1. Importance of Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce is growing exponentially in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries, as shown by the Third Study of Non- Presential Transactions presented by the Chamber of Electronic Commerce, which showed an increase of 64% in just one year, which represents USD $ 16,329 million in 49 million transactions through electronic i need a uk phone number . This is equivalent to 4.08% of the country’s GDP.These figures demonstrate the maturity of electronic commerce and its viability for business, it is for this reason that many large, medium and small companies are making the leap to commerce platforms, but what is the indicated CMS to make an electronic store?2. Online store platformsEvery day it is easier to create a virtual store, the platforms offer hundreds of customization options that allow you to create unique stores that accommodate all budgets. You no longer need to be an engineer, just have a good idea, do some research and put a lot of enthusiasm into the project.Currently there are many platforms, in this article we are going to analyze the 3 most important ones that are currently setting the trend in the creation of virtual stores. 2.1. Magento featuresMagento is the world leader in electronic commerce, it was created in 2008 in the United States and bought by eBay in 2010, this guaranteed economic and technological support. It has two versions, a free one called Community and a paid version known as Entrepise. It is the most robust platform of the 3, by this we mean that it has more configuration options, therefore, it is the most difficult to use and that is why the learning process is a little slower. One of the biggest differences is that you need a dedicated server, this implies a higher technological cost.
PrestaShop was also born in 2008, but in France, due to this it is the leading platform in several European countries, including Spain. It handles a free version and it also has many configuration options, but its use is very intuitive so it is easy to use. One of the great advantages is that it contains a large Spanish-speaking community which allows many queries to be made and problems resolved easily.Some additional features are:We can incorporate new functionalities in a simple way.Supports more than 40 languages and almost all types of currency.Allows to use SSL and different user roles with different.Catalog mode.Attributes in products in a simple way. Colors, sizes….Product finder.Product comparator.Users can place an order without registering.2.3. WooCommerce FeaturesFinally, there is WooCommerce that, as we have said, is not a platform, but a plugin that is installed in WordPress. It was created in the United States in 2011 and purchased in 2015 by Automattic, a WordPress developer company. Although it has few configuration options, it is compatible with other Plugins which allows it to be used more widely.Some additional features are:Options to offer free shipping or flat rate shipping.
onfigure tax settings with tax classes and local tax rates. UK Phone Number List campaigns (discount options, usage limits, product / user restrictions, etc.).Built as a WordPress plugin and available from your site’s wp-admin.It incorporates the necessary SEO fields for search engine positioning.3. Popularity of ecommerce platformsto Google Trends, Magento is above the other two, but we see a rapid growth of WooCommerce, which suggests that in the coming years it will take the lead in e-commerce issues.But in Colombia PrestaShop has a small advantage, this is due to the community that exists in Spanish on this platform. But it is also evident that WooCommerce is the one that has the most tendency to grow and has almost equaled the other two.
Popularity is very important to take into account when choosing which platform to use, as this serves to measure the effectiveness and support that we can seek at a certain time. WooCommerce is gaining in popularity both in the world and in Colombia, this is due to its integration with WordPress, which is one of the most used platforms worldwide to create websites, and it is very easy to use and does not require large technical support. .Now we are going to compare each platform according to its installation, functionality and extensions.4. Comparison of e-shop platforms4.1. Installation of ecommerce platformsThe 3 platforms are Open source, this means that they are open source and can be downloaded and installed for free, what is recommended is to buy a suitable template, depending on the type of business. It should be noted that Magento has a paid version that has a cost of US $ 15,500 per year and allows personalized advice with the product developers.PrestaShop and Magento have a multi-step installation process, which in most cases is preferable to be done by an engineer, the complete opposite of WooCommerce which is installed like any other WordPress plugin. The Magento process is longer because it has many more configuration options which makes it slower in this step. In this case Woocommerce has the upper hand in the installation process.4.2. E-Commerce CMS functionalityIt depends on the size of the store, more configuration options will be needed to better show the stock of products, in this sense Magento and Prestashop have the advantage, since they already have many options configured for the store by default, such as:
4.3. Extensions of the programs to create online storesHaving new tools is essential when the virtual store begins to grow and new needs arise. PrestaShop has a large community and experts who are constantly creating new modules, but most are paid, otherwise with Magento and WooCommerce that have hundreds of extensions that can be used for free. In the available extensions WooCommerce has a small advantage , because being integrated into WordPress it has many more options that are easy to use and install4.4. Payment methods for electronic store platformRegarding the payment method, the three platforms are easily integrated with all portals and gateways and are constantly updating the shopping cart, which means that there is no significant difference between the different ecommerce platforms .5. Conclusion: Which ecommerce platform to use?5.1. Use WooCommerce if you are a starting entrepreneur or your store is simpleFor entrepreneurs who are just starting out or who already have a WordPress website, the best option is to install the WooCommerce Plugin and start with the virtual store, the great advantage is that they do not need programmers and the same Web Master can do all the development . Another plus point is that they do not need to buy a new server or change the current template.5.2. Use PrestaShop if you want to start a store from scratch with many productsut if you are going to create a store from scratch with a very large stock of products with many variables, perhaps the best option is PrestaShop, as it allows you to have a more extensive configuration and better inventory maintenance.5.3. Use Magento for large virtual storesMagento is recommended for large virtual stores, since the installation cost is higher, but it is the most robust platform and supports a large number of products, in addition, its configuration is more extensive and no detail is missed at the time of sale .I hope that this guide will help you decide the most convenient platform for your electronic store project and that you have managed to identify the main differences that each of the platforms has to create an e-commerce.
