Commerce has been one of the most predominant human activities since forever, so it’s no wonder that selling goods and services online has become one of the hottest topics of discussion as we have entered the digital era.
Especially now that the COVID crisis has flipped the way people do business and live – eCommerce software development is gaining momentum like never before.
The online shopping boom
Ecommerce was already big way before the pandemic. Now, the quarantines enforced back-and-forth, along with the people’s understandable lack of desire to risk shopping in person, have furtherly fueled online trade.
On one hand, we want to be able to conveniently buy everything we need from our homes. On the other – businesses need to facilitate this opportunity and ensure a smooth user experience for the flood of new clients.
Now, it doesn’t take a university degree to figure out that the increased volume of any online activity requires developing software to back it all up…
But, what are the options?
Custom eCommerce platform vs website builders
Any marketing expert will confirm that a product or service on the web will benefit from having a unique platform that accurately translates its idea and makes it stand out among the competition.
Today there are 2 ways how a business can introduce itself to potential consumers.
- To go for a pre-defined product with website builders or eCommerce platforms like Shopify.
- To develop a fully customizable website according to one’s specific needs and vision, joining many of our respected partners in the eCommerce sector.
We’ve already talked about the first one on our blog, and to be honest, there are good points in favor of both options.
Website builders
When it comes to website assemblers – there are many options on the market. All of them differ in functionality, application, hosting, subscription, templates, etc. Most of the time the monthly subscription increases in proportion to the features you utilize. What all these tools share is a SaaS-based business model which allows crafting a web page with little to no coding involved – simply using the app’s visual interface.
This makes it rather popular for developing landing pages, online business cards, and blogs. In fact, it’s said that over a third of all websites on the internet are powered by one of such platforms – WordPress.
That said, the majority of WP-powered resources are news sites and personal blogs, and using this particular platform for eCommerce activities is rather questionable. So, a platform’s overall popularity does not necessarily translate to its absolute superiority.
Custom eCommerce store
The second option is to build a unique e-commerce website or app. While it does require professional assistance and additional spending, custom eCommerce software solutions allow for supreme product design and specification, as well as outperform the carbon copy products of website builders.
So, for unique identity brands and large online marketplaces, custom eCommerce software development has much more advantages than any other product delivery model.
Now, what are some of the main features in a typical custom eCommerce store?
Read on to find out.
Custom eCommerce software for small businesses
MintyMint has a vast portfolio of eCommerce projects, from food delivery services and art selling websites to content distributing platforms and large online marketplaces.
Here’s what we offer for startups and SMBs exploring software opportunities in the eCommerce niche:
– Website and mobile app development
Represent your business from the best angle with custom eCommerce website or application entirely tailored to your needs and creative vision.
– UI/UX design
Develop an intuitive and complete user interface for a positive user experience with your digital products. Our design team will conduct thorough market research and create versatile user stories for the smooth navigation and feel of the app.
– Customer relationship management software systems
Integrate a capable and transparent CRM (Customer Relation Management) system – it’ll help you automate a big chunk of client support activities and improve their loyalty and retention.
– Ecommerce inventory management system and ERPs
Step up your back-office operations with an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution to track inventories, orders, and transactions – crafted to meet your needs and setup.
– Online payment processing software
Integrate the main mobile payment systems (Samsung and Apple pay) along with the most reliable payment processing solutions – Stripe
Stripe offers several eCommerce finance tools including APIs (application programming interfaces) and (POS) point of sale systems.
– Secure electronic payment system
Ensure that your eCommerce software corresponds to the PCI (Payment Card Industry) data security standard to keep user data safe and protected from credit card fraud when dealing with frequent online money transactions.
– POS system development
Integrate a custom POS (point of sale) system. It combines various sale data about the purchase, payment, client, etc. – merging it all into a single “point-of-sale” operation in your eCommerce platform.
– Magento app development
Magento is a PHP-based eCommerce platform perfect for creating online shops and marketplaces of all types and scales. Utilizing multiple other PHP frameworks and functionalities, it offers a wide set of development tools and great end-product quality with less pressure on devs.
Magento development is extremely popular these days and is in our arsenal of eCommerce solutions as well.
Final word
Having a capable, reliable, and unique web platform representing your business is a must to make it in eCommerce today. This requires a level of program detail unattainable with most ready-to-go online trade platforms. Considering this, custom eCommerce software solutions are the best choice for online shops and marketplaces to stand upon and stand out.
Want to learn more about current digital opportunities in eCommerce? Don’t hesitate to leave us a message and MintyMint experts will reach back to you to clarify any questions!
