WOOCOMMERCE 2022: ITS BENEFITS AND DOWNSIDES TO CONSIDER

Publish date:25/10/2022
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Jennifer Diep Content Writer
WOOCOMMERCE 2022: ITS BENEFITS AND DOWNSIDES TO CONSIDER

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As eCommerce becomes a new trend that encourages a slew of brands to enter the market, selecting the right eCommerce platform to build a successful eCommerce website becomes critical. While Shopify is the most popular SaaS platform, Magento is the top choice in the open-source platform, and the WooCommerce plugin has won the trust of many brands due to its outstanding features and ease of use.

What is WooCommerce?

woocommerce 2022 its benefits and downsides to consider
What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that allows brands to set up an eCommerce website by adding eCommerce functionality to an existing WordPress site. This plugin can transform a regular WordPress website into an eCommerce website with all the necessary features and easy customization with just a few clicks.

The benefits of using WooCommerce 

woocommerce 2022 its benefits and downsides to consider
The benefits of using WooCommerce

It’s free to get started

Price is an essential factor to think about when selecting a platform for implementing eCommerce. Popular platforms on the market today have prices ranging from free to several thousand dollars per year, making it even more prominent and preferred by businesses because this plugin is entirely free to download and install.

As a result, any business can benefit from its features without committing to costly support contracts or software licenses.

The flexibility of the open-source platform 

It is an open-source plugin built on the WordPress CMS that gives users complete control and allows them to easily customize their eCommerce website to their specific needs. WooCommerce, in addition to being suitable for a variety of businesses serving different customer segments, also provides long-term scalability, giving businesses of all sizes more flexibility in deploying eCommerce.

Integration with WordPress

The seamless integration between WooCommerce and WordPress brings many benefits to this plugin because of the availability of the large WordPress community throughout the years. WooCommerce can take advantage of the platform’s massive ecosystem of plugins, themes, guides, and other unique features.

Yoast SEO, for example, has long been a well-liked plugin with numerous international translations, ease of use, and advanced SEO support. Since WooCommerce integrates with WordPress, Yoast SEO also integrates with WooCommerce.

Especially when a business has a website on the WordPress platform and needs to turn it into an eCommerce website, WooCommerce will make it easy and seamless, so users do not have to start over with a brand new platform.

Providing qualified-standard content management 

Content Marketing is the key to an effective eCommerce website. If businesses are looking for an eCommerce platform built on the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), WooCommerce can fulfill that expectation.

When the WooCommerce plugin is integrated into WordPress, many content management options, including Blogs, Landing Pages, Product Descriptions, Email Marketing, and SEO plugins (Yoast WooCommerce SEO), will help sellers optimize content for search.

Providing in-depth analytics

Integrated analytics is another advantage of the plugin because the more you learn about customers and how they interact with your eCommerce website, the more you can adjust to meet customer expectations. For example, businesses can use sales data to learn about customers, thereby establishing a customer persona to increase sales in the future.

Furthermore, it provides a comprehensive WooCommerce analyzer displayed in a clean and user-friendly interface. Businesses can then easily integrate WooCommerce with third-party analytics services such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and others.

The downsides of using WooCommerce 

woocommerce 2022 its benefits and downsides to consider
The downsides of using WooCommerce

Technical maintenance support

When using this plugin, the user is responsible for keeping the eCommerce website up-to-date, accessible, and functional. In fact, there is some support from the hosting company and the WooCommerce community, but it does not allow users to simply call for technical assistance.

Plugins will notify users of security updates, but users must install and handle problems themselves. In fact, hosting companies will support this. Still, users need to have a bit of technical knowledge to facilitate the process of supporting related issues to avoid affecting the performance of the eCommerce website.

This disadvantage stems directly from the fact that businesses have complete control over the eCommerce website system’s source code and data. Maximum authority entails maximum accountability. Although businesses continue to receive support for WooCommerce issues, compared to other eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, etc., WooCommerce still has many shortcomings in the technical maintenance support process.

Speed and Security 

With the constant increase in unauthorized access (Website Hacking), website speed and security are more critical than ever. Speed and security are significant advantages for SaaS platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce. At that point, your eCommerce website is housed in the infrastructure of these platforms, and a team of technical experts will continuously monitor and resolve any issues that arise to keep the website running smoothly.

Similar to a technical maintenance situation, WooCommerce essentially leaves the user responsible for the speed and security of the website despite the wide range of 3rd party support options.

Although speed and security are not an issue for some new businesses deploying eCommerce websites, this is still a significant drawback of this plugin when businesses are responsible for many issues ranging from technical maintenance to website speed and security, especially if the eCommerce site is on the verge of rapidly growing from hundreds to thousands of hits.

Growth and Scalability  

Because it is a WordPress plugin, it will operate in accordance with WordPress functions. Meanwhile, WordPress functionality is not explicitly designed for eCommerce but rather is based on the flexibility of open-source code. This means that when a user exceeds a certain query threshold, the way WooCommerce works is broken.

For example, when a large number of shopping carts are added, or checkout occurs at the same time, or when too many users visit the website simultaneously, overload occurs, making the operation of the eCommerce website difficult. This is difficult because the WordPress system and the WooCommerce plugin are no longer compatible. 

If your eCommerce website is still small and growing, this is not a problem; problems can still be quickly resolved. However, as the size of your website expands and grows rapidly, this is a disadvantage in terms of both performance and cost that businesses must consider before proceeding.

In a nutshell, WooCommerce is a fantastic plugin that many businesses would love to choose when deploying an eCommerce website. However, besides the outstanding advantages, there are still certain downsides, so businesses must carefully consider and compare with other platforms before starting out. 

With many years of experience implementing eCommerce in many countries, SECOMM provides free consulting services with professional eCommerce solutions.

Contact us today for free support and advice!

Ready to Maximize Your eCommerce Potential? Let's talk

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1 comment

  1. Sophia Brown says:

    Hello, hope you are doing well. Read your blog, your blog has some of the very important point that one need to know about woocommerce. While reading different blog, I have noted some other features that can be unique to know for other readers. Check out them below:
    1. Easy migration.
    2. Detailed reporting and insights.
    3. Multi-vendor marketplace.
    4. Geo-location support.
    5. Wholesale and B2B features.
    So these where some of the feature of Woocommerce according to me that one need to keep in mind.

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Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
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Over the past decade, Magento has solidified its position as one of the leading eCommerce platforms in the market. With its robust capabilities, the platform serves not only B2C businesses but is also a popular choice for enterprises.

By combining Magento’s strength with the specific requirements of B2B Commerce, you can leverage this platform’s powerful benefits. In the following part of the article, let’s explore 10 reasons why Magento is the ideal choice for deploying this great business model.

What is B2B Commerce?

Business-to-business commerce (B2B Commerce) refers to the buying and selling of goods or services between businesses rather than between a business and end consumers (B2C). In the B2B environment, transactions often occur on a large scale and involve large orders, long-term contracts, and strategic partnerships.

This business model has distinct characteristics and requirements compared to B2C Commerce. In the B2B world, businesses typically have more complex demands regarding product management, order management, customer management, and compatibility with enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and other systems.

Additionally, the business model often requires features such as order confirmation, complex payment processes, batch ordering, and wholesale pricing. For B2B enterprises, choosing a suitable eCommerce platform is crucial to ensuring business efficiency and delivering the best user experience for their partners and customers.

What is Magento?

Magento is a powerful and flexible eCommerce platform developed by Magento Inc., a subsidiary of Adobe. Launched in 2008, it quickly became one of the top choices for you looking to build and operate professional online stores.

It allows you to create custom eCommerce websites. This platform provides a range of features, including product management, order management, payment integration, customer management, and many others, enabling you to easily manage and operate your online stores efficiently.

It is built on open-source code, meaning that you can access and customize the platform’s source code based on specific technical requirements.

Ten reasons why you should choose Magento for B2B Commerce

Reason 1: Customization and scalability

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Customization & Scalability

Magento’s open-source platform characteristic enables businesses to easily and effectively expand their business scale. This is particularly important as businesses grow and must enhance the system’s scalability.

Additionally, the platform provides high customization capabilities, allowing businesses to adjust to their specific business needs flexibly. This also means that the shopping experience can be customized to become unique and tailored to the target customers.

Reason 2: The Comprehensive B2B platform

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Reason 2

In addition to offering built-in Magento B2B features, the platform allows businesses to seamlessly and quickly integrate with many third-party applications and systems, thereby creating a comprehensive and automated eCommerce system. Some integrated systems may include:

  • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems
  • Product Information Management (PIM) systems
  • Point of Sale (POS) systems, and so on.

Reason 3: Order management

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Order management

Magento provides a variety of order management features, from creating and editing orders to tracking and processing orders efficiently. This helps B2B businesses easily monitor and manage their orders accurately and consistently.

