Top 5 SaaS Ecommerce Solutions in 2021
Small businesses need help with ecommerce, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) can make it easy to get started. If you’re not familiar with SaaS think Spotify or Apple Music. You download the application, pay a monthly fee, and the provider updates everything for everyone at the same time. You may not even notice that it’s happened.
On the other side of the coin, do you recall purchasing the software for Microsoft Word every time you needed to update? You’ll never fall behind on updates if you work with a SaaS provider.
The growth in this area paired with your passion for serving small business clients creates a win-win situation for yourself and clients who want to sell online.
Grow your business with SaaS
A SaaS provider can help your business grow by offering your clients more products and services through cloud-based marketplaces. You can choose packages that range from basic DIY to all-encompassing do-it-for-me options depending on your business needs.
Working with a SaaS platform provides reasonably predictable recurring revenue due to subscriptions. Another plus is only paying for what you sell to small business clients. According to Fusebill, ‘recurring revenue in the SaaS space led to simpler forecasting and a 12 percent rise in subscription revenue, even amidst a pandemic.’
Organizations that work with small businesses can scale their ecommerce solutions by working with SaaS providers. Whether your goal is to gain new clients, retain existing clients, or expand the basket size your current clients have with you, ecommerce with a SaaS platform is a great way to grow your business.
Know your ecommerce options
The first step in reselling ecommerce solutions to local businesses is choosing the right platform. Cloud-based SaaS solution providers offer a wide range of solutions, such as site migration services that help move clients from one online ecommerce platform to another without having to rebuild their website from scratch. Others offer services to build and maintain the websites on your behalf.
Check out this list of Top 5 SaaS ecommerce solutions to help you decide which solution is right for your business.
1. Wix:
This platform has a large number of website building templates to choose from and gives users the ability to drag and drop elements anywhere on the page. One drawback is that editing a website doesn’t automatically edit the mobile version, and it's lacking more advanced SEO features. All edits must be done twice. According to Website Tool Tester, loading speed and customization are the two biggest cons among many pros.
Wix is considered to be one of the most affordable ecommerce solutions available on the market. Unlike Shopify, Wix does not charge commission.
2. Squarespace:
This structured editor has top-of-the-line templates, but there aren’t as many to choose from as Wix for example. According to SiteBuilderReport Squarespace does more with fewer features as compared to other platforms in this list. The simplicity of this platform makes it an ideal DIY choice if you don’t have the capacity to build and manage ecommerce sites for your clients.
Squarespace is a hosted solution meaning that you won’t need to download any software to use it. Simply have access to the internet and you’ll be able to update your website with this solution on-the-go. This platform won’t be as scalable as the Vendasta or BigCommerce platforms in the end so if you want something that will grow with your clients check out those options below.
3. Vendasta:
Supported by WordPress and WooCommerce, the Vendasta solution provides endless opportunities for customization. WordPress gives full control to the user because it doesn’t host websites, and as the user's comfort level increases, WordPress can be customized further with coding.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that has a rich set of features covering everything you or your clients might need to start selling online. Whether your client purchases a DIY package or you are doing everything for them, the backend is intuitive for store management. EcommerceCEO recognized WooCommerce as the best platform for SEO.
Businesses with small teams can take advantage of additional services offered by Vendasta. The marketing services team will build sites for your clients with a quick turnaround and clear expectations. Price varies depending on the plan you choose which ranges from DIY to do-it-for-me. The Vendasta platform offers white-labeling for all products and services so that your clients see everything under your brand.
4. Shopify:
One of the most popular online store builders available, Shopify has simplified the process for over one million business owners. Unlike WooCommerce, this is a hosted solution, which means you don’t own it but instead pay a monthly fee.
Techradar lists powerful analytics as something that sets Shopify apart from other platforms. With five tiers of reporting options that range from Shopify Lite to Shopify Plus, there are product analytics and finances reports in the overview dashboard. See what reports belong with each tier here to see what analytics are available with this platform.
This platform charges commission to its users starting with a higher percentage with the less expensive plans and going down with the more expensive tiers. Regardless of this, Shopify is favored by over one million small and medium businesses around the world.
5. BigCommerce:
BigCommerce is known for being geared toward omnichannel selling. Manage multiple channels from this platform such as Pinterest, Facebook, Amazon, and eBay stores. The site builder uses an uncomplicated drag and drop feature and doesn’t require any coding knowledge.
According to ecommerceCEO there is a limitation on annual sales volume embedded in every plan. Depending on your plan and how much you sell, this means expensive automatic upgrades are incurred if that limit is exceeded. You’ll want to keep a close eye on this if BigCommerce is the right fit for your company.
This ecommerce platform supports over 55 payment gateways, so this means you can offer customers options in how they want to pay for their purchases and there are no additional fees.
The verdict
If you want to provide your clients with the most customizable solution, WooCommerce through the Vendasta platform is a good option. With numerous plugins available it is also the most scalable solution on this list. However, if you don’t provide website services to your clients and the majority of them are overwhelmed with technology, Squarespace is one of the simplest platforms available.
The above options are all excellent choices depending on your needs. Do the research and make sure you know which platform is going to be the best fit for your business and the clients you serve.