E-commerce store systems at a glance

E-commerce has become a major growth driver for businesses around the world in recent years. Online shopping enables companies to offer and sell their products and services worldwide. However, one of the basic requirements for a successful online store is a reliable and user-friendly store system. Discover the world of e-commerce store systems and find out what types are available and what costs are involved. From hosted solutions to open source systems and marketplaces – we’ll show you the different options and help you find the perfect system for your business.

What is an e-commerce store system?

An e-commerce store system is a software that allows companies to run an online store and sell their products and services over the Internet. These systems provide various features and tools to create, manage and optimize an online store. A good e-commerce store system should be user-friendly, secure, scalable, mobile-optimized and SEO-friendly, as well as provide the ability to manage and customize shipping options, inventory, payment processing and marketing efforts. It should also offer the ability to support multiple currencies and languages to increase the online store’s reach.

What features do I need for my online store?

The following is a summary of the most important functions of e-commerce store systems:

• Creation of product catalogs
  An online store allows companies to display products and services in an electronic catalog that includes product information, images and prices.
• Shopping cart and order processing
  Within the store system, customers can select these products, add them to the shopping cart, and place the order.
• Payment processing
  In order to buy the products, customers can use various payment methods, such as credit cards, PayPal or bank transfers. A good e-commerce store system should support secure and reliable payment options to ensure customer data security.
• Shipping options
  In the e-commerce store system, shipping options and costs should be customizable to meet your needs and those of your customers.
• Inventory management
  Inventory levels should be able to be managed automatically through a store system. It is also helpful if you receive a notification should a product be sold out. .
• Marketing functions
  Marketing features are important for increasing the visibility of the online store and boosting sales.
• Analytics tools
• An important point is also the ability to analyze the performance of one’s online store by providing detailed reports on visitor numbers, conversions , conversion rates and other important metrics.

So, an e-commerce store system is an important component for any business that wants to sell online. Choosing the right system depends on the individual requirements and goals of your business. There are many different e-commerce store systems on the market, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses, which is why you should compare the different options and choose the one that suits you best.

What types of e-commerce store systems are there?

There are several types of e-commerce store systems, which differ in the way they work and their requirements:

1. Hosted systems
   These types of store systems are hosted and managed by a third-party provider. Companies only have to pay a monthly or annual fee and can launch their online store immediately after signing up. Hosted systems are particularly suitable for smaller companies and start-ups that do not have any technical knowledge.
2. Self-hosted systems
   There are also store systems that you can host and manage yourself. For this, you only have to pay a one-time fee and have complete control over your online store. This type of store system is particularly suitable for companies with an experienced IT team and increased functionality requirements.
3. Open source systems
   Such store systems are free of charge and can be downloaded and used by anyone. However, as a company, you have to rent your own server and perform the necessary adjustments and maintenance on the store system yourself. Therefore, open source systems are particularly suitable for companies that have a lot of experience with programming and want to customize their online store.
4. SaaS (Software as a Service)
   A SaaS store system is provided and managed as a service via the Internet. Companies pay a monthly or annual fee for their online store and have access to the software and necessary updates. This type of store system is an easy-to-use and scalable solution for businesses.
5. Marketplace
   Another option is to sell products on already existing online marketplaces like Amazon or Ebay. This way, you as a company do not have to operate your own online store. This type of store system makes sense if you want to increase your reach and benefit from an already existing customer base.

Prices: How much do e-commerce store systems cost?

The cost of an e-commerce store system can vary greatly and depends on a number of factors, such as the type of store system, the features you need, and the size of your business. It’s important to look at the costs in detail and compare them to find the best deal for your business.

• The cost of hosted solutions, such as Shopify or BigCommerce, usually starts at around €20 to €250 per month. These solutions are usually the cheapest option, but usually offer less flexibility and customization options than other types of store systems.
• Self-hosted solutions such as Magento or PrestaShop can have one-time costs ranging from €1,000 to monthly costs of €500 and more, depending on the provider and package option chosen.
• Open source solutions are available for download free of charge, but costs for servers, maintenance and customizations must be borne by the customer.
• Furthermore, SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions typically cost a monthly or annual fee ranging from a few hundred euros to a few thousand euros.
• Marketplace solutions, on the other hand, usually have no one-time cost, but you as a business pay a commission on each item sold.

What e-commerce store systems are there?

There are many different e-commerce store systems on the market, which differ in terms of functionality, cost and ease of use. Here we present the most popular ones with their advantages and disadvantages.

Shopify

Shopify is one of the most popular and widely used e-commerce store systems on the market. It is easy to set up and offers a wide range of design templates that can be customized to fit your business needs. Shopify also offers integrated payment processing, shipping options and customer management tools, which simplifies the management of the online store.

Another big plus of Shopify is the large community and the number of available plugins, which can extend the functionality of the system. There is also a wide range of apps available in the Shopify App Store, which you can use to optimize your online store…

However, Shopify may not be the best choice for larger businesses and online store: it offers a lot of features, but the customizability and extensions are limited. For example, if you offer a lot of products and categories, the limited product and category management tools could be a problem.

Magento

Magento is a more powerful e-commerce store system aimed at mid-sized businesses and large online retailers. It offers a wide range of advanced features and customization options that allow you to tailor your online store to the needs of your target audience. Magento offers more comprehensive product and category management tools than Shopify, for example. Thus, it is possible to manage and organize thousands of products.

Another advantage of Magento is its flexibility, as it is available in both open source and enterprise versions. Businesses can use the open source version to save costs or the enterprise version for advanced features and support.

