Tag: woocommerce

  • 11 Best Shopify Alternatives in India to Consider in 2023

    As the e-commerce market in India continues to grow, more and more entrepreneurs are looking for ways to establish an online presence for their businesses. One popular platform for creating an online store is Shopify. Shopify is a well-known and widely used platform, but it may not be the best fit for every business. Factors such as pricing, customization options, and local payment methods can play a crucial role in choosing the right platform for an Indian business. In this blog, we’ll discuss the best Shopify alternatives in India.

    Many businesses are looking to go online in India at present, and due to a lack of knowledge about options, they choose Shopify. Although the catch is that Shopify has not been created to suit the Indian market or Indian sellers for that matter- everything from pricing to plans, seller support, and even the underlying tech is more suitable for US-based businesses.

    This obviously proves to be a problem for Indian sellers. But, now there are several eCommerce platforms available that have been developed keeping in mind Indian entrepreneurs. These alternatives offer a range of features and pricing options, making it possible for businesses of all sizes to find a solution that fits their needs. In this article, we will explore some of the top Shopify alternatives in India and compare their features and pricing over the Shopify platform.

    Why Should You Try Shopify Alternatives?
    How to Choose the Best Shopify Alternative
    Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Why Should You Try Shopify Alternatives?

    Even though it is a legacy platform, and immensely popular, Shopify still cannot be the perfect eCommerce platform for all businesses. In fact, Shopify falls short of many basic needs when it comes to Indian entrepreneurs. There are several reasons why a business in India may want to consider trying a Shopify alternative:

    • Cost: Shopify’s pricing plans may not be suitable for businesses on a tight budget. Alternatives like WooCommerce and BigCommerce offer lower monthly fees and the ability to use your own hosting, which can save a significant amount of money in the long run.
    • Customization: Some alternatives offer more advanced customization options and the ability to add custom functionality through plugins and extensions. This gives businesses more control over the design and functionality of their online store.
    • Local Payment Options: Shopify does not offer all Indian payment gateways like UPI and net banking. Alternatives like Instamojo offer Indian payment gateways, which can be a crucial factor for businesses looking to sell products to a local market.
    • Scalability: Some alternatives are more scalable and can better handle a large number of products and high traffic volume. This makes them a better option for businesses that anticipate significant growth in the future.
    • Control: Some alternatives are open-source, which means they can be customized according to the business’s specific needs and you have full control of the platform.

    How to Choose the Best Shopify Alternative

    Choosing the best Shopify alternative for your business can be a complex process, but there are several key factors to consider when making your decision:

    • Ease of Use.
    • Value for Money.
    • Seller Support.
    • Features and Benefits.
    • User reviews.
    • Local Payment Options
    • Third-Party Integration.

    Ultimately, the best Shopify alternative for your business will depend on your unique needs, budget, and goals. By carefully considering each of these factors, you’ll be able to make an informed decision and choose the platform that best suits your business.

    Tip: Try out a few options yourself before choosing one alternative.

    Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Here are the best Shopify alternatives in India that you should consider:

    Dukaan

    Website Mydukaan.io
    Rating 4.4/5
    Free Trial 7 Days
    Best suited for Small business owners in India
    Customer Support Available in chat, email, and phone

    Dukaan - eCommerce platform
    Dukaan – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Dukaan is an easy-to-use & convenient eCommerce platform, built keeping in mind the needs of small business owners in India. It enables sellers to create an online storefront in less than 1 minute!

    Dukaan is the best Shopify alternative in India, with powerful eCommerce capabilities, easy to use, and scalable. Selling online with Dukaan is as easy as creating a WhatsApp group. Sellers can simply download the app on their phones and manage their stores on the go!

    It offers sellers a wide range of marketing features and tools to manage their online stores, and with the benefits of zero commissions on sales and complete control over their stores, sellers can start and manage their online business in the easiest way possible.

    How to Start an Online Store in Under 5 Minutes | Dukaan

    Features of Dukaan

    • Stores are optimized for mobile devices, ensuring that they look and function great on smartphones and tablets.
    • Integration with a range of other apps and tools, including payment gateways, shipping providers, and accounting software.
    • Provides real-time analytics and reporting on store performance, including sales, traffic, and customer engagement.
    • Offers a range of tools for promoting and marketing the store, including social media integration, email marketing, and SEO optimization.
    • You can customize the look and feel of your store, including the layout, colors, and branding elements.
    • Provides robust mobile app for managing products, including adding new items, editing existing ones, and setting prices.

    Why Choose Dukaan Over Shopify?

    • Dukaan has its own delivery network known as “Dukaan delivery”, this provides affordable rates and helps sellers not to rely on other third-party delivery services. While with Shopify, you need to integrate with other third-party delivery services.
    • The mobile app of Dukaan is more robust compared to Shopify. Using the app you can manage almost everything from customizing your store to third-party integration. It has a simple and user-friendly interface for creating and managing an online store, whereas Shopify can be more complex and require more technical knowledge.
    • Dukaan offers built-in social media integrations that make it easy for small businesses to sell on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. Shopify also offers social media integration but the process is complicated compared to Dukaan.
    • Dukaan is specifically designed for small businesses and independent sellers, whereas Shopify caters to a wider range of businesses and industries. So if you are a small business then Dukaan is the best choice for you.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Quarterly Price Yearly Price
    Silver ₹533/month, billed quarterly ₹1,599 ₹375/month, billed yearly ₹4,499
    Gold ₹1,066/month, billed quarterly ₹3,199 ₹750/month, billed yearly ₹8,999
    Platinum ₹3,333/month, billed quarterly ₹9,999 ₹2,500/month, billed yearly ₹29,999

    BigCommerce

    Website www.bigcommerce.com
    Rating 4.4/5
    Free Trial 15 Days
    Best suited for Retail businesses of all sizes
    Customer Support Available in chat, email, and phone

    BigCommerce - eCommerce Development Platform
    BigCommerce – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    BigCommerce is a powerful and versatile e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of features and tools to help businesses create and manage online stores with ease. It is a solid Shopify alternative for businesses in India that need more advanced features and more control over their online store.

    This provides a range of third-party apps and integrations to help businesses expand their capabilities and reach. This includes popular apps such as Google Analytics, Salesforce, and MailChimp, as well as integrations with popular shipping and logistics providers. Whether you’re a small business just starting out or a large enterprise looking to expand your online presence, BigCommerce has the tools and capabilities to help you succeed.

    Features of BigCommerce

    • It helps to easily create a professional-looking website without any coding or design experience.
    • Provides tools for managing products, inventory, shipping, payments, and integration with popular payment gateways.
    • Stencil CLI tool that helps to test the tool before publishing on the website.
    • It allows you to sell your product on different social media platforms.
    • In-built global CDN that helps to load your site quickly anywhere in the world.
    • Built-in SEO optimization, email marketing, and social media integration to help businesses increase visibility and drive traffic to their online stores.
    • Detailed reports and analytics on sales, traffic, and customer behavior, helping store owners make data-driven decisions.

    Why Choose BigCommerce Over Shopify?

