Dilemma: Building an e-commerce site with a ready-made template or developing a special design?
When you decide to build your ecommerce site, start evaluating many aspects. Not only sound education but his alertness and dedication too are most required. All of these are not easy issues to resolve.
Businesses that sell their products online are extremely diverse. This type of trade is penetrating almost every business sector. However, each sector has its own characteristics, for example the e-commerce site of a mall is quite different from that of a mobile store. The transition of trade from traditional, ie direct customer-seller relationship in a store, to the electronic one through various online sales platforms, has put traders in front of a dilemma. Usually during the development of their e-commerce platform they have to choose whether to develop a ready-made template platform or to develop a specially designed platform.
Until recently, a self-created e-commerce site was relatively much more preferred. But with the coronavirus pandemic and the need to adapt very quickly to the new reality, things changed. Using ready-made designs was seen as a fairly efficient way of passing sales from the online store. However, the two options are different in processes, functions and results.
Design and Flexibility
With a ready-made template for your e-commerce site you do not need to imagine what your site will look like when it is finished. Your doubts about whether the company you have chosen has understood your requirements or not, and whether your website will be as real as you imagined, end when you use a ready-made template. In short, what you see is exactly what you get.
However ready-made models can be customized according to your requirements by changing colors, images and text. You can choose a template that you like from its appearance and the feeling it conveys to you, and customize it according to your needs. This is a very efficient practice for corporations, shopping malls or large clothing stores which can create their own identity but without losing the functionality of the site and the efficiency of their business.
Also, even for a store that is transforming and starting to apply online sales, using a ready-made design can be a solution. A ready-made template creates space for modification and adaptation according to your requirements, however your e-commerce site is not exclusive and unique for you and your brand. Developing a unique design from a UX / UI is not only comparable to the look your e-commerce site takes but also the feeling it conveys to the user. Freedom of choice and functionality really help create a unique e-commerce site and add value to your brand. Investing in the design of your website, not just online sales, is also an investment in your brand presence in the market which translates into more sales and profits for your business.This was what we had in mind when we worked withSKosmetics . After discussing the business model and the image that Sara wanted to convey to her clients we offered her a personalized and long-term solution for her business.
And here we come to another important point, flexibility. An e-commerce site with a ready-made template answers a good part of your needs, but not all. Flexibility in the online sales industry is its most essential aspect and losing it means hindering the growth of your business. Consequently, an e-commerce site designed by a professional UX / UI is many times better than a ready-made template purchase, as it allows you to be quite flexible in the changes and adaptations you can make to the site. your future as a result of changes in your business.
Speed
Time is money and the speed of building an online sales page greatly affects the profits of your business. A site made especially for you will take a long time until you are able to have it functional. Depending on its complexity, it can take months to complete. While adapting and modifying a ready-made template you will have your e-commerce site in record time. Our experience with the Spar supermarket chain showed just that. In a record time of seven days TOK Digital helped Sparin to become the first supermarket in Albania to implement e-commerce in the market, giving it an advantage over the competition in their field.
PRICE
Normally we can not leave without mentioning the price. A ready-made e-commerce site costs you many times less than a site built specifically for you from start to finish. However, businesses need to think about the long-term and their growth. Normally the questions that arise are; will the business model change in the future? Will you increase the range of products you offer? How will the functionality and presence of your site change as you increase your workload? The moment will come when you will be forced to review the processes and model of your business, and consequently of your site. And when this moment comes, the adaptation of your site which you have bought ready will not meet your requirements.Most likely you will be forced to develop a design from scratch which should meet your new needs.
At the end of the day the choice to create an e-commerce site with a ready-made template or to create a site from scratch, of course, is up to you. It all depends on the volume and process of your business, the sector in which you operate, the functionality, and even the design you want to have for your site. Every business wants to have a unique online identity, but on the other hand, also functionality. Choosing a platform to build your ideal e-commerce site is difficult and sometimes costly. But our last suggestion is; carefully choose the agency that will help you in this important project. It is important that the agency and the people you work with understand your needs and requirements as well as what you need in the online sales development phase of your business.TOK Digital Agency will help you build the strategy, manage the processes and develop a successful e-commerce business according to your needs.
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