So you want to open an online store and start selling your products. OK, great! Now before jumping in and getting started, let’s make sure you plan it out and weigh your options.

What are you selling? How will you handle shipping? What accounting / shipping systems will need to integrate with your store? How will you take payments? What’s your budget? — These are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself and keep in mind while researching the available platforms. Spending due diligence up front will save you time and money in the end.

So what options do you have? There are many difference e-commerce solutions available today. This article will give you a brief overview of what is out there and help you make a more successful and informed decision.

Hosted Solutions

Hosted E-Commerce solutions allow for rapid setup of your storefront so you can start selling quickly. Many typically offer a number of template designs, analytics and reporting, and multiple payment gateway options. Depending on which solution you choose, you can also get features such as integration with multiple shipping providers, social media linking and more.

These types of solutions are sold at different levels with each level having different costs and restrictions. For instance, the lower the level, the fewer products and storage space you are allowed. Bandwidth, payment gateway options and other features are also restricted or not even an option on the lower level plans.

A lot of hosted solutions don’t offer much control over the design and structure of your storefront. Some of them do provide custom design services and allow access to the templates, such as Volusion and Big Commerce, but in most cases you are only given the ability to pick a pre-designed template and change the logo. If you do not have control over the source files, you will not be able to integrate with new systems or change anything on your own and will always be restricted to whatever the provider makes available. If at any time your provider fails or disappoints you, it can be very difficult to move your storefront to another provider or solution.

Stand-alone E-Commerce Platforms

Stand-alone e-commerce platforms are solutions that you purchase, download, setup and install on a hosting provider of your choice. These solutions offer more robust features and greater flexibility, but can also come with a higher price tag and longer setup time than a hosted solution. They are also commonly referred to as shopping cart systems and usually offer different pricing and feature packages.

These stand-alone platforms give greater control over the layout and design of your storefront as well as more configuration options. Since they are offered as a software package with documentation, they also provide the ability for developers to modify and extend parts or all of the system. Other features you will find with these platforms include more robust analytics and reporting, improved compliancy and security, additional integration options and a stronger support team.

The major downside to these solutions is the price. They are typically sold on a per-month or per-year plan with total costs for platforms such as Magento ranging up to $12,999/year. Aside from purchasing an e-commerce platform, you will also need to hire a hosting provider as well as a capable developer who will perform the setup for the platform and any other development tasks you require that are not part of the initial package.

E-Commerce with a CMS

A different option from the hosted and stand-alone e-commerce platforms is a content management system that has an e-commerce platform built into it. These solutions provide many of the same features as the other options, but with a lower total cost, greater flexibility and scalability and of course, a world of additional options for your business.

Many hosted and stand-alone platforms offer limited or no ability to create your own full featured website around your store. In most cases, it is the storefront and maybe a couple of simple pages for policies and contact information, but that is all. Here at Bit-Wizards, we have been involved in many different types of e-commerce projects — most of them having been custom built solutions. For most enterprise-class projects, we use Kentico CMS for its built-in e-commerce capabilities. This solution reduces development time while allowing for great design flexibility. Moreover, organizations that start with a Kentico driven website can easily add e-commerce without adding additional systems, all while reducing time and cost.

With an enterprise class CMS solution such as Kentico, you pay a single license fee, which in most cases is less than the yearly fees you pay with the other e-commerce solutions. From there you have the development cost to setup the website, hosting fees and Kentico’s optional, but highly recommended yearly support license. In the vast majority of cases, the total investment in a Kentico solution will be less than what one would pay for just 2 years of a hosted or stand-alone platform.

Getting Started With the Best Solution

Choosing the best e-commerce solution at the start of your project can save a lot of time, and more importantly, money. The best solution is not always the cheapest or the most expensive, rather the options that makes sense for your organization’s long-term goals. A good place to start is with a solid business analysis from a reputable and experienced company that offers all the solutions discussed here. There are very few things a business owner hates more than paying twice for something, and by spending a little money upfront for consulting, a lot of headaches can be avoided.