Six Ecommerce Tools that will help you bring your local business to where your customers are: online
Small businesses can be difficult to run, especially if they have a physical location. Those who can adapt their capacity to thrive in difficult times will be able to compete with the rest. You'll need to know where to begin if you want to offer more online sales opportunities to your customers, despite additional restrictions and draconian mandates.
You have many options to make your website ecommerce-ready. This post will provide some helpful tips to help you set up ecommerce tools for your website.
Local businesses can use simple digital solutions
This section is for those who don't have a website. This section is for those who already have a website and are looking for an easier way to design and manage it. In recent years there has been a boom in automating once arduous and frustrating digital processes, one of those being the creation and maintenance of websites. You would have needed to either hire a web developer to create your site, or learn how to do it yourself using mind-numbing platforms such as WordPress. It was difficult to build a website quickly by yourself. Fast forward to 2020 and you can easily build your own basic website in a night. Additionally, all of these "do it yourself" platforms provide ecommerce solutions that are in many ways better than standalone platforms and plugins.
1. Squarespace
Squarespace was the first website builder to make it easy and accessible for entrepreneurs and content creators. Squarespace users have the ability to choose a template style most aligned with their business or personal use and subsequently use drag and drop elements to quickly create a slick and professional website. Squarespace allows you to purchase domains or transfer domains.
Squarespace also has integrations specifically for businesses looking to sell their products online. Online payments can be made via Stripe or PayPal and in-person payments can be accepted with Square hardware. Those purchasing products from your site will be able to browse and add items to their cart as they would with any other online retailer. Squarespace offers many customization options, including limited availability alerts, the ability to share gifting messages and create customer surveys. Squarespace's tax tools make compliance simple with the ability to set local tax rates for countries and regions, tax-inclusive pricing, and automated sales tax filing.
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2. Wix
Wix, a direct competitor to Squarespace offers businesses and individuals a similar drag-and drop experience. Like Squarespace, you have the ability to choose from a number of themes and layouts that you believe align best with your business brand and from there customize them to your liking. Wix also has an ecommerce platform completely devoted to entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to sell their products digitally.
It appears that Wix has invested a little bit more into their ecommerce capabilities than Squarespace as their marketing copy and positioning has placed them in competition with platforms like Shopify. They want to be your one-stop shop for web services and your online store. Wix Payments allows you to manage all your business transactions, as well as accept secure online payments from one place. In comparison to Squarespace, it looks as though Wix has the more robust ecommerce platform overall.
While many of these tools make it easy to create a website yourself, you can always hire a professional to do the job. The biggest factor that many professionals will have an upper hand with is the aspect of conversion optimization. There are a number of small details and nuances to web and landing page building that if leveraged correctly can increase the probability that users will purchase from you.
Conversion optimization may have a substantial, long-term, net positive on your business profitability that (if the right professional is chosen) will offset any costs for creating the website over time.
Some of these details include how the site navigation is oriented, the persuasive language used, the way that your shopping cart element is optimized, as well as overall aesthetic appeal.
Local businesses can use Ecommerce-specific platforms
You have a variety of options to create an ecommerce website/online shop. These platforms can simplify the process of selling your product online. Many of the website builders that I mentioned have integrations that make it possible for small businesses to navigate the online sales process. Some businesses might want more features, such as an ecommerce-specific website tool. These are the top options if you're considering this route.
3. Shopify
One of the largest and most widely adopted, Shopify is an ecommerce platform that allows you to set up an online store and sell products. Although this description sounds broad, Shopify offers so many features that make it stand out from other online sellers.
Similar to Squarespace and Wix, you can purchase a web domain through Shopify, select themes, brand and customize your store, in addition to a plethora of marketing and SEO tools at your disposal. Shopify is a great choice for businesses that are serious about moving a significant portion of their business online. It may be more beneficial to choose the simpler options for small shops. You can manage inventory, payments, and shipping in addition to a variety of cart and customer experience options.
Shopify can be integrated into your existing website by using the "Buy Button" button. These buttons can display product images, descriptions, prices, and let customers buy products from the site without leaving it. You can also link your Shopify store to your website's navigation. This allows you to keep your brand intact and offers customizable options.
4. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source, customizable ecommerce platform for WordPress sites. WordPress offers website builders many options when it comes to the multitude of plugins that are available. WooCommerce is the best option for people who want to create a custom online store that suits their needs. WordPress is not a good option for beginners who want to build websites. I recommend other more user-friendly and simpler options.
5. Big Commerce
Big Commerce is similar to Shopify. It gives businesses the flexibility and tools they need to create an online shopping experience that works for them. Their feature set includes a drag-and-drop page builder solution, theme customization, checkout customization, mobile optimization, as well as a WordPress integration.
6. Toast for restaurants
Given that the restaurant industry was arguably hit the hardest by the COVID-19 impact. Local restaurant owners must start thinking digitally in the face of looming lockdowns, and additional restrictions on in-person service. Toast is one of many restaurant-specific companies that has done a lot for the restaurant industry.
If you own or operate a restaurant you may be familiar with Toast's robust point-of-sale technology. However, given the ever-evolving industry conditions, many restaurants are seeing a lot of their revenue through online orders. Toast's Digital Online Ordering suite has simplified this process for restaurants. The tool allows restaurants to accept orders directly from customers, without the need to rely on commissions from other services. Your digital brand can be customized with a mobile-optimized experience that your customers love and your staff will spend less time on the phone. For more information on Toast's digital ordering platform see here.
Choose the right platform to support your local business
While almost everyone can use the internet, it can be difficult to build or extend your business online, especially if you haven't had much experience in web development.There are many tools available, but the decision to choose the right tool depends on your business and the complexity or extent of the work you want to do.Your ecommerce presence should be cultivated.
For small businesses that are just starting to offer online ordering, I recommend the more simple, user-friendly options. The more robust platforms are best if you plan to dedicate your business operations to digital conversions or being primarily digitally-focused.
Technology is improving every day, which has led to more easy-to-use websites and ecommerce platforms. Virtually anyone can create a digital marketplace online. It is important to create a marketplace that meets your customers' needs. Make it easy for them to buy from you.
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