No need to re-invent the wheel, especially considering that there are (hundreds of) thousands of people in your exact situation.

Check out a few of these:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2014/09/26/which-e-commerce-platform-is-the-best-choice-for-your-online-store/

http://www.quora.com/Which-ecommerce-platform-should-we-use

http://www.cio.com/article/2449485/e-commerce/e-commerce-6-top-ecommerce-platforms-for-do-it-yourself-small-businesses.html

There are many more.

The short answer is that it depends. It depends on your tech skills, on whether you're happy with "out of the box" functionality or need anything custom, on what's your budget allocation, etc. etc. but the links above should give you a pretty good idea.

Hope this helps.

Bryan

What's the objective behind adopting the software? I believe you should add this detail to your question. There's a whole lot of applications available in the market, adopting and utilizing any depends upon the problem/challenges you wish to resolve. Or, the process that you want to automate or simplify?

After having worked with various e-commerce startups one thing common is people burning too much money behind something insignificant. Let me know your priorities behind software adoption and I may be of some help.

There is no easy answer to the question of how to choose the right eCommerce platform, but it's a lot easier if you carefully map out your requirements, and long-term goals, and then compare each platform against this.

This can be difficult if you haven't been through the process before. You don't know what you don't know. This is where working with someone who has been can really pay off.

Regarding transaction fees: Payment processors like Stripe or Authorize.net will always charge a fee, but there is a huge problem when the eCommerce platform charges fees on top of this as a penalty for not using THEIR payment services. These fees can easily add up to many thousands of dollars depending on your revenue.

Some questions to ask yourself:

* Are you looking to run this as a side business, or are you determine to grow it?
* Do you have the skill set required to launch and grow the business, or do you need help?
* Do you have any special requirements for taxes, shipping, collecting additional info at checkout, etc?

Those are just some basic questions to get you started.

Interestingly, I was interviewed on a podcast about this exact subject. Check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/conversionsense/how-to-choose-the-right-ecommerce-platform-for-your-business-with-danny-halarewich

If you'd like some help identifying your best options for an eCommerce platform, I'd be happy to do a Clarity call with you.

Best of luck!

- Danny

1. Get something cheap or free to start with like Wordpress and an ecommerce plugin
2. Prove you can sell your stuff and break even or make profit on Google AdWords and Google Shopping (pointless selling stuff if you can't make a profit from it)
3. Once maxed out there test out Bing ads and product ads (USA only at present), and Amazon Sponsored products
4. Reinvest your profits into improving your cart where you can see any deficiencies on what you have, based on what you can afford

Although I don't (yet) discuss carts in it, my Amazon book "The AdWords Bible for eCommerce" may help.

I always tell clients that if they can't afford the basic package by Shopify, you are not ready for eCommerce.

Free carts are great unless your time is valuable.

If you only have 10 products and you simply want to test the waters, you can certainly take a look at building add to cart buttons using Paypal. Another alternative is to use Squarespace.com which is only $20/month.

I've used Shopify, Bigcommerce, Magento community/Enterprise and many others for my own eCommerce business. Start small. You don't need a very expensive cart to sell online. You just need to know your exact needs.

Let me know if that helps or if you have other questions.

Cheers!

Alaa

According to your business requirements, Shopify is a good platform to go ahead. But it is true you have to share a major chunk of your income with Shopify as they charge 2% for every transaction. The best alternatives to Shopify are Bigcommerce and Volusion. Both platforms beat Shopify in additional transaction fees since they charge none.

For information about other alternative solutions, you can read the following post:
https://www.inc.com/bill-carmody/top-seven-ecommerce-platforms-in-2018.html
https://www.jeffbullas.com/top-ecommerce-platforms/

Hi,
we are running on Shopify. At first we were also hesitating due to their fees, but they are worth it. We just transfered few months ago our running store to Shopify. We did expect growth, but the transfer not only significantly increased our sales but dramatically lowered our marketing expenditures.