Additionally, it offers tools and features that allow tracking and analysing their orders’ performance. From generating overview reports to tracking order history and purchasing trends, the eCommerce model deployed, you can better understand your activities and make informed strategic decisions.

Reason 4: Payment and shipping options

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Payment & shipping options

Implementing Magento B2B allows you to offer more payment methods to customers, from online payments through electronic payment gateways to cash on delivery (COD).

Additionally, you can integrate various payment gateways through Magento, such as PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.Net, and many more. This ensures security and convenience in the payment process for both businesses and customers.

Reason 5: Segmentation

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Segmentation

Magento B2B provides features and tools to implement customer segmentation strategies effectively. Among these, the most notable is the Advanced Reporting feature, which provides a dashboard for tracking and analyzing sales data.

With this feature, businesses can segment customers and customize experiences based on web browsing behavior, purchase history, and various other criteria.

Reason 6: Custom user roles and permissions

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Custom user roles

Customizing user roles and permissions is an important part of optimizing the B2B purchasing process. This feature allows B2B customers to create multiple accounts with different contact details for purchasing, ordering, quoting, negotiating, and payment. Additionally, Magento B2B allows sellers to create and assign admin accounts to manage specific customers.

Reason 7: Manage pricing through shared catalogs

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Manage pricing

In B2B Commerce, Magento helps manage quotations through shared catalogs, which effectively provides product information and prices to B2B partners and customers. These catalogs can be created based on criteria such as product type, product group, or other suitable business needs.

Within each shared catalog, administrators can define prices and special conditions for each product or product group. This helps create customized quotations that meet the specific requirements of each customer.

Reason 8: Advanced inventory management

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Advanced inventory management

Inventory management is a challenging task for businesses implementing B2B Commerce. The eCommerce platform provides advanced features to effectively manage and control your inventory levels. These features allow administrators to track inventory quantities and forecast future inventory needs.

Additionally, Magento B2B helps manage special types of inventory such as damaged goods, special inventory items, or batch inventory.

Reason 9: Enhanced security

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Enhanced security

Security is an important issue when building and developing online stores in general. Magento provides many advanced features to help B2B businesses to secure their eCommerce systems. Among these, PCI Compliance, 2FA, WAF, DDoS protection, and preventing CSRF and XSS attacks are notable.

Reason 10: Technical support

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Magento for B2B Commerce
Technical support

Technical support plays a crucial role in maintaining and operating an efficient online store. Magento provides tools and support services to help users address technical issues and optimize the performance of their eCommerce websites.

This includes expert support via phone, email, or online. Additionally, Magento has a large and vibrant community of developers, experts, and end-users. You can search and ask questions on the forum to receive assistance from the community.

Build your first Magento B2B site today!

In the context of the increasingly developing and fiercely competitive eCommerce market, using a powerful eCommerce platform is extremely important to ensure the success. With its unique features and superior flexibility, Magento has proven to be a top choice for building and developing B2B stores.

Need more deep advice? Contact SECOMM or call (+84)28 7108 9908 now!

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The 6 Crucial Steps To Upgrade to Shopify Plus Effectively
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Upgrading to Shopify Plus is a strategic decision for growing ecommerce enterprises. Many merchants have encountered the challenges and opportunities this upgrade brings along their journey.

From optimizing business performance to expanding operations globally, upgrading to Shopify Plus isn’t just a technical step but also an opportunity to transform ecommerce activities into a springboard for market breakthroughs.

In this article, let’s explore the steps to upgrade to Shopify Plus and some critical considerations.

What is Shopify Plus?

This is the premium version of the Shopify platform, specially designed to meet the needs of large and rapidly growing ecommerce businesses. With Shopify Plus, you can experience many powerful features and services that help optimize operations, expand scale, and enhance customer experiences.

One notable aspect of Shopify Plus is its flexibility and ease of customization. You can leverage features such as multi-store management, integration with ERP and CRM systems, creating multilingual and multi-channel websites, as well as adjusting interfaces and features according to your specific needs.

In particular, Shopify Plus provides a secure and easily scalable infrastructure that is capable of handling large volumes of traffic and online transactions robustly. With Plus, you can ensure that your website operates smoothly and seamlessly, even during peak shopping seasons.

Why upgrade to the Shopify Plus plan?

Upgrading from the standard versions of the Shopify platform to the Plus version is a significant milestone in the transformation of ecommerce businesses. Below are eight benefits and also eight main reasons driving businesses to undergo the transition:

The 6 Crucial Steps To Upgrade to Shopify Plus Effectively
Why upgrade to Shopify Plus?

Enhanced customization & scalability

Shopify Plus offers a range of powerful features and tools to customize and expand ecommerce websites flexibly and efficiently. These include customizing checkout pages, personalizing customer experiences, and customizing product displays.

Additionally, you can utilize some exclusive solutions, such as LaunchPad, Shopify Scripts, and Shopify Functions, to customize shopping experiences and automate sales processes.

Increased bandwidth and staff accounts

High traffic volumes will require a large amount of bandwidth to maintain a stable website. Shopify Plus allows you to access unlimited bandwidth, 200TB of storage, and unlimited staff accounts to handle large transaction volumes efficiently.

Optimized transaction costs

Upgrading to Shopify Plus can help optimize transaction costs. If you use Shopify Payments, transaction fees are the lowest in all Shopify pricing plans but will be customized based on geographical regions. Conversely, Plus merchants must pay 0.2% per transaction for security and compliance costs.

Deploy Headless Commerce

In the Plus version, you’ll be provided with tools and solutions to build a Headless ecommerce website. Through the Hydrogen + Oxygen solution, you can leverage the power of Headless architecture to create more customized and flexible customer experiences.

Deploy B2B Commerce

Shopify Plus provides features and tools to expand your B2B operations. The recent Shopify Editions Winter ’24 update introduced new features to optimize B2B Commerce activities.

From Headless B2B and advanced order management to integrated payment systems and unique features for B2B customers, Shopify Plus helps you streamline your operations and enhance customer relationships.

Expand international sales

With Shopify Plus’s multilingual and multi-channel capabilities, you can efficiently expand your operations to international markets. Shopify Plus provides tools and features to customize websites according to each market’s needs, from handling currencies to managing orders and shipping.

Ultilize POS Pro

The Plus merchants can utilize the exclusive POS Pro system for free. With advanced features, POS Pro allows seamless integration of multi-channel sales operations into the website, enables unlimited staff account access, and provides professional retail reports. This helps enhance customers’ shopping experience and optimize your offline and online sales activities.

Advanced customer support

When upgrading, you can expect more in-depth customer support services, especially in terms of consultation and technical support by a team of experts. Through hotlines, emails, and live chat, you can access the 24/7 support team.

Additionally, to help clients better understand this platform, Shopify offers a free learning program called Shopify Plus Academy. There, you can access detailed tutorials on setting up stores, customizing store interfaces, and much more.

When to upgrade to the Shopify Plus plan?

You currently on one of Shopify’s standard pricing plans may consider upgrading to Shopify Plus under the following circumstances:

  • Monthly revenue exceeds $800,000 with over 100 transactions per minute. In such cases, a more robust system is needed to handle high traffic volumes without compromising user experience, and to effectively manage and optimize business performance.
  • Expanding sales to international markets requires flexibility in managing multilingual, multi-currency, and region-specific inventory.
  • Desire to harness the advantages of Headless Commerce architecture to enhance user experience and achieve deeper customization of user interface and technical infrastructure.

What to prepare before upgrading to Shopify Plus?

Before deciding to upgrade to Shopify Plus, there are four important steps that businesses need to take to ensure a smooth and effective upgrade process:

The 6 Crucial Steps To Upgrade to Shopify Plus Effectively
What to prepare before upgrading?

Define business goals

Firstly, you have to clarify your needs and wants. This includes evaluating the current and future growth of the business, as well as the necessary features to meet specific needs.

Prepare the data and Infrastructure

Next, you’ll need to prepare data and technical infrastructure for the transition process. This may involve backing up current data, checking the compatibility of current applications and features, as well as ensuring that the technical infrastructure is robust enough to satisfy your requirements.

Define features and tools in need

Finally, you’ll identify the specific features and services you desire from Plus. This may include considering features such as multi-store management, integration with ERP and CRM systems, multi-language and multi-currency support, as well as special features like deploying Headless Commerce and accessing POS Pro systems.

Set up a Shopify Plus store

Setting up a Plus store will differ from deploying previous standard pricing plans. Plus usage fees start from $2,300 per month, and this price isn’t fixed but customized based on each case’s specific needs. Therefore, you’ll need to contact the Shopify Plus team for advice. When collaborating with a Shopify Plus agency, the developer will work with the platform to provide a specific pricing quote.

