Real Benefits of Readymade eCommerce Solutions over Custom Development?

Written by ankush-mahajan | Published 2019/08/31
Tech Story Tags: readymade-ecommerce-solutions | readymade-ecommerce-platform | ecommerce | ecommerce-features | hiring-and-team-management | manage-post-launch | swift-deployment

TLDR A ready-to-use eCommerce solution saves time, energy and efforts made towards building an eCommerce platform and mobile app. A readymade solution can be termed as a white label solution that needs to be customized according to a business model, industry and is ready to be deployed within hours and not months. Readymade platforms are designed in a way that the apps and websites can be handled easily by anyone. This way, a startup can quickly start its online operations without relying on the development team.via the TL;DR App

Building a startup from scratch is tough in a dynamic online world. The pain of creating something from scratch is completely understandable and sometimes so hard to bear for early-stage eCommerce startups. Without deep pockets, it is hard for startups to invest in custom web & mobile app development and that’s making startups shift towards ready-to-use eCommerce solutions.
A lot of entrepreneurs, despite having a stellar business model, interesting product portfolio and a great team fail due to lack of a mobile app or eCommerce platform. A readymade eCommerce solution prepares a startup to launch its eCommerce operation quickly.
What is a Ready-to-use eCommerce solution?
A ready-to-use eCommerce solution saves time, energy and efforts made towards building an eCommerce platform and mobile app. A readymade solution can be termed as a white label solution that needs to be customized according to a business model, industry and is ready to be deployed within hours and not months.
A turnkey solution can help startups in a wide range of industries to launch their eCommerce store and mobile app without investing dedicatedly towards custom development & following the growth hacking path.
Benefits of Readymade eCommerce Solution
1. Built-in Useful eCommerce Features
Most of the readymade eCommerce platforms are designed to help startups launch their operations quickly. Hence, the apps and websites they roll out are already equipped with all the essential features of a modern eCommerce platform.
Shopping carts, payment gateway integration, product filters, coupon and offers, marketing tools, etc. are already embedded in readymade eCommerce platforms.
2. Affordability & Ease
Startup entrepreneurs who choose readymade solutions over custom development save thousands of dollars over the years. Custom mobile app and eCommerce website development is a costly endeavor.
By choosing to utilize a readymade platform, a startup entrepreneur doesn’t have to think about investment and at the same time can easily adopt an omnichannel approach.
For example, with Shopify, you can start your dream online store at just $9 (Lite Plan). However, this plan doesn't permit you to create a fully-featured online store.
3. Eliminates Hiring & Team Management Hassles
One of the biggest problems any startup faces is associated with scouting, hiring and retaining top development talent. Mostly, early-stage startups are short of resources, making them unattractive for expert developers.
Even when they choose to outsource their development tasks, they constantly face the problem of team management and driving development endeavors according to their goals.
A readymade solution saves an entrepreneur from all these hassles by providing a ready-to-use solution that doesn’t require any technical resource. This way, a startup can quickly start its online operations without relying on the development team.
4. Easy to Manage Post Launch
Readymade platforms are designed in a way that the apps and websites can be handled easily by anyone. Throughout the entire deployment process, there is a minimal requirement of a technically proficient resource to handle the operations.
Even after the launch, all the aspects can be handled easily from a single dashboard that generally comes with the solution. This means a non-tech founder of a startup can even manage the entire store and mobile app without any help.
5. Swift deployment and launch
With a readymade solution, startups can quickly launch their platforms without wasting too much time in perfecting the right features for their store and mobile app. A readymade eCommerce solution like Quick eSelling can accelerate the pace of launch by allowing startups to launch a full-featured eCommerce store and mobile app within 10 minutes without writing a single line of code.
The platform does not offer hybrid and progressive web apps in any of its plans.
6. Highly Customizable & Scalable Solutions
Readymade solutions are built to portray high levels of scalability and personalization. Startups can use the in-built features to customize their eCommerce store as well as mobile app. Also, these solutions support several hundred products at a time and have the ability to add more products on-the-go. This means that startups can scale up their operations without worrying about the potential of such solutions.
Also, the eCommerce brands powered by readymade solutions are hosted on high-end backend servers and infrastructure. Thus, this makes scalability easier even for startups in the early phases as the number of customers and orders increase.
7. Free Trials & Demos
eCommerce brands can try out free demos offered by readymade solution providers to see if it fits their brand proposition and business model. This is generally not the case with developers who build things from scratch.
Startups need validation at every point. And with free trials and demos of a platform’s capabilities, they can make better business decisions and plan for future growth, efficiently. Also, entrepreneurs can read case studies and success stories of brands already using a solution to get a genuine idea about the capabilities of the turnkey eCommerce solution.
Final Word
The eCommerce industry is becoming increasingly competitive with each passing day. In such a scenario, one cannot rely on custom development completely. Changing customer preferences, innovative business models and fast-moving products require a swift solution that is easy to manage and quick to deploy. A readymade eCommerce solution fits right in the modern eCommerce equation making it useful for early-stage startups and eCommerce brands looking to disrupt the industry.
Disclaimer: I have a vested interest in Quick eSelling platform and I help them with my consultation. However, I would suggest you to do your own research before making a final decision. I don't have any vested interest in other mentioned solutions.

Written by ankush-mahajan | A senior digital marketer and ecommerce marketing. analyst.
Published by HackerNoon on 2019/08/31