Define your business goals

The first thing to consider when looking for a new ecommerce platform is your goals. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to choose a platform without planning what you need it to do. Think about the who, why, and what. Consider these things:

– Who is your target group?

– What do they need?

– What features does your business need?

– How fast do you want to scale?

– What does your business’s future look like?

“You need to validate the platform that aligns as closely as possible to your business’s goals,” Daan explains. “The biggest mistake I see firms make is not having a project plan or a list of goals when choosing an ecommerce platform.

“Switching providers can be a great way to meet your business’s changing needs, or satisfy your developing customer base. Maybe you need to work with a dropshipper to satisfy your customers’ needs, or have to use a headless solution or PWA to work perfectly on mobile. You need to assess all your requirements first and use that to choose your platform.

“When switching, assess the gaps in your business. Think about the challenges you face so you can find a platform that solves them. That’s the starting point of any switch.”

Assess the ecosystem

Another thing to consider when choosing a new platform is the integrations and features it offers your business. Switching to a new platform can help you overcome your current challenges, but you need to make sure it also offers the functionalities that you already depend on.

“Make sure to determine what integrations you need and fully explore the features a platform offers,” says Daan. “Think about whether the platform integrates with tech partners like Mollie who can help you get the best return on investment possible. The ecosystem is important to meeting your goals and ensuring your customers are happy. It needs to provide everything your business needs and help you work as efficiently as possible – whether that’s a PSP helping you to accept international payment methods or accounting software that can keep your books in order.”

Ask for support

Another consideration is the support a platform offers. They should fully support you from the start of the sales process. Think about your business’s future and ask questions about it, such as how the platform will help as you scale or move into new markets.

“Customers need to be informed properly about what they’re signing up for and be able to talk to human support staff in their language,” says Daan. “The best platforms have IT, partner designers, and others on hand to offer guidance. Their job is to help you find the perfect solution for your business and to scale or switch easily. Anything less is not good enough.”

Switching to a new provider can have many benefits for your business (more on that below), but it’s essential to have the right support when moving to a new provider. Make it seem simple by developing a project plan and working with the platform’s team to help solve any problems that might arise during the process.

“There’s a lot of elements that you need to move over when you’re moving to a new provider – including your SEO functions, design elements, and tech integrations. A good partner will help you along the way, solving issues and using a sandbox environment to keep your site online for as long as possible while you switch.”

Don’t underestimate your design

Think about walking into a store and not being able to find anything or roaming around in search of a cash register when you decide to make a purchase. You’d likely end up walking out without buying anything. This is exactly the same as visiting a poorly designed online store.

“Design isn’t always top of mind for ecommerce businesses, but it should be,” explains Daan. “A good user experience can be vital to optimising conversion. Think about investing in a web designer who can help create a great UX, optimise your SEO through design, and run A/B tests to improve what you do. That can help you experiment and learn at speed. You will automatically earn your investment back by increasing your sales.

“When you’re switching, you should be able to take your branding and storefront to another platform. When you’re speaking to a new platform, ask about tools to help you do this, and if you’re developing custom solutions speak to the developer to ensure you can transfer them to a new provider.”

Use data to excel

Data is highly undervalued in ecommerce. After all, it can help you measure the impact of activities, increase conversion, assess what’s working, and optimise what you do. If you’re not an analyst, think about whether you can integrate with other software that can provide the data you need and use it to recommend improvements. Also remember that some platforms don’t let you export your data, so explore what’s possible before choosing a provider.

“There are solutions on the market that work with platforms and businesses to develop new features and functionalities,” Daan explains. “They build the features based on market need. That means you can access the data you need and even create custom reports and dashboards to help.

“When switching, it’s highly likely that your business is growing. Switching to a new platform should allow you to upgrade what you do. So, assess what data tools the platform offers or the integrations – if you do this early you can start improving your business from the moment you start using your new provider.”

Determine the best time to switch

Switching your ecommerce platform isn’t a decision you should take lightly, but it can have enormous advantages for your business. But knowing the right time to change your provider isn’t an exact science. Try to choose a time when demand lessens and avoid high sales seasons like Black Friday. That will give you breathing space to fix any problems that might occur during the switch.

“I always urge companies to think about switching in good time to take advantage of their new infrastructure,” explains Daan, “and to fully assess the project’s complexity. That way, you can see whether it’s best to work with a partner such as an agency to speed up the process.”

Always negotiate

It might sound like simple advice, but it’s always a good idea to negotiate when you’re switching to a new provider. Often a platform will offer discounts or other incentives if you sign with them, so make sure to speak to a sales representative about this.

“Discounts and other incentives being offered is a common thing in the industry,” explains Daan. “So, if you’re thinking of switching and considering several different ecommerce platforms, negotiate to see whether you can secure an offer that’s better for your business. Especially if there’s more than one platform that meets your needs.”