The six-step process to upgrade to Shopify Plus

Below are six specific steps for the entire process of upgrading your ecommerce website system from a lower version to Shopify Plus:

The 6 Crucial Steps To Upgrade to Shopify Plus Effectively
The six-steps process to upgrade to Shopify Plus

Step 1: Partner with a professional Shopify Plus agency

The first and most important step is collaborating with experienced teams specialising in Shopify Plus to optimize the upgrade process and post-operation, especially concerning costs.

To select a suitable Shopify Plus development partner, you should consider previous Shopify Plus projects they have completed, how they identify and solve problems in each project, and feedback from previous clients regarding those projects.

Step 2: Evaluate and plan

The next step is equally important as it determines the effectiveness of the conversion and future operations. You and your development partners need to clarify business goals, identify necessary features and data to be transferred, and develop a specific deployment schedule based on these goals.

You’ll also need to ensure data backup and updates are safely conducted to avoid data loss during the conversion process.

Step 3: Execute deployment

After assessment and planning, proceed with upgrading to Shopify Plus. The development partner will set up and configure new features, migrate data from the old platform to the new one, and test compatibility to ensure the website operates smoothly.

Step 4: Test and adjust

After deployment, test and adjust the Shopify Plus website to ensure all features and functions work correctly. The development partner’s QA/QC team will collaborate with you to check the quality of the website experience as actual end-users and correct any issues that arise.

Step 5: Golive

Once testing is complete, the new ecommerce website will be launched into the market, and promotional campaigns will be deployed to attract initial traffic and orders.

Step 6: Train staff

Finally, employees should be trained to use and manage the new website on the Shopify Plus platform. You’ll provide detailed instructions on new features and how to use them to optimize the performance. Additionally, since Plus has unlimited staff accounts, personnel allocation should be reasonable and planned accordingly.

The Final Words

While upgrading to Shopify Plus can be complex, it significantly benefits business growth. From high flexibility and customization to scalability and deep customer service, Shopify Plus is the perfect choice for expansion.

Various insights and a systematic 6-step deployment process make the upgrade process more manageable. However, to increase efficiency and maintain the stability of the new website, businesses need a professional development partner to accompany them.

Contact SECOMM or call us at (+84)28 7108 9908 to plan your deployment today!

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Compare Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud
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Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud are two leading platforms chosen by large enterprises worldwide to build eCommerce websites. Each platform has its advantages, from the flexibility and user-friendliness of Shopify Plus to the comprehensive solutions offered by SFCC. 

Understanding each system’s differences and strengths is crucial before deciding between these two platforms. Let’s explore and compare the capabilities of Shopify Plus and SFCC in detail to make the most suitable decision.

Read more: Shopify Plus vs Advanced: Which one is right for you?

What is Shopify Plus?

Shopify Plus is a premium scalable platform version tailor-made for large enterprises. Launched in 2014, It rapidly emerged as the preferred option for those seeking efficient and adaptable expansion of their online operations. Unlike a fixed pricing model, Shopify Plus is customized according to specific deployment needs.

 

Compare Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Shopify Plus

Pros of Shopify Plus

  • User-friendly interface: The user-friendly interface of Shopify Plus allows you to quickly set up online stores with just a few simple steps
  • High customization and scalability: You can customize many aspects of the eCommerce website, integrate apps, and expand bandwidth to handle large transaction volumes. However, effective customization requires high technical skills.
  • Support for Headless Commerce deployment: Plus provides many tools and features that enable businesses to deploy Headless Commerce effectively. Businesses can build custom Headless eCommerce websites through the Hydrogen solution to deliver a unique customer experience. 
  • Shopify B2B: With exclusive solutions, businesses can quickly build B2B eCommerce systems with a simple customer experience similar to B2C systems. 
  • Shopify POS: The integrated Shopify POS Pro tool allows Plus merchants to create seamless online and offline shopping experiences. 
  • Bán hàng quốc tế: The integrated Shopify Market Pro tool allows Plus merchants to expand operations to global markets and explore new opportunities.
Compare Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Pros of Shopify Plus

What is Salesforce Commerce Cloud?

Salesforce Commerce Cloud (formerly known as Demandware) is a robust cloud-based eCommerce platform built on Salesforce’s infrastructure, one of the world’s largest CRM software companies.

SFCC provides a comprehensive system for operating online stores, from building and deploying shopping websites to managing orders, marketing, and customer service. With robust integration capabilities and intelligent analytics tools, SFCC helps businesses create unique online shopping experiences and enhance customer interaction.

Compare Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Pros of Salesforce Commerce Cloud

  • Support for Headless Commerce Deployment: SFCC allows you to seamlessly integrate with your favorite tech stack to develop custom website interfaces to optimize the customer shopping experience.
  • Building personalized experiences with AI: SFCC’s Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT enable you to eliminate repetitive tasks, save time in workflows, and provide personalized campaigns and shopping experiences on a large scale.
  • Support for Omnichannel Commerce Deployment: SFCC makes it easy for you to develop and maintain multiple effective and consistent sales channels.
  • High Scalability: SFCC operates on a cloud platform, allowing you to quickly scale their eCommerce operations without worrying about investing in hardware and software.
Compare Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Pros of SFCC

Shopify Plus vs Salesforce Commerce Cloud: Detailed

License fee

  • Shopify Plus

The Plus version costs from $2300/month but is not fixed and will be customized based on specific needs. For merchants reaching a revenue threshold of $800,000/month, the Plus usage fee will gradually increase based on GMV (0.25% GMV for months with revenue exceeding $800,000). Merchants often must spend an additional $1K – $5K/month to integrate third-party applications.

  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud

There are no exact figures for SFCC, as the cost is determined based on each merchant’s requirements. However, SFCC merchants with revenues around $20 million may have to pay about $200,000 – $600,000/year. Larger-scale enterprises with higher revenues may have platform fees totalling millions annually.

Target audience

  • Shopify Plus: It targets large-scale merchants with complex needs, but it’s best for those just starting out and those rapidly expanding their business..
  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud: It targets large enterprises with complex needs, especially those already using other Salesforce products and services and seeking to integrate e-commerce functionality into their existing systems.

Customization

  • Shopify Plus:

+ Customizes unique storefront with Hydrogen.

+ Seamless third-party integrations

+ Ultilize cutting-edge technologies like AI, VR/AR for enhanced customer experience

  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud:

+ Offers flexibility for complex customizations

+ Requires expertise in SFCC and specific technical skills

Scalability

  • Shopify Plus:

+ Easily scales without slowing down website performance.

+ Provides a clear roadmap with over 100 product updates released twice a year

+ Continuously improves to keep your business ahead in eCommerce

  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud:

+ Integrates seamlessly with other Salesforce systems but struggles with third-party apps

+ Updates regularly but at a slower pace compared to Shopify

Features and Functionality

Both platforms have rich features, differing mainly in focus and approach

  • Shopify Plus

Plus focuses on flexibility and ease of use, providing merchants with a more intuitive interface than SFCC. This platform is renowned for its seamless integration with various payment options, marketing tools, and sales channels. This flexibility has made Plus attractive and accessible to most merchants.

Additionally, Shopify Plus offers their merchants exclusive and custom solutions to effectively handle various aspects of eCommerce, such as Shopify POS, Shopify Market, Shopify Hydrogen, Shopify Checkouts, B2B on Shopify, and more.

  • Salesforce Commerce Cloud

SFCC, on the other hand, emphasises enterprise-level features such as integrated sales management tools, advanced search, order management, and promotion creation. Additionally, this platform excels in supporting international sales, advanced customer segmentation and personalization, as well as real-time dashboards and reports.

All of these features help businesses optimize eCommerce operations and drive growth.

When choosing Shopify Plus?

Shopify Plus will be the ideal choice in the following cases:

  • Large-scale and fast-growing

Plus is designed specifically for large retailers with high demands for scale. With a range of exclusive solutions developed and continuously updated, this flexible eCommerce platform can effectively meet growth needs, allowing for easy scalability and customization.

  • Budget and time limits

With lower license fees compared to SFCC and the ability for quick deployment, Shopify Plus is a suitable option for businesses with moderate budgets or those needing to implement projects in a short time frame.

  • Priority on flexibility and ease of use

Plus is known for its user-friendly interface and high flexibility. Its drag-and-drop builder ensures that users of all technical levels can easily and efficiently set up an online store.

  • Need for rapid integration with third parties:

Shopify Plus’s infrastructure provides a seamless integration system with third-party applications and tools. This is a significant advantage if you need to integrate quickly with CRM applications, marketing tools, or other online sales channels.

  • Focus on customer experience

If customer experience is a top priority, Shopify Plus offers many tools and features to easily and effectively optimize shopping experiences and customer interactions.

When choosing Salesforce Commerce Cloud?

SFCC is a suite of solutions your eCommerce system needs to grow rapidly. If the following criteria apply, SFCC may be the more suitable choice:

  • Already using SFCC products and services

If you have already used other Salesforce products and services such as Salesforce CRM, Marketing Cloud, or Service Cloud, choosing SFCC will optimize workflows and integrate customer data across your entire system.

  • Requires deep integration and complex customization

SFCC is often the top choice for large enterprises with high deployment demands requiring flexibility in managing online stores. The platform provides powerful tools and features for customizing interfaces, managing complex product catalogs, and integrating with distinct business processes.

  • Prioritizes security and reliability

Built on the infrastructure of Salesforce, one of the world’s largest cloud technology service providers, SFCC offers high levels of security and reliability, best for those with important customer data and information.

  • Wants to leverage intelligent analytics features

SFCC provides tools to help you better understand customer shopping behavior and optimize business strategies. This enhances the shopping experience and increases sales revenue.

The Final Words

In today’s highly competitive eCommerce landscape, selecting the appropriate platform is crucial for your business success. This article has provided an overview of the top two choices, Shopify Plus and SFCC.

When it comes to making a decision, careful consideration of the specific needs is essential, from scale and goals to budget and technical requirements, to make the most appropriate choice.

Need help making the right decision? Contact SECOMM or call (028) 7108 9908 immediately!

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The Shopify Plus agencies in Australia are more than just experts in this eCommerce platform; they’re also dependable allies in your online business growth. The Australian eCommerce market has experienced significant expansion in recent years, so choosing the right Shopify Plus development partner is a pivotal strategic move. 

In this article, we’ll outline Australia’s top 10 premier Shopify Plus developers and the criteria for selecting the ideal partner for your eCommerce development project.

Read more: Top 10 Shopify Plus eCommerce websites in Australia

What is Shopify Plus?

Shopify Plus is an advanced eCommerce platform tailored for large enterprises that aim to expand their business operations and elevate their customers’ online shopping experience. It offers a robust infrastructure for building custom eCommerce websites and flexible scalability for seamless integration with third-party applications.

Moreover, the platform continuously evolves and enhances its exclusive solutions, empowering businesses to operate more efficiently and deliver an exceptional customer experience.

The 10 Leading Shopify Plus Agencies In Australia
Shopify Plus

Read more: 15 reasons to migrate to Shopify Plus

Why partner with Shopify Plus agencies?

This is an important question that many businesses often ask when starting their eCommerce projects. Below are some reasons why collaborating with a Shopify Plus development company:

Professional Expertise

Shopify Plus developers typically have teams of experts highly skilled in this platform. Most companies will participate in the Shopify Plus Partners program, receiving technical support, educational resources, commissions, and branding.

Moreover, these developers must demonstrate that they meet the standards to become official Shopify Plus partners. Therefore, collaborating with them will help businesses launch their eCommerce websites quickly while utilizing features and integrations to optimize business performance.

Cost and Time Optimization

Partnering with Shopify Plus agencies can save time and costs compared to independently building and managing an eCommerce website.

Collaboration becomes even more valuable when tight deadlines and rapid online store deployment are required. These developers already have the tools, processes, and experience to efficiently and swiftly deploy projects.

Ongoing Support

It is crucial to ensure smooth and stable website operation after launch. Shopify Plus developers often provide continuous support services after the project is completed.

This involves the ongoing maintenance and management of the website, along with technical assistance, to ensure seamless operation and constant alignment with Shopify Plus’s latest features.

Read more: Shopify Plus and Advanced: Which one is right for you?

The 10 Leading Shopify Plus Agencies In Australia
3 reasons for partnering with a Shopify Plus agency

Four criteria for choosing the right Shopify Plus agency in Australia

Partnering with any development company in Australia can greatly influence the success or failure of a Shopify Plus implementation project. Here are four key criteria to consider when seeking a suitable developer:

Shopify Plus Expertise

A thorough understanding and experience with this platform are essential when developing an eCommerce project with Shopify Plus. Therefore, this is the primary point to evaluate any potential development agency.

You must ensure that the chosen developer has the knowledge and skills to implement the Shopify Plus platform. They need a team of capable experts to build, customize, and optimize eCommerce websites based on specific.

Insight into the Australian eCommerce Scene

Designing and building a website with a customized shopping experience tailored to the needs of Australian consumers isn’t an easy task. This requires technical skills and expertise in the Shopify Plus platform and a deep understanding of how the Australian eCommerce market operates.

Therefore, developers need to understand the target audience, their shopping behaviours, legal regulations, and other factors related to the distinctive business culture in this country.

Client Testimonials

Evaluating feedback from previous clients can be valuable in the decision-making process. You can check reviews from various sources and clients to ensure objectivity and transparency. The Shopify Plus developer must have the necessary skills and experience to complete the eCommerce project as required.

Post-Deployment Support and Maintenance

When your Shopify Plus website is done and launched, you must pay attention to technical support and maintenance. That’s why should opt for a development agency dedicated to providing prompt support and ongoing maintenance after completing the project.

This ensures the website’s stability, swift resolution of technical glitches, and consistent security updates to keep the site current with the latest platform versions.

The 10 Leading Shopify Plus Agencies In Australia
4 things to keep in mind when choosing your true partner

Top 10 Shopify Plus Agencies in Australia

The continuous growth of the Australian eCommerce market has led to an increasing demand for collaboration with top-notch developers, especially those specializing in the Shopify Plus platform. Below are the top 10 Shopify Plus development companies in Australia:

SECOMM

With over 10 years of experience in the eCommerce industry, SECOMM is one of the trustworthy Shopify Plus developers in Australia. SECOMM can design and build Shopify Plus eCommerce websites, implement Headless Shopify Hydrogen, migrate platforms to Shopify Plus, and provide related services. 

Moreover, the company offers various custom solutions based on different technology platforms such as Magento, WordPress, WooCommerce, and commercetools. With a team of talented and professional experts, SECOMM ensures the success of eCommerce projects collaborating with Australian clients. Notable among these are Laybyland, Trentham Estate, The Rod Shop, and Seconds Deals.

The 10 Leading Shopify Plus Agencies In Australia
SECOMM

Drive Digital

Dive Digital provides eCommerce consulting services, UI/UX design, and Shopify website development. Its solutions optimise customers’ online shopping experiences and enhance business performance.

10SQ

10SQ aims to become the leading Shopify Plus development company in Australia, making it easy for businesses to access specialized services for this platform. Here, businesses can find customized solutions to expand and enhance their eCommerce systems efficiently.

Aron Web Solutions

Aron gathers highly skilled eCommerce developers proficient in various platforms and technologies, including Shopify Plus. The company has expanded its operations to many countries beyond Australia, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and India.

Clean Commit 

Clean Commit is a reliable partner with high expertise in developing and optimizing websites on the Shopify Plus platform. They are committed to providing effective and sustainable solutions for businesses.

Magneto IT Solutions

Magneto IT Solutions is a Shopify Plus developer with diverse industry experience. They offer customized and professional solutions to meet the specific requirements of businesses.

Acidgreen

In Australia, Acidgreen is renowned as a leading developer of eCommerce websites, excelling in Magento and Shopify Plus. The team’s experience and expertise in open-source and SaaS platforms are sufficient to maintain the company’s position in the market

30 Acres

This company develops solutions for businesses in Australia and New Zealand looking to implement eCommerce with Shopify Plus. Additionally, they provide continuous support even after the project is completed.

Pipelabs

Pipelabs’ solutions aim to deploy Omnichannel eCommerce on the Shopify Plus platform. Numerous projects’ success and positive reviews from previous clients attest to Pipelabs’ capabilities.

Moustache Republic

Moustache Republic is among the clients looking to implement Shopify Plus and BigCommerce. They provide solutions for eCommerce deployment based on these two platforms and offer seamless and efficient platform migration solutions.

The Final Words

The partners mentioned above are just a few of Australia’s skilled and trustworthy Shopify Plus developers. Choosing the most suitable partner to ensure your eCommerce objectives’ success and sustainable growth depends on your project’s specific requirements.

Start with Shopify Plus today with specialised solutions from SECOMM. Contact us or call (+84)28 7108 9908 for a free consultation!

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Shopify Plus vs Advanced: Which One Is Right For You?
SHOPIFY PLUS VS ADVANCED: WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
15/03/2024
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Shopify Plus vs Advanced are the two most essential versions of Shopify. They provide your business with many solutions and features to build and optimise eCommerce websites quickly.

Each version has advantages, from Advanced’s advanced features and cost-effectiveness to Plus’s flexible customization. Therefore, the question ‘Which is the right choice?’ becomes challenging for many eCommerce businesses. 

In this article, let’s find a reasonable answer so each business can make the most appropriate decision.

