You might be wondering which e-commerce platform to choose to build your web-to-print business. We have made the choosing process easier for you by listing each platform’s pricing, functionality, and benefits.
Due to the covid pandemic, more people have felt the need to purchase online. Experts have predicted that by the end of 2024, online spending will reach above $476 billion.
It is a stated fact that E-commerce platforms are the need of the hour. Nowadays, if an e-commerce printing company wishes to retain a high position in the competitive market, they need to build its business on an e-commerce platform.
When it comes to choosing the right e-commerce platform, two names dominate the online market. Adobe Commerce and Shopify Plus.
Adobe Commerce vs. Shopify Plus
Released in 2016 and formerly named Magento Commerce, Adobe Commerce is an open-source platform built on Magento. It is a scalable and flexible platform offering a multi-channel experience for B2B and B2C e-commerce customers.
On the other hand, Shopify Plus is also a major e-commerce platform first launched in 2014 to give a customizable development solution for e-commerce businesses so they can save on both time and costs. However, both e-commerce platforms are different in terms of their features.
Exclusive features
1. Adobe Commerce
Scalability
Scalability is an essential concern for a printing business. Whether an e-commerce platform can accommodate growing sales and business needs, or order quantities, is an important factor to consider.
Adobe Commerce offers many scalable options at low costs, such as a modular core and headless commerce. To meet the needs of a growing customer base, the platform provides the chance to change priorities and respond effectively to the constantly evolving market.
As the platform is cloud-based, the print company can quickly scale or customize products by integrating design apps such as Magento product customizer. In addition, the print business can deploy its shopfronts globally and customers worldwide can benefit from this scalability by choosing their desired designs through any device.
Flexibility
Flexibility is a crucial factor in maintaining the standard of a printing business. Adobe Commerce can assist in defining specific requirements for promotional options and products features. The platform offers customized or standard options by providing features such as a Shopify product customizer that can customize products per the customers’ choices.
2. Shopify Plus
Scalability
In contrast, Shopify Plus has resilient servers controlling sales performance and order management during high traffic hours. Moreover, it provides more personalization to match changes in requirements in terms of automation, creating custom themes, product catalogs, promotions, and payments.
Flexibility
Shopify Plus offers a standardized solution and can be a good choice for managing businesses with small inventories and standard requirements of products attributes and designs.
How to choose the right enterprise e-commerce platform?
Whether a printing company is large or small, an e-commerce platform integrated with the web-to-print software will offer a complete print and self-design solution. But choosing the right platform for a printing business is as vital as drinking water because both are necessary for survival.
An e-commerce platform hugely influences how a printing company can do business and defines how it spends on its operations. It also affects sales and how an e-commerce business can improve its customer experience. With the right platform and web-to-print integration, however small a business is, it will grow leap and bounds globally.
When to choose Adobe Commerce?
Suppose a printing company has an extensive and complex catalog for products and also wishes to expand globally. In that case, Adobe Commerce can be a suitable choice as it provides greater flexibility.
When to choose Shopify Plus?
However, if the printing business is simplistic, has a low budget, and wishes to grow sales in less time, then Shopify Plus can meet its needs perfectly. Moreover, it doesn’t require technical expertise or a team to manage the storefront.
Pricing details of Adobe Commerce and Shopify Plus
The cost of ownership for an Adobe Commerce platform is likely to be higher than Shopify plus. On the other hand, the average hourly rate for an agency partner might be higher for a Shopify Plus platform. However, the total costs are divided into many portions.
1. License costs
The licensing for a printing company depends upon how much revenue it will generate from the e-commerce platform. Moreover, the license fee for an Adobe Commerce platform is usually paid in advance annually, whereas Shopify Plus may require a monthly payment.
Adobe Commerce also offers an option to integrate order management and third-party extensions, requiring an additional license or hosting fees. On the other hand, Shopify Plus provides a point of sales solution and apps such as Shopify product designer.
2. Hosting
Both e-commerce platforms are cloud-based. However, Adobe Commerce offers a self-hosting, where the printing company may choose its desired hosting service and pay the fee monthly. Shopify plus is already hosted by the cloud.
3. Build costs
The site-building costs for Adobe Commerce are likely to be higher than Shopify Plus as it requires more work to develop its database, create complex functionality, and do integration. On the other hand, Shopify doesn’t require much work building the site.
4. Maintenance costs
Both e-commerce platforms are cloud-based. So, it won’t require the printing business to hire an IT or technical team for its maintenance. The maintenance costs will be included in hosting, and the hosting services will take care of the upgrade and security. However, any additional functionality such as Magento product configurator or Shopify product designer may incur extra costs, but they will be lower because both e-commerce platforms have flourishing extension markets.
Conclusion
Due to the growing trend of customers ordering customized designs online, printing businesses can cash on that trend. It can choose to build its business on an e-commerce platform and integrate web-to-print software to provide a more customized and personalized experience for its customers.
High-end e-commerce platforms are cloud-based so that print businesses can save on maintenance and security costs. In addition, the web-to-print software will provide self-service options to printers and cut back on processing costs. Furthermore, the print company can choose a web-to-print Shopify Plus or Adobe Commerce integration according to its business requirements.
From efficiently taking care of the workflow to showing real-time sales analytics, an e-commerce platform with web-to-print integration will provide a complete print job and order management solution.
