Custom eCommerce Platforms

What can custom eCommerce platforms offer? Customising an eCommerce platform to suit your own business needs and identify can enhance functionality, improve user experience and align the platform with your brand. Discover why eCommerce customisation has helped hundreds of Aussie enterprise businesses grow and evolve.

Effective eCommerce approaches and tools

The best approach to eCommerce involves a combination of strategies that focus on customer experience, technology, and marketing. Here are key elements to consider:

  • Understand your target market: conduct market research to identify your target audience, their needs, preferences, and purchasing behaviour. Tailor your offerings and marketing strategies accordingly.
  • User-friendly website: ensure your website is easy to navigate, mobile-responsive, and visually appealing. A seamless shopping experience is critical, with clear product categories, filters, and a simple checkout process.
  • Quality product descriptions and images: Use high-quality images and detailed product descriptions to build trust and help customers make informed decisions. Consider including customer reviews and testimonials.
  • Reliable payment Options: offer a variety of secure payment methods to cater to different customer preferences. Consider options like credit cards, digital wallets, and buy-now-pay-later services.
  • Customer support: provide excellent customer service through various channels such as chat, email, and phone support. Quick, helpful responses can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
  • Effective marketing strategies: utilise digital marketing strategies like SEO, content marketing, social media, and email campaigns to reach and engage your audience. Consider using paid advertising to boost visibility.
  • Personalisation: implement personalised marketing tactics based on user behaviour, such as recommendations, targeted emails, and personalised landing pages. This can enhance the customer experience and increase conversion rates.
  • Analyse and optimise: regularly analyse website performance and sales data using analytics tools. Identify trends, such as customer drop-off points, and continuously optimise your website and marketing efforts based on these insights.
  • Leverage social proof: it’s possible to use user-generated content, reviews, and social media mentions to build trust and credibility. Potential customers are more likely to purchase if they see others have had positive experiences.

 

 

 

Customising your eCommerce platform

A customised eCommerce platform not only stands out but also caters to the unique needs of your customers, ultimately improving awareness, market position and brand loyalty. Here’s our top ten tips for customising your eCommerce platform:

  1. Use themes and templates: most platforms provide a variety of themes and templates. Choose one that aligns with your brand, and customise colours, fonts and layouts to create a unique look and feel for your store.
  2. Custom branding: incorporate your brand’s logo, colour palette and imagery throughout the site. Ensure that all marketing materials, product packaging, and website elements reflect your brand identity.
  3. Personalise user experience: use data analytics to understand customer behaviour and preferences. Implement personalised features, such as product recommendations, tailored content, and loyalty programs, to enhance the shopping experience.
  4. Enhance product pages: customise product pages with detailed descriptions, high-quality images, videos, and customer reviews. You can also provide features like size charts, comparison tools and even augmented reality views for a better look at the product.
  5. Integrate third-party tools: use integrations for payment gateways, inventory management, shipping, analytics, and marketing tools. This can extend the capabilities of your eCommerce platform and improve efficiency.
  6. Custom functionality: if needed, work with a developer to create custom features such as unique checkout processes, subscription models or specialised filtering options. Make sure these features align with customer needs
  7. Optimise for SEO: customise your website’s SEO settings, including meta titles, descriptions, and URL structures. This will improve your search engine visibility and attract more organic traffic.
  8. Mobile optimisation: ensure that your eCommerce site is fully responsive and optimised for mobile devices. Customising the mobile experience can significantly enhance user engagement and conversion rates.
  9. A/B testing: conduct A/B testing on various elements of your website, such as CTAs, layouts and color schemes. This data-driven approach helps identify what resonates best with your audience and can guide your customisation efforts.
  10. Regular updates and maintenance: continually update your site with the latest features and design trends. Regularly maintain and optimise performance to ensure a smooth user experience.

