How to Choose the Right Platform for Your Website or Online Store

Platform choice matters less than content quality. Focus on what customers see, not technical specs. Modern solutions are comparable for small businesses.

Hey marketer! 👋🏻

In today’s newsletter, I want to focus on a question that many beginning entrepreneurs struggle with - “Which platform should I use (or have someone build) my website or online store on?” And how important is this decision really?

The Technical Foundation Matters Less Than You Think

For a typical business website, blog, or small e-commerce store, the technical platform is, I dare say, secondary today. All modern platforms now offer sufficient, comparable functionality for standard needs (responsive, fast, secure, optimized, easy to manage). The good news is that in these cases, you really can’t make a wrong choice.

You can go with what you know or what suits you in terms of user experience and pricing. And focus primarily on making your website content-rich, attractive, and interesting.

For a typical smaller online store, systems like Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace Commerce, or BigCommerce are at a very similar level. They all offer modern design, responsiveness, basic marketing tools, and integration with payment gateways and shipping carriers.

The platform your website or online store runs on becomes important mainly when:

You’re running a high-performance website or store with thousands of daily visitors.

You need specific features or integrations with other systems.

You’re planning significant growth or expansion in the future.

And that’s when it pays to think from the start about where you’re actually headed.

Looking Into the Future 🔮

It’s good to think from the beginning about whether the chosen system can grow with your business. Today you might only need a simple website, but what about in a year or two? Will you want to add an online store? Multiple language versions? A blog? A booking system?

All systems have different capabilities and limitations. So it’s good to ask yourself upfront: “What will I need in a few years when I grow and become successful?”

With boxed (rented) solutions, it’s wise to find out at the beginning what information can be exported for potential transfer elsewhere. For e-commerce stores, for example, it shouldn’t be a problem to export customer information, order history, tax documents, or product information. This is data you’ll definitely want to have even after potentially closing the store or migrating elsewhere.

Own or Rent? 💰

Aside from custom programming (which makes sense for larger projects with very specific requirements), there are two ownership models: renting a boxed solution (it works as long as you pay) and self-hosting an open source solution.

Rented solutions (Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, BigCommerce...) bring these advantages:

• Almost zero maintenance required - updates are handled by the provider

• Quick deployment - you don’t have to deal with hosting or installation, you essentially start creating content right away

• Predictable costs - fixed monthly payment

• Technical support included

The disadvantage is continuous payment and sometimes limited customization options. But you can immediately “click together” a website or online store yourself or have an experienced professional help you with creation.

Open source solutions (WordPress, WooCommerce, PrestaShop...) offer:

• Freedom of customization and complete ownership

• One-time initial investment (then just hosting)

• Unlimited development possibilities

But they often require more complex initial setup, ongoing maintenance, updates - often collaboration with an expert. Due to the nature of open source as global projects, they may often lack some important functionalities that need to be custom-programmed (which isn’t cheap) or purchased as plugins with often annual fees (e.g., cookies, multilingual support, invoicing, etc.).

When It’s Worth Consulting an Expert 💬

If you’re planning to invest significant resources into a website or online store, it may be worth paying for a consultation with an expert. They can assess:

• The feasibility of your requirements

• The suitability of different platforms for your specific case

• Potential complications and limitations

• Long-term sustainability and scalability of the solution

Such a consultation might cost you a few hundred dollars, but it can save you thousands when you won’t have to migrate to another platform after a year.

For example, when choosing an e-commerce solution, I’d recommend looking into Facebook groups or forums of users of various platforms and getting a picture of people’s satisfaction and the topics they’re dealing with.

Then contact one of the verified partners of the given platform and consult your plan with them.

After Choosing a Platform, Focus Mainly on Content Creation and Development 📝

To sum it up - for a typical business website or smaller online store, you can’t go wrong with almost any modern solution. Instead of overanalyzing the technical foundation, focus on quality content, clear structure, and polished appearance.

The most expensive and modern platform won’t help you if the customer can’t find what they’re looking for on the website, or can’t navigate it. Invest your time and energy into what the customer actually sees and evaluates, rather than finding the best solution. Resist the urge to change platforms every time you come across something new and instead add some interesting and useful content.

Plus, the customer doesn’t care at all whether your online store was built on a shoestring, whether it’s a professional custom solution, or a simple boxed solution. They came to find information or make a purchase - they care about clarity, speed, comprehensibility, and a simple process.

Your customer will never say: “Wow, this website runs on WordPress, I have to shop here!” Just as no one will leave saying: “Too bad it’s not on Shopify, otherwise I would have ordered something.”

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People evaluate what they see and how the website works for them - meaning content, layout, design, and overall impression. They have their needs they came to fulfill.

Do you agree? I’d love to hear your opinion. Email me or comment below the article.

Jan Barborik

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