You have always fantasized about having your own business, but you never really knew how to get started. You know that the internet has made it easier to start your own retail company but, you are not sure what platform you should use or what kind of investment you might have to make.
Although there are quite a few different platforms out there, there are few there specifically curtailed to the at-home business person. They are low-cost and offer several different options for a startup entrepreneur.
Wix
There are many advantages to this inexpensive, easy-to-use platform. It offers some very sophisticated and professional-looking design templates that are provided to the customers free of charge.
You will find all the tools that you need to set up your website. There are easy-to-use templates that make the presentation of your products a cinch to set up.
There are some platforms out there that will insist on your signing a contract with them for 1 or 2 years if you want premium service. Wix lets you try a premium service for a month at a time to see if you like it.
Wix is known for having a seamless performance, and your customers should be able to breeze through ordering anything. There are a few minor problems with this platform.
Wix offers no unlimited plans. It can also be very difficult to create a unique-looking site on Wix. Search engine optimization might be a bit behind the times with this platform. This can hurt your marketing because you want people to be able to find your store.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy offers several top-quality professional store designs to choose from. It also offers 24-hour customer service, which is nice if you are tech-challenged. They offer stock images to their customers, and they even offer advanced analytics with their plans.
The company has been around forever, and there are some ways in which it rests on its laurels. It does not include SEO tools with its basic plan, and you cannot always make modifications on a mobile phone.
Squarespace
Squarespace has a plethora of state-of-the-art templates for its customers to use. If you search online, you will find many introductory coupons for this platform. You can get a basic online store for just $26 and an advanced store for $40 on this platform.
Blogging is very important to a new business, and they have excellent blog features. You can schedule posts in advance, and your customers will have many features to use when they leave comments.
You can register your domain name for free on this platform. They have a live chat that is great for getting questions answered. They also have five different mobile apps to choose from, which will make your customers happy no matter what kind of phone they have.
Squarespace does not auto-save your blog posts, so it is up to you to remember to save them. It is also not a good platform to use if you are wanting to create a multilingual site as it does not have a deep menu hierarchy.
You will have to commit to a one-year contract.
It is not considered a very fast platform, and it just may take a while to load. Some potential customers may become frustrated and leave the page before they have had a chance to look at anything or buy anything.
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Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular sales platforms. It powers over a million and a half stores. It has generated billions of dollars in sales. You will never have to worry about them closing down and leaving you in the lurch.
They offer a 10% discount to people who pay for a whole year in advance. You can even get 20% off if you pay for two years in advance.
Shopify tends to be one of the more expensive platforms for premium stores. However, they offer a basic package for only $29 a month that is perfect if you start a small business. They even offer a program called Shopify light for only $9 a month.
Shopify Lite is a unique program that allows you to sell physical products on your Facebook page. You can also use its pay option to sell products in a physical location, such as a booth at a fair or festival. If you already have a website or blog, you can use the Shopify buy button on your site when you have Shopify Lite. However, it does not allow you to create a stand-alone store on the platform.
It is always very easy to advertise on social media with Shopify. Not only can you use the buy button on Facebook, but you can also use it on Instagram. Learn more by clicking here.
There are some drawbacks to Shopify. They have a smaller number of bundled templates than there are on other online platforms. You may end up paying for templates on this platform. It can also be difficult to custom design your store.
There are less than a dozen free themes on Shopify. You are almost sure to have to pay for a premium theme. You may also end up having to pay for apps. Only about 50 of a hundred apps or so are free.
Features like abandoned cart recovery and gift cards are very important when you’re introducing your business. Unfortunately, these features are not available with the less-expensive programs.
BigCommerce
Founded in 2009, BigCommerce has always been known as a place for basic users. It is a good platform for large and small stores because of its scalability. It is a great option for start-up businesses because it allows you to gradually expand your store.
If you have a product with a lot of variances, BigCommerce is an excellent place to sell your wares. Adding items to your store is very easy, and they will not charge you extra to add them.
You will never have to worry about paying transaction fees with BigCommerce. This can end up saving you a lot of money in the long run if you have a lot of transactions.
It is known as having excellent search engine optimization options, SEO is very important for getting people to your store and letting them see your products.
Drawbacks to BigCommerce include the fact that they have a yearly sales threshold. you are only allowed to sell so many items before your plan is upgraded to the next level. This can end up costing you more money than you originally intended to pay.
It can be difficult to create blog posts on this platform. Bigcommerce only has the most basic blogging options. This can be a major problem as blogging is very important to the marketing of any product.
Starting your own business can be exciting and a little scary. Choosing the right platform to market your products can be the key to your success.
