It's surprising how many people recommend just one e-commerce platform – a solution that should work for everyone and every store. They may be brilliant developers or sales people but they probably aren't trying to solve your problems. You need to choose a platform that fits your needs.
You should first choose if you want either a self hosted or a hosted platform. After that you should look at your products. The type of products you have will determine the features you need. There are plenty nice-to-have features like pretty reports, order management, & newsletter integrations but you first have to make sure the platform can sell your product.
There are a few questions that I typically ask people about their products that determine what platforms I recommend.
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In case you haven't guessed yet from the dozens and dozens of posts on this site I'm a huge fan of WooCommerce. It's such a great tool for e-commerce. But just because it's a great tool for me doesn't mean that it's the right solution for everyone. There are a ton of other great solutions based on your needs and your abilities.
There are dozens of e-commerce solutions out there (although I'd only recommend a 1/2 dozen or so) but before we get into the specifics of each platform you need to understand the difference between a hosted & self hosted solution.
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Greetings! I just wrapped up a long weekend in beautiful Portland Maine for the very first WordCamp Maine. There were fantastic presentations, time saving tools, great food, and amazing people.
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Anyone new to e-commerce might think that getting paid online is easy. After all, watching any number of intro videos makes it seem that way. Unfortunately it's actually very complicated. There are hundreds of different vendors, complex fee structures, and an infinite number of ways to implement the solution.
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If you run an e-commerce store you're well aware that chargebacks on credit card transactions can be costly. You may also occasionally have upset customers if you charge a card right away and take a few days to ship the order. One of the strategies you can use to avoid these problems is to capture the payment when you ship the order instead of automatically capturing it during checkout.
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There's been a lot of big changes in my life recently. I announced a book, I changed roles within WooThemes, and I have one more big announcement. It's something that I've been meaning to do since university but it's always taken a back seat to other priorities. I spent nine years in Green Bay and I love it but it's time for a new setting. I'm moving to Denver Colorado; I should actually be arriving at my Airbnb just a few hours after this post is published.
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Someone once asked me about the WordCamps and meetups that are going on around Wisconsin and I was only too eager to reply “It's crazy! There are so many going on” and then there was laughing. This person couldn't fathom any real IT talent outside of Silicon Valley and that's a shame. Both for that person and for the innovators here that are doing great work and not being recognized.
I'm probably not the best Wiconsinite since I don't love the Packers. But I do want to give WI the credit is deserves. We have a lot of innovators, and a lot of activity both in meetups and other events. Here's some of the amazing talent in Wisconsin. (Apologies in advance if I forgot you there are so many awesome people!)
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Exactly one year ago I joined WooThemes and I got to work with the WooCommerce support team. As of today I'm switching roles and my new job title will be WooThemes Developer.
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I'm writing my first e-book about WooCommerce this year.
The Store Manager's Guide to WooCommerce
I'll be writing The Store Manager's Guide to WooCommerce which will answer any questions you might have had about e-commerce or WooCommerce. I wrote it because I've answered thousands of questions about WooCommerce in support forums, at WordCamps, and while working for WooThemes' support. I'll help you sift through the 200+ official WooCommerce extensions and tell you which ones are the real gems. Expect to save yourself hours of research and launch your site on time.
Sound good to you? Learn more about The Store Manager's Guide to WooCommerce.
Earlier in the week I talked about evangelism and why it's important to have customers that can share your product. But before you can get those customers you need to inspire them. This is where it's important to have a team of evangelists that can get the ball rolling.
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