The Ecommerce website options can appear daunting, there are many platforms, different pricing models, extras, and external issues to consider such as SEO, hosting, company growth stage, etc. It can be a minefield. At Digital Sales we have years of ecommerce web design experience, from Custom Built Merchant solutions, Hosted Solutions such as Shopify and Self Hosted Solutions such as Woo Commerce and Magento.
Hosted eCommerce Solutions - In simple terms, hosted eCommerce solutions are a form of 'renting', renting the use of merchant software including hosting, security and design templates developed by the providers (such as, Shopify, BigCommerce or Squarespace) who charge a monthly fee and a percentage charge per transaction.
Self-Hosted eCommerce Solutions - this form of eCommerce solution is 'buying' rather than 'renting', there is no monthly fixed fee. If you have built your website on WordPress or built a Bespoke Website you already have a hosting package for your website, you are managing the hosting, security, etc. Self-Hosted eCommerce Solutions provide you with the software that you plug into your website, these providers make revenue by taking a percentage for extra functionality 'plugins', for example a Magento Custom Order Quote plug in, Themes, Extension, training or consultancy contracts - all of which are optional.
If you have any questions as to what is the right eCommerce platform to use, reach out to Digital Sales and we will provide impartial unbiased advice, related costs and advantages and disadvantages of each eCommerce platform for your particular business and circumstance.
Hosted eCommerce solutions are great, but keep in mind the monthly costs and transactional costs. If the stage of your company is explorative, relatively early and your budget is stretched, a hosted solution is a perfect solution. And if you decide to outsource the website development project to an Ecommerce Web Design company like Digital Sales the cost is cheaper than a Self-Hosted solution.
Which Hosted-Solution? If your shop is relatively small you should consider, Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace - great solutions to get you up and running very quickly and will look very professional. Bigger shops you should consider Shopify and BigCommerce, these are a little bit more expensive.
Self-Hosted eCommerce solutions are a little more complicated, you are utilising open source code and uploading it onto your server or hosting package. Which means the security, download and other issues covered by the Hosted Ecommerce Solution above, you must manage yourself. The real advantages of Self Hosted eCommerce solutions are the flexibility and customisation ability.
Which Ecommerce Web Design Solution? Hosted or Self-Hosted?
If the budget exists, the business model has been proofed and good sales forecasts are predicted then the Self-Hosting solution is the optimum eCommerce solution.
At Digital Sales we are committed to real results and our web design and Ecommerce development teams are no exception. We are results driven and adapt to the needs of our clients no matter what content management system is in use, bespoke solution, ecommerce solution, application, etc. We are a passionate, creative and flexible Web Design Agency that creates solutions using an agile methodology, a method that continues to deliver for clients of all sizes and growth stages. This is how our web design and Ecommerce development team deliver world class projects:
Once goals and technology solutions are defined, the building commences and when completed our UX and testing teams kick in to action. As a whole, our web development and Ecommerce teams build the right web experiences which produces real results. When you consider working with the Digital Sales Ecommerce web development team you will be partnering with a very passionate, results driven web design and development agency. What can the Digital Sales Ecommerce Web Design team do for you...
As Ecommerce Web Design specialists we bring our specialist knowledge to your business. We design, integrate and optimize online stores and applications. We have the technical, creative and SEO expertise. We have integrated with countless payment gateways and including stock control, POS, ERP and logistics technologies. Our Ecommerce Web Design services include: