SaaS vs. Custom eCommerce Platforms: What’s Best for Startups?

Whether you are a well-established enterprise or an emerging startup, creating a successful & impactful online eCommerce business is always challenging. However, online business is quite an easy and smart way of generating substantial revenue. Thus, choosing the right software platform, tools & technologies are crucial. Out of multiple eCommerce software platforms, here are two most reliable and flexible platforms for you— SaaS (Software as a Service) and Custom eCommerce Platforms. In this blog, we’ll be comparing them based on different parameters, so that you can easily choose one according to your business goals.

Comparing SaaS and Custom eCommerce Platforms based on:

Preference

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)	Custom eCommerce Platforms
Highly preferred for small scale projects. For eCommerce websites having less than 2000 products, SaaS software is a good and recommended option	Perfect for large scale businesses and for applications that require high flexibility

Architecture & Costing

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)	Custom eCommerce Platforms
SaaS platform is straightforward, easy, and consumes less time in the set-up	The existing templates are less as compared to the SaaS platform, and you need to create your website from scratch, which is time-consuming also
Lower implementation cost	Higher initial and ongoing costs

Time Factor

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)	Custom eCommerce Platforms
Requires a maximum of 1 day for set-up, and you are all ready to get started!	Requires a minimum of 3 months to get the software up and operational

Product Addition

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)	Custom eCommerce Platforms
Excess addition of products can cause bulkiness and compatibility issues	You can add unlimited products with ease & flexibility without hampering performance

Scalability

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)

Custom eCommerce Platforms

Generic structure, minimal scalability

Personalized structure, maximum scalability

Business expansion is limited

Reason: Software restrictions

Business expansion is unlimited

Reason: Customized software

Revenue

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)	Custom eCommerce Platforms
Not up to the mark; Revenue Loss Reason: Charges per-transaction	Increased Productivity and Better Revenue Reason: Fixed Running costs
Incorporates shared servers that cannot handle a heavy load	Includes reliable servers and data centers that can handle all kinds of load
Poor extended searching capability	Excellent extended search capability

Examples

SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)	Custom eCommerce Platforms
Big Commerce, Volusion, Shopify, and DemandWare	Flipkart, Magento, Woocommerce, and Open cart.

Conclusion

As you can see, both platforms have their pros and cons; therefore, choosing the best one is entirely based on your preferences, goals, and business requirements. No matter which platform you choose for the development of your eCommerce website, you must go for an experienced and reliable technology partner. Look nowhere. Successive Digital has you covered. Enjoy our rich, customized, quality features with seamless third-party integration that aligns best with your unique business needs. Contact us to know more.

SaaS vs. Custom eCommerce Platforms: What’s Best for Startups?