If you’re considering selling products online, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is which e-commerce platform to use. There are numerous options available, ranging from simple hosted shopping carts to fully customized online stores.
For small business owners, choosing the right platform can be challenging. Each offers a different combination of features, pricing, customization options, and ongoing maintenance requirements.
Over the years, I’ve evaluated different e-commerce solutions, and while some are more capable than others, I’ve found that the best choice depends on the needs of the business. A company selling a handful of products will have different requirements from one managing hundreds of products, multiple shipping options, or specialized customer accounts.
Fortunately, most businesses don’t need an expensive custom shopping cart. There are established platforms that provide the functionality needed to sell products online, often at a reasonable cost.
Let’s look at the most important considerations, including the differences between hosted and self-hosted solutions, the costs involved, and how to determine which approach makes the most sense for your business.
1. Determine What Your Online Store Needs to Do
Before comparing shopping cart platforms, consider what you want to sell and how you intend to manage your store.
Some questions worth considering include:
- Will you be selling physical products, digital downloads, or both?
- Approximately how many products will you offer?
- Will products have variations such as size, color, or material?
- Do you need to track inventory?
- Will you offer shipping, local delivery, or customer pickup?
- Do you need discount codes, coupons, or promotional pricing?
- Will customers need individual accounts or order histories?
- Do you have an existing website that the store needs to complement?
- Who will be responsible for adding products, processing orders, and managing customer inquiries?
You don’t need to know how these features are implemented. Your developer can help determine which options are appropriate and whether a particular platform provides the necessary functionality.
I recommend starting with what you actually need rather than purchasing a platform based on an impressive list of features you may never use.
2. Hosted E-commerce Platforms: Convenience and Simplicity
Hosted e-commerce platforms provide the shopping cart software, website hosting, and many of the tools needed to operate an online store as part of a subscription service.
Examples include Shopify, BigCommerce, and Volusion.
One of the primary advantages of these platforms is that much of the technical infrastructure is managed for you. The provider generally handles the hosting environment, core platform updates, and certain security responsibilities.
Most also provide website design templates, product management, inventory tracking, order processing, and integrations with payment providers and shipping services.
For a small business owner who wants to get an online store operating without managing the underlying software, this can be an attractive option.
Advantages of hosted e-commerce platforms:
- Hosting and core shopping cart software are generally included.
- Security and software updates for the hosted platform are managed by the provider.
- Administrative interfaces are designed for managing products and orders.
- Mobile-friendly design templates are usually available.
- Payment processing and shipping integrations are commonly supported.
- Technical support is available, with the level of service depending on the plan.
- Stores can often be launched relatively quickly when extensive customization isn’t required.
However, there are disadvantages worth considering.
Most hosted platforms charge a recurring subscription fee, and some features require additional paid applications. Depending on the provider, there may also be restrictions involving design customization, transaction processing, product limits, or annual sales volume.
Another consideration is portability. Although you can generally export products and certain customer information, moving your entire store to another platform may require rebuilding its design and recreating some functionality.
In other words, you may own your product information and domain name, but that doesn’t mean you can take the shopping cart software and move it to another hosting company.
For businesses that value convenience and don’t require extensive customization, these limitations may be acceptable.
3. Self-Hosted E-commerce: WordPress and WooCommerce
Another popular approach is to use an e-commerce system that operates on your own website hosting account.
One option I particularly like is WooCommerce, an open-source shopping cart platform designed for WordPress.
Unlike a typical hosted shopping cart subscription, WooCommerce’s core software is available at no cost. You choose your hosting company and can customize the website’s design and functionality to suit your needs.
WooCommerce supports physical products, digital downloads, product variations, inventory management, coupons, and integration with numerous payment and shipping services.
Additional functionality can be provided through extensions, some of which are free and others that require a purchase or annual subscription.
Advantages of WordPress and WooCommerce:
- The core shopping cart software is free and open source.
- You can choose your hosting provider.
- There is considerable flexibility in customizing the design and functionality.
- Products, services, blog articles, and other website content can be managed within WordPress.
- There are numerous extensions for payment processing, shipping, subscriptions, and other features.
