Best Architecture For E-commerce Solutions

Over the years one sector which held its head high is eCommerce. Globally eCommerce is on the rise and more and more companies are focusing their business into the eCommerce solutions arena. When planning to start an eCommerce venture, the first thing to decide on is the eCommerce architecture. Choosing architecture is dependent on your needs. Basically it is based on your functionality needs, the budget and technology resources available. Before leaping into the business let us take a look at which architecture is best suited for your eCommerce service.

  1. SaaS

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software licensing and delivery model in which the software is licensed on a subscription basis and applications are hosted and managed in a service provider’s data centre which is accessed via a browser over an internet connection.

If you are a small business with a small product selection, SaaS architecture would be a better option to choose. In a SaaS, the software and data are hosted in the cloud. The main advantages of using SaaS is its smaller initial investment. Please find our extensive blog here to know the pros and cons of using SaaS in eCommerce development and implementation.

Inability to add custom functionality is the main disadvantage of using SaaS.

  1. Hybrid

If you have to add your eCommerce solutions to an existing site, you can try the hybrid architecture. A hybrid is a combination of custom built and SaaS. In hybrid, your eCommerce site uses SaaS while other functionalities are custom built and hosted separately with integration done through a common header and footer.

Hybrid combines the lower initial investment of SaaS and ability to have custom functionality on the website. The main disadvantage is that, you have to maintain multiple systems and the inability to differentiate your eCommerce solution from your competition.

  1. Custom Build

A custom build is a software platform on which all the functionalities are built as per our requirements. This gives more function and control.

This architecture offers total control of the site and functionality; there is no limit for creative execution and the platform can be re-purposed later for mobile sites and applications. It also can use custom functionality to differentiate from the competition. The main disadvantage is that, it costs significant initial investment.

This is an overview of the basic approaches to the eCommerce architecture. However every situation may require specific attention and different approaches. Hence it is always suggested to learn more about the uniqueness of your service and choose accordingly.

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