    • There are multiple reasons to choose BigCommerce over Shopify and the most prominent reason is the saving on each transaction. BigCommerce charges a 0% transaction charge on every online transaction that happens. This will increase your revenue by not sharing any fees on the transaction. While on the other hand, Shopify charges transaction fees on every transaction based on the plan.
    • Another reason is the WordPress integration. BigCommerce for WordPress is a plugin that you can use to power your e-commerce site built on WordPress. Everything that happens on the backend is handled by Bigcommerce. It also doesn’t put any cap on the number of staff that can access the site, while Shopify applies a cap on the number of Staff that can access the site.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Monthly Price Yearly Price
    Standard $29.95/month $29.95/month
    Plus $79.95/month $71.95/month
    Pro $299.95/month $269.96/month
    Enterprise Custom Plans Custom Plans


    Try BigCommerce Now

    WooCommerce

    Website Woocommerce.com
    Rating 4.6/5
    Free Trial Not Available
    Best suited for Small to large-sized retail outlets
    Customer Support Available in chat, email, phone, and knowledge base

    WooCommerce - Open Source eCommerce Platform
    WooCommerce – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress that allows you to easily create and manage an online store on your WordPress website. It is a widely used plugin and emerged as the best and cheapest alternative of Shopify. Since it is built on WordPress you’ll get more customization options compared to Shopify.

    It is designed to seamlessly integrate with a WordPress website, making it easy to set up and manage an online store. It also offers a wide range of customization options, including themes and templates, to help users create a unique and professional-looking online store.

    Features of WooCommerce

    • Using WooCommerce product management features you can easily create and manage products, including setting prices, adding images, and creating product categories.
    • Inventory management features to help users track stock levels and set up automatic notifications when products are low.
    • It can easily integrate with Google Analytics to provide detailed reports and analytics to help users track sales, customer behavior, and other key metrics.
    • You can manage customer information, including order history and contact details.
    • Built-in support for taxes and shipping rates that help you to calculate tax and shipping rates automatically.

    Why Choose WooCommerce Over Shopify?

    • Since WooCommerce is a free open-source plugin you can start selling your products online without investing hefty money in a Shopify subscription. It includes all the basic features that an e-commerce website needs. On top of that features you can extend the functionality of your website using a variety of WooCommerce extensions available.
    • Because the site is built on WordPress, you can also configure other WordPress plugins Such as Yoast SEO, and OptinMonster to increase your organic reach. There are varieties of paid and free templates available that are easy to customize. Overall, WooCommerce is an affordable alternative to Shopify for new and small-size businesses.

    Pricing Plan

    WooCommerce offers custom plans, you can contact the vendor to get a quote.

    Wix eCommerce

    Website www.wix.com
    Rating 4.4/5
    Free Trial Unlimited
    Best suited for Anyone searching for a simple platform to run their online store
    Customer Support Available in chat, email, forums, and phone

    Wix - A Shopify Alternative
    Wix – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Wix eCommerce is another great alternative to Shopify that allows users to create an online store using the Wix website builder. It helps businesses to sell products and services online, manage inventory, process payments, and track orders. Using Wix you can fully customize the design of your online store, including the layout, colors, fonts, and more.

    The e-commerce feature is integrated with the Wix platform which allows you to easily add an online store to your existing website. It also offers various integrations with popular payment gateways and shipping providers. Some users find that Wix’s website builder is more intuitive and easier to use than Shopify’s, making it a better option for those who are new to e-commerce.

    Features of Wix eCommerce

    • It allows you to customize the design and layout of the store using its drag-and-drop website builder.
    • Businesses can set up shipping options, such as the flat rate or weight-based shipping, and configure tax settings for their store.
    • It helps you to manage the inventory, including tracking stock levels, setting up product variations, and creating discounts and promotions.
    • Provide tools for optimizing an online store for search engines and for running marketing campaigns.
    • It has an app market where one can find apps to add functionality to the store.
    • You can customize the checkout process, including fields and design, to match your branding and enhance the customer experience.

    Why Choose Wix eCommerce Over Shopify?

    • Wix eCommerce is the most affordable option available in the market. Its plan starts from as low as Rupees 225 per month which is almost six times cheaper than what Shopify charges on its basic plan. It provides 500+ pre-built templates to choose from. You can customize these templates according to your need and give them a unique look and feel.
    • It is an affordable and fully featured alternative to Shopify. Additionally, it also offers a 14-day money-back guarantee with no questions asked. This means you can try this platform for 14 days and if you’re not satisfied, then you can easily cancel it, and you’ll get a full refund. It is a better deal compared to Shopify which just gives a 3-day free trial.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Yearly Price
    VIP ₹325/month, billed annually
    Unlimited ₹185/month, billed annually
    Combo ₹125/month, billed annually
    Connect Domain ₹80/month, billed annually


    Start Using Wix Now

    Typof

    Website www.typof.com
    Rating 4.0/5
    Free Trial 14 days
    Best suited for Small Businesses and Startups
    Customer Support Available in chat, email, phone, and knowledge base

    Typof - Best Shopify Alternative
    Typof – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Typof is an innovative e-commerce solution provider committed to enabling businesses, notably D2C brands. Its AI-powered platform simplifies the establishment and operation of online businesses, making it accessible to anybody, regardless of technical ability. The platform provides a full spectrum of services, including AI-driven website development, seamless connections with key marketplaces, and performance optimization. The no-code methodology of Typof offers cost-effectiveness and ease for small business owners.

    With an emphasis on innovation, usability, and personalized assistance, Typof helps companies realize the full potential of the digital marketplace by providing them with the tools they need to thrive and develop.

    Features of Typof

    • Typof’s easy-to-use layout editor helps you create a beautiful and user-friendly website.
    • Its SEO optimization features help you get your website found by potential customers.
    • Its fast loading speeds help keep your customers happy and engaged.
    • Typof’s logic-based coupons help you sell more products by targeting specific customers.
    • Its one-click checkout makes it easy for customers to purchase from your website.
    • Typof’s advanced reports provide insights into your sales, traffic, and product information, so you can make informed decisions about your business.

    Why Choose Typof Over Shopify?

    • Typof prioritizes website performance and SEO for successful ads, potentially leading to more sales.
    • It comes equipped with essential tools that e-commerce brands need, such as review collection, rewards, advanced coupons, and more, reducing the dependency on external apps. Unlike Shopify, where depending on multiple third-party apps can slow down your store and increase expenses.
    • Typof offers a faster and more efficient checkout process, which can boost your online store’s conversion rate.

    Pricing Plans

    Plans Monthly Price Yearly Price
    Build ₹599/month ₹499/month
    Grow ₹1,699/month ₹1,499/month
    Scale ₹2,199/month ₹1,799/month
    Typof X Starting from ₹4,999/month Starting from ₹4,999/month

    Typof also offers a free-forever plan where you only pay when you make a sale—just 10% per transaction.

    SquareSpace

    Website www.squarespace.com
    Rating 4.6/5
    Free Trial 14 Days
    Best suited for Businesses with an emphasis on creativity and visual appeal
    Customer Support Available in chat, email, forums, and phone

    SquareSpace - Alternative to Shopify
    SquareSpace – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    SquareSpace is a great option and alternative to Shopify for building an eCommerce site. It offers a wide range of features and tools to help users create a professional and functional online store. It is considered to be more user-friendly and easy to navigate for those who are not familiar with coding, as it is intuitive and easy to use. Shopify can be a little more complex to navigate, especially for beginners.

    It provides a variety of templates, design tools, and features to help users create professional-looking websites. E-commerce functionality, analytics, and other tools to help users manage and grow their online presence are also available. Squarespace also offers hosting and domain name registration services.

