Change is good, sometimes inevitable, especially in this ever-changing world of technology. Companies constantly update their products to align them with the current day requirements. Merchants have to keep pace with the changes to provide customers solutions that best meet their needs.
If your website is using a legacy platform that does not support advanced features, integrations, runs slow, incurs more cost, or is no more available, replatforming is inevitable. For example, Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration is what you got to do if you are a Magento 1 vendor since it is ending its support in June this year. Re-platforming is the process of moving your website from its current platform to a modern and more robust one. It is one way by which you can greatly improve your site’s performance and get it ready to integrate new features.
Most retailers are reluctant to undergo this change which is quite understandable. Replatforming is a complex task which can take from weeks to months. There is also the fear of losing precious data in the process. Plus, they have got used to the platform and investing in a new one sure carry apprehensions. However, if done properly by professionals, the move can prove to be worth the efforts, time, and money.
Top 5 Things to Consider While Replatforming your Website
If you have decided to replatform your website, choosing the one that best suits your business is going to be challenging. here are some considerations you should take into account.
Financial Consideration:
Re-platforming is not just about money – that is a big consideration though. Ensure the platform you are moving to does not put a huge burden on your pocket. You also wouldn’t want to pay for every new upgrade the platform brings out over time. The new platform should innovate for you and cover you in case it updates to new version or incorporates new features.
Scalability:
Every business wishes to expand and so the platform has to be scalable to support the growth. You may not need thousands of SKUs or hundreds of operations now but things can be different after a year or so.
While choosing a new platform, imagine your business 5-10 years from now. Understand your future business needs and whether the new platform has the capacity to evolve and respond to the needs. Magento, for example, supports third party modules which allow merchants to easily scale their online stores as per their needs.
Support:
This should not be overlooked. You or your developer may encounter problems and find it difficult to solve. Make sure the alternative you are evaluating provides chat, email, or phone support and has complete documentation. Also, see how quickly their support representatives respond. Some e-Commerce platforms have how-to guides, videos, and forums aimed at solving developer’s problems.
Ease & Security:
Go for a platform which is known for easy content creation. If it is difficult to create pages and store products, you will find yourself with little time to focus on marketing or QA tasks. You also need long quality content if you want search engines to favor your products or services. A website should be easy to use and navigate for customers and to manage for admins.
If you are an E-Commerce vendor, nothing is more important than security, especially when hacking and cybercrimes are common. Make sure the new platform and the payment gateways it support abide by the security standards. Your customers should feel confident that their transactions are safe. Many E-commerce platforms offer additional security perks which you can consider in the long run, if not now.
Analytics:
Does the platform provide complete insights into customer’s behavior at every stage? Does it allow you to collect every information about your customers and retarget them? Analytics about customer’s behavior will go a long way in improving conversions.
For example, when a customer lands on your store, you can get multiple relevant information. What products they are browsing, what price range they are interested in, or what solution they are looking for. You also get their personal information such as country, name, email, etc. All this information is vital to extract meaningful insights and use them for your marketing campaigns. Is your new platform robust enough to respond to changes in milliseconds guided by analytics and show products that customers will be more interested in?
The above considerations will help you end up choosing a platform that will not only meet your business short term goals but also scale it over time.