Custom e-Commerce vs Systems such as Shopify

In choosing an e-Commerce store for your business, there are ready web design solutions such as Shopify. Then, there are custom-built e-Commerce websites that are more dynamic and advantageous for most.

There are pros and cons to both approaches. I would like to hear them from your personal experience. Which one was better for you and why?

 

Custom:

Pro: You have total control over how the site works.
Con: You must either do all the programming yourself or hire it done.

Ready made:

Pro: Very little if any programming needed.
Con: You are limited in how your pages work, if they work at all.

 

Thanks. I was wondering about specific examples of hurdles with ready systems. I run a webdesign studio and my programmer is capable of setting up custom e-commerce. And I prefer to go this way, but I lost customers to Shopify and I would really like to know the cons. Of course I can Google that but nothing is better than someone's hands on experience.

 

I am old school and prefer custom solutions. One main issue with services such as Shopify, I have is the fact that if you decide that you don't like the solution or it is not working for you anymore, you are left with nothing. You cannot take your Shopify system to another host.

 

From my experience with e-commerce products, migrating to Shopify also requires developers' involvement. And sometimes it's even more problematic than building your own system from scratch. So if you have time and money to invest, I'd recommend going for a custom system. Also, I've heard that sometimes Shopify's support may be challenging to work with.

 

Not a developer myself, but I work in an IT company, so I communicate with devs and PMs daily (including discussing work-related issues\situations). And I understand that every case is different. That is why I am not claiming that Shopify is a bad solution, I'm just sharing some opinions\situations that I've heard from my colleagues.

 

I am not a programmer myself, but I am the owner of web design studio and have programmers working for me. So far I worked with WP + WooCommerce and custom solution for eCommerce. In both cases, especially the latter, I have full freedom of what can be done and I can host it on my own servers and move when necessary. Also my customers own these sites so they can take them if needed and work with another company. I see it as fair and flexible solution for everyone.

 

If you want something generic that can be built from a template then of course use a template such as (Shopify, Storbie, WooCommerce, etc)
Benefits are:
1> Cost: you can set up your website in a few hours using the template and the website looks good
2> Qualify: When you use platforms such as Shopify, they generally handle a lot of things for you, such as Payment, SEO, Terms and Conditions
3> Trust: Users would trust your payment gateway because its built using Shopify

So in short, if you want a generic website, it would be madness not to use these templates.

But what if you want to build something like ebay? Where people can both buy and sell? What if you want to build an e-commerce for a Goverment agency (to put their tenders on) which needs to integrate with their existing system with a lot of unique requirements? If you have these requirements then there are no templates... you would have to build it from scratch. It would take years of development to build such a system.

 

I need to find a Free Terms and Conditions Generator for my business, does anyone have any ideas?

 

What is your business? I got a T&C template for my e-commerce from Shopify.

 

Shopify gives access to their code files so they are actually can easily be modified. I edited their code (which in the core is based on HTML) to add/change functions I needed and stylize it to my preference, in addition to the customization available in the Shopify admin area.
Strong advantages of Shopify that they have built-in merchant system and good technical support, so for my business I consider it a good option.

 

It depends, if you are not that familiar with programming, then stick to a paid service.
But, if you know your way around a keyboard, then a custom platform is for you.
There are a lot of good scripts out there to get you started, then just make the changes as needed.

 

Shopify could be a better option if you are in hurry to make the site and if you don't have enough technical knowledge, as it offers some prebuilt templates that you can use for the store. On the contrary, custom e-commerce stores can give you more wide opportunities as you could customize each element on the site according to your wishes and needs, and they usually have better performances when it comes to loading speed, good UX, and general SEO. Their downfall is only the fact that they are usually a lot more expensive than Shopify as there you can use existing themes and here you need to create a new one.

 

I think it really depends on company’s needs and objectives for the future. If you have a large business or plan on expanding rapidly in the future, then custom solution would be a better option. If you feel like using a simpler, a more intuitive pre-packed Ecommerce system that is also cheaper - Shopify would do a good job then.

Even if you choose to go for already existing Ecommerce platform, but then realise that your needs have changed - you can either add different plugins / third-party integrations, or even adjust your e-store architecture to ease of your burden.

I’ve found some good info on website architectures in ecommerce here - https://grinteq.com/blog/ecommerce-site-architecture-monoliths-mach

 

One advantage of using a ready-made solution like Shopify is that it can be quick and easy to set up, and often requires little to no technical expertise. These platforms also typically offer a range of useful features and tools out of the box, such as payment gateway integrations, inventory management, and marketing tools.

On the other hand, custom-built e-Commerce websites offer greater flexibility and customization. Since they are built from scratch, you have complete control over the design and functionality of your site. This can be particularly useful if you have specific requirements or need to integrate with other systems. However, building a custom e-Commerce website can be more time-consuming and expensive, and may require a higher level of technical expertise.

Ultimately, the best approach will depend on your specific needs and resources. If you need a simple, easy-to-use solution with a wide range of features, a ready-made platform like Shopify might be the right choice. On the other hand, if you require a more complex or customized solution, a custom-built e-Commerce website may be a better fit.

 

In my opinion, the matter is your business development stage not the technical side, because no matter which one you will need to invest the technical cost when your business grows.

If your business just startups, Shopify can give you the speed to test the market quickly. When you understand your customers and business direction more, the choice depends on how complicate your system will be.

As Hooman Bahreini said, if there will be a lots needed to be integrated, custom one might be unavoided. However, if common features, such filters, chatbot etc. are enough for your business, why not just stay in Shopify.

So I think the technical decision depended on the business stage and complexity of e-commerce system design.

 

We highly value solutions such as wordpress and woocommerce. There are tons of free and paid plugins. This makes it possible to make a really good shop with the help of this software.

 

In ready-made e-commerce solutions, people have less control over customization & certain optimization-related things which you can solve in customized e-commerce solutions. On the other hand, ready-made solutions have everything prepared & can integrate a lot of things into it as we see in Shopify.

 

I chose to create my own OpenCart shop. I am mostly drop-shipping and also maintain a low amount of inventory. I am using the API resources of my supplier so I track inventory, however it is time consuming. I chose low investment solutions because it is an experiment and I wanted the experience with the OpenCart software. I like the control I have with my shop-- wired-shops [dot] com.

Q...

 

As a web developer, I've seen both sides of the coin. Shopify is dope for getting your store up quickly and cheaply, but you'll be limited to their templates and apps. A custom e-commerce site like the ones they make at Transform Agency can cost more upfront, but you get full control and flexibility over your site. Plus, you can make it look and work exactly how you want it to. It really comes down to your budget, timeline, and goals for your store. If you're just starting out and want something simple, go with Shopify. But if you're serious about your brand and want to stand out, consider investing in a custom e-commerce site.