    Squarespace Tutorial – 2023 (for Beginners) – Create A Professional Website

    Features of SquareSpace

    • Built-in SEO tools and analytics are available to help users track their website’s performance and improve its visibility on search engines.
    • It automatically optimizes websites for viewing on mobile devices and ensures that they look great and are easy to navigate on smartphones.
    • It offers Email layouts to create professional email campaigns.
    • Real-time analytics on the performance of marketing campaigns.
    • Social media integration is available so that your audience can purchase your product directly from social media sites.

    Why Choose SquareSpace Over Shopify?

    • The pricing of both SquareSpace and Shopify is pretty much similar, so it is not the differentiating factor. But when it comes to customization, Squarespace beats Shopify. It offers varieties of pre-built customizable templates that it further customizable using custom CSS and JavaScript.
    • It means if you have some knowledge of CSS you can enhance the look of your website according to your need. With Shopify, you are required to pay transaction fees, no matter which plans you choose, but in the case of SquareSpace, you’ll charge a 0% transaction fee in a higher plan.
    • So high customization options and no transaction charge makes Squarespace stands out from Shopify.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Monthly Price Yearly Price
    Personal $23/month $16/month
    Business $33/month $23/month
    Commerce Basic $36/month $27/month
    Commerce Advanced $65/month $49/month


    Start Using SquareSpace Now

    Instamojo

    Website www.instamojo.com
    Rating 4.2/5
    Free Trial Not Available, but a Free Version is available
    Best suited for Indian independent businesses, MSMEs & startups
    Customer Support Available in Forum and Knowledge Base

    Create an Online Store on Instamojo
    Instamojo – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Instamojo provides an easy way to get your eCommerce business off the ground and run an online store. You can have access to an eCommerce website with payment, shipping, marketing functionalities and more for free.

    It is better suited for Indian independent businesses, MSMEs, startups, and D2C (Direct to customer) brands, Instamojo is an easy-to-use Shopify alternative in India that provides sellers with integrated easy payments, shipping, etc. A 14-day money-back guarantee is also available.

    Instamojo enables sellers to create powerful stores with eCommerce features like marketing tools to grow their businesses.

    Features of Instamojo

    • It has a built-in payment gateway that allows businesses to accept payments from customers through various methods such as credit/debit cards, net banking, UPI, and more.
    • You can connect your store to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to increase visibility and reach.
    • Instamojo’s online store is optimized for mobile devices which makes it easy for customers to access and purchase products on their smartphones.
    • Provides businesses with detailed analytics and reports on their sales, traffic, and customer behavior to help them make informed decisions.
    • Helps to optimize your store for search engines by providing features such as meta tags, keywords, and descriptions for products.
    • It allows businesses to create their own unique store by customizing the layout, colors, fonts, and images.

    Why Choose InstaMojo Over Shopify?

    • InstaMojo provides a free plan, which is great for new businesses who have just started online selling, whereas Shopify doesn’t offer any free plan, it offers a 3-day free trial.
    • Instamojo offers an e-commerce CRM feature that helps to build a healthy relationship with customers, while for Shopify you need to integrate with other CRM.
    • Instamojo is itself a payment gateway provider, it has a built-in payment gateway that can be used for online transactions. This eliminates the need for a separate payment gateway integration like in Shopify.
    • Instamojo allows you to automate the shipping process when you sign up with its shipping partners like Shiprocket and Shipyaari. When any order is placed on your online store, it automatically shows on your delivery dashboard.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Yearly Price
    Lite ₹0
    Starter ₹3,999 per year
    Growth ₹9,999 per year
    Do It For Me Custom Plans


    Try Instamojo for Free

    Shoopy

    Website www.shoopy.in
    Rating 3.4/5
    Free Trial Not Available, but a Free Version is available
    Best Suited for Small Business, Startups, Medium Business, SMBs, SMEs
    Customer Support Available by Phone and Email

    Shoopy - Online Store Provider
    Shoopy – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Shoopy is an online store provider that provides sellers with a free customized app. Shoopy is designed with advanced technology to meet the needs of both small and large businesses. Whether you need an online store for Groceries, Restaurants, beauty items, or hardware items, you can create a fully tailored solution for your business. One unique feature of Shoopy is that with it, sellers can send invoices directly to their customers through SMS or WhatsApp. It also provides invoicing, barcode inventory management, accounting, and many more capabilities.

    All of the features necessary for running an online business are available. It also provides delivery and pickup services.

    Features of Shoopy

    • Shoopy has a clean, easy-to-navigate layout that makes it simple for customers to find the products they’re looking for.
    • It provides their mobile app to manage the orders and look into the analytics anywhere, anytime.
    • It provides a point of sale that can easily be accessed through their mobile app.
    • Allows you to establish contact with various mediums like WhatsApp, Messenger, and call.
    • Customization option to customize the available theme and give a unique look and feel to your brand.

    Why Choose Shoopy over Shopify?

    • Shoopy offers a free plan in which you’ll get all the basic features to start an online store. This is great for new businesses that are exploring the potential of online selling. While on the other hand, Shopify doesn’t provide any free plan to get started.
    • Management of Shoopy is much easier compared to Shopify because it provides only the features that a new business owner needs. So without any technical knowledge, you can start your online store and manage it efficiently.
    • Since everything in Shoopy is mobile-based, you can start your online store using your smartphone and manage orders, customize themes, and deliver orders. While for Shopify you can’t start your online store just by using the mobile app. Hence for the convenience of starting an online store without any complications, Shoopy is the best choice to consider.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Yearly Price
    Free Plan ₹0
    Basic Plan ₹1,799 per year
    Professional Plan ₹3,999 per year
    Business Plan ₹13,999 per year

    Shoppiko

    Website Shoppiko.com
    Rating 4.5/5
    Free Trial 14 Days
    Best Suited for Small businesses & startups in India
    Customer Support Available in chat, email, and phone

    Shoppiko eCommerce Platform
    Shoppiko – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Shoppiko is one of the top Shopify alternatives in India. Utilizing Shoppiko, you can quickly and easily build an impressive eCommerce platform with a few simple clicks. This online store builder has custom designs, responsive pages, an integrated blogging platform, and many other features to create an online store. With this service, you have complete control over the appearance and user experience.

    It enables sellers to grow their business internationally. Sellers have full control over their business and also get marketing and conversion tools to drive traffic and convert more visitors to their stores.

    Features of Shoppiko

    • Provides advanced SEO optimization features that help to increase the reach of products to customers, organically.
    • In-built blogging to write and spread awareness about your product and services through the blog. You don’t need to rely on other blogging platforms.
    • Easy to create and update different pages based on the requirement such as landing pages, promo pages, and customer engagement forms.
    • Drag-and-drop homepage builder to customize the appearance of your online store and give it a unique look.
    • Device-based themes provide a different look to store on different devices.
    • Customer segmentation separates the customer into different lists for better targeting the marketing campaigns.

    Why Choose Shoppiko Over Shopify?

