E-commerce : choosing the right solution

To “choose the right solution” you need to be given a choice. To ensure this, we like to call our approach technology agnostic. In other words, this means that we force ourselves to master several technologies. We prefer to approach a project by targeting the key functionalities and challenges, and then suggest to our business partners the solution that best suits their needs. This is the same way we approach any project, including our e-commerce mandates. In the great “universe” of Open Source, here is an overview of our appreciation of some of the e-commerce solutions we use.

The inevitable Adobe Commerce (Magento)

Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) is without a doubt one of the best open source and free e-commerce solutions (Magento Community). Its greatest strength? It natively integrates a large number of interesting features for both developers and customers.

Adobe Commerce is a complete solution for the development of an online store, but we often hear – and rightly so – that it is a rather “heavy” platform. Indeed, its colossal architecture contains many files. It is therefore recommended that you use a high-performance server, which is often more expensive.

Moreover, the custom development of an Adobe Commerce website requires the involvement of developers experienced with the platform. This is why it is strongly recommended to work with experts who have an Adobe Commerce certification.

Thus, for a store with many products (more than 100, even thousands), which requires a lot of management and customization, Adobe Commerce is a wise choice if you collaborate with an agency expert in the field.

The DIY of e-commerce: Shopify

Unlike the other platforms mentioned above, Shopify is not open source, but a SaaS for merchants. Indeed, they can build their store from a hundred themes offered.

Shopify offers its own online payment solution whose cost is derived from a percentage of completed transactions. For an additional fee, it is also possible to use an external payment service, such as PayPal, Paybox and WorldPay, each of which has its own advantages and fees.

This store can be customized within its administrator interface, but remains much less flexible than the solutions proposed above. Consequently, it is also a much less expensive solution.

Shopify is thus mainly intended for customers who understand the “limits” of the platform and want to develop a simple online store themselves.

The accessible WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the most popular solution for creating online stores when you have a WordPress site.

The WooCommerce extension can be added to your WordPress platform for free and can work as soon as the installation is completed. Want to take your new e-shop to the next level? Although the best of them are paid, this solution offers nearly 400 extensions to improve your performance. It is therefore possible to play the custumization card in a very acceptable way.

Obviously, it’s hard to compare this platform to Adobe Commerce in terms of “capabilities”, but it’s certainly one of the best options for many small and medium businesses.

Spree Commerce: the Ruby on rails alternative

Ruby on rails is a very scalable framework that is often chosen for its flexibility, dynamism, productivity and comprehensive tools. From this point of view, we would suggest matching this framework with the Spree Commerce e-commerce platform.

We use this e-commerce solution when we have to develop an online store with more complex or very specific needs. Installing gems on your Ruby on Rails application gives us great flexibility and allows us to plan a well-structured evolution of our online store needs.

We like this solution for its customization capabilities and for its solid structure. However, the learning curve is steeper for developers who are new to the Ruby language.

The choice of technology is a crucial moment in the development of a new e-commerce platform. However, we also believe that “choosing the right solution” is mostly about choosing the people you want to work with. For their expertise, their creativity, their listening skills, their human approach…