There are many good ecommerce solutions available on the internet today. Dozens of companies offer various types of hosted ecommerce solutions, some sell shopping cart software, and still others just provide “click-to-buy” buttons. With so many options, choosing the ecommerce solution that is right for your online business can be a difficult task. Here’s a few questions to ask yourself when shopping for a new ecommerce solution for your business.

Do I Need a Shopping Cart?

Virtually every brick-and-mortar retail business can take advantage of ecommerce. Selling online is a multi-billion dollar component of the economy, and chances are that your competition is already selling online. In order to compete, most businesses will need to offer their products online at some point in the future in order to stay competitive.

Almost every type of business can benefit from having some type of shopping cart for their website. Even if your business is service-orienated, you can still cater to your cliental by offering gift certificates and gift cards online. Ultimately, it is your decision whether or not you need to enter the online marketplace.

How Many Products Will I Sell Online?

Determining the number of products you will be offering to sell on your new ecommerce website is crucial in determining the best option for your business. Ecommerce websites can vary in size from super-etailers like Wal-Mart down to home based businesses.

If you plan on only selling a handful of products, then click-to-buy buttons available from PayPal or Google are probably your best option. These buttons don’t require any back-end shopping cart software to run on your website and they are relatively inexpensive to use.

If you’re going to be selling hundreds or even thousands of products online, then you’re better off with some type of shopping cart software. The more products you offer for sale online, the more daunting the task will be to manage your ecommerce website.

Should I Use eBay?

Another cost-effective method of becoming an online retailer is to post your wares through an online auction site like eBay. The huge marketing draw of eBay can be very hard to pass up. Thousand of potential consumers visit eBay every day, and that means that you will have a greater chance to sell your products. At the same time, you’ll have to aggressively compete with other eBay retailers that may be selling the same or similar products. The customization options available through eBay are also somewhat limited and you restricted in how you conduct your business on eBay. Still, if you’re looking for something simple, eBay may potentially be a good choice for your online business.

Should I Use a Hosted E-Commerce Solution?

If you’re looking for simplicity, a hosted ecommerce solution may be right for your business. There are many companies that offer pre-built shopping cart solutions hosted on their own servers. They benefit from that fact that the back-end workings of the shopping cart software isn’t a concern when you’re running your online business. They handle all of the shopping cart technology, provide tools to help you market your business, provide the hosting for your website, and sometimes incorporate shipping options and credit card processing.

Hosted ecommerce solutions provide an all-in-one package that is appealing to many etailers. The prices for these services can sometimes vary greatly depending upon the number of products you will be posting and the requirements you demand from their servers. But be aware, some hosted ecommerce solutions severely limit your capability to develop a true custom ecommerce website.

Should I Host My Own Shopping Cart?

Hosting your own shopping cart software has a major advantage over the other options already discussed – the ability to control and customize the shopper’s experience. A custom ecommerce website can set your business apart from your competition. The disavantages include that you will have to provide the hosting, you will be responsible for website security, and that sometimes shopping cart software requires a high learning curve in order to operate successfully. Even with all of these disadvantages, many etailers choose this option since they are not bound to per-transaction fees and limited on how their website will look.

There are dozens of good shopping carts available today, both paid and free programs. Each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, so it will be up to you to decide which shopping cart program best suits the needs of your online business.