    • Just like Shopify, Shoppiko doesn’t offer any free plan, but there is something where Shoppiko is a better choice over Shopify. The first advantage of choosing Shoppiko is its free transaction. Whenever any online transaction happens on your online store, payment providers used to charge some transaction fee over it. This transaction fee is 2%, 1%, and 0.5% on Shopify, based on which plan you choose, but when you choose Shoppiko it will cost no transaction fees.
    • Shoppiko offers unlimited staff accounts but Shopify limits the number of staff who can access the store. On top of that, premium themes and the premium module come free in Shoppiko whereas you need to pay extra to get the premium themes on Shopify.
    • Both platforms offer a free trial for their products, but Shoppiko provides a 14-day free trial whereas Shopify only provides a 3-day free trial to test its product. 3 days is not a sufficient time to test a product. Hence, you should go for Shoppiko over Shopify if you want no transaction fees and unlimited staff to get access.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Monthly Price Yearly Price
    Premium eCommerce Solution Rs 2,499/month Rs 1,999/ Month
    Premium With Mobile Apps Rs 5,999/ Month Rs 4,999/ Month

    BuilderFly

    Website www.builderfly.com
    Rating 4.6/5
    Free Trial 7 Days
    Best Suited for Small and medium-sized businesses
    Customer Support Available in chat and email

    Builderfly - eCommerce Platform
    Builderfly – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    BuilderFly is a comprehensive e-commerce system that enables users to build, manage, and publish their business through its online store builder and mobile app builder features. BuilderFly is one of the top Shopify alternatives that allows entrepreneurs to sell their products under their own brand name.

    Sellers can also manage all store operations through a central dashboard and use features like WhatsApp sharing, SMS marketing and live selling to improve their sales.

    Features of BuilderFly

    • Live selling feature to sell a product to your audience in real-time while demonstrating the product.
    • Built-in marketing tools such as email marketing, SMS marketing, and abandoned cart recovery.
    • You can add functionalities to your website by installing apps from the app marketplace.
    • It enables you to connect your website to your social media accounts and share products on social media platforms.
    • A built-in analytics tool that allows users to track website traffic, sales, and other metrics.
    • It includes e-commerce functionality such as product management, inventory management, and shopping cart integration.
    • Drag-and-drop website builder to easily create and customize the website without the need to code.

    Why Choose BuilderFly Over Shopify?

    • Today more than 50% of orders are placed using mobile devices, hence your own mobile app is also as necessary as your e-commerce site. Builderfly offers an AI-assisted mobile app builder at no additional cost. This will help you build a full-fledged robust mobile application that helps your customers place orders on your e-commerce site.
    • Unlike Shopify, you don’t need to rely on third-party payment providers to accept payment because BuilderFly offers an in-built payment gateway. So as soon as you make your online store, you can start accepting payments. This will provide convenience to start an online store.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Yearly Price
    Starter ₹15,000 per year
    Growth ₹27,500 per year
    Enterprise ₹40,000 per year
    Lifetime ₹1,25,000 per year

    Ohoshop

    Website www.ohoshop.in
    Rating 3.0/5
    Free Trial 14 Days
    Best Suited for Local Retailers, Wholesalers, B2C and B2B businesses
    Customer Support Available in chat, phone, and email

    Ohoshop - ecommerce website builder
    Ohoshop – Best Shopify Alternatives in India

    Ohoshop is an eCommerce website and mobile app builder for online storefronts. Ohoshop is an eCommerce platform that can help your business reach more customers on mobile devices. Ohoshop is created specifically for mobile use and offers users access to Android and iOS applications for their stores. It provides custom app & website development and is one of the top alternatives for Shopify in India.

    It enables sellers to integrate catalogue, marketing, and content management in one place, and also SEO, SSL, and Facebook, for seamless management of their online stores.

    Features of Ohoshop

    • The ability to set up programs like refer and earn makes your customer your brand ambassador, who markets your product to other consumers.
    • It allows you to sell your products on different social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
    • Advanced reports and analytics that give a quick overview of reports like sales reports, customer reports, and product reports.
    • Oho mobile app is available that helps to manage orders, products, and categories.
    • Pre-designed templates are available to build app banners and other designs.
    • It includes built-in SEO optimization features, such as meta tags and sitemaps, to help improve website visibility in search engines.
    • It allows users to easily create and customize their e-commerce website using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

    Why Choose Ohoshop Over Shopify?

    • Logistic management is the strong point of Ohoshop, it automatically assigns the delivery partner to every order based on the rates and delivery date. It means whenever anyone places an order on your site you don’t need to manually search for the best and most affordable courier partner to assign the orders.
    • Another reason to choose Ohoshop over Shopify is its robust app builder. You can build a powerful app along with the website to give your customers more options. Also, whenever any users search for your website using a mobile device, it will load the web app in the format of your native mobile app, just like Flipkart and Amazon.
    • Pricing is more or less the same for both platforms, hence you can choose Ohoshop if you want flexibility in logistics and a powerful mobile app.

    Pricing Plan

    Plans Monthly Price
    Starter ₹1,990 per month
    Professional ₹2,990 per month
    Advance ₹5,990 per month

    Final Words

    Being one of the early players in the market, Shopify garnered a lot of brand recognition and is now a common household name, but it has fallen short of some of the very basic features and benefits needed by Indian entrepreneurs. Some of the top issues that sellers in India face with Shopify are high setup costs, difficult coding & designing requirements, and overall incompatibility for small businesses. Even if you’ve already chosen Shopify, don’t be inflexible with your choice, explore these top alternatives, and choose the one that fits your needs best. Instead of going with a legacy platform just for the brand identity, try out other options for yourself and see which one can help your business grow the most!

    Ultimately, the key is to find the right balance between features, cost, and the needs of your business, to establish a successful online store.

    FAQs

    What are some of the top Shopify alternatives in India?

    Some of the top Shopify alternatives in India include Dukaan, Shoopy, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Shoppiko, OpenCart, Builderfly, Ohoshop, and Instamojo.

    What are the benefits of using a Shopify alternative?

    The benefits of using a Shopify alternative can include lower costs, more advanced customization options, support for Indian payment gateways, scalability, control, and the ability to integrate with other tools and apps.

    Will I be able to customize my online store with a Shopify alternative?

    The level of customization offered by a Shopify alternative can vary depending on the platform you choose.

    Do Shopify alternatives offer Indian payment gateways?

    Not all Shopify alternatives offer Indian payment gateways like UPI, net banking, and cash on delivery. Alternatives like Paytm and Instamojo offer Indian payment gateways, which can be a crucial factor for businesses looking to sell products to a local market.

    What is the biggest problem with Shopify?

    One of the biggest problems with Shopify is its pricing structure.

  • Essential Things to Keep In Mind While Designing Your Product

    Do you have a product idea in your mind which is not letting you sleep?‌‌

    Do you want to turn your idea into a successful product that will make the lives of your customers easier and happier?‌‌

    If yes, then this article is the one-stop destination for you.‌‌

    This article will tell you how to make sure that your idea is unique and validate if it has demand in the market.‌‌

    You will also get to know how to understand the needs of your customers.‌‌

    Wait! There’s more to it.‌‌

    You will understand prototyping, testing, manufacturing, funding, and finally selling the product.‌‌‌‌‌‌

    This is going to be a big article but you will get so much information that you won’t need to read any other article.‌‌

    So, bear with me, and let’s get this journey started!

    The article contains the practical tips you will need to start your product designing journey.

    Make Sure Your Idea Is Unique
    Does Anyone Really Need Your Product?‌‌
    Conduct User Research
    What Would Be the Pricing Model?‌‌
    Sketch the Product
    Create a Virtual 3D Model
    Create a Proof of Concept
    Types of Prototypes
    Methods of Building Prototype
    Repeat the Feedback and Refinement Cycle
    Test the Product
    Protect Your Idea Legally
    Time to Make Your Product
    Fund Your Idea
    Sell Your Product

    Make Sure Your Idea Is Unique

    You have come up with a genius product idea that has a solid USP and huge demand in the market.‌‌

    You invest all of your time, energy, and money in prototyping and developing the product.

