How to Develop & Launch a Next-Gen eCommerce Store in 5 Easy Steps

How to Start a Profitable eCommerce Business

Online store sales are expected to increase up to 22% of the global retail sales by the year 2023. Due to the world experiencing a drastic digital transformation, retailers are also moving online fast to secure an edge over competitors in the crowded eCommerce market.

Developing a next-gen eCommerce platform is easier than you can imagine. All you need to have is the right strategy and everything will fall in place seamlessly.

Presently, there are several eCommerce solutions available in the market that can do most of the tasks you’d expect. However, you still need to understand the difference between what is offered and what your business actually needs. 

This article will go over five easy steps to help you develop a next-gen eCommerce store and completely transform your business online.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Launch a Profitable eCommerce Business

An eCommerce website gives you total control of the customer experience your business provides on various channels. Here is how you can capitalize on that wonderful opportunity efficiently:

Step 1: Select an eCommerce Platform as Per Your Business Needs

Whether you own a B2B or B2C organization, the eCommerce platform you choose is going to be the backbone of your online business. If you select a platform that perfectly suits your business needs, you can streamline your business processes and how you interact with your customers and other stakeholders.  Let’s see what options you have:

• SAAS-based

This type of eCommerce platform provides modern eCommerce solutions and built-in tools for effective business management. It can cater to diverse business models including B2B and B2C. Some of the most popular SAAS-based eCommerce platforms are Adobe Commerce, Dynamics 365 Commerce, and Shopify Plus. 

These platforms are easy-to-use, robust, and are offered as a subscription service. 

• Open-Source

This type of eCommerce platform provides its source code to businesses for free. Being highly customizable and free to install, they are often the first choice for many startup and eCommerce businesses.

However, you will need advanced coding skills to manage them effectively. Security may also be a concern. Some of the best open-source eCommerce platforms are Magento (Community Edition), Drupal, and WooCommerce.

• Headless Commerce

This is a modern approach to eCommerce development that keeps the frontend and backend of a website separate to avoid technical complexities and enable breakneck marketing. It also helps businesses cost-effectively accelerate their time-to-market.

To provide your customer the best possible shopping experience, you must choose an eCommerce platform that fulfills your business needs. The factors that you should consider before selecting an eCommerce platform include:

• • Performance 
  • Traffic handling capacity 
  • Level of security 

The platform you choose must be able to provide the level of performance you require while handling the maximum surge in traffic that you are most likely to experience. It should also be able to protect your data to ensure confidentiality. While SAAS solutions ensure security in their monthly plans, open-source solutions have higher chances of attacks.

Step 2: Choose Your eCommerce Web Hosting Service

Selecting the right web hosting service is a crucial part of building an eCommerce website. It decides where your data is going to be stored and can have a huge impact on the overall development cost of your project. So, you must take your time and analyze all the options available.

Cloud-Based Hosting

This type of hosting service is usually offered by headless commerce or SAAS companies. Open-source eCommerce solutions may also include cloud hosting (but you will need security maintenance).

On-Premise Hosting

This type of hosting refers to hosting the data on servers that are owned by the business. The business owner will need to have sufficient space for the server and manage installation and updates to stay updated and secure. This type of hosting is generally suitable for big organizations.

Step 3: Hire Experienced eCommerce Developers

If you hire an experienced eCommerce developer to assist you with setting up an online store, it will help you save a lot of time and avoid technical complexities. A developer who is aware of the nitty-gritty of the eCommerce domain can make the entire process of developing an eCommerce business seamless. 

From helping you select the right eCommerce development platform to host services, and planning a launch strategy, an eCommerce developer can make things easy for you. But, before hiring developers, you must check out their expertise and past work to make sure they are the right fit for your project.

Step 4: Decide on Features You Want to Integrate

The eCommerce market is highly competitive, and to secure an edge over your competitors, you need to provide the best customer experience. To serve the purpose, deciding on the features you want to integrate into your eCommerce store is crucial. Make sure you provide everything in your store that enhances the CX and attracts more visitors.

From personalization to multiple payments options and loyalty programs – you shouldn’t miss any crucial features. Here are some of the must-have and advanced features of profitable eCommerce solutions:

• Advanced search options
• Mobile-friendly checkout
• Product Recommendations
• Integrated social media
• Personalization
• BOPIS
• Subscriptions
• Video or 3D product demos
• Live support and chat
• Rating and Reviews

Step 5: Test and Launch Your Online Store

A superhit launch depends on everything on your website functioning as it should. If even a single link doesn’t work, the website doesn’t work as expected on mobile devices, or payments don’t process, it can push users away and lead to time delays while you fix errors. Ensure that you test everything before publishing.

Wrapping Up

A successful eCommerce business relies on a robust and high-performing online store. It is something through which you can not just attract more leads but create an experience that fortifies your brand image. Developing such a platform is not rocket science. We hope now you have an idea of what you need to do and how.