Once you have your idea in place, know how you are going to fulfill your inventory, and are ready to set up your social media accounts, you need to think about hosting for your e-commerce store. This might mean choosing a hosting services and building your own site from scratch, or looking into some temples associated with e-commerce platforms. There can be benefits and downsides to both, and you’ll want to find the solution that best fits your needs.
Here are some considerations you should keep in mind when you are looking to build out your store.
How much support will there be?
If you have decided to build your site by yourself, you might be completely on your own when it comes to support. If you are looking to build a site that uses a third-party design system, then you might need to have a background in development. You will have a lot more control when you are choosing to host your store on your own domain through a hosting service, but you might not have the help you need when you run into problems with your site.
Will you use a template?
Knowing whether or not you are going to use a template when designing your site can make a huge difference in how you approach hosting. Some platforms will allow you to use methods like headless commerce so you can make changes to your site by separating the frontend and backend of your site, while others require more coding knowledge. Much of it will depend on your skill set and whether you are planning on hiring someone else to help you.
What about SEO?
SEO has become essential to most online stores’ success, and you will want to make sure that you have both a technical strategy and one for content, as well. However, some hosting sites allow you to dive deeper into technical SEO than others, which can be necessary if you want your e-commerce to rank on search engines. Before you go ahead make a decision when it comes to your hosting, make sure that you will be able to implement your SEO strategy for your site.
What kind of checkout is available?
Depending on the type of hosting you choose, you might have access to a standard checkout page, or you might be able to build a custom one either with code or a plugin. Much of this will depend on whether you are planning on incorporating several different features, or if you need just a simple form where buyers can insert credit card information and their addresses. Take some time to think about your customers and what would be best for them.
In summary
Choosing where your site is going to live can be one of the most nerve-wracking decisions you make early on in your e-commerce journey. However, knowing exactly what you want can make the process of deciding much simpler.
by Alex Schnee
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