    After months of hard work when you are about to launch your product you find your innovative idea on a local marketplace or e-commerce store.

    You would be very disappointed right?‌‌

    To avoid such a scenario, after coming up with an idea do rigorous research in making sure that your idea is unique.‌‌

    Here, are 3 ways to ensure that your idea is actually yours:‌‌

    Google is the biggest search engine in the world which means that it has a huge database of several products and services.‌‌

    Type in your main product keyword and other keywords related to your niche and industry.‌‌

    Google will show you all the products that are related to your keyword. ‌‌

    Don’t just analyze the first page of SERP, go beyond that and try to read as many pages as possible.‌‌

    Google Image Search is another great option to see if your product already exists in the market.‌‌

    Since you would see dozens of images you will get a better understanding if your product is unique or not.‌‌

    Online Marketplaces

    Try searching for your product on the following marketplaces:‌‌

    • Flipkart
    • Amazon
    • Alibaba
    • AliExpress
    • Etsy
    • Oberlo
    • eBay
    • Walmart
    • IndiaMART‌‌

    Make use of features like ‘similar products’ and ‘people who bought this also bought.‌‌

    Google's Patent Search
    Google’s Patent Search

    Try analyzing patent databases such as Google’s Patent Search or Espacenet to see if there were products similar to your ideas that were patented but never made it to market or which are on their way to market.‌‌

    If someone has already patented your idea then you cannot move forward or if someone is already launching a product similar to yours then also you cannot move to user research and prototyping.‌‌

    You again have to brainstorm new ideas.‌‌

    Although, if you cannot find any product similar to your idea don’t get too excited yet!

    Does Anyone Really Need Your Product?‌‌

    An Example- Alex Toby wanted to understand his audience in order to create content, so he offered this form to them
    An Example- Alex Toby wanted to understand his audience in order to create content, so he offered this form to them

    After doing in-depth research you get to know that your product does not exist in the market.‌‌

    But, maybe there is a possibility that the product is not there in the market because no one needs it.

    Your product may help people in solving their problems but, your target audience might not consider the problem big enough to spend money on it.‌‌

    Here, are 4 ways to determine if the product has demand in the market.

    See If There Are Already Alternatives Products in the Market

    Here, you need to use the research methods that are given in the first stage.‌‌

    If you found out that there are alternative products that are solving problems then you may want to consider brainstorming another idea.‌‌

    Although if your solution is cost-effective, easy to use, and futuristic then you may want to consider moving forward with it.‌‌

    Try to see how many people are buying the alternative solution and for how long it has existed in the market. ‌‌

    Read its reviews to see if there are any setbacks in the product which you can make better.‌‌

    Understand the demographics, interests, and pain points of the people who are buying the alternative product to better understand their needs.‌‌

    Run an Advert

    Design a sketch of what your product will look like in the future and make a 3D model of it.‌‌

    Then write down all of these features (don’t write anything very specific, rather be generic)‌‌

    Then run an advert on various social media platforms by inserting the product image, its features, and how it will benefit people.‌‌

    If a lot of people are interacting with this ad at a low cost per click (CPC) then it means that your product has some demand.‌‌

    You can redirect the ad to a landing page where you can tell people that the product is in development and ask them what kind of features, look and price they would want in the product.‌‌

    You can even collect their email ids. In this way, you would also build an audience for your product.‌‌

    Conduct an Online Survey

    If you have identified your target audience demographics and interest you can run a paid advert on various social media platforms that redirects them to a survey form.‌‌

    In the survey ask questions like:‌‌

    • Do you face this problem every day in your life?
    • Did you find a solution to it?
    • Would you spend money to buy a product that solves this problem?
    • What could be the potential solution for it?‌‌

    To incentivize people to fill out the form you can give them free products or discount coupons from famous e-commerce stores like Amazon and Flipkart to 3 lucky winners.‌‌

    Google Trends
    Google Trends

    Type in your product keyword in Google Keyword Planner and see how many people are searching for this keyword every month.

    Higher the volume higher the demand for the product.‌‌

    Also, see in which countries people are searching for this keyword to understand the demographics of your target audience. ‌‌

    Analyze the other related keywords as well to better understand what people want from your product.‌‌

    You can even use other keyword research tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Ubersuggest.‌‌

    Then go to Google Trends and see how is the trend of your product in the last 90 days or 18 years.‌‌

    If the trend is constantly going upwards in the last couple of years it means that there is demand for your product. ‌‌

    See in which countries the product is trending to understand where your target audience lives.‌‌

    Conduct User Research

    After defining the product try to research and find out the age, gender, marital status, income level, place of residence, job position, interests, needs, fears, and desires of your target audience.‌‌

    You also need to analyze your competitors and the upcoming trends in the market. ‌‌

    The golden role is to never make a product for everyone. If you target everyone you will please no one.‌‌

    First, make a customer avatar and then move to the next step.‌‌

    What Would Be the Pricing Model?‌‌

    Pricing is something that you consider at the prototyping and manufacturing stage.‌‌

    But, let me tell you that you should consider the pricing model of your product at the early stage itself.‌‌

    Let’s say you have come up with an amazing product idea and spent all of your time and money on it for a couple of months.‌‌

    Later on, you decide to sell it at Rs 100. But, at the prototyping or manufacturing stage, you know that you need to spend 4 times more money to make the product.‌‌

    To create a profit margin you need to increase the price of the product. ‌‌

    But, the problem here is that you cannot sell the product at Rs 600-700 because you know that people won’t buy it.‌‌

    It means that your idea is dead and all of your efforts have gone in vain.‌‌

    To avoid such a scenario, try to decide at what price people will buy the product and what will be the cost of making the product. The figure doesn’t have to be very 100 percent accurate. ‌‌

    If you get to know that the cost of making the product is not very high and you can sell it at a reasonable price and make a profit for yourself you can move forward.

    Sketch the Product

    You need to take the idea out of your head using sketching. ‌‌

    Now, you don’t have to be Pablo Picasso or Leonardo da Vinci to sketch the product.‌‌

    The sketch doesn’t have to be perfect but, you will bring your thoughts to life. ‌‌

    Quantity matters here more than quality. Draw hundreds of ideas and then mismatch and make a perfect one later on. ‌‌

    Don’t waste your time drawing a single perfect sketch.‌‌

    The goal is to get a sense of what your product will look like so, you can explain the idea to your team members or other people.‌‌

    Before drawing the sketch you should have a customer avatar in front of you. ‌‌

    Basically, you should know the age, gender, marital status, income level, place of residence, job position, interests, needs, fears, and desires of your target audience.‌‌

    If you don’t have the above information, conduct user research first and then come back to this stage.‌‌

    Don’t make a product for everyone.‌‌

    Once you start drawing you will get tons of questions about your product like:‌‌

    • What will be the size and color of my product?
    • What sort of texture will it have?
    • What materials will be used?
    • How will the target audience use it?‌‌

    Write these questions on a piece of paper and try to answer them in detail.‌‌

    If you have a lot of mechanical parts in your product you can draw them separately from the main product to get more clarity.