Read more: What is Shopify? Pros and Cons of Shopify

What is Shopify Advanced?

Shopify Advanced is a pricing plan offered by Shopify, designed to support medium-sized businesses in developing their eCommerce operations. The Advanced includes all the features of the Basic and Shopify plans while also providing optimized transaction fees and additional advanced features.

These features include custom reporting and analytics, enhanced live chat, optimized checkout, 3rd-party calculated shipping rates, and more.

Pros of Shopify Advanced

Scaling businesses will need many advanced features to optimize their eCommerce operations. Therefore, the Advanced plan offers many outstanding advantages that enhance the ability to manage and grow your business flexibly and efficiently.

  • Custom reports and analytics

This version excels in terms of reporting and analytics compared to standard plans. This feature lets you track and evaluate your business performance based on specific criteria, facilitating informed decisions.

  •  Attractive transaction fee

The Advanced ensures lower transaction fees than the two standard plans, helping you save costs and enhance profitability. These lower transaction fees optimize profit opportunities and make the transaction process more appealing and sustainable.

  • International Sales

The  Advanced also emphasizes its ability to support international sales through Shopify Markets, a tightly integrated platform. This helps you expand your business scope into the global market efficiently and flexibly, leveraging growth potential from diversifying sales revenue.

  • 3rd -party calculated shipping rates

The Advanced plan allows you to integrate and manage shipping fees by third-party carriers, providing customers with more options. This integration capability helps optimize the shipping process and reduces any complexity associated with shipping costs, thereby creating the best online shopping experience for customers.

Shopify Plus vs Advanced: Which One Is Right For You?
Pros of Shopify Advanced

What is Shopify Plus?

This premium version is tailored for large-scale, multinational, and fast-growing businesses. The Plus offers advanced features, superior customization, and scalability. Unlike the regular version, Plus does not have a fixed price; instead, costs are customized based on the business’s specific needs.

Businesses with high sales revenue, large product catalogues, and complex customization needs would be suitable targets for Shopify Plus.

Pros of Shopify Plus

The Plus version brings superior capabilities to help businesses create an optimized eCommerce experience for customers and achieve the expected revenue.

  • Customization and Scalability

Shopify Plus offers high customization and flexibility in developing eCommerce websites. You can customize many aspects of the website, integrate applications, and expand functionality. This helps create an optimal online shopping experience and enhances customer interaction.

  • B2B on Shopify

The B2B solution set with exclusive features is only available to Shopify Plus merchants. These features are regularly enhanced to optimize the B2B process, from ordering to customer management, providing a unique and efficient experience.

  • Headless Commerce

With its flexibility, Shopify Plus can fully support the implementation needs of Headless Commerce. Furthermore, through the exclusive solution Hydrogen, Shopify allows businesses to build custom Headless eCommerce websites to provide the most unique customer experience.

  • Omnichannel Commerce

With Shopify POS Pro integrated, Shopify Plus supports omnichannel commerce deployment, helping you create a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels, from eCommerce websites to brick-and-mortar stores. 

Through the Winter ’24 Editions update, Shopify recently added two new features: POS Terminal and Ship From Store. These features optimize customers’ payment processes and simplify merchant experiences

  • International Sales

The Plus version supports large-scale expansion and international outreach. The integrated Shopify Market Pro solution allows you to efficiently optimize your eCommerce operations and seize opportunities in the global market.

Shopify Plus vs Advanced: Which One Is Right For You?
Pros of Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus vs Advanced: Detailed Comparison

Pricing

  • Shopify Advanced

The platform usage fee for the Advanced service package is $299 per month. This pricing is reasonable for medium-scale businesses seeking advanced features to develop their eCommerce websites. Additionally, the transaction fee for the Advanced package is 0.6% per transaction, lower than the Basic and Shopify packages.

  • Shopify Plus

The usage fee for the Plus package typically starts at $2,300 per month and is not fixed but customized based on deployment needs. At this price point, you’ll gain access to numerous advanced features and exclusive solutions that are regularly fine-tuned and improved to meet the increasing demands of eCommerce development.

Online transaction fees will vary by geographic region. Businesses using Shopify Payments will have this fee waived.

Target Audience

  • Shopify Advanced: Targets medium and large businesses seeking to enhance flexibility and customization without requiring colossal investment.
  • Shopify Plus: Targets large businesses with extensive product catalogues, high sales volumes, and special needs for features, solutions, and support.

Customization & Scalability

  • Shopify Advanced: It provides high customization and scalability capabilities but with limitations compared to the Plus version.
  • Shopify Plus: Designed to meet premium customization and scalability needs, with seamless integration and flexibility with other systems.

Resources

  • Shopify Advanced: Resources and learning materials are provided to help you operate and manage eCommerce websites more effectively. These include blogs, free online courses, developer documentation, and the “Helps” portal.
  • Shopify Plus: Plus merchants can find numerous exclusive resources valuable for eCommerce operations such as the Plus blog, Plus Academy, API documentation, Shopify experts, and Plus partners.

Customer Support

  • Shopify Advanced:

With the Advanced plan, you can seek 24/7 support from the Shopify team through in-depth live chat. Additionally, many Shopify merchants’ community groups are on Facebook and Slack.

  • Shopify Plus:

Shopify Plus merchants can expect deep customer care services 24/7 through email, hotline, and live chat. They will receive technical support and valuable business advice from Shopify’s top experts. Additionally, businesses can join the Plus merchant community on Facebook to share and learn from each other’s experiences.

Security

  • Shopify Advanced

Advanced offers robust security features, including protection for personal information and payment data. However, its security level is lower than that of the Plus plan.

  • Shopify Plus

Plus provides a range of security measures and features to protect business data, customer information, and payment transactions as much as possible. This includes:

  • Compliance with six types of PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards
  • Providing the highest level of data encryption
  • Providing specific tools to detect potentially fraudulent transactions
  • Automatically matching and adjusting payment information to ensure actual transactions match payment profiles
  • Automatic data backups
  • Protecting against Bot and DDoS attacks.

When choosing Shopify Advanced?

This is an important question that many businesses are seeking answers to. If your business is on a growth trajectory and has high demands for flexibility and customization, Shopify Advanced is a worthy consideration. 

First and foremost, if you desire more autonomy over the store interface and user experience, Shopify Advanced provides customizable reporting and analytics tools, enabling you to track business performance in the way you want to make informed decisions.

Furthermore, Shopify Advanced could be an ideal companion if you’re looking for a cost-effective solution and don’t want to be constrained by fundamental limitations. With lower usage fees than higher-tier packages, Advanced offers financial benefits while keeping the eCommerce website running smoothly.

When choosing Shopify Plus?

Plus will be the perfect choice for large-scale businesses with high flexibility, performance, and support demands. If the following characteristics apply, Plus is very likely to be the more suitable choice:

  • High sales volume and extensive product catalogue: Shopify Plus infrastructure is robust enough to easily customize and scale according to a business’s needs and handle large transaction volumes daily.
  • Go Headless: Shopify Plus’s Hydrogen solution offers a significant advantage for businesses that want to deploy a headless commerce model that separates the front and back end.
  • Requirement for deep support services: Plus’s flexibility requires specific technical expertise to leverage the platform’s sophisticated infrastructure effectively. Therefore, Plus provides 24/7 technical support to address issues and optimize the user experience promptly.

The Final Words

The decision between Shopify Plus and Advanced is not just about choosing a platform but also about building an eCommerce system that reflects your business’s true values and long-term goals.

Shopify Advanced is a flexible solution for medium to large businesses seeking flexibility and low costs. On the other hand, Shopify Plus is an excellent choice for larger enterprises, where premium features and support are key to strong and efficient growth.

With the development and fluctuations of the market, the choice between Shopify Plus and Shopify Advanced is not only a current decision but also a long-term strategy to shape the future of your business.

Need help to make decisions? Contact SECOMM or call (028) 7108 9908 now!

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Shopify Editions Winter '24 At A Glance: What's New?
SHOPIFY EDITIONS WINTER ’24 AT A GLANCE: WHAT’S NEW?
08/03/2024
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Shopify Editions Winter ’24 is the latest update with a host of new features and notable improvements. Especially, the SaaS platform has dedicated research efforts to bring about some groundbreaking updates that could be highly beneficial for large-scale eCommerce enterprises.

Let’s go through the 5 most important updates that large brands should pay attention to.

B2B On Shopify

Shopify Editions Winter '24 At A Glance: What's New?
B2B on Shopify

Best for: All the ‘Plus’ plan B2B merchants 

Bobby Morrison, Shopify’s Chief Revenue Officer, confidently states that B2B is the next big opportunity for businesses of all sizes in 2024 and beyond. 