What a customisable eCommerce platform should offer

The eCommerce landscape is constantly changing; but there are certain elements you can’t go past. When considering your options for eCommerce, check these capabilities first:

  • Pricing, transaction fees, and trials - many online retailers begin their journey with limited budgets, making cost a crucial factor in their purchasing decisions. Ideally, a wide range of free eCommerce platforms would be available. However, most platforms charge monthly or annual fees, and those that market themselves as free typically take a percentage of your sales transactions. While most eCommerce platforms require payment, many provide a free trial period, allowing you to evaluate the features and functionality before making a long-term commitment.
  • Users and permissions - Will you be operating solo, or do you plan to involve team members in managing your eCommerce platform? Even if you start as a one-person business, it’s wise to consider future growth and whether you might expand your team. Most platforms enable you to add users or link multiple accounts to a single online store, though this feature might be limited to higher-tier plans. It's also important to assess the flexibility of user permissions. As the business owner, you’ll want comprehensive access to every facet of your eCommerce platform, but you may wish to restrict certain permissions for other users. For instance, someone in a marketing role might need the ability to upload images or revise product descriptions, but you may want to keep financial reports private from them.
  • SEO Tools and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - is crucial for boosting your website’s visibility on platforms like Google or Bing, helping you reach your target audience, increase traffic, and ultimately drive revenue. As organic search is a vital marketing channel for online retailers, it’s essential to prioritise the optimisation of your eCommerce store. Therefore, selecting a platform that offers built-in tools for refining your website’s content and structure, as well as monitoring performance, can empower you to make informed, data-driven decisions.
  • Payment integrations - to sell online, you'll need a reliable way to accept payments. It's vital to consider whether your eCommerce platform supports various merchant services and online checkout solutions. Additionally, think about the potential for integration with in-person point-of-sale (POS) systems, which can streamline data sharing across different channels and enhance your understanding of sales and customer interactions.
  • Customer support - when faced with issues related to payments, new features, or subscription inquiries, how would you prefer to receive assistance? Some people favour email communication, while others may prefer phone support. It’s important to evaluate whether the eCommerce platform offers customer support in a manner that suits your preferences. Also, consider the availability and hours of support. If you require assistance, would you prefer access during local business hours, or would you like to know that help is available around the clock?

Cost of eCommerce customisations

The cost of eCommerce customisations can vary significantly based on several factors, including the complexity of the customisations, the platform you are using, and whether you hire a freelancer, an agency, or handle it in-house. Here are some key considerations to help you determine a budget:

  • Platform type: different eCommerce platforms (like Shopify, WooCommerce or Magento) have varying levels of customisation capability. Some may require more extensive development work than others, leading to different cost structures.
  • Type of customisation: basic customisations will include simple changes such as theme adjustments or minor feature additions may range from $500 to $2,000. More moderate customisations include adding specific functionality like custom checkout processes and integrations with third-party software could cost between $2,000 and $10,000. Advanced customisation involves more complex changes, such as building custom applications or significant overhauls of the site, could range from $10,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on the scope and requirements.
  • Freelancers vs. agencies: hiring a freelancer might be more cost-effective than working with an agency. Freelancers typically charge between $100 and $300 per hour, while agencies may charge anywhere from $200 to $500 per hour, depending on their expertise and the services offered.
  • Ongoing costs: remember to budget for ongoing maintenance and updates. Regular improvements, security patches, and platform updates can add ongoing costs.
  • Timeframe: customisations can take time. Be prepared for the potential costs associated with project management and coordination, especially if you are hiring external help.
  • Training and support: don’t forget to account for any training or support you may need after the customisations are implemented. This might include creating documentation or training your team on new features.

Pimcore as eCommerce solution

By implementing Product Information Management for eCommerce, sellers gain an integrated and user-friendly tool that greatly enhances conversion rates, reduces costs, and offers comprehensive support for promotional efforts. Pimcore is an outstanding eCommerce solution that can bring meaning to your data and enhance the online trading experience for customers.

Pimcore ensures that customers enjoy a seamless shopping experience, access always-up-to-date product information and benefit from an improved user experience.

As Pimcore Silver Partners, our specialists stay on top of emerging trends and are ready to advise you about the latest Pimcore tools and strategies that can optimise and grow their businesses. As a result, we excel in supporting businesses with fast-evolving areas like eCommerce.

Related questions

How to choose a custom eCommerce provider?

It pays to get expert help if you want to improve your eCommerce profile. Before you choose a provider though, spend some time clearly defining your needs and a clear view of how you want to grow and improve, even if you don’t quite know how you will get there. Gathering multiple quotes and assessing case studies or portfolios can also ensure you find a skilled partner that fits your budget. Sometimes it’s not all about the cost though. Pick a partner you trust and who you feel understands your business and your goals.

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