    Create a Virtual 3D Model

    Now, you need to transfer your sketches to 3D modeling software. This will help you to understand the size, shape, and design of a product in a much better way.‌‌

    Another benefit of a 3D model is that you can explain your concept to team members more clearly. ‌‌

    Once you make the 3D model you can continuously make changes to them and make your product structure perfect.‌‌

    You can integrate the 3D model with augmented reality apps like Augment to visualize how your product will look in real life. ‌‌

    To convert your sketches into 3D models you can use software like:‌‌

    • SketchUp
    • Tinkercad
    • CAD

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    Create a Proof of Concept

    Proof of Concept (POC) tries to prove that your product idea is feasible and can be developed.‌‌

    Now, POC is different from the prototype.‌‌

    POC shows if your product can be built or not while the prototype tells how it will be developed.‌‌

    Here’s how you can make a POC.

    Describe the Need for the Product

    First, prove the need for the product. ‌‌

    It means that you need to tell who your target audience is and what problem they are facing.‌‌

    You need to describe the pain points of your target audience in detail.‌‌

    You also need to prove that people will buy your product to solve the problem.‌‌

    To prove this you can release survey forms or conduct interviews with people and ask them what problem they are facing, did they find any alternative product to solve the problem, what desired solution they want, and whether will they pay money to buy the product.‌‌

    You need to give facts and not assumptions.‌‌

    Get Feedback

    In the 2nd stage, you need to describe the solution that you have found to your target audience and ask them if they liked your product or not.‌‌

    You can show the 3D model to your audience to make them better understand what they will get in the future.‌‌

    Collect as much feedback as possible and make changes to your product.‌‌

    Tell the Features, Cost and Profit Margin of the Product

    Now, you need to tell the dimensions and feel of the product along with the features and benefits that the product will have.‌‌

    Then tell the product’s rough cost, price, and profit margin.‌‌

    You also need to describe the project’s timeline and what technology you will use to make it.‌‌

    Prototyping

    The prototype is an early functional sample of a product which is further enhanced and tested to develop a final working product.‌‌

    Prototyping will help you test and develop ideas and understand the design flaws.‌‌

    The goal is to test the idea of failure. This means that you really want to know where your design exactly works and where it doesn’t.‌‌

    You also need to make sure that every prototype is better than the last ones, eventually ending with the best one that provides an excellent user experience and compels them to buy the product.

    Types of Prototypes

    Display Prototypes

    Display Prototypes are primarily used in Fashion Industry
    Display Prototypes are primarily used in Fashion Industry

    As the name suggests, the display prototypes focus on the look and feel of the product. These prototypes may not even function but they try to mimic the design of the actual product.‌‌

    Functional Prototypes

    Functional prototypes try to show the functions of the actual product as closely as possible without accounting for the design and feel of the product.‌‌

    Miniatures

    A shopping cart as a miniature prototype example
    A shopping cart as a miniature prototype example 

    Miniatures prototypes focus both on the display and functional aspects of the actual product. ‌‌

    Although they are very small they don’t work at full capacity and may not accurately demonstrate the features of the actual product.‌‌

    3D printing is used to develop miniature prototypes.‌‌

    Rapid (Throwaway) Prototype

    A mobile application as a paper prototype is a good example of a throwaway prototype
    A mobile application as a paper prototype is a good example of a throwaway prototype

    In the rapid prototype method, the prototype is developed in a very short period of time and in a cost-effective way. ‌‌

    It is also called a throwaway prototype because the prototype is constantly modified based on user feedback.‌‌

    Once all the stakeholders are satisfied the prototype is used for reference. Once the next prototype is developed the initial ones get thrown away. ‌‌

    Rapid prototyping is usually conducted using 3D printing.‌‌

    Evolutionary Prototyping

    Computer software is a good example of evolutionary prototyping
    Computer software is a good example of evolutionary prototyping 

    In evolutionary prototyping, a functional prototype is developed from scratch and new refinements are made continuously.‌‌

    Once a first prototype is built that has some basic functionality it is presented to the users.‌‌

    Feedback is collected from all the users and based on the suggestions changes are made to the prototype.‌‌

    After making the changes the prototype is again presented to the users and again feedback is taken.‌‌

    This cycle keeps on repeating until the users reach a point where they like using your product.‌‌

    At this point, you stop refining your product. Since your product evolves at each stage this method is called evolutionary prototyping.‌‌

    In this method, the focus is more on functions rather than design.‌‌

    Evolutionary prototyping is suitable if you fully don’t understand the requirements of the project.‌‌

    You can also use this product if you are developing a new product or technology that your target audience doesn’t know about. ‌‌

    In this scenario, your target audience won’t be to give feedback unless they start using your product.‌‌

    Once they start using it they will better understand your product and give you feedback.‌‌

    Incremental Prototyping

    If you are developing a product that has a lot of complicated technical components or if you are aiming to build a massive product then you should use incremental prototyping.‌‌

    In this method, you develop separate small prototypes of your product simultaneously.‌‌

    After developing different prototypes you test and refine them and then merge them together to make one comprehensive whole product.‌‌

    Since each part and feature of the product is evaluated separately you are able to understand the intricate details of the product. ‌‌

    You also get the freedom to innovate your product instantly.‌‌

    Although the problem with incremental prototyping is that you may develop prototypes that look and function like completely different products.‌‌

    To avoid this your design and developer’s team must come up with some principles in order to keep the aesthetics and function of the prototypes consistent throughout the prototyping stage.


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    Methods of Building Prototype

    Now, there are many ways to make a prototype. ‌‌

    I will run you down the most used ones that are incorporated while building plastic, rubber, metal, wood, and electronics products.

    3D Prototyping

    Example of a 3D prototyping
    Example of a 3D prototyping

    3D prototyping allows you to conceptualize your product ideas quickly without making a hole in your pocket.‌‌

    It is a technology that allows you to create a three-dimensional solid object from digital files using CAD software and a 3D printer.‌‌

    In this method, a fabricator starts building the design from the bottom and builds up successive layers until the product is finished.‌‌

    Depending upon the structure and dimensions of your product the 3D printer might create your product within a few minutes or hours.‌‌

    If you have a large model you can leave the 3D printer switched on overnight. In the morning your prototype would be fully developed.‌‌

    Back in the day, 3D prototyping was very expensive. Now, you can easily buy a 3D printer at a low price.‌‌

    Using websites like Shapeways and 3DHubs you can easily print the parts of the product and get them delivered to your house at a very low cost without the up-front investment of buying your own 3D printer.

    CNC Machining

    CNC machine work example

    Computer Numerical Control (CNC) is a process where machines are controlled by computers. ‌‌

    You just need to make a 3D model of your product using CAD and then input the details into the machine. ‌‌

    That’s it! Your work is done. The machines will automatically start manufacturing the product according to the specifications.‌‌

    Using this method, you are able to build products that are very close to the end product.‌‌

    You can easily create prototypes in just a few hours and make modifications to them in one go.‌‌

    Although CNC machining is more expensive compared to 3D printing.

    Vacuum Casting

    If you are looking to make plastic prototypes then vacuum casting is for you.‌‌

    Using your method you can make prototypes that have the same color, size, texture, and feel as the final product. This is an economical and rapid way to develop prototypes.‌‌

    Vacuum casting uses a solid master pattern to make a silicon rubber mold.‌‌

    The pattern can be any physical solid that’s a copy of the finished part. The pattern is often a 3D-printed part.‌‌

    The master pattern is suspended in an empty casting box which is filled with liquid silicone.‌‌

    Once the silicone is cured it’s cut open and the pattern is removed; leaving behind a hollow cavity that can now be refilled with casting resin to make a copy of the original.‌‌

    If the master pattern has a gloss finish or a textured finish this would be reproduced on the surface of each casting. ‌‌

    Parts can be over-molded and resins come in a variety of hardnesses – from extremely rigid to rubber-like materials.‌‌

    The silicone molds last up to about 20 copies.‌‌

    Vacuum casting will not work if you are making metal or wood components.