Since the launch of the B2B solution, the platform has consistently rolled out updates to enhance this solution. In this particular update, Shopify focuses on upgrading the flexible infrastructure to help businesses optimize operations and deliver a unique customer experience.

  • Go headless with B2B: Build a unique eCommerce experience by using your favourite tech stack with a Headless B2B storefront.  
  • Sales Rep permissions: Your sales reps can only place orders and view customer information for their own accounts.
  • B2B discount: Create promotional discounts just for your B2B customers using third-party or custom apps powered by Shopify Functions.
  • B2B digital products: Beyond physical products, ‘Plus’ merchants now can offer non-physical products, like digital downloads, warranties, and services

Shopify POS

Best for: All retail merchants, including merchants not on Shopify

In Editions Winter ’24, the POS solution has been fine-tuned and improved, addressing some minor issues and simplifying the experience for sellers. Among these enhancements, two new top-notch features are POS Terminal and POS Ship From Store.

Shopify Editions Winter '24 At A Glance: What's New?

Shopify POS

POS Terminal

Accept tap, chip, and swipe payments and power your busiest sales days with solid Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, backed by the 99.9% platform uptime.

  • Match your display to your brand: Display custom images and logos throughout the checkout process to maintain consistency and a seamless brand presence during payment.
  • Capture customer emails: Offer one-tap digital receipts and easily collect emails and marketing opt-ins
  • Manage UI extensions: Allow retailers to manage and customize UI extensions at various retail locations through the admin.
  • Customized receipts: The new Liquid code editor for printed receipts is an easy-to-use editor that customizes the presentation of printed receipts, so they can reflect your brand.

POS Ship From Store

Assigned staff members can easily process orders directly in POS at multiple retail locations. They can view, pick up, pack, and fulfil orders through the new feature, POS Ship From Store.

  • Retail inventory transfers: Optimize inventory management, allowing easy tracking and control of shipments between retail locations directly within Shopify POS. 
  • Attribute online sales: The Send Cart feature can incentivize staff to close more online sales and boost credit points, as those online sales will be credited to each staff member’s retail location. 
  • Return process: Simplify the return process with pre-defined return reasons in POS, ensuring efficiency in handling returns and improving product replenishment through return reason reports. 
  • Manage taxes, cancel orders, and void payments: Shopify Tax is now supported in POS, so your retail sales can be accurately taxed at the same rate as your online store. You can also cancel and void orders within 15 minutes of completing a transaction to correct errors or return payments without incurring transaction fees. 
  • Enhanced security: Implement a 4-, 5-, or 6-digit PIN code to manage employee access at retail locations and enhance security.

Checkout Extensibility

Shopify Editions Winter '24 At A Glance: What's New?

Checkout ExtensibilityBest for: all Shopify merchants

The checkout page also significantly shapes the customer experience. Therefore, in this Shopify Editions Winter ’24 update, numerous changes and improvements will be introduced to help businesses optimize the payment process and enhance conversion rates.

  • Customer account extensibility: Build extensions directly into new customer accounts with the same UI components as Shopify Checkout, alongside new components, extension APIs, and external network calls. Bring apps closer to customers and add powerful functionality to new customer accounts
  • Checkout extensibility: The platform adds 14 new APIs and 90+ new apps for the customized payment experience unlocking powerful features such as Upsells, Cross-sells, Loyalty Programs, Post-pushase surveys, and more.
  • Checkout Sheet Kit: This kit enables seamless checkout from the web to the native mobile app, improving conversion rates. It is compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems.

 AI

Shopify Editions Winter '24 At A Glance: What's New?

AIBest for: All Shopify merchants

AI technology is currently significantly boosting the performance and operational efficiency of individuals and businesses in the eCommerce sector. The Shopify Magic solution integrates free AI-supported features across the entire platform.

  • Produce images: Create professional product photos with new AI-enabled image editing features. Instantly generate, match, or remove the background of your existing images using just a few clicks or keywords. No design skills needed 
  • Semantic Search: One of our new AI-powered storefront search features goes beyond keyword matching to better understand the intent behind a customer’s search. Customers can use more natural words and phrases and get richer, more relevant results. 
  • Sidekick: This is an AI assistant who is always available whenever you need it. Sidekick will act as your very own advisor, guiding you with tailored, skilled advice to strengthen your business.

Product variant Limits Increase

Best for: All Shopify merchants with a high number of product variants, especially enterprises and B2B brands.

Shopify has released new product APIs that allow increasing the limit to 2000 variants per product. Compared to the previous Shopify Editions Summer ’23, the product variant limit was only up to 100. This change in the product variant limit is a groundbreaking improvement, making it an ideal choice for businesses intending to switch from platforms like Magento or Salesforce Commerce Cloud.

Similarly, this enhancement also brings many benefits for B2B merchants.

Final Thoughts

The features and improvements in the Editions Winter ’24 demonstrate that Shopify has invested significantly in research to create solutions tailored to the needs of large businesses. These are just a few of the many enticing updates from Shopify in this release.

To delve deeper into Editions Winter ’24 and discuss your eCommerce website deployment plans on the Shopify platform, contact SECOMM or call the hotline at (+84)28 7108 9908 today for detailed advice!

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What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce
WHAT IS CLOUD ECOMMERCE? BENEFITS FROM CLOUD ECOMMERCE
20/12/2023
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eCommerce has been booming more than ever, driving the demand for new technologies to adapt to the continuous growth of the market. Some emerging eCommerce technologies include VR/AR, MSI (Multi-Source Inventory), PWA (Progressive Web Apps), Headless Commerce, etc. However, among these, the technology that developers and businesses are currently paying the most attention to is Cloud eCommerce.

What is Cloud eCommerce?

Cloud eCommerce utilizes server clusters and cloud computing systems from cloud service providers to process large transaction volumes and online sales channel traffic. In simpler terms, Cloud eCommerce involves renting Internet servers based on cloud platforms to process, store, or use applications for various eCommerce business purposes.

What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce-What is Cloud eCommerce
What is Cloud eCommerce?

Before cloud-based eCommerce platforms and other solutions emerged, traditional eCommerce platforms like IBM WebSphere and Oracle ATG required on-premise server setups and continuous maintenance. Unlike those “on-premise” eCommerce solutions, cloud-based eCommerce allows companies to outsource their IT infrastructure without the need to invest in equipment and continuous maintenance as before.

This solution helps businesses adapt to the increasing demands of customers, enhance security, simplify maintenance, and integrate new eCommerce applications as needed. For these reasons, Cloud eCommerce is often combined with eCommerce platforms such as Shopify Plus, Salesforce, Magento, etc.

Cloud eCommerce Solutions

There are several cloud eCommerce solutions to choose from, including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, each with different resource requirements.

What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce-Cloud eCommerce Solutions
Cloud eCommerce Solutions: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS

IaaS eCommerce

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is where businesses rent physical resources such as servers, databases, and network equipment to build a sustainable eCommerce architecture. IaaS eCommerce focuses on providing on-demand data storage on disks and virtual servers, making it easy for businesses to use database services rather than dealing with hardware. However, businesses are responsible for managing applications, data, runtime, middleware, and the operating system on this infrastructure.

Notable IaaS providers include Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Digital Ocean. IaaS is suitable for businesses wanting full control over the system without the complexity of on-premise eCommerce.

PaaS eCommerce

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is similar to IaaS but requires less infrastructure management, allowing more time to build eCommerce applications using predefined infrastructure with pre-defined operating systems and processes to handle resources, planning, and error correction.

For example, Google App Engine provides a PaaS environment for developers to build web applications without worrying about infrastructure. PaaS eCommerce is suitable for businesses needing to build specialized eCommerce applications and are willing to eliminate infrastructure-related factors in their technology stack.

SaaS eCommerce

Software as a Service (SaaS) provides ready-made eCommerce services, including complete eCommerce solutions or individual eCommerce applications like Product Information Management (PIM) software, Order Management System (OMS), etc. SaaS eCommerce providers are responsible for managing both the infrastructure and software and businesses only need to configure the desired software. Additionally, SaaS eCommerce developers can work outside the user interface with APIs to develop custom solutions without the need for custom software development.

SaaS eCommerce is suitable for businesses that want to quickly deploy eCommerce solutions without significant involvement in infrastructure and software management.

Cloud eCommerce benefits

What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce-Cloud eCommerce Benefits
Cloud eCommerce Benefits

High scalability

Cloud eCommerce inherits features from PaaS, making it easier to expand system functionality.

Typically, when fashion businesses start, they may not initially focus on scalability. However, from a strategic perspective, investing in technologies with scalability capabilities, such as Cloud eCommerce, can help businesses expand system functionality in each stage of eCommerce website development to foster business growth.

Improve page loading speed

According to Think with Google, if a website takes up to 6 seconds to load, the probability of users bouncing increases by 106%. That’s why businesses need to focus on page load speed.

