Self-hosted vs Hosted Ecommerce Platform Comparison

The development of every online store starts with a question — “Are you going to use self-hosting or hosted ecommerce platforms?”. Every type of platform has its own set of pros & cons, so the users should consider carefully to choose the most suitable one for themselves. In this article, my goal is to make a detailed self-hosted vs hosted ecommerce platform comparison. Understanding what you need will help you make the right decision.

What Is Web Hosting?

People often say “a host is where the site lives.”

Web hosting is a service that associates with your website reside. It also manages the technology that makes your website connect to the Internet. Web hosting provides space on its server so that other computers around the world can access your website by means of a network or modem.

When you manage a website, you realize that the hosting plan is very important. It’s better to educate yourself on web hosting now. Web hosting has two solutions which are self-hosted and hosted ecommerce platform. Let’s make a comparison to understand these solutions specifically.

1. Self-hosted ecommerce platforms

Self-hosted e-commerce platforms give you the basics without web hosting. Essentially, you can control completely your platform so all the responsibilitíe falls squarely on your shoulders. This solution is relative to the image of cars. If you choose to travel by car, you can drive whenever and wherever you want. But you have to buy and maintain the vehicle.

You need to download the software, install it in your server, and then you take charge of maintaining, upgrading and making any changes you require. The price for a self-hosting ecommerce platform is free for non-profit organizations but it can cost several hundred dollars per year for a fully-managed dedicated server.

Magento, OpenCart, and WooCommerce are the three leading self-hosted ecommerce solutions that can make a good first impression. Among them, Magento is the most outstanding platform because of its rich feature set, combined with seamless scalability and easy customization to suit the vendor’s requirements. If you intend to build and manage your online store by using the Magento platform, you should seek a reliable Magento development company who can support and design your web.

2. Hosted ecommerce platforms

When you are going with a hosted ecommerce platform, it supplies an all-in-one e-commerce solution such as hosting, a shopping cart function, and technical support. Hosted is like a bus because you have to follow the route buses take and you don’t need to drive the bus.

Typically what this involves is you are paying them a monthly service for the privilege of using their solutions and most hosted e-commerce platforms offer reasonable prices and discounts if you pay for several months in advance.

There are many stand-out hosted ecommerce platforms such as Shopify, Bigcommerce, Volusion. Those platforms have almost of ecommerce-specific features.

Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms around these days because it’s the best option for users that want a simple online store builder. Moreover, it has the largest external ecommerce app store that you can visit to add more functionality to your store.

Pros & Cons Of Self-hosted and Hosted Ecommerce Platform.

1. Self-hosted ecommerce platform

Pros

• It allows you to customize your e-commerce sites without any limitation so you’re at liberty to tweak and finesse anything on the platform. If you lack technical knowledge, you can seek the services of an expert web designer or agency to customize your website.
• It enables you to run two or more separate websites on a subdomain or folder and allows the customers to share similar resources such as your customer list and product database.

Cons:

• You might have to hire an expert or web development company unless you have skilled technical knowledge. Besides, you will need to find a hosting provider for your business platform.
• You need to invest a lot of money at the beginning to find the right team for supporting and take a long time to build before you can launch your business website.

2. Hosted ecommerce platform.

Pros:

• You avoid servers and hosting. You would pick a plan with your platform based on the size and overall activity of your store. You don’t need to worry about servers because a support team will take care of any concerns for you.
• Having security taken care of is a major benefit because of the decrease in damages and potentially threaten your entire organization.
• This option is the software as a service (SaaS) model; it means you will avoid a huge initial investment or the price of developing your website because you are under an agreement with the providing company to pay a monthly fee.

Cons:

• The obvious disadvantage of hosted platforms is the inherent restrictions on customization and functionality. In order to make their systems easy and inexpensive to use, they have to restrict what is possible.
• Your monthly or annual fee will grow when your store draws further traffic and needs more influential features.

Which Is Better For Your Bussines Website?

The answer depends on your resources and goals:

• If you’re not a professional technologist, a hosted solution is probably the best choice for you. Using these ready-made platforms can help you start your store at a reasonable cost and you don’t need to worry about maintaining or upgrading for features.
• If you’re a technically minded person or are willing to pay for someone to build and manage your site, you can have much finer control with a self-hosted e-commerce site. All aspects of the storefront and the back end can be customized, giving you total control over the customer experience.

Before you select between a self-hosted and a hosted ecommerce platform, consider what is best for your business: short-term convenience or long-term flexibility and control. I hope that this post helps you to define what you need and choose the right option for your ecommerce business.