- You have greater control over the website’s files, database, and hosting arrangements.
The primary disadvantage is that someone needs to maintain the website.
WordPress, WooCommerce, themes, and plugins require periodic updates. You also need reliable hosting, backups, security protection, and someone who can address compatibility issues when they arise.
For business owners already familiar with WordPress, WooCommerce can be an excellent option. However, I wouldn’t recommend it simply because the software is free. Hosting, premium extensions, development, and maintenance costs still need to be considered.
You can learn more about its capabilities through the official WooCommerce Documentation.
4. Understand the Actual Cost of an Online Store
One mistake I encourage business owners to avoid is choosing an e-commerce platform based entirely on its advertised monthly price.
A relatively inexpensive subscription can become costly when additional features, transaction charges, or third-party services are required.
Likewise, a self-hosted shopping cart that doesn’t charge a monthly software fee may require a larger initial investment in website development and configuration.
Some costs to consider include:
- Platform Fees: Monthly or annual subscriptions for hosted shopping carts.
- Website Hosting: Required for self-hosted systems and generally included with hosted platforms.
- Domain Registration: The annual cost of maintaining your website’s domain name.
- Payment Processing: Fees charged by credit card processors and payment services, which may vary by transaction type.
- Additional Software: Premium extensions, applications, design templates, or specialized functionality.
- Website Development: Design customization, product setup, integration, and initial configuration.
- Maintenance: Software updates, backups, security monitoring, and technical assistance when needed.
- Migration Costs: Potential expenses associated with moving to another platform in the future.
I recommend comparing the likely cost over at least the first year, including both setup expenses and ongoing charges.
For example, a hosted platform may have a modest initial setup cost but higher recurring fees. A customized WooCommerce website might require more development work initially but offer greater flexibility over time.
Neither approach is automatically less expensive.
The best value comes from selecting a solution that provides the features you need without paying for unnecessary services or creating excessive maintenance requirements.
5. Payment Processing and Website Security
Security is particularly important for e-commerce websites because customers need to trust that their payment and personal information will be handled appropriately.
Fortunately, established payment providers offer systems that allow businesses to accept credit cards without directly storing sensitive card information on their own websites.
Depending on the platform, customers may complete their payments through a hosted checkout page or a securely integrated payment interface.
However, using a reputable payment processor doesn’t eliminate every security responsibility.
Businesses that accept payment cards are subject to applicable Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. The specific responsibilities depend on how the payment system is implemented and which services are outsourced.
The PCI Security Standards Council explains that outsourcing payment processing can reduce a merchant’s compliance obligations, but doesn’t eliminate them entirely.
Other important security considerations include:
- Using HTTPS throughout the website.
- Protecting administrative accounts with strong passwords and multifactor authentication.
- Limiting access to customer and order information.
- Maintaining current software and security updates where the business is responsible for them.
- Keeping reliable backups and having a recovery plan.
- Using reputable payment providers and reviewing their security requirements.
For a hosted platform, the provider typically handles more of the underlying infrastructure. With a self-hosted store, your hosting company, developer, payment provider, and business each have responsibilities.
When evaluating platforms, I recommend asking exactly which security protections are included and what your business will need to maintain.
6. Make the Shopping Experience Easy for Customers
Regardless of which platform you choose, the shopping experience should be straightforward.
Customers need to find products easily, understand what they’re purchasing, and complete their orders without unnecessary complications.
Some of the most important features include:
- Clear Navigation: Organize products into logical categories so visitors can find what they’re looking for.
- Good Product Photography: Include clear, appropriately sized photographs that accurately represent your products.
- Useful Product Descriptions: Explain product features, dimensions, available options, and other details customers need.
- Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure that browsing products and completing purchases works well on phones and tablets.
- Simple Checkout: Avoid unnecessary form fields and complicated purchasing procedures.
- Clear Shipping Information: Explain delivery options, estimated costs, and any applicable restrictions.
- Return and Refund Policies: Make important purchasing terms easy to find and understand.
- Accessible Design: Use readable text, descriptive image alternatives, properly labeled forms, and controls that work with keyboard navigation.
One area I would pay particular attention to is the checkout process.