When an eCommerce website leverages Cloud eCommerce with data stored on a cloud platform, the speed of processing queries and API calls is significantly faster.

Increase security

In the current era of the 4.0 technological revolution, the concern for data loss is a major focus for business leaders. As a response to this, numerous new technologies have emerged to address this goal.

According to PC Magazine, Cloud eCommerce provides control over data and storage locations, along with options such as physical backups and file synchronization to ensure data safety. Additionally, Cloud eCommerce supports businesses in obtaining PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certification, enhancing the credibility of their website.

Increased stability

Typically, businesses struggle to optimize storage capacity on their websites, especially when facing a massive surge in traffic during peak seasons, such as the “sale hunting” period. This sudden increase in workload poses a significant challenge to storage operations.

Cloud eCommerce offers a flexible solution to meet the demands of unpredictable spikes in traffic, whether seasonal or even hourly. It can dynamically scale up or down to support the real-time needs of a business. Overall, Cloud eCommerce is becoming a widely adopted technology in the digital transformation journey, helping businesses expand their functionality, improve page loading speeds, and enhance the security and stability of their websites.

However, mastering these new technologies requires programmers to possess a significant amount of specialized knowledge and hands-on experience with various complex projects. As a result, the costs associated with implementing Cloud eCommerce can be relatively high.

With over 9 years of experience designing complex eCommerce systems for companies like An Nam Gourmet, Laybyland, Jasnor, etc., SECOMM understands the challenges that businesses face when exploring new eCommerce technologies. 

Contact SECOMM today for a free consultation on detailed eCommerce system development solutions!

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On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
ON-PREMISE CRM VS ON-CLOUD CRM: KEY DIFFERENCES
07/12/2023
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When it comes to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, businesses often have two choices: On-premise CRM and On-cloud CRM. This article will focus on clarifying the key differences and pros and cons of each option.

Understanding the distinctions between On-premise and On-cloud CRM can help businesses make well-informed decisions, optimize customer relationship management, and succeed in today’s business landscape.

Related Reading: What is CRM? Top 5 benefits of using CRM software in 2023

On-Premise CRM Software

On-premise CRM is a type of CRM software installed and hosted on the servers and infrastructure owned by the business. When deploying On-premise CRM, the business takes responsibility for all aspects of the CRM system, including hardware, software, maintenance, security, and database management.

Pros

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Pros of On-premise CRM
  • Data Control: Businesses have complete control over their CRM data, which is particularly crucial for safeguarding sensitive and essential information.
  • Customization: On-premise CRM systems frequently provide a high level of customization, allowing businesses to tailor the software to meet their specific needs and operational workflows.
  • Security: With full data control, businesses can implement their security measures and protocols to ensure the protection of both customer and business data.
  • Operational Efficiency: On-premise CRM software can offer robust operational efficiency and faster data access as it is stored and operated entirely on the internal servers and infrastructure of the business.
  • Cost Efficiency: On-premise CRM requires businesses to pay for hardware and software licenses upfront. However, ongoing costs can be significantly lower than cloud-based CRM, making on-premise CRM cost-effective in the long run.

Cons

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Cons of On-premise CRM
  • High Initial Costs: Implementing on-premise CRM entails substantial initial payments for acquiring servers, obtaining software licenses, and establishing the necessary infrastructure. This considerable upfront investment might pose challenges for some businesses.
  • Maintenance:  Businesses have responsibility for all maintenance tasks, security measures, updates, and issue resolutions. This can consume a lot of resources and requires a highly skilled technical team.
  • Limited Accessibility: On-premise CRM software is quite limited in terms of remote access, making this system less appealing to businesses with multiple branches in different locations.
  • Limited Scalability: Scaling up the on-premise CRM system can be complex and incur significant costs for purchasing and configuring additional hardware and software.
  • Software Backup: Businesses must deploy their own data backup solutions to ensure the availability of data in case the CRM system encounters unforeseen issues.

Some popular on-premise CRMs like Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle Siebel CRM,…

On-Cloud CRM Software

On-Cloud CRM is a form of customer relationship management software hosted on the remote servers of a third-party provider. With this software, businesses are relieved from the task of managing and maintaining fundamental infrastructure like servers and central databases, as those responsibilities are handled by the On-Cloud CRM provider.

Businesses can access the CRM system from anywhere with an internet connection through a web browser or mobile application.

Pros

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Pros of On-Cloud CRm
  • Easy Deployment: On-cloud CRM systems are typically deployed quickly because they don’t require complex hardware setups or software installations.
  • Low initial costs: Cloud CRM solutions often have lower upfront costs compared to on-premise CRM solutions because businesses don’t need to invest in servers and infrastructure.
  • Scalability: Cloud CRM can easily scale to meet the growing number of users and changing business needs without the need for additional hardware investments.
  • Accessibility: Cloud CRM users can access the system from anywhere with an internet connection, making this software appealing to businesses with multiple branches in different locations.
  • Automatic Updates: On-cloud CRM providers are responsible for handling updates and maintenance, ensuring users quickly access the latest features and improvements.
  • Data Security: On-cloud CRM providers are highly regarded for their ability to offer optimal security measures to protect customer data.

Cons

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Cons of On-Cloud CRM
  • Data Control: The entire data is stored on servers owned by the third-party provider. This raises concerns about data control and security, as well as risks from the provider’s end.
  • Dependency on the Internet: Cloud CRM operations rely on Internet connectivity. If the connection is slow or interrupted, it may impact the overall system performance.
  • Customization Limitations:  While many cloud CRM solutions are highly configurable, compared to on-premise CRM solutions, they still have limitations in terms of customization.
  • Subscription Costs:  Using on-cloud CRM, businesses will incur ongoing monthly or annual usage fees. Initially, the upfront costs may be lower than on-premise CRM, but there are ongoing fees such as user quantity fees, customization fees, etc., which businesses will continuously have to pay throughout the deployment process. This leads to an increase in the total cost of using the cloud CRM system over time.

Some popular Cloud CRMs include Salesforce Sales Cloud, SAP Sales Cloud, Oracle CRM On Demand,…

Related Reading: 

What is The Difference Between On-Premise and Cloud CRM?

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Difference Between On-Premise and Cloud CRM

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Which is The Better Choice?

The choice between On-premise and On-cloud CRM becomes a crucial decision in the strategy of deploying CRM. Each type comes with its own set of advantages. On-premise CRM offers high control and customization, while On-cloud CRM is convenient, flexible, and helps reduce the burden of infrastructure and initial costs. 

The ultimate decision depends on the deployment needs, data control requirements, and budget.  Nevertheless, both can serve as valuable tools for businesses to manage customer relationships and amplify operational efficiency. 

Contact SECOMM or call the hotline at 02871089908 today to learn more about deploying and developing a comprehensive CRM system and determine the optimal choice between On-premise and On-cloud.

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What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce
WHAT IS CLOUD ECOMMERCE? BENEFITS FROM CLOUD ECOMMERCE
20/12/2023
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eCommerce has been booming more than ever, driving the demand for new technologies to adapt to the continuous growth of the market. Some emerging eCommerce technologies include VR/AR, MSI (Multi-Source Inventory), PWA (Progressive Web Apps), Headless Commerce, etc. However, among these, the technology that developers and businesses are currently paying the most attention to is Cloud eCommerce.

What is Cloud eCommerce?

Cloud eCommerce utilizes server clusters and cloud computing systems from cloud service providers to process large transaction volumes and online sales channel traffic. In simpler terms, Cloud eCommerce involves renting Internet servers based on cloud platforms to process, store, or use applications for various eCommerce business purposes.

What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce-What is Cloud eCommerce
What is Cloud eCommerce?

Before cloud-based eCommerce platforms and other solutions emerged, traditional eCommerce platforms like IBM WebSphere and Oracle ATG required on-premise server setups and continuous maintenance. Unlike those “on-premise” eCommerce solutions, cloud-based eCommerce allows companies to outsource their IT infrastructure without the need to invest in equipment and continuous maintenance as before.

This solution helps businesses adapt to the increasing demands of customers, enhance security, simplify maintenance, and integrate new eCommerce applications as needed. For these reasons, Cloud eCommerce is often combined with eCommerce platforms such as Shopify Plus, Salesforce, Magento, etc.

Cloud eCommerce Solutions

There are several cloud eCommerce solutions to choose from, including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, each with different resource requirements.

What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce-Cloud eCommerce Solutions
Cloud eCommerce Solutions: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS

IaaS eCommerce

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is where businesses rent physical resources such as servers, databases, and network equipment to build a sustainable eCommerce architecture. IaaS eCommerce focuses on providing on-demand data storage on disks and virtual servers, making it easy for businesses to use database services rather than dealing with hardware. However, businesses are responsible for managing applications, data, runtime, middleware, and the operating system on this infrastructure.

