All ecommerce platforms help you run an online shop to sell products and services, but not all platforms work in the same way. Instead, there are a few different types, and they work slightly differently.
The three most common types of ecommerce platforms are:
– Software as a service (SaaS)
– Open source
– Headless commerce
Which type of platform you choose will likely be influenced by how much tech expertise you have to build and run your online store. We’ll explain the options further below.
SaaS ecommerce platforms
SaaS ecommerce platforms generally offer the most straightforward and cheapest way for you to build an online store. By paying for a subscription (and sometimes a sign-up fee), you get access to an out-of-the-box solution to create a shop and start to sell.
SaaS platforms are provided on a cloud basis and are usually paid for on a monthly, annually, or on-demand basis.
The biggest benefits of using a SaaS ecommerce platform are:
– Cost: Using these platforms is managed on a subscription basis, with a fee based on the size of your business. This can be a cost-effective way to launch and scale your business.
– Easy to maintain: Another reason SaaS platforms are so handy is that the platforms themselves will usually take care of the maintenance that comes with running an online store, including security, web hosting, and software updates.
– Simple to scale: The best SaaS ecommerce platforms allow you to quickly try out or add new pre-built features that can improve workflows or drive sales. They also allow you to scale your business with ease.
– Integrations: SaaS platforms generally offer easy-to-use integrations with other tech tools your business might need, such as enterprise resource planning systems or payment service providers (PSPs) like Mollie.
Since SaaS solutions enable a quick and easy shop setup without needing too much tech expertise, small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) often use them.
A SaaS ecommerce platform has many benefits – but doesn’t suit every business. One of the main disadvantages of using them can be their inflexible nature. Unlike some of the other types we’ll cover below, SaaS platforms can be challenging to customise to your exact needs, especially if you’re dealing with complex business processes or want to make unique changes to your site.
With a SaaS platform, you’re also more likely to get locked into using a specific provider. If you have spent a long time building your business using a particular platform, you might rely on its features and benefits or lack the resources to migrate to another provider.
Open source ecommerce platforms
An open source ecommerce platform will give you full access to their source code, meaning that you can customise your site to your exact needs. You usually own the code or pay a licence fee for using it. This can be a great way to create an online store that offers everything you (and your customers) need.
The biggest benefits of using an open source ecommerce platform are:
– Flexibility: Though not always simple to build and maintain, open source platforms allow almost limitless possibilities to create your online store. If you have the right resources, using one can be a great way to create a unique store that delivers exceptional customer experiences and helps you sell as much as possible.
– Integrations: As your site grows, you will need integrations with other tech tools to help improve and refine what you do, whether that’s with a PSP, customer relationship management software or other platforms. As you have the code, you can generally integrate any tech you need with an open source platform.
– SEO: Search engines like sites that offer unique, valuable content. By allowing you to create a bespoke store, open source platforms also help you stand out from others who might be using similar templates or themes to build their sites. This can help you more easily rise to the top of ranking pages for your product or service, something that can be vital to selling more and attracting as many visitors as possible.
The disadvantage of an open source ecommerce platform is that you will likely need a lot of technical expertise to build and maintain your ecommerce site. Unlike SaaS ecommerce platforms, you will be responsible for running and maintaining your store, including dealing with security, web hosting, and updates. That means you can end up paying high costs without proper planning.
Headless ecommerce platforms
A headless ecommerce platform works by separating the front end of your ecommerce store – or the customer-facing parts of your website – from the back-end systems that run your business’s commercial and operational functions.
Traditionally, the front-end of an online store connects directly to the back-end, so any changes you make in one would immediately affect the other. With headless platforms, the front-end is usually designed through a custom-built website or content management system (CMS). The back-end consists of many systems that are responsible for different commerce functions, such as shipping, pricing, and security.
These separate functions speak to each other through application programming interfaces (APIs), which send out API calls to initiate different actions, such as making a payment or sending an automated email to a customer after a purchase.
The biggest benefits of using a headless ecommerce platform are:
– Flexibility: Headless ecommerce platforms offer a fantastic amount of flexibility in how you build and run your online store. By decoupling the front end of your site, you can develop it to your exact specifications. That means you can have more options to edit every part of your operations, helping to create a unique design, improve the customer journey, and even customise your team’s admin functions.
– Faster and cheaper development: As each part of a headless ecommerce platform is separate, developers can customise individual components of the infrastructure without making changes to others, improving efficiency and reducing costs.
– Speed: With headless, building a site and keeping up with market trends and consumer expectations can be done quickly. And using APIs also means that your site speed will be quicker, increasing conversions, improving your search engine ranking, and enabling you to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
– Integrations: Due to how they work, adding new functions through integrations with other platforms should be simple. This means you have more flexibility to use new tech to improve or refine your business processes.
One disadvantage of using a headless ecommerce platform is that you will need to build the front end of your online store (or the customer-facing presentation layer). Though that means you can customise it to your needs, this process can be time-consuming and expensive.
Maintaining your online store, including creating content and adding new integrations and processes, will also likely need to be done by someone with development experience. This can lead to ongoing costs you might not pay when using another platform type, such as a SaaS solution.