A beautifully designed store won’t accomplish much if customers have difficulty selecting product options, determining shipping costs, or completing their purchases.
Before launching, I recommend placing test orders using both desktop and mobile devices, verifying that payment processing, order confirmations, inventory updates, and shipping calculations work as expected.
7. Consider Search Engine Optimization and Product Visibility
Another important consideration is how easily customers can discover your products through Google and other search engines.
Most established e-commerce platforms provide basic SEO functionality, including editable product titles, descriptions, page URLs, and image information.
However, having these features available doesn’t automatically mean your store is properly optimized.
Product pages should contain useful, original descriptions that explain what makes each item relevant to prospective customers. Whenever possible, avoid relying entirely on generic manufacturer descriptions used by numerous competing websites.
Product categories and internal links should also be organized logically, making it easy for visitors and search engines to find important products.
Google recommends providing clear navigation paths between category pages and products. It also supports product structured data that can help search engines understand information such as prices, availability, and product details.
For businesses selling physical products, Google Merchant Center may offer additional opportunities to make product information available across Google’s shopping-related services.
Google provides useful guidance in its E-commerce SEO Best Practices.
My suggestion is to consider SEO during the initial development of your online store rather than treating it as something to address only after hundreds of products have been added.
8. Think About Future Growth and Portability
It’s difficult to predict how successful an online store will become, particularly when you’re selling products online for the first time.
For this reason, I recommend selecting a platform that meets your immediate needs while allowing reasonable room for growth.
For example, a business that begins with twenty products may eventually have several hundred. You might also decide to offer additional shipping methods, customer accounts, subscriptions, or integration with inventory software.
Before selecting a platform, find out whether it can accommodate these requirements and what additional costs may be involved.
Portability is another consideration.
If you eventually decide to change platforms, will you be able to export your products, customer information, and order history? Will you retain control of your domain name? Can the existing website design be reused, or will it need to be recreated?
Most established platforms provide some form of data export, but the amount of information available and the difficulty of transferring it can vary considerably.
These aren’t necessarily reasons to avoid a hosted platform. They are simply questions worth asking before committing to a system that may become an important part of your business operations.
9. Which E-commerce Platform Should You Choose?
After reviewing the options, you may still be wondering which platform is best for your business.
My recommendation depends largely on the type of website you need and how much control you want over its functionality.
Consider a hosted e-commerce platform if:
- You want to launch an online store relatively quickly.
- You prefer the provider to manage the hosting and core shopping cart software.
- Your requirements are reasonably standard.
- You’re comfortable with recurring subscription fees.
- You don’t anticipate needing extensive custom programming.
Consider WordPress with WooCommerce if:
- You already have a WordPress website or want to combine a content-rich website with an online store.
- You need greater control over the design and functionality.
- You prefer to choose your own hosting company.
- You want the flexibility to add or customize features as your business grows.
- You have access to a developer or administrator who can maintain the software.
Of course, these are general considerations. A hosted platform may support substantial customization, while a well-configured WooCommerce store can be straightforward for a business owner to manage.
There are also situations where a simple payment link or a small number of purchase buttons may be sufficient, particularly when you’re selling only a few products or services. Not every business needs a full shopping cart.
That’s why I encourage business owners to discuss their actual requirements before committing to a platform.
Final Thoughts
There are many capable e-commerce solutions available, and no single platform is the best choice for every business.
Hosted shopping carts provide convenience, managed infrastructure, and established tools for operating an online store. Self-hosted solutions such as WordPress and WooCommerce provide greater flexibility and control, but also require more attention to hosting, updates, and maintenance.
My recommendation is to start by identifying what you want to sell, how you expect to manage orders, and which features are necessary for your customers.
From there, consider the total cost of the platform, its security responsibilities, customization options, and ability to accommodate future growth.
You don’t need to become an expert in shopping cart software to make an informed decision. An experienced web developer should be able to explain the advantages and limitations of the available options and help you select a solution that fits your business and budget.
The goal isn’t to purchase the platform with the longest list of features. It’s to create an online store that customers find easy to use, that your business can manage effectively, and that doesn’t cost more than necessary to operate.