Which CMS should you choose to power your e-commerce site in 2023? Should you opt for an open source e-business CMS or a Saas solution? Which e-commerce platform should you choose if you don't have your own digital skills (development and webmarketing)?
Whether it's launch an online store or make the e-shop migrationit's from Vannes and Nantes that Soledis web agency supports its e-commerce customers in their online sales development projects.
Through an exhaustive discovery of the most popular e-commerce platforms, our Soledis e-commerce experts will help you refine the choice of your future CMS according to :
- your e-commerce profile,
- your specifications,
- the volume of your online catalog,
- e-commerce requirements.
CMS: a key choice for your long-term digital and sales strategy
The CMS is a content management system that lets you design, manage and update a website using no-code development.
Your CMS (content management system) needs to be carefully selected to ensure that it is high-performance, durable, flexible and able to keep pace with changes in your business and sales strategy.
So, before making your choice, it's essential to analyze the features you'll need and the goals you want to achieve.
In a nutshell, you need to be strategic and forward-looking, so that you can size your platform according to your long-term ambitions and objectives. The CMS will be an invaluable ally in supporting the growth of your business, so it needs to be tailored to the market and the skills of its administrator.
To help you select the best tool for developing your online business, our project managers have been providing our customers with demanding, tailor-made support for 20 years.
We take the time to acquire a perfect understanding of the challenges of e-commerce, to support the growth of each e-commerce player, taking into account the needs and specificities of each business sector. The choice of CMS is a key factor in the success of a project and its adoption by the customer.
With the right CMS, you can easily create, manage and develop your online store, using intuitive, high-performance functionalities. We take a closer look at the competitive market for specialized e-commerce CMS.
Selling on the Internet in 2023 with a Shopify website
THE NO CODE E-COMMERCE MODEL
Shopify is the all-in-one SaaS solution for creating an SEO-optimized online store, in no time and with no technical skills required. With its 2 million global users by 2023This CMS, which originated in Canada and has been in development since 2006, is one of the market leaders. Its strength lies in its optimal support, enabling companies of all sizes to design and manage tailor-made e-commerce sites on a daily basis, on PC or mobile.
THE SHOPIFY E-COMMERCE EXPERIENCE: SIMPLICITY & EFFICIENCY
A benchmark CMS, Shopify offers an intuitive, ergonomic interface that enables all e-businesses to create, configure and administer your e-commerce site with this flexible, easy-to-use platform. No programming knowledge is required to manipulate its publishing system, thanks to modern, optimized templates that guide the creation process and offer simplified, multi-channel management (web, mobile, social networks, marketplaces), thanks to a highly structured back-office. The user experience (UX) is also enhanced, with an intuitive interface, fast loading times and optimal referencing.
A COMPREHENSIVE APP STORE
Visit store Shopify offers features to enrich the user experience and propel the growth of an online sales business:
- international order and delivery management
- droshipping management
- page editor
- chat and live shopping, etc.
Its catalog includes extensions such as: Facebook Channel (sales developer on Facebook and Instagram), Loox (customer review collection), Fancy FAQ (free FAQ creator), Yoast (tool for improving natural referencing), Shopify Inbox (chat app), Shopify Email (free emailing solution), and more.
THE SHOPIFY ADVANTAGE - the accessibility and reliability of scalable proprietary software for a high-performance e-shop.
LAUNCH YOUR E-BUSINESS PROJECT WITH SHOPIFY
- Shopify is a secure Saas solution specializing in online commerce and dropshipping.
- Design of Shopify website mobile first
- Accessible interface and easy management
- Proprietary model with Shopify hostingincluding domain name registration, updates and maintenance,
- Innovative, high-performance modules (over 7,000 free and pay applications)
- Online payment options (credit card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, Stripes, Apple Pay)
- Assistance and technical support available in French via chat, e-mail and telephone 24/7
- 14-day free trial, then paid subscription
ADVICE by SOLEDIS - Calling on the services of a Shopify web agency allows you to make the most of the software's performance, whether for a new e-business project or a platform migration.
Set up your online store with Prestashop
THE FRENCHIEST OF CMS
With some 300,000 active e-commerce sites, the PrestaShop open source platform has proven its worth. This CMS offers customizable support, particularly well-suited to the needs of SMEs. This e-commerce solution, developed in France since 2007, offers a wide range of functionalities. Its customized tools and plugins have the advantage of being developed by its worldwide ecosystem of contributors.
Last but not least, Prestashop's add-on modules enable you to customize your website to suit the needs and characteristics of each business sector, whatever the size of your online catalog.
PRESTASHOP SITE, QUALITY DEVELOPMENT 100 % FRENCH
PrestaShop boasts 50,000 active e-commerce sites in France. This CMS makes it possible to design high-performance online stores, at low cost and with great freedom of configuration. Its native e-commerce functionalities enable the tool to respond to the specificities and requirements of online commerce, including inventory tracking, simplified product catalog management, transaction security and optimization, and the ability to launch promotional operations.
