The first question you need to answer during the preparation phase is whether you want a hosted (cloud) or self-hosted ecommerce platform. In a nutshell, the main difference between the two is the amount of up-front investment required to get the store online, both in terms of time and money.
When we say self-hosted ecommerce platform, we are talking about a variety of open-source applications that require web hosting to function. These platforms give you full control over the platform, something that hosted services cannot match. They can be set up anywhere with the selection of preferred hosting service provider down to the user, which has its advantages.
The disadvantage of self-hosted services is that if you will want additional features that aren’t included in the open-source software, meaning you’ll need to develop it yourself or ask for a helping hand. Also, the responsibility of uptime, security, and selecting the best payment processors will be entirely yours. If you don’t have expertise in these areas – starting with coding – then this will cost you a lot of money.
Hosted ecommerce platforms, on the other hand, offer the convenience of speed as they provide all the must-have features by default. This includes a wide variety of templates, SEO options, payment gateways, site hosting, and much more for a flat monthly fee. These platforms will help set up an online store and customize a template in a matter of just a few days so you can start selling in less than a week.