eCommerce Platforms

Yo!Kart

Launched: 2015

YoKart is a self-hosted multi-vendor eCommerce platform. It offers a powerful and complete package to entrepreneurs looking to launch a multi-vendor ecommerce store. Yo!Kart is a ready-made solution which means the platform comes with all essential features to launch an eCommerce store. However, it also supports various TPIs and is fully customizable. You can add or remove additional features easily. Yo!Kart is suitable for small-medium businesses and large scale enterprises.

Pros:

• Full customizable solution
• Ready to use platform (No need for technical knowledge)
• Self-hosted ecommerce platform with lifetime license
• Fully secure platform
• Search engine friendly
• Multilingual Functionality and support for 15+ payment gateways
• Can handle multiple products
• Easy to use
• Free live demo available

Cons:

• Limited Themes
• Migration to another platform from Yo!Kart is difficult

Pricing:

Currently YoKart offers 3 self-hosted packages for entrepreneurs to launch their ecommerce store. You get a fully owned licence with all plans.

• Go Quick – $999
• Go Custom Lite – $3999
• Go Custom – $6999

Shopify

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Launched: 2006

Shopify is a popular and trustworthy name in the ecommerce industry. It’s a cloud based platform that allows users to launch user-friendly eCommerce businesses. With a wide range of features, Shopify is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.

Shopify is fully hosted, which means it runs on its own server so the customer isn’t required to buy any web hosting. Shopify doesn’t support multi-vendor functionality by default but if you want to launch a multi-vendor ecommerce marketplace platform, then you will need to use third party extensions to increase the number of vendors.

Pros:

• Ease-of-use
• A great collection of themes
• Third party integration available
• Fully customizable
• SEO friendly
• It supports popular payment gateways
• 24/7 customer support
• No need to buy hosting

Cons:

• If you want to use external payment gateways like PayPal & Stripe, shopify charges an additional processing fee
• The platform is not suitable for large scale enterprises
• Mobile app cost is high

Pricing:

Shopify has three subscription plans along with a 14-day free trial:

• Basic Shopify ($29/Monthly)
• Business Shopify ($79/Monthly)
• Advanced Shopify ($299/Monthly)

Yo!Rent

Unlike other platforms mentioned in this list, Yo!Rent is a solution that is capable of supporting both selling and renting marketplaces. With its advanced booking calendar and rental buffer period, it is highly suitable for existing rental businesses. It is developed by the same team as Yo!Kart and is 100% customizable. Yo!Rent is available as both readymade and whitelabel products. Businesses can use it to launch their own rental eCommerce platform or resell it to their customers.

Pros:

• Self-hosted solution
• Fully customizable
• Supports unlimited product listings
• Suitable for both renting and selling
• Available for both multi vendor and single vendor
• Multilingual and multi-currency
• 1-year free technical support

Cons:

• Limited templates
• Auto-upgrade option isn’t available

Pricing:

Yo!Rent offers quote based pricing.

CS-Cart

Founded: 2005

CS-cart is a multi-vendor eCommerce platform and shopping cart that you can use to launch an online marketplace. CS-cart claims it has the most eCommerce marketplace features.

CS-cart as a cloud-based SaaS platform is capable of handling a large-scale eCommerce website. There are dozens of add-ons available for the platform that entrepreneurs can use for customization. Currently CS-cart offers both single vendor and multi-vendor marketplace solutions.

Pros:

• Drag and drop builder
• Themes store
• Multiple plugins available for functionality extension

Cons:

• Expensive customer support
• Annual upgrade fee
• Basic features missing in the starter plan

Pricing:

CS-Cart is available in three different packages:

• Multi-vendor: $1,450
• Multi-vendor Plus: $3,500
• Multi-vendor Ultimate: $4,500

Growcer

A grocery ecommerce platform known for its hyperlocal functionality and mobile apps for buyers & delivery boys, Growcer has been winning the global ecommerce market for the last five years. It is a self-hosted, readymade ecommerce solution with a lifetime license and one year of free technical support. Growcer has numerous features in all its modules (Admin, Vendor, Buyer, Delivery Boy). It can be customized to any extent and can tackle needs related to inventory management, warehouse management, ERP, WMS, POS, etc.

Pros:

• More than 15 pre-integrated APIs.
• Multi-currency & Multilingual
• Readymade Mobile Apps
• Import & Export Functionality
• Technical Support for Bugs/Fixes
• Advanced Marketing Tools
• Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
• Product Return System
• Affiliate Ecommerce Programs
• Built-in CMS

Cons:

• Seller apps are not available.

Pricing:

Growcer provides custom pricing for every individual’s business needs.