Please note that PrestaShop applies no transaction fees to online sales. Nevertheless, additional expenses are unavoidable: the open source software makes subscription to web hosting compulsory, and certain modules are necessary for the proper functioning of your Prestashop website.
4,000 PRESTASHOP MODULES TO GET YOUR E-SHOP OFF THE GROUND
To boost conversion rates and improve the functionality of a PrestaShop websiteThe CMS offers applications to optimize the online purchasing tunnel.
In this way, you can shape your e-commerce and personalize the user experience with plugins for data tracking, advertising campaigns, online payment, etc.
THE PRESTASHOP ADVANTAGE - the open source solution for everyone.
POWER YOUR ONLINE STORE WITH PRESTASHOP
- PrestaShop is the French open source CMS and free e-commerce and droshipping solutions
- 2,500 free and paid templates and over 4,000 optimized modules are available on the PrestaShop catalog.
- Responsive design and international optimization (multilingual and multicurrency options)
- Numerous secure online payment options (cb, PayPal, Amazon Pay, Stripes, Hipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.).
- An open source CMS with an active and dynamic community that contributes to maintaining performance and constantly improving the software.
- High-quality customer support, available by phone in French
As part of our support service, we offer our customers a selection of Prestashop modules tested and approved by our team. Some are optional, depending on the customer's business and e-commerce ambitions, but others are essential for optimized use of Prestashop. As a PrestaShop Expert***, it's our duty to provide our customers with these kinds of precise, relevant recommendations.
The popular WordPress offers WooCommerce
FOR YOUR ONLINE SALES
Popular and intuitive, this WordPress extension lets you create an e-commerce site from scratch, or transform a WordPress site into an online store. WooCommerce adapts to the needs and development of your business, offering a multitude of customizable configurations.
THE WORDPRESS EXPERIENCE FOR WOOCOMMERCE
Conditional on the use of a WordPress site, this plugin allows you to convert a WordPress website into an online store. 5 million Woocommerce e-commerce sites are now available, a success due in part to the worldwide reputation of WordPress, but above all to the complete configuration and easy day-to-day management of their platform.
GO FURTHER WITH WOOCOMMERCE ADDONS
Created in 2011, WooCommerce boasts a wide ecosystem of features and plugins. This makes it a complete and effective tool, whatever the sector of your future online store:
- Product catalog management
- Secure online payment options
- Marketing with tracking of key indicators
- Delivery and billing management, etc.
The catalog of applications includes: WooCommerce PDF Invoices & Packing Slips (PDF invoice editor), YITH WooCommerce Whishlist (whislist editor), Tidio (live chat), WooCommerce Multilingual (automatic translation and addition of currencies)...
THE WOOCOMMERCE ADVANTAGE - The extension benefits from the SEO advantages of the WordPress ecosystem, designed natively for editorial use.
WooCommerce is the ideal solution for small-scale e-business projects, or for those requiring a lot of content pages or blog posts to boost SEO.
BRING YOUR E-COMMERCE PROJECTS TO LIFE WITH WOOCOMMERCE
- WooCommerce is the free WordPress extensionoffering e-commerce and droshipping solutions
- Intuitive back-office administration, also available as a mobile application
- Reliable solution for e-shop SEO
- Catalog of free and paid plugins
- Configuration of secure online payment methods (credit card, check, bank transfer, Square, Stripe, amaon Pay, Pay Plug ,PayPal, etc.).
- Support via WordPress forums
CONSEIL by SOLEDIS - For more advanced development of a WooCommerce e-shop, development skills are required. A web agency specialized in WooCommerce will support the evolution of your e-shop, ensuring the link with the tools essential to your growth (ERP, PIM, CRM, etc.).
Alternative CMS Magento & Sylius
Built for volume in the e-commerce race
Magento is a renowned open source PHP online CMS, and Sylius a framework specialized in e-commerce. These two alternatives have carved out a place for themselves on the market, and offer relevant solutions for the design of online stores, particularly high-volume ones.
The special feature of these CMS is their more complex back-office, which requires a solid base of digital knowledge to refine their development. Specialized in large-scale projects, these software packages offer advanced catalog management for your online store.
BUILDING AN E-COMMERCE SITE WITH MAGENTO OR SYLIUS
- Free open source software for e-commerce
- Access to free and paid extensions
- Requires development experience
- Modular architecture
- Comprehensive but complex back office
- High level of safety
International e-commerce
THE CASE OF MULTILINGUAL SITES
From increasing visibility to boosting sales, multilingual sites have become essential for developing the potential of e-commerce players.