    Repeat the Feedback and Refinement Cycle

    I know you feel very happy when you make a functional prototype. But, don’t get too carried away.‌‌

    Instead of just making 1-2 prototypes and sending them straightway to the manufacturer you need to constantly make new prototypes based on the previous feedback and spend a lot of your time and energy at this stage.‌‌

    Although, don’t waste too much of your time developing prototypes. ‌‌

    This is because after making the prototype you need to find a good manufacturer and make arrangements for supply chain management which will also take a lot of time.‌‌

    Basically, you need to find a balance at this stage. There is no fixed number on how many prototypes you should make in a particular time period. ‌‌

    It all depends on your product. ‌‌

    The key thing to remember is that you need to make several prototypes, test and modify them constantly and then select the best one.

    Test the Product

    Once you have made the prototype it’s time to test it.‌‌

    In this process, you try to check its build quality and if the product is functioning properly as intended.‌‌

    Sometimes, the recent changes that you make in the prototype can hamper the other functions which were working perfectly fine before the changes.‌‌

    You also want to check if the product can withstand rigorous everyday use.‌‌

    You should test the prototype both on your target audience and teammates.‌‌

    You can give 2 prototypes that have different names, color schemes, and textures and ask your audience which one they would buy.‌‌

    Different products have different testing methods. But, are 4 testing methods that would apply to any product:‌‌

    (Make sure that while taking all the tests you are regularly taking the feedback of the people and making necessary changes.‌‌

    In any of these methods if your product breaks down or doesn’t work properly you will again jump back to the prototyping stage).‌‌‌‌

    Usage Test

    Here, you are making sure that the people are able to use all the functions of the product.‌‌

    • Can the users easily use your product without any confusion?
    • Are all the screens, buttons, and levers working effectively?
    • Can your product easily solve the problem of the user?
    • Can users open certain parts of your product without breaking the other parts?‌‌

    You got the idea right? ‌‌

    Heavy Testing

    Not everyone will use your product with care. Some people will use the product with extreme force.‌‌

    If your product is not durable your sales would eventually go down.‌‌

    To avoid such scenarios make sure that your product withstands extreme forces.‌‌

    Drop Test‌‌

    Products often get slipped out of hands or get dropped off the table. ‌‌

    If your product easily breaks down in such scenarios, you need to again go back to the prototyping stage and improve the build quality of the product.‌‌

    To test the durability, drop the product on a solid surface like concrete.‌‌

    Standard Test‌‌

    When you buy products you see the logo of ISO behind the product. ‌‌

    This logo shows that the product meets all relevant standards and safety requirements.‌‌

    You also need to make sure that your product meets the requirements of all the standard tests.‌‌

    P.S: When doing all these tests don’t oversell your idea. Instead, just give your product to your users.‌‌

    Let them handle your product any way they want. Your target audience might find something which you and your team might have not focused on yet.

    Protect Your Idea Legally

    Once you have made an awesome product you need to stop other people from stealing your product idea.‌‌

    You can easily protect your idea legally using the following methods:‌‌

    • Patents
    • Trademarks
    • Copyrights
    • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)‌‌

    The golden rule of protecting your idea is not to tell about the product to anyone unless they can be trusted and it is required.

    Time to Make Your Product

    Here, comes the most exciting part of product design. ‌‌

    It’s time to turn your prototype into a full-blown working product. Without wasting time, let me tell you how you can make your product.

    Who Is Making the Product?‌‌

    Are you going to manufacture the product or do you want a manufacturer for it?‌‌

    If you are going to manufacture yourself then you know what to do. Skip to the‌‌ next step.

    On the other hand, if you need a manufacturer keep reading the article.

    How Many Products Are You Going to Make?

    You need to answer the question first before you start finding a manufacturer.‌‌

    Do you want to produce small quantities of products and then sell them locally? ‌‌

    OR‌‌

    You have big dreams and want to produce products in large quantities and sell them all over India or worldwide.‌‌

    The answer to this question will help you decide which of the following manufacturing routes you will take:‌‌

    Commission

    Manufacturing products on commission means that the products get produced when you order and pay for them. ‌‌

    Customized shirts and paintings can be produced using the commission strategy.‌‌

    Small Batch Production

    In small-batch production, products are produced in specific groups in smaller quantities. Similar components are produced together.‌‌

    Since you are producing goods in smaller quantities they are cheaper to manufacture and you don’t need a big warehouse to store them.‌‌

    You can catch the issues in your design easily and if there is a trend you can tailor your product to it.‌‌

    Even if you get poor-quality products you don’t have to worry a lot since you don’t have a lot of products in hand.‌‌

    On-Demand Manufacturing‌‌

    The On-demand manufacturing is a process where products are only manufactured when they are demanded and in quantities required.‌‌

    Using the internet and cloud-based technology manufacturing companies can develop advanced online platforms that allow customers to upload models and get quotes for parts in real time.‌‌

    Customers stay connected with the manufacturer till they get the order.‌‌

    Mass Customization‌‌

    Mass customization refers to a manufacturing process where customized goods are produced according to the customer’s requirements. ‌‌

    The whole business model revolves around computer-aided software. Customers get a variety of predefined features that they can choose and personalize. ‌‌

    The cost of the final product will depend on the level of customization.‌‌

    Mass Production

    In mass production goods which have the same specifications are produced over and over again in large quantities.‌‌

    In mass production, multiple assembly lines are involved where people are given a set number of tasks that they have to repeatedly do on a daily basis.‌‌

    The manufacturing cost is low since repetitive and standardized processes are used to manufacture goods.

    Which Method Is Ideal for You?‌‌

    If you are new to the business and want to test out your products or if you are unsure about the demand for your product you can opt for small batch production.‌‌

    On the other hand, if you want to produce goods in large quantities then mass production is an ideal manufacturing process for you. ‌‌

    If you want to provide customized goods in large quantities then go forward with mass customization.

    Choose Your Manufacturing Method

    You also need to decide which manufacturing method you will use.‌‌

    The method that you will choose will purely depend on the type of parts you are using and the type of design you will be incorporating.‌‌

    Now, there are tons and tons of manufacturing processes you can opt for. I won’t be diving deep into this topic.‌‌

    But, here are the top processes that you can use:‌‌

    • Injection Molding
    • CNC Machining
    • Welding
    • Forging
    • Rolling
    • Weaving
    • Blow Molding
    • Laminating
    • Vacuum Casting
    • Stamping
    • Punching
    • Extruding‌‌

    If this process is very confusing for you consult a freelance product designer or a product development firm.‌‌

    Don’t try to do everything by yourself.‌‌

    Trust me, spending money at this stage and making sure your design and manufacturing process is perfect is very important.‌‌

    If you don’t spend money now, you will spend much more later on when you tweak your design or change your manufacturing process.