BigCommerce

The BigCommerce eCommerce platform is appropriate for medium to large sized businesses. It’s a SaaS-based, hosted and flexible solution that offers a wide range of templates.

BigCommerce is another popular choice for entrepreneurs to start their own online eCommerce store.

Pros:
It’s a subscription based platform that offers 4 pricing plans. You have the option to get a 15 day free trial before picking a plan.

Cons:

• Sales limit on every package
• Processing fees on every purchase
• Limited templates

Pricing:

BigCommerce is available in 4 different packages:

• Standard: 29.95/mo
• Plus: $79.95/mo
• Pro: $299.95/mo
• Enterprise: On quote

ShareTribe

Sharetribe is a cloud-based online marketplace platform that is ideal for small to medium businesses. Entrepreneurs can use Sharetribe platforms to launch their multi-vendor website quickly.

With Sharetribe, you can also launch your peer-to-peer marketplace with features for both selling and renting. The platform comes with two variants: Sharetribe Go & Sharetribe Flex.

Sharetribe Go is suitable to launch a fully-fledged marketplace without any knowledge of coding. Sharetribe Flex is preferred by those who want customization and unique functionality.

Pros:

• Multiple sign-in options available
• Supports all types of marketplaces
• Multilingual functionality
• Multi-currency support
• Marketplace for both renting & selling products
• Catalog management

Cons:

• Limited personalization options
• Slow upgrades
• The open-source version lacks basic elements

Pricing:

The pricing models are different for both versions:

• Sharetribe Go offers a 30 day free trial and after that you have the option to choose 4 different packages.
• Hobby – $99/Monthly
• Pro – $149/Monthly
• Growth – $199/Monthly
• Scale – $299/Monthly
• Sharetribe Flex charges $229 on a monthly basis and along with that you have to pay a transaction fee that depends on your monthly transactions.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that entrepreneurs with WordPress domains can use to launch a fully customizable eCommerce store. You can install the Woo-commerce plugin to any WordPress site and convert the website into an eCommerce site. According to online sources, WooCommerce is one of the most widely used eCommerce platforms. More than 30% of eCommerce stores are built with WooCommerce.

WooCommerce is available in two variants: As an open-source solution and subscription based SaaS solution.

Pros:

• Free for those who are already using WordPress
• Fully customizable
• Unlimited listings
• In-built third party payment solutions

Cons:

• You need to pay for hosting and extensions
• Not suitable for large sized businesses

Pricing:

Woocommerce is a free plugin, but you have to pay for hosting & extensions.

Magento

Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform that comes with drag & drops customization options. Its flexibility and expandability make it one of the best marketplace solutions. Third-party developers & organizations also work with Magento extensions & themes.

In 2018, Adobe INC. acquired Magento and launched its paid version named Magento Commerce.

Pros:

• Multiple payment gateway and shipping options available
• Self-hosted platform
• Scalable ecommerce solution
• Multilingual

Cons:

• Very time consuming
• No efficient customer support

Pricing:

Magento is an open-source platform that anyone can use for free. You just need to pay for coding, hosting, and configuration. But for Magento Commerce, businesses have to pay. The company has not disclosed prices publicly so you are required to ask for a quote from the Magento team.

Here are steps outlining the best practices and process of building out/setting up an e-commerce platform:

Best Practices & Process

• Define goals and requirements
• Conduct feasibility study and determine the scope of the project
• Choose the right e-commerce platform
• Determine the features you need and choose a platform that meets those requirements.
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/ecommerce-platforms/

Build a user-friendly website

• Develop a website that is easy to navigate and provides a seamless user experience
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/home-page/
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/e-commerce/
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/e-commerce-check-list/

Optimise website for search engines

• Use search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to improve your website’s visibility on search engines
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/content-seo-ppc/
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/brand-measurement/

Develop a marketing strategy

• Create a marketing plan that includes social media marketing, email marketing, and other digital marketing techniques
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/marketing-plan/
• https://www.ranjitdhillon.com/kpis-online/

Implement a secure payment system

• Choose a reliable and secure payment gateway that can integrate with your chosen e-commerce platform

Set up inventory and shipping systems

• Develop a system for managing inventory and shipping orders to customers

Monitor and analyse website’s performance

• Use analytics tools to track your website’s performance and make data-driven decisions to improve it

Provide excellent customer service

• Develop a customer service plan that includes responding to customer inquiries in a timely and professional manner

Conclusion

All above eCommerce solutions are practical for launching a functional eCommerce store. However, their features vary when compared to your business requirements. Once you have finalized your requirements, it will be easy for you to select an eCommerce solution for your store. When stuck between two choices, consider the one with better pricing and customer support. Also, note that while SaaS solutions do appear cheaper, the ownership of the solution is never transferred to the customer.