Get a future-ready eCommerce store for a competitive edge
If you are planning to build a website for your business, you are unlikely to build it yourself. What then if you are not doing so?
Hiring professionals for customization of an eCommerce website is the only viable option. For it, you need to know how to hire a professional for the service, so you get a website exactly in line with your business requirements, budget and on time.
Heads-Up:
Given the upside of an eCommerce website connecting with the worldwide market, it is unquestionably important to create a modern and state-of-the-art website that a professional and specialized development company can only deliver. But, how will you choose a development company out of hundreds of thousands of such companies? You should know that each of them has their differences and those differences are what you have to know before hiring an eCommerce website development company for your business.
Professional Service vs. Freelancing Service:
You are advised to not fall into the trap of hiring freelancers or acquaintances. Go for a specialized company having professional developers. The reason is that a freelancing service is viewed as a short-term benefit, focused on cutting initial costs, while taking service from a specialized and professional company is ideal for long-term projects that would require constant support, with items being constantly added and removed from the stocks of an eCommerce website, product prices being updated as-and-when required or introduction of deals and promotions from time-to-time.
In view of these requirements, you have to identify those who will be committed to help you with every aspect of your website at any time and on-call. That’s a service you can expect only from a professional, not from a freelancer, which is why it’s recommended to choose a professional and reputable eCommerce website development company with an established portfolio of clients.
Pertinent questions to ask before hiring an eCommerce website development company:
- How many projects have you completed successfully?
- How much would you charge?
- Which technologies do you work on?
- What is the payment policy that you follow?
- How much time will it take to complete the project?
- Do you continue to offer support and services even after the completion of website development?
- What are the eCommerce platforms that you use? And which platform will you use to develop my website?
- Which design should I prefer, a custom design or a template-based design?
Template-based Website Design:
For a start-up that needs only a simple online brochure or a small business that just wants a modest online presence, a pre-built or template-based website will be a great choice. These are also ideal for tight launch deadlines, limited content and smaller project scope and budget. Template-based websites are typically economical and faster to launch. Unlike their custom counterparts, templates are based on pre-existing layouts and include only basic functions, such as contact forms and social media links. That being said, some level of customization is still possible, including colors, fonts and graphics, only when they fit in the parameters of the given structure.
At Citytech, we have developed hundreds of responsive template-based websites on various popular CMS platforms. Those responsive sites can automatically adjust for optimal viewing on various mobile devices, including tablets and smartphones.
Custom-based Website Design:
A custom website is developed from scratch. Navigational structure or informational architecture, functions, graphics and administrative back-end of a website are designed on the basis of unique specifications of a business. If you have a well-established branding and business guideline that reflects who you are as a company, a custom solution is the best for you.
What is more, a custom eCommerce website allows for all of the bells and whistles to elevate a website beyond professional graphics. Integration of modern-age business functions and features like multi-vendor and drop-shipping features, analytics, SEO-functionality, etc. is possible when a website is customized. Customization can deliver business end-goals perfectly.
Which option will be better for my website?
Custom-design websites have numerous competitive advantages over template-based or generic websites. So, if you want to develop a website specific to your business needs and goals, you should look for a development company specializing in UI/UX design. The following are some tips to find out the right web development company for your business.
Whether it is a large corporate or a small business, each of them has to build its store on a strong foundation of a software platform. That being said, the choice of a suitable shopping cart platform is strongly recommended, because this is the turning point towards the success or failure of a project. Considering it, being familiar with the current eCommerce platform trends will surely be an advantage to opt-in for any, which has a long list of popular ones like Magento, nopCommerce, CS-Cart, OpenCart and so forth.
5 Simple Steps to Choose the Best eCommerce Development Company:
- List down your business requirements
- Research service providers – local as well as offshore
- Check out company’s service portfolio
- Look into testimonials
- Specify your budget
Steps Explained:
Make a list of your business requirements that you want to be included on the website. That’s why you need to consult a professional eCommerce developer who can guide you to the selection of a suitable shopping cart software.
In the research process, you can ask for references from your friends. You can also search for service providers online and compare their services by visiting their websites.
Checking the portfolio of clients of a service provider is a must. It is the first thing you should look for. So, check out the number of projects and the kind of niche they have served to make sure they can serve you as well.
Before you request quote or mail your requirements, make sure to view their testimonials. You can get an idea of what other customers think about the company and its work.
As regards to the budget, that needs to be fixed before getting in touch with any development company. Most reputable companies already have customized plans as fixed structure from which you have to choose one. Companies can also design a specific budget as per your project and service category. So, you should first check which category your project falls in and discuss your baseline budget freely at the very beginning. That will help them to inform you about the most viable development options according to your budget.
What do website development companies offer?
Every website development company specializes in a particular field of technology and solution, making it difficult for customers to search out a perfect company capable of delivering on their expectations and requirements fully. However, reputable eCommerce development companies have specialized teams for specific software and those teams can offer expert solutions and services based on the types of desirable business needs.
An Example of a professional web development service:
Let’s look at Blumeideal.de, a multistore online flower selling website for Germany, for an example of a customized eCommerce website developed on Magento 2.2 by Citytech. With data migrated from Magento 1.9x to Magento 2.x, the store got a custom-designed responsive theme implementation, customization of search process and an entire checkout flow process. With specific functionality requirements and an eye for design, a custom solution for the website was the logical choice by the client.
Final Thoughts:
While planning for an online business store, hiring a reliable eCommerce website development company is a must. Failing to do so might also fail your business prospects. So, get in touch with a professional and reputable eCommerce website development company for the best consultation and solution to give your business goal a shape.
Tell us about your requirements, we shall get back to you and offer free consultancy.