Have you ever been served an amazing ad on Instagram or Facebook and you click on the link to go to their website fully prepared to splurge on said product only to realize their website is not-so user-friendly or good looking? Whew, that was a mouthful, but we’ve all had that happen! 

 

Nine times out of ten, I won’t buy a product solely based on the ease of use of a company’s website or the aesthetic. Sounds crazy, but that’s a company’s first impression and if that’s not done well, then I’m going to venture to say their product is not done well either. 

 

Let’s talk about the stats on ecommerce sites in general because maybe you’re skeptical about creating one and you just stumbled across this blog. 

 

DYK: There are 1.4 billion websites in the world and out of those, 455 million are built on WordPress – so roughly 35%. Out of those, 9.1 million are Ecommerce sites. Think about that. There are 9.1 million websites out there wanting you to purchase something from them. Talk about information overload! 

 

So, which ecommerce site is going to best amplify your business in 2023? Glad you asked. 

 

You’ve got several different options and we aren’t going to go over every single one, but the leading Ecommerce site is WooCommerce (a plugin on WordPress). There are roughly 4 million WooCommerce sites worldwide. The second most popular is Shopify with 1 million sites worldwide. 

 

Pros & Cons of Shopify  

 

Shopify is really easy on the front end. You don’t have to be professional to build an ecommerce site through them and they have really beautiful templates you can just copy and paste to get your site up and running. So, if you’re wanting something quick and easy and you have no previous experience, this might be a great option for you. It’s a simple choice for find-to-sell websites.

 

Now, it’s not very customizable. I mentioned the templates, which are great, but those templates have to match your brand to a T. You can’t change the little things about the site that really make your brand and your brand experience stand out. You also have to use the Shopify credit card processor, which puts a limit on what you can sell and unfortunately you don’t own your site – Shopify does. 

 

Pros & Cons of WooCommerce

 

WooCommerce requires more upfront professional labor in regards to the actual construction and functions of the site. If you don’t have any experience building websites, this process might be more than what you’re wanting. For example, at Spectruss, our creative team usually starts in Photoshop and actually builds out the layers of the site and ensures its responsiveness before it’s even transferred over to WooCommerce. Not every small business has the capacity to do that.

 

Now, what’s great about WooCommerce is that you can customize this site to be whatever you want it to be. If you can think it (within reason) it can be done. This ensures that your brand experience is totally cohesive from start to finish. The site is also totally yours and you can use whatever credit card processor works best for you. 

 

As we know, your brand is not just your logo. Your brand is your complete identity and having the option to apply that to every element of your ecommerce site is crucial. Afterall, your website is available 24/7 so consumers are getting to know you around the clock and potentially buying your products.

 

When you look at what an ecommerce site offers your business, it’s not only a way to maximize your profit, but it’s a way to build trust and brand identity in your consumers. Because of that, WooCommerce is Spectruss’ choice for 2023.

 

At the end of the day, you need to think about the growth of your company, how many products you’re going to be selling and then you need to make your decision from there based on which platform will better cater to your needs. The longevity of your company will make this decision for you. 

 

There are other sites we haven’t talked about like Wix and Squarespace. These two sites are great for small businesses just getting started, artists, or people who are wanting to showcase portfolios, etc. They offer some free options as well, but in our opinion, they don’t offer your company longevity and room for growth. 

When it comes to designing and building ecommerce websites, the options are almost limitless. However, setting the store up and turning on the ability to accept transactions is only the beginning. Here at Spectruss we offer an ecommerce service where we build your ecommerce site from the very first thought all the way to your first purchase. 

Book a 20 minute call with us to get started on taking your ecommerce site to the next level.