How to choose the right ecommerce platform for your organisation
11/11/2024 - Ecommerce
Ecommerce platform selection – Why it matters
Selecting a platform is not a decision that can be taken lightly, or a one size fits all approach. You need to choose an ecommerce platform that aligns with your goals and allows you to provide a user-first, consistent and on-brand experience for your customers.
With extensive experience in Shopify, BigCommerce and Adobe Commerce, here is a breakdown of each platform, their best use cases and the key things to look for when choosing a platform.
Shopify
In our opinion, Shopify is the easiest platform to launch with a quick time to market and straightforward administration.
Shopify keeps things simple and can be used by arts & culture organisations of different sizes and with different requirements. Whether a client needs a large, complex headless solution (more on this later), or is looking to keep things 'out of the box’, Shopify is a viable option.
Many arts & culture organisations have vast online collections – such as artworks, paintings and photographs. By linking the ecommerce platform with an organisation’s collections website, users can browse the collection and then make a purchase without needing to visit a separate website. This creates a simple and seamless user experience, as well as a sustainable revenue stream.
Art UK
We built a marketplace solution for Art UK to enable art enthusiasts to purchase artworks online, with all orders synced between their website and the marketplace which uses Shopify.
Other museums and galleries can also sell their products through Art UK’s marketplace playing a vital role in the community and supporting access to art.
The Courtauld Institute of Art
As part of a wider website redevelopment project, we created a new Shopify store for The Courtauld Institute of Art allowing users to buy artistic gifts directly from The Courtauld online, including prints, books, stationery, fashion items and homeware.
Is Shopify right for you?
It is a great option for arts & culture organisations looking for a simple, yet effective ecommerce solution. The speed with which the platform can be launched is a major benefit for those looking for quick delivery. Shopify can also grow with an organisation, and is easy to customise, from using existing templates to developing headless or more bespoke solutions as required.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce offers a significant level of customisation, and can be part of a headless commerce approach. Headless commerce is where the front-end user experience and the backend of an application are separated. This allows you to tailor the ecommerce experience for users without affecting the backend system.
Furthermore, the platform’s omnichannel selling capabilities engage a broad range of audiences across multiple channels. Additionally, the high level of flexibility and scalability can support continued growth for organisations.
Mall Galleries
We worked with Mall Galleries to create a new online storefront that runs as a headless commerce solution built on BigCommerce.
We integrated the main CMS (Drupal 10) with the headless BigCommerce elements of the site as details such as artist biographies and methodologies are better served by the CMS.
Site visitors interested in buying a piece of art from Mall Galleries can now click through from ‘artist’ pages to the dedicated product pages hosted on BigCommerce to complete their purchase.
Is BigCommerce right for you?
The flexibility, scalability and customisation coupled with the ability to support headless ecommerce is a major benefit for BigCommerce. It’s ideal for organisations seeking to create a dynamic and engaging front-end experience, while maintaining their existing back-end setup.
Adobe Commerce
Adobe Commerce is highly customisable, flexible and supports integrations that can take the user experience to new levels. We have utilised this platform across several projects.
The National Gallery Online Shop
With the National Gallery, we developed a new ecommerce shop built on Adobe Commerce. This included several integrations, such as a complex API integration to the National Gallery’s back-office systems which covered the organisation’s Tessitura ticketing and CRM system for single-sign-on, personalisation and membership recognition.
An integration with Microsoft Dynamics NAV Enterprise Resource Planner (ERP) for managing core data was completed, as well as an integration with their Print-on-Demand services via King & McGaw. From a user experience perspective, customers can now select a print, frame and size before making a purchase and visualise their chosen print in a room for scale.
The British Museum Online Shop
For the British Museum shop website, as part of a major upgrade, we transitioned their site to the latest version of Adobe Commerce Cloud.
This provided increased stability and security, and helped address several development issues.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Finally, we are currently working to migrate Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s online shop website to Adobe Commerce Cloud and enable a single basket experience which typically allows a user to purchase tickets for events, make donations and buy products all through a single basket. This means only one transaction needs to be completed, creating a more efficient and frictionless experience for users.
Is Adobe Commerce right for you?
It is a standout ecommerce platform for arts & culture organisations due to its levels of customisation and flexibility. With the capability to support numerous integrations, Adobe Commerce is a strong choice for brands looking to deliver exceptional user experiences.
How we can help
By aligning their needs and goals closely with the capabilities of their chosen platform, we have helped our clients achieve transformational results.
If you are looking to increase revenue and enhance your user experience, we can provide tailored advice to help you choose the right ecommerce platform for you and maximise its full potential.