In response to this need, the CMS offer a multilingual compatibility. Thus, your e-shop is available in several single-site translations, such as Shopify multilingual website or multisite with separate, individually managed domains.
55 % of users prefer to shop online in their own language.
In addition to language, each country has its own specific browsing habits, UX and e-commerce codes. A multilingual e-shop allows you to translate your content according to the visitor's location, thus considerably increasing your organic traffic and sales. The main headings for multilingual personalization are as follows:
- Language and SEO
- Currencies
- Deliveries (rates and lead times)
MULTILINGUAL E-COMMERCE WITH WOOCOMMERCE & PRESTASHOP
The promise of applications available to Multilingual e-commerce CMS is simple: translate instantly, easily and with no need for coding.
Your existing content and future additions are automatically translated by connecting a translation plugin to your platform.
WOOCOMMERCE & PRESTASHOP, both open source, are well equipped to position you on a wide range of global markets. Multilingual extensions and dedicated plugins let you make your e-shop active in several languages. Intuitive, fast handling that opens up your e-business to international markets.
YOUR INTERNATIONAL SHOPIFY STORE
Shopify SaaS offers multilingual management of your e-shop, without the need for coding. Expansion into international markets is made possible by applications that enable automatic and instantaneous translation of your editorial content.
Whatever your CMS, Soledis experts can help you choose the right module and implement it efficiently.
Open source software vs. proprietary software.
What's the difference between open source CMS and SaaS?
CHOOSING AN OPEN SOURCE CMS
Open source CMS solutions, such as PrestaShop, WooCommerce or Magento correspond to software for which the source code is available free of charge. At the heart of this model: continuous development, performance enhancement and updates that are the subject of constant consultation between developers and users.
These CMSs require no investment or subscription fees, and are designed to be easy to use with a minimum of digital and technical knowledge.
PrestaShop, for example, offers tutorial sessions and online courses for perfecting or developing skills.
The fact that it's free doesn't mean it's for free, because to bring your e-commerce project to fruition, you'll need solid development skills, a hosting provider and a maintenance solution. That's why these CMS often require a certified agency like Soledis.
SaaS OPTION
Software as a Service (SaaS), such as Shopifyare download-free and developed directly by a supplier.
Hosting of your e-commerce site is covered by a monthly subscription fee. The major advantage of this model lies in the accessibility and ease of use of the software, which requires no technical skills.
Updates, maintenance and functionality are automated. The downside is the lack of flexibility and transparency. You don't control where your website is hosted, and you can't intervene in the code yourself in the event of a bug. So you need to have full confidence in the infrastructure and support teams of the company selling you this solution.
Billing your CMS
Managing your e-commerce site's budget
SHOPIFY SAAS SUBSCRIPTION
SaaS service Shopify e-commerceproposes a model in the form of amonthly subscriptioncorrelated to the services included. This type of CMS recovers a commission (between 0.5 % and 2 %) on sales made through the online store.
- CLARITY ON SHOPIFY RATES - 3 Shopify subscription packages, from basic to advanced, all include hosting, updating and maintenance of an online store.
THE OPEN SOURCE SOLUTION, A FREE BASE AND ADDITIONAL COSTS
Installing open source software is free of charge. However, it is essential to take into account the costs of site development and maintenance, as well as the purchase and configuration of modules.
These platforms offer a tailor-made solution when technical functions are available in-house, or when this task is outsourced in its entirety to a specialized e-commerce agency.
- ANCILLARY COSTS - Hosting costs, domain name, maintenance, updates and new features.
The role of a web agency in choosing a CMS
Choosing a Shopify, Prestashop or WooCommerce certified agency
The support of an external partner, specialized in e-commerce and open source development, will offer a solution tailored to your needs, to help your online business grow.
THE ADVANTAGES OF A PARTNER E-COMMERCE WEB AGENCY
- Developing a professional e-commerce website
- Fine-tune your online sales strategy
- Optimize management of your e-shop
- Train and coach your teams on a daily basis
- Benefit from a more responsive support team than that of a CMS
- Secure and anticipate changes to your platform
Keep in mind that the integration of your software needs to be the subject of a detailed examination upstream, of your needs and the possibilities offered on the CMS market.
This choice is crucial to the health and future of your online business. Between user experience, security and referencing, the CMS contains all your data and determines the quality of your digital presence.
With over 20 years' experience, Groupe Soledis brings its e-commerce expertise to the construction of your online store project, through the choice of the most appropriate CMS (PrestaShop Shopify, WooCommerce...), its integration to build your e-shop and then the training and support of your teams for autonomous administration of your online sales activity.
We'll do everything in our power to provide you with an e-commerce site that's operational, functional and designed for success. Together, we'll explore ways of boosting your site's performance and ensuring the ongoing growth of your e-business.
