How to Choose the Best eCommerce Platform for your Business

Choosing a suitable eCommerce platform for your business can be overwhelming and confusing, and selecting the wrong one can be a costly mistake.

Earlier this month, Diffusion Digital, part of the Matter of Form Group, joined forces with dotdigital, a leading SaaS digital marketing tools provider, to to host an event to address some of the common problems that arise when companies select an eCommerce platform.

You’ll come across plenty of articles online waxing lyrical about ‘why Magento is the best eCommerce platform’, or that ‘Shopify is the most widely-used platform, and therefore the most reliable’.

More often than not these articles are coming through the content marketing machine: sales pitches, peppered with sneaky little calls to action throughout the copy. Generally speaking, these articles offer no real comparison to alternative technologies and can end up leading the reader down the garden path.

So how can you separate fact from fiction and ensure you get it right first time?

Matter of Form Group is a multidisciplinary digital company specialising in Magento, Shopware, Shopify Plus, Wordpress (WooCommerce) and BigCommerce, as well as more hybrid solutions.

Being platform agnostic, Matter of Form has built up a wealth of experience working with several technologies and is well-placed to help you choose the most suitable one for your business.

But first things first.

There are so many variables when it comes to selecting the correct eCommerce platform that an objective view needs to be taken in order to asses the pros and cons of each, and how they will impact the business.

From the amount of content, how many products, flexibility in terms of scaling up, marketing needs, internationalisation, search engine optimisation and so on, the list of requirements is extensive and should be defined before the word ‘Magento’ or ‘Shopify’ touches anyone’s lips.

Establishing these parameters could spell the difference between eCommerce success and failure.  

It’s also worth highlighting that the process of selecting a platform should be a group effort incorporating everyone from marketing, to product development, to branding.

The discussion should start by following a few key questions:

• What are the reasons behind the re-platforming?
• What are the key business objectives form this project?
• What are the key success metrics of the website?
• If applicable, how is the current website failing/doing well?
• What are the main features and functionalities that you want?

Ultimately, you should try and build a bit of a profile around how your eCommerce store looks and feels.

Think about the intricate details of your product makeup so you can create and evolve your catalogue with no restrictions.

Adding content should be easy, seamless and enjoyable, so give some thought to what you want the site to include and how this will be managed.

Your website is part of a bigger ecosystem that all needs to work together in harmony. So take time to consider what integrations you need and are really going to add value for both your customers and your business.

In terms of costs, the initial build is just the start, so remember to think about those ongoing costs too – hosting, support, SEO and marketing - it’s the overall cost of ownership that’s important.

For a more substantial guide on how to choose the most appropriate platform for your business, read the comprehensive version of the above in Diffusion Digital’s in-depth guide to selecting an eCommerce platform.

About Diffusion Digital

Founded in 2014, Diffusion Digital, part of the Matter Of Form Group, helps ambitious brands thrive online. They delivering eCommerce websites and SEO strategy with an emphasis on simplicity, beautiful design, and exceptional technology. They offer a bespoke approach to each client, as inspired by its people, processes and products.

About Matter Of Form Group

Established in 2018, the Matter Of Form Group is a collection of four award-winning agencies united and bound together by a common set of ideas and values centred around the mantra 'Make Change Effective'.

If you’d like to discuss how the Matter Of Form Group partner to provide strategic design and tech services, please get in touch via hello@matterofform.com to arrange a time to speak with our team of consultants or visit www.matterofform.com. For Press and Media enquiries, please contact Emma Blackmore, Group Marketing Director: emma@matterofform.com