The world of e-commerce is appealing. With most businesses depending on the internet right now, it makes sense to open an online store.
When you’re a small business looking to create an e-commerce website, the options can seem overwhelming. There are so many platforms to choose from, various website designs, structures, integrations and payment gateways. So, the question remains, “Are you going to tackle it DIY style or hire a professional website developer to help you make your online retail dreams a reality?”
In this blog, let’s analyze both paths you can choose to build an e-commerce website and see which choice is best for you.
What Happens When You Do It by Yourself?
Let’s assume that you want to save the money of hiring a professional E-Commerce Website developer. Instead, you’re going to go all in on DIY. What can you expect then? Let’s find out.
Crazy Ride for First-Timers
If this is your first time working with an online store, forget the E-Commerce Website! The endless decisions to be made before you even start building the website are enough to make your head spin!
Here are some of the choices you need to make:
- The platform on which you need to build the store.
- The domain name.
- The hosting provider.
- The templates that make your e-store look great.
- The additional plug-ins for SEO, visual elements, social media sharing, etc.
These decisions are just a drop in the bucket. As you begin to build your E-Commerce Website, there’s a decision to be made around every corner. When you aren’t sure about the consequences of those decisions, you can find yourself keeping your head above water.
A Long-Winded Process
Even when you think you can scourge the internet and find some way to build the perfect E-Commerce Website for your online store, it can take a VERY long time to build it. It takes some industrious entrepreneurs up to a year before they finally get everything in place exactly like they want it.
As a small business owner managing your business, you cannot, of course, dedicate your entire day/week/month to building a website. So when you are multitasking between your daily duties and the website, it could take you MUCH longer than you would anticipate.
Uncertainty About the Choice of E-Commerce Website Platform
Choosing the RIGHT website platform (think WordPress, Shopify, BigCommerce, etc.) is the foundation on which you will be building your website. Sometimes, after you have selected a provider and have begun the development process, you suddenly realize that another provider has a better option of features than the one you’re currently using.
If you then decide to change to another website platform at any point in time, you must remember that the work you have already done will more than likely not be able to be used on the new platform and you will have to start your work from scratch. That’s going to delay your e-commerce store launch.
Poor User Experience
Did you know that 67% of consumers cite bad website experiences as a reason for visiting a website and leaving immediately without purchasing anything?
When you are experimenting on your own, there are chances that you may overlook something or lead to less than optimal user experience. This could become the root cause of driving your visitors away from your site.
In the Dark About Cost-Effective Hacks
Do you know that many website developers and designers have various hacks and shortcuts under their sleeves to reduce the cost of development?
Yes, you can tell them what you want to do and they are able to come up with a simple way of implementing that feature with minimal cost to you. However, when you are trying to figure it out by yourself, you may have to shell out quite a lot of money to purchase various packages, toolkits, access to platforms and more.
What Happens When You Hire a Professional for E-Commerce Website?
Now that you’ve had a taste of what it could be like developing an e-commerce website on your own, let’s take a look at your experience if you hire a professional.
Leverage the Expertise, Practical Knowledge and Industry Exposure of the Pros
Let’s get one thing clear. No matter how hard you search the internet, it cannot come close to the powerhouse of knowledge the website developers have. Since they are doing it every single day as a profession, these developers have an immense knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.
The professionals keep themselves updated on the latest tools, technologies and retail industry trends. They have the best resources available, and all there’s left to do is build your website!
YellowFin Digital is one such specialized agency with a wide variety of resources to build your online store. We have a team of skilled website developers, designers and e-commerce experts who have created online stores for many businesses. From small online stores to boutiques that sell over $1 million per month in clothes, we have helped many businesses launch their ecommerce stores. Contact us now to learn more about our customized design and development services.
Save Your Time and Energy
Admit it or not, taking the job of developing your website is going to put a lot of pressure on yourself. Instead, when you hire a professional, you can save valuable time and energy that you can put to use for other tasks that need to be completed in order to launch your online store.
The professionals know what it takes to build an online store and will take up very little of your time. You just have to tell them exactly what you’re looking for, how you want the site to look and the features you’d like to have. The developer will build a beautiful e-commerce store just the way you want and you will get it much faster than you could going the DIY route.
Stay Within Your Budget
Contrary to popular opinion, when you’re on a budget, a professional developer is the best choice. They know all the expenses you may incur during the entire duration of website development and design. So, they will make you aware so you can carefully choose the tools and packages from the beginning to ensure that you stay within your budget.
What’s more, is that they will provide you a wide variety of different tools and packages that can be alternatively used in place of pricey packages.
Make the Most of Your Investment
According to Forrester’s report, on average, every dollar invested in user experience brings 100 in return. That’s a whopping ROI of 9,900%! When you hire an expert developer to work on offering a great website experience, you are actually investing in your website and can expect a great improvement in the ROI!
Enforce High-Security Features
The one thing you can never compromise on when building an online store is security. Since your users will be making payments on the website, you should have the best security features that protect your website from the unscrupulous hackers or inadvertent leaks of data. Also, there are governmental security regulations you need to adhere to. If you don’t, you could be penalized.
A professional developer knows the ins and outs of such hi-tech security features, standards, regulations and frameworks. They will ensure that your e-store follows all of such standards and your customer’s sensitive data is kept protected.
Build Interlinked Complex Functionalities
When you look at E-Commerce Website features from a user’s point of view, it can seem so simple. But when you examine the backend, you will understand the intricate and complex coding it took to make the functionality look so effortless.
When there are many competitors in the market, your site’s functionalities and user-friendliness should be given the prime importance. Expert E-Commerce Website developers can build an e-store loaded with functionalities and the best features that enhance user experience. Since they have done it numerous times before, they have a better understanding of what works. Combine that with your knowledge of the customer base and you have got yourself a smashing website!
Final Verdict
With the number of E-Commerce Website being introduced every week, staying relevant to the customer’s needs is the main priority. Hiring a professional developer will enable you to build a powerful and relevant E-Commerce Website customized in any way you need. You can save a lot of your time by hiring a professional who really knows their stuff. Evaluate your options, budget and, most of all, your end goal. If high ROI and creating a good customer base is your aim, then choosing a professional is a sure way of achieving your goal.
