The Striking Differences Between Hosted and Self Hosted eCommerce Platforms
Online retailers will pull in a combined (and staggering) $3 trillion in revenues in the year 2020. With so much money on the line, many businesses are attempting to grow their income by building eCommerce websites to target online shoppers. If you’re planning on launching your own store, it’s important that you use a platform that’s best suited for your business since the very beginning. That way, you will avoid high migration costs later.
Hosted and Self Hosted eCommerce Platforms
Hosted eCommerce platforms let you use their servers for a monthly fee. All you have to do is customise your site and upload your products, and you’re ready to sell. Examples of this include Shopify and Wix. Self-hosted platforms, on the other hand, allow you to build your eCommerce store on any server of your choice. Examples include Magento and WooCommerce for WordPress.
Major Differences Between the Two
• Advanced Features: Personal hosting solutions like Magento are open source allow you to integrate hundreds of advanced features into them. Solutions like Wix have a limited number of plugins, so it limits what your store can do.
• The Cost to Setup: It’s much cheaper to use a hosted platform if you want to build a small store. On the other hand, if you want a large store, you’ll be better off with a self-hosted platform.
• Customization: Self-hosted platforms are extremely customizable. Their counterparts have a limited level of customization.
• Coding Knowledge: You need a great deal of coding knowledge to build and run an effective e-commerce store on a server. Many companies that offer to host your store, on the other hand, let you create shops with drag-and-drop tools.
• SEO Friendliness: Personal hosting solutions like Magento, provided you know what you are doing, let you build very search engine friendly stores. Solutions like Wix are not as search engine friendly as Magento, but they still get the job done.
• Updates: If you’re going to host something personally, then you will have to update it manually – updates are important from a security standpoint. When you pay a monthly hosting pee, your online site will get auto-updated.
So which one should you pick for your business? That will depend on your requirements, your budget, and where you want to be in the future. We suggest that you consult with our experienced e-commerce development team for an expert recommendation.
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