Established ecommerce business - new platform advice

[bergebabe]

hi there

i run a fairly successful ecommerce business which has been trading purely online since 2006.

our current site was bespoke and built in 2009. we are in dire need of an overhaul as our back end in particular is severely lacking in features compared to modern platforms. we find the cost of keeping up to date is high due to the bespoke system.

this is why we have decided on a complete rebuild and i am swaying towards using an SAAS platform to ensure our site is constantly gaining the newest tech and features. the problem i am finding is that they seem to either be targeting very small start up kind of arrangements or large corporates!! there doesnt seem to be a solution that matches the size (and busget) of our business!!

does anyone have any advice on a good SAAS platform? i have looked at the likes of ekmpowershop and bigcommerce but am worried that they are not suited to a more established business like us (maybe they are i just dont know). i really dont want to lose our natural google rankings for example.

the likes of venda are just too expensive and i dont really want a solution that charges on sales levels.

we have about 45k visits per month, 350k page views - no clue what bandwidth usage!!

any advice much appreciated, im finding the whole thing a minefield!!

 

[Faevilangel]

SAAS is more suited towards new and smaller shops IMHO, as once a shop gets to a certain level the owners decide on new platforms.

You would ideally be looking at an opensource / commercial software which is regularly updated e.g. Magento, Opencart, Prestashop, actinic etc.

The software will be updated on a regular basis but also be flexible for your needs, with custom designs and functionality.

 

[Greg Black]

Venda did introduce a light version about 3 years ago, though I'm not sure what happened to it.

Have you looked at Magento Go? It is the product that most sounds like it would fit your profile - SAAS / mid size business.

 

[edmondscommerce]

I certainly wouldn't advise Magento Go for an already established ecommerce business.

For a start up it is a great way to get a Magento store up and running with very little outlay and it offers a fairly clear path towards your own Magento store as you get more established.

You mention back end features - what features do you require exactly?

 

[bergebabe]

thank you both for your replies.

i have just found magento go thanks to the poster above - i was taking another look at magento but think the suitable package is too costly for us.

magento go looks perfect - i am just about to contact some linked designers.

does anyone have any experience with it?

 

[bergebabe]

also i know its a little bit of a "how long is a piece of string" kinda question. but based on the figrues given above could anyone give a rough idea of what our bandwidth and storage requirements would be? I have no clue how to find out this info without asking current developers - i dont really want to rock the boat just yet!

 

[bergebabe]

sorry only saw your response after posting edmonds.

i dont think we are looking for anything out of the ordinary. we sell womens fashion so need to manage stock, categories, and customer info.

at present we dont have much control over front end changes such as images and static pages which means every change costs. i know most modern systems allow you to change images and text pages in the back end.

better analytics, more ability to target customers with offers etc.

we were looking at site makers too but the initial outlay is very high.

 

[bargainmania]

All of the open source (free) carts will allow you the same front end changes and
would also work out less expensive from a design point of view if you look at the likes of Zencart and Opencart

Ali

 

[j600com]

As an established retailer you need to be very careful that your not going to be taking a backwards step. Ask LOTS of questions before switching and if at all possible go visit potential new providers too.

Sometimes it may appear something like Magento is a forward step, but in the wrong hands it's a switch that could actually set you back. Moving to a new platform is as much about the people and support you're moving to as it is the actual platform.

Also make sure you go to someone who has done similar sized migration in the past. I've seen redesigns go horribly wrong when the new company hasn't been aware of things like 301 redirects (something which many will insist on).

 

[phnx123]

sorry only saw your response after posting edmonds.

i dont think we are looking for anything out of the ordinary. we sell womens fashion so need to manage stock, categories, and customer info.

at present we dont have much control over front end changes such as images and static pages which means every change costs. i know most modern systems allow you to change images and text pages in the back end.

better analytics, more ability to target customers with offers etc.

we were looking at site makers too but the initial outlay is very high.

Have you thought of using Ecwid.com. They are cloud based cart (powered by Amazon and you wouldn't have to worry about bandwidth and hosting for the cart itself, and you could host it within a basic html site. Also allows you to insert the shop on your Facebook FanPage.

While they do a free version they also have a pro one for a monthly fee. It's not suitable for all businesses (pizza no good as the multiple choices aren't quite enough) but for a clothes store it should be fine.

 

[ownage]

I'd say Shopify or BigCommerce. Shopify is definitely better on the graphics side but havn't tried their management panel

 

[Esk247]

Remember not to just delete your old website and put the new website up though Remember that you risk having all your page titles changed unless you know how to move across to a new platform safely, taking all of your data and content with you on the same web page addresses and titles.

Magento, Opencart, Prestashop in that order really.

Magento is power hungry but expandable and has a range of themes and modules that can be bolted on as you expand. You will need a more dedicated host otherwise it will be slow and lag but that shouldn't cost more than a couple of hundred a year for the one website.

 

[mrsmcy]

We were an established online retailer and changed to big commerce (after looking at nearly all the other platforms mentioned). We haven't lost our google ranking and used the platform to do our 301directs with no drop in traffic. For us it's been the best move. We have ranked #1 for some keywords which before were not on page 1. We needed a few specialised features which bigcommerce offered as standard which combined with price sold it for us. Private message me if you want to see our site and send us your URL if you like.

 

[Ali-v-8]

open cart - even in its plain form looks good. there are hundres of fshion themes floating around - pm m and i will send you a popular example.
you can adapt easily. any one can use it.