eCommerce is a growing and evolving industry with great potential for small and big retailers that want to sell their products online.
However, whether your online store generates much-deserved momentum or goes into one of those later pages of Google, only some brands will keep ranking until they reach the first page. Along with having good products, pricing, and a website, you will need the features and support of a robust CMS to perform well in your online store.
So, how do you choose the right CMS for your eCommerce store? This piece is about that.
Key Takeaways
- Align your CMS features and capabilities to your specific business type and needs.
- Ensure the CMS you choose is scalable to support your future growth.
- Consider your budget and resources, but don’t let cost alone drive the decision.
- Evaluate the expertise required to use and maintain the CMS effectively.
- Prioritize the user interface and experience for both your team and customers.
- Check that the CMS enables a mobile-friendly site that is compatible across devices.
Choosing an eCommerce CMS
A good eCommerce platform will let you manage multiple facets of your online store, such as operations, sales, and marketing, in a single place. When choosing a CMS for your website, the primary consideration is that it should be flexible and help you achieve your business goals.
Other than this broad consideration that should always be in the back of your mind, you should consider the following factors in the process:
- Alignment of Features to Business Type
- Budget and Resources
- Expertise Required
- User Interface and Experience
- Features for Mobile-Friendliness and Compatibility
When you keep all of these considerations at the center of your decision-making process, you will be able to choose the right eCommerce CMS for your online store.
6 Common Mistakes You Should Avoid When Choosing an eCommerce CMS
But along with the knowledge of the factors that will influence your decision to implement a specific CMS for your online store, here are some of the common mistakes you should avoid in the process:
1. Misalignment With Target Audience
If you have an up-and-running eCommerce store, you may have already gone through the trouble of defining your target audience. After all, your target audience will dictate your product catalog, marketing strategies, website design, and sales tactics. Your CMS is no different – you should conduct thorough market research, understand the needs of your target audience, and develop the correct marketing strategy accordingly. Use this information.
2. Not Checking for Scalability
When you have an online store on the path of consistent growth and success, you will need a CMS that supports that growth. As your store grows, so will your customer base and maybe even your product catalog and website features. For instance, the CMS platform you choose should offer multisite and multi-tenancy features, or else you will need help to consider expanding into new markets.
3. Stuffing Your Website With Features
It is natural and even commendable to make the most of your online store to deliver the most unique and enhanced digital shopping experience to your customers. Most CMSes you will consider for your online store will offer so many features to achieve this goal that you will be spoilt for choices.
But even if you have many options, you can still stuff your website with many features it does not need. Unless a feature is essential, only add it to your website so you do not have to pay. Moreover, if you opt for third-party features, be prepared to tackle compatibility issues or slow overall website performance.
Choose a platform that offers you the minimum requirements for your online store to truly shine, with room to add additional features as you scale up and grow.
4. Not Prioritizing Customization and Flexibility
Even the most seasoned online stores need to find a well-known platform or a CMS for which they have seen good reviews and then try to squeeze in their requirements according to the platform. To begin with, it is essential to determine your requirements and goals and then choose an eCommerce platform that fits the bill. Stay clear of rigid platforms where you will have to make a lot of adjustments and compromises on your online store, and instead, go for CMSes that support the functionalities and features you need.
Customization is not just a part of your eCommerce content optimization efforts; it also includes aesthetics and other elements that play an important role in personalizing your customers’ user experience.
5. Blindly Choosing the Cheaper Option
If you have an up-and-coming online store, it is entirely understandable if you want to choose a CMS that is more affordable and seems to offer value for money. However, conducting detailed research is required to ensure you select the right option for your website, not just the most affordable one.
Many online stores make the mistake of looking at just the upfront cost, making the rash decision that it is cheap, and going ahead with the transaction anyway. But you might then end up spending a lot of money on add-ons or correcting the wrong CMS decision and migrating to a different one.
Say you chose Umbraco for your online store but then decided against it. You may spend much time and money carrying out an Umbraco to WordPress CMS migration.
6. Trying to Make Uninformed Decisions
Choosing a CMS for your online store is a very strategic decision, so it makes sense for your management to invest in the process. But, it is also a technical decision that should involve resources with the necessary expertise and experience to choose the suitable CMS for your website.
If you are inexperienced in this area yet decide to go through the entire decision-making process on your own, you might end up disrupting the process. You may choose a CMS that causes your online store to have design issues, low traffic, or even other more serious issues regarding safety and revenue.
If you are new to the world of eCommerce, do not hesitate to contact an agency or consultant with experience in website migrations.
Ending Remarks
eCommerce is a challenging industry, even with the right CMS platform. But without a good CMS platform to offer you the right features and elements for your online store, your competitors can quickly overtake you. With that in mind, it is a good idea to avoid the mistakes listed in this piece and try to get your CMS platform decision right from the get-go.
Author Bio: Lucy Manole
Lucy is a creative content writer and strategist at Marketing Digest. She specializes in writing about digital marketing, technology, entrepreneurship, and education. When she is not writing or editing, she reads books, cooks, and travels.
Essential Industry Insights for Further Reading
- How to Choose the Best Ecommerce CMS Platform for Your Business: Shopify’s guide covers key factors to consider when selecting an eCommerce CMS, including features, pricing, scalability, and support.
- The Ultimate Guide to Choosing an Ecommerce Platform: BigCommerce provides an in-depth look at the various types of eCommerce platforms, their benefits, and how to determine which one best suits your business needs.
- 9 Criteria for Choosing an Ecommerce Platform: Practical Ecommerce outlines nine essential criteria to evaluate when selecting an eCommerce platform, focusing on functionality, user experience, and long-term viability.
