The development of an online store’s technical structure constitutes e-commerce website development. The development process includes creating two main sections: the frontend for customer use during product viewing and buying, and the backend for handling data processing and order management, as well as system integration for inventory and customer management systems.
The development of e-commerce requires these fundamental aspects:
Frontend development
Users experience the website functionality and design features through the layout structure for the website, alongside the product pages and user interface components, and website graphics.
Backend development
Server-side programming handles end-user commands alongside data management to make sure all front-end operations operate correctly.
Integrations
An e-commerce system requires connections with external software programs to enable additional features such as payment processing and transportation management, and data analysis functionalities.
Multifaceted updates through headless commerce represent an evolving direction of e-commerce development because this independent design of frontend and backend elements enables further
AI-driven personalization stands as a transformative game-changer that allows online stores to adjust their shopping process to match each customer’s tastes and actions, thus improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Options for building an e-commerce website
Building your e-commerce website through a proper method selection provides essential benefits, including scalability and better user experience, and lower costs. There exist three fundamental options for your consideration.
Programming your e-commerce website from available open-source options allows you to start fresh.
Customize a SaaS (software-as-a-service) solution.
You should use MACH architecture to unlock its potential.
This analysis explores each option’s advantages and difficulties to support your process of selecting a decision that matches your strategic business needs.
Build it from scratch
Businesses that have skilled web development or IT teams can find their perfect solution in open-source ecommerce platforms. Open-source platforms enable complete programming code access that provides total customization, through which you create your site without boundaries.
As an open-source platform user, your business needs to oversee PCI compliance along with web hosting duties, security responsibilities, and manual update processes. Your ability to manage these systems becomes increasingly difficult as operations grow in complexity or scale.
Unique enterprise requirements that off-the-shelf solutions cannot satisfy lead companies to build their websites from scratch. Open source software supplies the adaptable capabilities these large businesses require, yet calls for prolonged investments in both technical personnel and system infrastructure.
Customize a SaaS solution
When you do not possess advanced coding skills or you need to conserve funds for custom development, then Wix’s SaaS ecommerce platform stands as an accessible, affordable choice.
Through SaaS, customers acquire subscription-based solutions maintained by third-party vendors that operate from cloud-based servers. SaaS solutions enable businesses to rent fully-managed software platforms from providers who handle product updates and security maintenance, as well as hosting functions and PCI compliance duties. SaaS solutions accelerate business market entry because of their affordable subscription-based delivery model.
Specific e-commerce solutions known as “open SaaS” combine the advantages of both open-source and SaaS platforms.
BigCommerce leads as one of the prime open SaaS ecommerce platforms delivering solutions to mid-market and enterprise brands. Customers who use our open APIs get every SaaS platform advantage, including BigCommerce’s hosting service, along with reduced ownership costs and quicker time to market. Using this SaaS system provides users with the capability to develop unique integrations at speeds comparable to open-source programming.
MACH (microservices, API-first, cloud-native, and headless)
The traditional e-commerce model during the last years has bound storefront frontends and server-side backend applications in a single unified monolithic structure.
A monolithic solution functions well for small and mid-sized businesses starting out, yet becomes problematic during periods of growth that demand increased system complexity, especially when handling multiple websites and regional expansion.
The solution? MACH architecture
MACH represents a framework that helps organizations design enterprise software systems by combining microservices architecture with API-first development and cloud-native SaaS functionality and headless design principles. Under MACH architecture, you can select technology solutions that match your current business needs and upcoming roadmap requirements.
Microservices
Application development uses microservices, which are small functional units that work together to accomplish the task. Each of these components utilizes separate programming structures for creation, maintenance, deployment, and resource administration.
API-first
Application programming interfaces (APIs) enable content delivery between multiple applications through communication, so developers should focus on API development throughout the application creation process.
Cloud-native
Cloud-native applications completely use all cloud platform options to perform digital technology maintenance and monitoring while licensing through the subscription service model.
Headless
The decoupling of the website frontend display from the platform’s ecommerce operations creates a headless commerce architecture. Design teams gain better freedom to create user interfaces that accommodate diverse channels through this approach.
The Big Commerce platform enables businesses to build headless stores with automatic backend management connections to frontend delivery features. The business liberation provided by this setup enables organizations to develop novel commerce operations across platforms without being limited by modular constraints.