Notable IaaS providers include Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Digital Ocean. IaaS is suitable for businesses wanting full control over the system without the complexity of on-premise eCommerce.

PaaS eCommerce

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is similar to IaaS but requires less infrastructure management, allowing more time to build eCommerce applications using predefined infrastructure with pre-defined operating systems and processes to handle resources, planning, and error correction.

For example, Google App Engine provides a PaaS environment for developers to build web applications without worrying about infrastructure. PaaS eCommerce is suitable for businesses needing to build specialized eCommerce applications and are willing to eliminate infrastructure-related factors in their technology stack.

SaaS eCommerce

Software as a Service (SaaS) provides ready-made eCommerce services, including complete eCommerce solutions or individual eCommerce applications like Product Information Management (PIM) software, Order Management System (OMS), etc. SaaS eCommerce providers are responsible for managing both the infrastructure and software and businesses only need to configure the desired software. Additionally, SaaS eCommerce developers can work outside the user interface with APIs to develop custom solutions without the need for custom software development.

SaaS eCommerce is suitable for businesses that want to quickly deploy eCommerce solutions without significant involvement in infrastructure and software management.

Cloud eCommerce benefits

What is Cloud eCommerce Benefits from Cloud eCommerce-Cloud eCommerce Benefits
Cloud eCommerce Benefits

High scalability

Cloud eCommerce inherits features from PaaS, making it easier to expand system functionality.

Typically, when fashion businesses start, they may not initially focus on scalability. However, from a strategic perspective, investing in technologies with scalability capabilities, such as Cloud eCommerce, can help businesses expand system functionality in each stage of eCommerce website development to foster business growth.

Improve page loading speed

According to Think with Google, if a website takes up to 6 seconds to load, the probability of users bouncing increases by 106%. That’s why businesses need to focus on page load speed.

When an eCommerce website leverages Cloud eCommerce with data stored on a cloud platform, the speed of processing queries and API calls is significantly faster.

Increase security

In the current era of the 4.0 technological revolution, the concern for data loss is a major focus for business leaders. As a response to this, numerous new technologies have emerged to address this goal.

According to PC Magazine, Cloud eCommerce provides control over data and storage locations, along with options such as physical backups and file synchronization to ensure data safety. Additionally, Cloud eCommerce supports businesses in obtaining PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certification, enhancing the credibility of their website.

Increased stability

Typically, businesses struggle to optimize storage capacity on their websites, especially when facing a massive surge in traffic during peak seasons, such as the “sale hunting” period. This sudden increase in workload poses a significant challenge to storage operations.

Cloud eCommerce offers a flexible solution to meet the demands of unpredictable spikes in traffic, whether seasonal or even hourly. It can dynamically scale up or down to support the real-time needs of a business. Overall, Cloud eCommerce is becoming a widely adopted technology in the digital transformation journey, helping businesses expand their functionality, improve page loading speeds, and enhance the security and stability of their websites.

However, mastering these new technologies requires programmers to possess a significant amount of specialized knowledge and hands-on experience with various complex projects. As a result, the costs associated with implementing Cloud eCommerce can be relatively high.

With over 9 years of experience designing complex eCommerce systems for companies like An Nam Gourmet, Laybyland, Jasnor, etc., SECOMM understands the challenges that businesses face when exploring new eCommerce technologies. 

Contact SECOMM today for a free consultation on detailed eCommerce system development solutions!

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On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
ON-PREMISE CRM VS ON-CLOUD CRM: KEY DIFFERENCES
07/12/2023
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When it comes to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, businesses often have two choices: On-premise CRM and On-cloud CRM. This article will focus on clarifying the key differences and pros and cons of each option.

Understanding the distinctions between On-premise and On-cloud CRM can help businesses make well-informed decisions, optimize customer relationship management, and succeed in today’s business landscape.

Related Reading: What is CRM? Top 5 benefits of using CRM software in 2023

On-Premise CRM Software

On-premise CRM is a type of CRM software installed and hosted on the servers and infrastructure owned by the business. When deploying On-premise CRM, the business takes responsibility for all aspects of the CRM system, including hardware, software, maintenance, security, and database management.

Pros

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Pros of On-premise CRM
  • Data Control: Businesses have complete control over their CRM data, which is particularly crucial for safeguarding sensitive and essential information.
  • Customization: On-premise CRM systems frequently provide a high level of customization, allowing businesses to tailor the software to meet their specific needs and operational workflows.
  • Security: With full data control, businesses can implement their security measures and protocols to ensure the protection of both customer and business data.
  • Operational Efficiency: On-premise CRM software can offer robust operational efficiency and faster data access as it is stored and operated entirely on the internal servers and infrastructure of the business.
  • Cost Efficiency: On-premise CRM requires businesses to pay for hardware and software licenses upfront. However, ongoing costs can be significantly lower than cloud-based CRM, making on-premise CRM cost-effective in the long run.

Cons

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Cons of On-premise CRM
  • High Initial Costs: Implementing on-premise CRM entails substantial initial payments for acquiring servers, obtaining software licenses, and establishing the necessary infrastructure. This considerable upfront investment might pose challenges for some businesses.
  • Maintenance:  Businesses have responsibility for all maintenance tasks, security measures, updates, and issue resolutions. This can consume a lot of resources and requires a highly skilled technical team.
  • Limited Accessibility: On-premise CRM software is quite limited in terms of remote access, making this system less appealing to businesses with multiple branches in different locations.
  • Limited Scalability: Scaling up the on-premise CRM system can be complex and incur significant costs for purchasing and configuring additional hardware and software.
  • Software Backup: Businesses must deploy their own data backup solutions to ensure the availability of data in case the CRM system encounters unforeseen issues.

Some popular on-premise CRMs like Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle Siebel CRM,…

On-Cloud CRM Software

On-Cloud CRM is a form of customer relationship management software hosted on the remote servers of a third-party provider. With this software, businesses are relieved from the task of managing and maintaining fundamental infrastructure like servers and central databases, as those responsibilities are handled by the On-Cloud CRM provider.

Businesses can access the CRM system from anywhere with an internet connection through a web browser or mobile application.

Pros

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Pros of On-Cloud CRm
  • Easy Deployment: On-cloud CRM systems are typically deployed quickly because they don’t require complex hardware setups or software installations.
  • Low initial costs: Cloud CRM solutions often have lower upfront costs compared to on-premise CRM solutions because businesses don’t need to invest in servers and infrastructure.
  • Scalability: Cloud CRM can easily scale to meet the growing number of users and changing business needs without the need for additional hardware investments.
  • Accessibility: Cloud CRM users can access the system from anywhere with an internet connection, making this software appealing to businesses with multiple branches in different locations.
  • Automatic Updates: On-cloud CRM providers are responsible for handling updates and maintenance, ensuring users quickly access the latest features and improvements.
  • Data Security: On-cloud CRM providers are highly regarded for their ability to offer optimal security measures to protect customer data.

Cons

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Cons of On-Cloud CRM
  • Data Control: The entire data is stored on servers owned by the third-party provider. This raises concerns about data control and security, as well as risks from the provider’s end.
  • Dependency on the Internet: Cloud CRM operations rely on Internet connectivity. If the connection is slow or interrupted, it may impact the overall system performance.
  • Customization Limitations:  While many cloud CRM solutions are highly configurable, compared to on-premise CRM solutions, they still have limitations in terms of customization.
  • Subscription Costs:  Using on-cloud CRM, businesses will incur ongoing monthly or annual usage fees. Initially, the upfront costs may be lower than on-premise CRM, but there are ongoing fees such as user quantity fees, customization fees, etc., which businesses will continuously have to pay throughout the deployment process. This leads to an increase in the total cost of using the cloud CRM system over time.

Some popular Cloud CRMs include Salesforce Sales Cloud, SAP Sales Cloud, Oracle CRM On Demand,…

Related Reading: 

What is The Difference Between On-Premise and Cloud CRM?

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Key Differences
Difference Between On-Premise and Cloud CRM

On-Premise CRM vs On-Cloud CRM: Which is The Better Choice?

The choice between On-premise and On-cloud CRM becomes a crucial decision in the strategy of deploying CRM. Each type comes with its own set of advantages. On-premise CRM offers high control and customization, while On-cloud CRM is convenient, flexible, and helps reduce the burden of infrastructure and initial costs. 

The ultimate decision depends on the deployment needs, data control requirements, and budget.  Nevertheless, both can serve as valuable tools for businesses to manage customer relationships and amplify operational efficiency. 

Contact SECOMM or call the hotline at 02871089908 today to learn more about deploying and developing a comprehensive CRM system and determine the optimal choice between On-premise and On-cloud.

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