms (Magento, Shopware, Shopify) and those less known - yet ;) - (Sylius)
When to choose a popular eCommerce solution?
It is beneficial to be open-minded and not limit yourself to choosing one solution at the implementation analysis stage. However, some cases can favor a particular solution and make other options inefficient. To understand this more clearly, let’s look at the examples of such situations:
- My IT team consists solely of Magento developers with extensive experience, and it is easier and more time-efficient to work on and expand this solution.
- The company operates in the Asian market and wants to develop an in-house IT team. There are very few PHP developers in Asia, so all technologies based on it are not applicable.
- My team has prior experience with a particular technology, such as PHP or Java, so it is more natural for this organization to choose an eCommerce platform based on these technologies.
In other cases, when there are no very strong arguments for choosing a well-known eCommerce solution, it is worth analyzing the requirements, integrations, business goals, etc. Then, after preliminary research, select a list of technologies that would meet the criteria.
https://bitbag.io/blog/the-best-ecommerce-platforms-for-businesses-of-all-sizes
Why do companies choose well-known eCommerce platforms and not consider other solutions?
Companies often choose and stay with well-known eCommerce platforms for several key reasons involving technical and business aspects.
The table below describes these arguments for choosing a popular solution and shows how Sylius responds.
Sylius is a highly adaptable, extendable, open-source eCommerce framework with limitless scalability. Designed to be the core of your business infrastructure, it is a headless eCommerce platform that seamlessly integrates with ERP, CRM, PIM, CMS, and numerous other tools, centralizing them into one cohesive system. It also offers compatibility with various frontends, including the Vue Storefront, ensuring an optimized user experience on mobile devices.
Summary
When choosing eCommerce solutions, business owners should follow a balanced approach, valuing both the proven capabilities of popular platforms and the potential benefits of exploring niche propositions. The attractiveness of established platforms, with their extensive functionalities, communities, and available integrations, is undeniable. However, it is also important for companies to remain flexible and open to the concept of adapting their eCommerce strategies to changing customer needs. This means not only taking into account the team's technical expertise or market-specific challenges but also considering the potential for customization and innovation that niche platforms can offer.
By conducting thorough research and considering a wide range of solutions, companies can be more confident that they will choose an eCommerce platform that will not only allow them to build an online store but also precisely respond to their current and future needs and support.
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