Choosing the right e-commerce website developer
An e-commerce developer’s choice remains vital because they build a smooth shopping interface, which simultaneously fuels business growth and builds lasting customer commitment. Their professional expertise delivers a polished online store operation that preserves functionality and aesthetics, and complies with modern consumer needs.
HostingAdvice conducted a survey, which revealed consumers abandoned 75% of online purchases because the sites appeared unprofessional and outdated, yet 92% felt more confident about businesses when their websites functioned well.
Your e-commerce website will receive superior customer experiences when you select a development team that already has expertise in designing and developing e-commerce solutions.
6 steps for developing a custom e-commerce website
If you want an e-commerce store, you have multiple options to choose from, even if you lack both coding skills and technical know-how.
Before starting development work, you must determine key factors beyond the selection of your platform. Before starting your development process, review these essential points.
1. Understand your business goals
Making an online sales commitment requires significant thinking. Business action must wait until you design all operational elements.
Begin your planning process by answering why you want to sell online.
What are your reasons for choosing online e-commerce selling? Achieving more business clients requires only a few steps.
How will your e-commerce business serve as an infrastructure for direct consumer transactions?
You seek to gain online traffic, which will boost current brick-and-mortar sales.
Should your business move from serving B2C customers to B2B customers or shift from B2B to B2C operations?
2. Understand the intended shopping experience
As an e-business owner, you need to determine the shopping experience your customers will encounter. These experiential elements should form part of your consideration:
Customers can easily determine results by employing search filters organized by size and color and price.
Customers can evaluate products in a side-by-side format.
Customers benefit from an improved one-page checkout system.
Online services with promotions and discounts, and multiple types of promotional offers.
3. Discuss platform options
To find optimal performance for your online business, choose features that fit the different e-commerce platforms’ benefits and drawbacks.
Major ecommerce website builders available to customers consist of BigCommerce and Magento and WooCommerce alongside Shopify and its premium version Shopify Plus. Ecommerce merchants running websites with lots of content can use WordPress but BigCommerce among other platforms allows content and commerce integration through its connection features.
4. Add products
Your platform should enable quick listing entry and edition capabilities and maintain inventory coordination across multiple selling channels. By connecting your back office with sales channels, you can simplify product maintenance operations and maintain correct inventory levels.
The following factors need your attention when you add products to your business operations:
High-quality product images: Every customer needs to trust that their order from you will contain exactly the products they chose.
Detailed product descriptions: For products that receive extensive research, you need to provide full product details, including precise specifications and measurements.
5. Set payment and shipping settings
Working with a website developer enables you to receive assistance for both shopping cart functionality and checkout processes, together with payment gateway implementation and shipping configuration. Web developers provide you with multiple payment gateway options.
Buy Now Pay Later options (BNPL) join cash-based methods as payment solutions that customers now prefer to use. You need not implement all payment options, yet the trend toward BNPL and other methods is evident. When you offer cross-border sales, you need payment gateways that support your key target markets.
BigCommerce supplies flexible payment and shipping integration solutions designed to fit the needs of many business types. Your business can select payment gateways from various options that serve your target markets for improved checkout processes with comprehensive customer service options.
6. QA and launch the website
After moving your website to production, inspect it briefly for a quick evaluation of design and functionality for e-commerce, along with navigation performance.
Here’s a quick checklist:
All calls-to-action on the homepage and landing pages require review, along with form titles.
Test your checkout experience.
Perform two checks on payment processing integrations that include credit cards and PayPal and Stripe, and other options.
You must optimize all images to provision each high-definition asset for maximum performance speed.
Review the website for any absent categories of products and their descriptions.
Users should test that all website forms and all established links function properly.
Check that your tax configurations are accurate.
Double-check that your inventory listing contains all necessary products.
Testing both coupons and promo codes should be your next step.
Your digital storefront needs to present an equivalent view on desktop and mobile devices while maintaining a seamless user experience.
Conclusion
Your decision about platform selection determines how complex your online journey will be. The launch and ongoing maintenance of your website depend heavily on web developers, whether you choose sophisticated custom work or basic turn-key setups. The rules for going live are now clear in your mind, so you are prepared to start.
You can get help from BigCommerce’s strong team of service and solution experts whenever you need support. You can launch your e-commerce store with confidence because of the available support structure.
