eCommerce website builders are special website builders designed to enable you to construct an online store to sell your goods or downloadable products. With an online shop builder you get access to the facilities you would normally expect to find in any shop such as shopping cart, product pages and payment facilities. However, there are several types which all work differently and have various advantages over each other in terms of ease of use, skill level required and cost.

First of all there are Software ecommerce store builders which you can buy on CD/DVD or purchase online and download. To use these you need to have a degree of basic computer skills as you first of all need to buy a website name (or domain), then subscribe to online website hosting (unless you plan to host it on your own server – in which case you are probably quite technically advanced already).

Next you’ll need to install the software on your computer and then link it to your web host – You need to ensure that the software is compatible with your computers operating system – Apple, PC or other, and also that it is compatible with the version of operating system you are using.

Advantages of Software e-Commerce builders:

One of the advantages of these e-store builders are that you only pay a one-off cost to purchase the software. However this price can be quite steep e.g. $750-1500 dollars (and there are no refunds if it works, but you don’t like its features or look). Once purchased since you own the software, you can often use it to produce as many stores as you want. Another advantage is that since you have complete control of your web hosting, you can move your shop to another host, recreate or duplicate it on another domain etc.

Disadvantages of Software Store Builders:

On the other hand you will need quite a bit of technical skill and time and some software systems can be quite difficult to set up.

Another issue is that once you have bought your software, like a car, it depreciates over time by which I mean you are unlikely to get the benefit of any further development or technical advances e.g. assuming you bought your software a few years ago and have happily been running it, suddenly a new technology like Facebook or Twitter appears on the scene and you can’t take advantage of it or add it to your site. So your site looks dated compared to your competition.

Next are Online Website Store Builder Systems which are eCommerce website builders hosted on massive online servers. To use them you simply pay a monthly subscription fee which tends to vary from £15 – 30/month depending on which package you choose. These too have many advantages but one major flaw or danger you need to consider carefully.

Advantages of Online Shop Builders:

Of great benefit if you have limited funds or don’t want to spend to much of your precious capital is the fact that you can pay a low monthly rather than paying hundreds or thousands of dollars or pounds. If your shop doesn’t succeed, all you will have lost is time and your monthly fees to date.

Another advantage is development speed. This is the easiest option to get up and running very quickly. You don’t have to install anything. You merely have to buy a domain name and link it to your shop. You also get the benefits of upgrades, fixes, new features and new designs immediately they are added to the system. Finally there is access. Since you access your shop online, you can update your eCommerce store at any time as long as you can access the Internet.

Disadvantages of Online Store Builders

The flip side of the cost issue is that costs are on-going which means you need to continue paying for your shop services for as long as you have a shop – whether you sell anything or not. In addition online packages often have a maximum product list so if your product list increases you may need to move to a more expensive package.

One of the greatest dangers is economic vulnerability. If anything happens to the company behind the online service e.g. bankruptcy, you could easily lose your whole store. It can also be very difficult, if not impossible to transfer your shop elsewhere.

Conclusion:

If you are fairly comfortable with web technology and computers in general and can afford it, software ecommerce builders offer the advantage of your being incomplete control of your web store. If on the other hand you have limited funds, want your shop up and running quite rapidly, and would prefer to be able to access your shop anywhere and at any time, you should invest in an online eCommerce website builder.

Visit http://www.smallbusinesswebsitebuilders.com for website builder information and more tips on how to choose an eCommerce website builder, creating e-commerce (online) stores, membership sites, auction and other specialised sites, website creator reviews, building traffic as well as tips for creating your business website.

Visit http://smallbusinesswebsitebuilders.com for information and tips on how to choose a website builder, ecommerce website builders, creating e-commerce (online) stores, membership sites, auction and other specialised sites, website creator reviews, building traffic and designing your website.

Author Bio: Visit http://www.smallbusinesswebsitebuilders.com for website builder information and more tips on how to choose an eCommerce website builder, creating e-commerce (online) stores, membership sites, auction and other specialised sites, website creator reviews, building traffic as well as tips for creating your business website.

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: ecommerce website builder, online website builder, online store builder, ecommerce web builder