You have something you want to sell online. All you need is a website to sell it and you’re all set, right? Well, not so fast. E-commerce website development is not that simple. It’s a challenging process that requires your team or outsourcers to do the heavy lifting.
You need a trouble-free, well-designed, secure website that does more than just give your customers a place to shop. With the right functionality, your website can also help convert leads into sales and increase repeat business by targeting every stage of the customer journey.
If you’re ready to think about launching sms promotional campaign your e-commerce website, then you’ve probably already put in a ton of work to achieve your goals. When you finally get your product out into the world, you want to give it every chance of success.
There are several ways to get a website up and running. You need to carefully consider your web development options before making a decision, while also making sure you fully understand everything an eCommerce website should do.
What are my options for launching a website?
Let’s discuss the three main ways to get an eCommerce website online:
- Hire a professional web developer to build your website
- Build your website from scratch
- Use a website builder to avoid the hassle of coding
Hire professionals
The first option is to have a professional web developer build your website. This option is the easiest, considering your time investment and the concerns associated with launching a new website.
Sure, you’ll need to spend some time consulting with a developer, but you’ll be relieved of the time-consuming task of coding. If you do your due diligence before choosing someone to take on the task of website development, you won’t have to worry about whether your website will have the functionality you need.
Hiring a developer means having someone who knows how to get the job done build a website to your specifications. This relationship is an especially good option if you have unique needs that a standard out-of-the-box website might not be able to provide.
However, this option is also the most expensive. A professionally developed website can easily cost you over $10,000 , with the price increasing with each additional feature.
When researching prices, make sure to make a full list of your requirements so you are not surprised by additional costs in the future. You should also ask about updates and technical support. The website will become an ongoing budget item for your business rather than a one-time output.
It’s also important that you create a professional website construction proposal that outlines the tasks each party will be responsible for, the stakeholders involved in the process, the preferred communication methods, the expected timeline for website development, the elements that should be included in the final product, and more.
If you hire an outside company to build your website, you’ll also want to consider your timeline. Depending on their current workload, it could take several weeks for your site to be up and running.
Build Your Own
The biggest advantage of building a website is the ability to fully customize it without having to pay the high prices of a professional developer. The biggest disadvantage of building a website is the time and effort you need to invest to make sure your website is just right.
While b2b lead generation: the comprehensive guide for businesses some DIY projects are fun and low-risk, your eCommerce site is not low-risk. Your leads, conversions, customers, and sales are all at risk. However, choosing a free eCommerce platform can mitigate your risk.
Writing website code requires (at a minimum) knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Remember that you will need to continually update the site throughout its lifecycle. A website is not something you can set and forget without getting in trouble.
Think of getting customers to buy as the problem your website should solve. If you’re inclined to code your site, consider using a problem-solving framework. But remember that the advice you’ll find is geared specifically toward developers, so if you don’t have much coding experience, you may quickly find yourself out of your depth.
It might be feasible for you to build your own website. But just because it’s feasible doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right choice. Code is a high-value commodity. Instead, these days, if you want to give it a try, you can find no-code tools for building entire applications, not just websites. It might take some digging, but it’s possible.
It’s important to make sure you know what it means to build your own eCommerce website (if you choose to do so). You’ll need a custom website, whether it’s a single vendor eCommerce website or a multi-vendor one that’s optimized for the evolving world of eCommerce, no matter which direction you choose. Approximately 2.64 billion people around the world are expected to shop online by 2024.
Using Website Builder 
Your third option, which is quickly becoming the most popular, is to use a website builder for your eCommerce website.
Think of this option as building your website without having to learn how to code. These website builders have the coding already done for you, and you get to choose which code blocks to use. You can mix and match designs and features to find a combination that fits your needs.
You’ve probably heard of many of the eCommerce solutions out there. Top competitors include Wix, SquareSpace, Shopify, WordPress, Magento, GoDaddy, Weebly, and more. The number of website builders is growing, and that’s good news for you.
As website builders compete egypt data for your business, they offer more advanced solutions at affordable prices.
A modern website builder should offer the following:
- An evolving library of design templates
- Secure payment processing
- Latest marketing capabilities
- Continuous security updates
- Ongoing technical support
Another advantage of using a website builder is timing. With many of these solutions, you can create a website in almost no time.
The hardest part about this option may be choosing which platform to use. Try to prioritize the features you want and set a budget before you start researching.
What should an e-commerce website do?
In order to make an informed decision, you need to fully understand the functions of a high-performance e-commerce website. The final transaction is only a relatively small piece of a larger puzzle.
