If you plan to sell anything online, you need an e-commerce platform. An e-commerce platform is software built specifically to facilitate online sales. It is a tool that powers online stores.
Therefore, at the very least, it has a customer-facing online shop that allows online sellers to showcase their products, preferably with advanced categorization, sorting, and filtering options. It enables add-to-cart or add-to-bag and lets customers pay for their purchases to await their delivery at a future time, preferably within 24 to 48 hours.
Some eCommerce platforms have advanced features, such as abandoned cart recovery mechanisms and advanced personalization, i.e., customizing product suggestions according to customers’ browsing and purchase history. A few even have omnichannel sales enablement and centralized inventory management.
An eCommerce platform, therefore, is a boilerplate with standard online selling functions. It’s great because it can give you a functional online store out of the box that you can just tweak according to your specific requirements and preferences.
While it’s clear that eCommerce platforms are useful and helpful, deciding on a platform can be hard. Part of the difficulty stems from the fact that you may be comparing different categories of eCommerce platforms.
Understanding the differences between different platforms, particularly hosted and self-hosted eCommerce platform, may make deciding easier for you.
Difference Between Hosted or Self- Hosted Ecommerce Platform
Hosted Platforms: Easy Breezy Setup
A hosted eCommerce platform is a ready-made solution that provides everything you need to run an online store. Typical inclusions are hosting, domain name, eCommerce software, and ongoing technical management.
Think of it as an all-in-one, ready-to-occupy storefront. It’s already painted and finished, with electricity and running water. All you need to do is put your signage on the door and, if you prefer, decorate it with some indoor plants, put wallpapers up, add furniture, etc. After you display your wares, you can open your doors and start selling.
The “landlord” – your store’s host – takes care of the backend and everything your store needs to run so you can focus on selling your products. You don’t have to worry about finding a separate hosting provider, managing servers, or handling software updates—the platform provider does it all for you.
Is it for you?
If you want to get started immediately, if you don’t have much technical expertise, and all you want is to turn on the lights on your store, so to speak, then a hosted eCommerce platform is for you.
Choose your store design from pre-designed templates. Add sections by dragging and dropping them onto your pages and activate features by ticking or toggling them.
Hosted eCommerce platforms are recommended for small and medium-sized enterprises, new entrepreneurs, or anyone who wants a straightforward way to sell online without dealing with technical complexities. If your priority is setting up an online store quickly and managing it easily, this platform is a great fit.
That said, as standard customization and flexibility can be limited, it may be less suited for businesses that require highly specific customizations or need to manage large-scale operations. The key is to find a hosted platform that provides all the tools you want your store to have.
Self-Hosted Platforms: Complex and Flexible
A self-hosted eCommerce platform involves downloading software from the platform developer and installing it on a server you own or control. Unlike hosted solutions, you’re responsible for setting up hosting, pointing your store domain name to your server, and managing everything from installation to maintenance.
With a self-hosted platform, you can tweak more aspects of your store’s design and functionality. You aren’t limited by the tools and templates provided by a hosted service. If you can code and integrate it, you can add it as a feature to your self-hosted eCommerce store.
This level of control makes self-hosted platforms suited to businesses that require custom workflows, niche products, or specific integrations. The trade-off is the need to handle updates, security, backups, and hosting costs yourself. You’re in charge of ensuring the platform runs smoothly, which can become time-consuming and too challenging, especially for business owners who run everything themselves.
Interestingly, self-hosted eCommerce platforms share similarities with property management software, where users need flexibility to customize features according to their business needs. Just as property managers require tailored tools to handle tenant communications, lease tracking, and maintenance requests, online store owners with self-hosted platforms benefit from complete control over their site’s design and functionality.
Is it for you?
Self-hosted platforms require a greater level of technical know-how (or the budget to hire someone who has that). On the upside, they offer unmatched flexibility and customization.
A self-hosted platform is for you if you want robust controls and are willing to invest the time and resources to maintain your store. It’s also a strong choice if you have immediate plans to scale or operate in ways hosted platforms might not support.
Hosted or Self-Hosted: That Is the Question
Do you want to sell online? You need a virtual storefront. Thankfully, eCommerce platforms make it easy to build one.
eCommerce platforms are either hosted or self-hosted. The first one is better if you want a ready-made store you don’t need to maintain or update and will let you get up and running within the day.
The latter is for you if you have the technical know-how (or have someone on your team) to install and maintain eCommerce software on a server you control or own.