However, one disadvantage of Magento is that it is a more complex system and has a higher learning curve. It also requires some technical knowledge to set up and manage, which makes it less suitable for smaller businesses and retailers.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a popular open-source e-commerce store system that works as a WordPress plugin. So, a big advantage of WooCommerce is that it integrates with the popular & free WordPress content management system. Thus, the management of the online store is very simplified and many extensions are available. For example, WooCommerce offers integrated payment processing, shipping options and customer management tools.

However, one disadvantage of WooCommerce is that it requires technical knowledge to set up and manage. It is also not as scalable as some other systems, making it more suitable for smaller businesses.

Shopware

The Shopware store system is particularly user-friendly and easy to manage. It offers a variety of features, such as product catalogs, shopping carts, payment and shipping options, as well as some marketing tools that are already built in. Shopware also offers a variety of extensions and customization options to meet the individual requirements of merchants.

The main advantages of Shopware are its ease of use and user-friendly interface. Shopware is easy to use even for beginners. In addition, Shopware is quite flexible and can be individually adapted to the needs of an online store. Shopware is suitable for small, medium and large online stores and can be easily expanded as needs grow. Shopware stores can be displayed well on mobile devices. In addition, Shopware places great emphasis on security and data protection to protect customers’ sensitive data.

Although Shopware offers many advantages, it also has some disadvantages that need to be considered. Here, for example, the costs are to be mentioned. Shopware is not a free store system. Also, customization and integration of extensions can cause additional costs. In addition, although Shopware is user-friendly, it requires a certain training period to understand and effectively use the various functions and settings. Since Shopware is a technically sophisticated platform, customizations and integrations may need to be done by experienced developers, which may incur additional costs.

OpenCart and BigCommerce

OpenCart and BigCommerce are other popular options for an e-commerce store system and have similar features to those already mentioned. They offer integrated payment processing, shipping options and customer management tools, as well as a large number of design templates and extensions.

OpenCart is a free and open system that is easy to set up and use. However, it has a limited number of features and customization options. BigCommerce, on the other hand, is a paid system that offers a larger number of features and customization options. It is also scalable, making it suitable for businesses of any size.

The advantages of both e-commerce store systems are mainly the large number of payment and shipping options, allowing you to offer your services and products worldwide. The user-friendly interface and simple navigation are further plus points that maximize conversions in the online store.

How do I find the right e-commerce store system?

First of all, there is no “best” e-commerce system, instead the right system for each business can be different. Therefore, it is important to compare the different options and find a store system that fits your needs and budget. Additionally, it is important that the selected system meets security standards as well as applicable laws. A good e-commerce system should offer easy navigation, fast loading times and a user-friendly interface to maximize conversions. We have listed more requirements for you here:

1. Mobile optimization

An important criterion when choosing the right e-commerce store system is mobile optimization. More and more people are using their mobile devices to shop online, so your online store should look good on all devices and be easy to use. So, the store system should offer a mobile-optimized version or support a mobile app.

Learn more about the importance of a mobile-friendly website and how to create a responsive website even without programming skills

2. SEO functionalities

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is also an important point when choosing the right system. It should be possible to customize product description, meta tags, URL structure and other important SEO elements to improve the visibility of the online store. It is also advantageous here to integrate product and customer reviews to increase the credibility and trustworthiness of your online store.

Learn why online reviews are so important and how you can send a direct review link to your customers via Google.

3. Marketing & Advertising

Overall, marketing features are an important part of an e-commerce store system. Your system should support you in carrying out marketing measures as well as analyzing the performance of these measures. For this, it is helpful if various marketing functions and tools are provided by the store system to reach your target audience and increase your sales.

Useful marketing features of an e-commerce store system include the following:

• Email marketing:
  You can use email marketing campaigns to inform your customers about offers and news. Some systems also offer automated email marketing features that send personalized emails to customers when they have performed certain actions on the website.
  
  

  Get valuable tips to help you successfully integrate email marketing into your business
• Coupons and discounts:
  To reward customers and increase sales, you can offer coupon codes and discounts. With some store systems, you can also run automated coupon and discount promotions to target specific audiences.
• Social media integration:
  A good store system should allow businesses to promote and sell their products and services on social media. Some systems also offer the ability to include product reviews and customer ratings on social media to increase the credibility and trustworthiness of the online store.
  
  

  We’ll show you why social media marketing is so important and how good social media marketing works.
• Affiliate marketing:
  A good store system should easily allow businesses to launch affiliate marketing programs. The store system can play an important role in the use of affiliate advertising, as it must allow the integration of affiliate links and the tracking of affiliate transactions. Personalization:
  Some store systems allow a website to be customized – depending on the customer and their previous interactions with a website.
• Analysis:
  A good store system should allow businesses to analyze the performance of their marketing efforts by providing detailed reports on visitor numbers, conversions, conversion ratesand other key metrics.
  
  

  Learn more about the most important metrics in social media marketing and how you can measure these KPIs.

4. Payment processing

Another important criterion when choosing the right e-commerce store system is payment processing. Your system should support secure and reliable payment options such as credit cards, PayPal and other online payment services. It is also beneficial for the online store’s reach if multiple currencies and languages are available.

5. Inventory management

When it comes to inventory management, it is crucial that your stock levels are managed automatically and that you receive a notification when a product is sold out. A good store system also offers the possibility of providing customers with different shipping options and adjusting prices according to the quantity of products ordered.

Find your suitable e-commerce store system

In conclusion, there are many important criteria to consider when choosing the right e-commerce store system. You can choose from a variety of systems and compare the different options. In the end, decide on the store system that best fits your requirements. Ease of use, security, scalability, mobile optimization and SEO-friendliness play a crucial role here. The ability to manage and customize shipping options, inventory levels, payment processing, and marketing efforts are also crucial for a good e-commerce store system. Choose the right system for your business and increase your sales through successful online sales. Get started!