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    Fund Your Idea

    If you have followed all of the above steps properly, you must have understood how much money you need to manufacture the product and at what price you would be selling it.‌‌

    Once you have gotten a figure, you can raise funding for your idea.‌‌

    Now, there are several ways to raise money. But, if you don’t have a huge manufacturing cost you can invest your money in the project and sell a small batch of your products.‌‌

    The profit you earn gets reinvested in the business and this cycle keeps on repeating.‌‌

    See, you must put some money into your business even if you are raising money. ‌‌

    This is because investors will see how much money you have invested before giving you the money.‌‌

    Apart from self-funding, you can even take loans from your family members.‌‌

    If you want to raise a small amount of money you can even use your credit cards and repay the money on time.‌‌

    Now, let’s see some other legit ways of raising funds:‌‌

    • Crowdfunding
    • Angel investment
    • Apply for loans under government schemes
    • Get funds by winning contests
    • Startup incubator
    • Startup accelerator

    Sell Your Product

    You did it! After months of researching, prototyping, refining, contacting a lot of manufacturers, and raising money your product is ready to sell.‌‌

    Let’s understand different ways of selling your product:‌‌

    List on 3rd Party Ecommerce Stores

    List of 3rd party e-commerce stores
    List of 3rd party e-commerce stores

    At the start of your journey, you can list your products in various e-commerce stores and start selling them with little upfront costs.‌‌

    Obviously, these websites would take a commission from you but, this is the fastest way of selling your products.‌‌

    You can list your products in the following stores:‌‌

    • Amazon
    • Flipkart
    • eBay
    • Snapdeal
    • Pepperfry
    • IndiaMART
    • Myntra

    Build Your Own E-commerce Stores

    Sites to build a personal e-commerce store
    Sites to build a personal e-commerce store

    If you are confident about your products and want to scale them rapidly then you can even build your own e-commerce store. ‌‌

    The best part here is that you don’t need to be a coding ninja!‌‌

    You can use WooCommerce which is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create your own store where you can sell any product. ‌‌

    You can integrate a major payment gateway with WooCommerce and build fast loading and easy-to-use e-commerce website.‌‌

    If you don’t want to use WordPress you can opt for Shopify. With tons of templates and easy customization, you can design a beautiful-looking store.‌‌

    You can easily set up payments and shipping and start selling within a few hours.‌‌

    BigCommerce has the same functionalities as Shopify. Using this platform you can host and build your online store. ‌‌

    All 3 of them provide you with a free trial so, you can try them first and understand which one suits your requirements.‌‌

    Sell in Bulk to Retailers or Distributors

    Instead of directly selling your products to the customers you can sell them in bulk to retailers who will then sell to customers.‌‌

    When your products are present in retail outlets customers are available to physically check the product due to which they are able to make more informed decisions.‌‌

    Retail outlets also give access to a huge consumer base and if your product is good your sales would also increase.‌‌

    Although since you are adding another person into the supply chain your profit margins will get reduced.‌‌

    In the start you may face problems in selling your products but, as your sales increase your cost of manufacturing per unit will get lower. ‌‌

    Licensing

    If you are able to patent your idea you can sell the right to manufacture to other companies. ‌‌

    The company which is using your product idea will initially pay you a lump sum amount in advance and then pay you royalties (a percentage share of each sale).‌‌

    According to your product, the royalties will range from 2% to 10% of net revenues. The royalty rates change from product to product and industry to industry.‌‌

    Conclusion

    That’s it! I have mentioned all the steps that you need to take in order to turn your genius idea into a high-selling product that makes the lives of your customers easier.‌‌

    The process might seem lengthy and difficult but surely a fruitful path to cover. All the topics related to the process like researching, prototyping, manufacturing, and licensing has been covered in the article.

    FAQs‌‌

    What are the 4Ps of designing?

    The 4Ps of designing are people, products, partners, and processes.

    Why is product design important?

    With a good product design, the efficiency of the product can be improved and it can also give it an upper hand in the competitive market.

    What are the 7 elements great of design?

    The 7 elements of a great design are space, line, light, color, form, texture, and pattern.

    What is the main focus of product design?

    The main focus of product design is to blend customer satisfaction with a business goal t have consistent growth in the market.

  • How to Increase Your Conversion Rates at WooCommerce Checkout?

    How many times have you entered a store (online or offline) and got out without buying any products? How many times did you add the products to the cart and completely forgot about them? Have you ever left a website to check for some coupons and left the cart unattended thereafter? We have all done this. As an eCommerce store owner, this could be a real problem.

    As per BuiltWith reports, more than 6 million websites use WooCommerce to set up their eCommerce stores as of July 2022. However, how much do these sites convert? The average conversion rate for a WooCommerce site is 0.3%, as compared to the approximately 2% industry standard in eCommerce. There are many loopholes in WooCommerce checkout itself leading to poor conversion rates, such as a lack of field customization.

    Today, instead of focusing on generic conversion tips, we will aim at optimizing the checkout page to reduce cart abandonment.

    Issues With WooCommerce Checkout
    Ways to Conversion Optimize WooCommerce Checkout

    How to Set up an Ecommerce Store Using WooCommerce? | a Tutorial for Beginners

    Issues With WooCommerce Checkout

    WooCommerce is a secure eCommerce platform. It is customizable and accommodates a lot of flexible layouts. However, WooCommerce checkout has many gaps, which lead to poor customer experience. These are:

    • Can not Track Progress: WooCommerce allows owners to make multiple-page checkouts. However, the buyer can not see how many pages are left to complete checkout. This could frustrate them and drive them away in between the process. A quick way to solve this is to opt for single-page checkout. However, that is not viable every time.
    • Lack of Field Customization Options: WooCommerce has a standard checkout page with limited customization options. You can not move the fields around or can not add a custom field. At max, you can hide a field or mark them optional. Another solution is to use dedicated plugins for designing WooCommerce checkouts. There are many plugins available. Also, since the website works on WordPress, plugins are easy to install and operate.
    • Inappropriate Field Placement: WooCommerce restricts moving the fields around. The two biggest cons are having the coupon section at the top and the email field at the bottom. Email is crucial customer information, and the coupon section on the top drives customers away. With these two major issues, WooCommerce checkout losses its charm and leads to lower conversion rates.

    Now, that we know the core problems with the WooCommerce checkout page, let us look at different ways to optimize the checkout for better conversion rates and enhanced user experience.

    Ways to Conversion Optimize WooCommerce Checkout

    Percentage of Online Stores Using WooCommerce in 2022
    Percentage of Online Stores Using WooCommerce in 2022

    The average WooCommerce conversion rate is 0.3%, while the top WooCommerce stores have a conversion rate of 3.4%. To reach the better end of the scale, you need to prioritize UI and UX. Here are important tips for checkout optimization:

    Skip Sign-Up

    Imagine you enter a store, and you can not proceed to check products until you give your email ID. Would you give me your email ID or go to another store?

    Sign-ups are not crucial for browsing the store. Allow users to check products and check out without signup. Give them the options like:

    • Guest check-out
    • Sign up through Facebook, Google, etc.
    • Sign-up post-Check-out

    These options give users more flexibility. You can get their details on the checkout (email, name, contact details), as they proceed. Do not compel them to make an account. It will not help if it drives away the users in the first place.

    Single-Page Checkout

    Single-Page Checkout - Ways to Conversion Optimize Your WooCommerce Checkout
    Single-Page Checkout – Ways to Conversion Optimize Your WooCommerce Checkout

    Do you have a 3-4 page checkout? If so, we would recommend you opt for a single-page check-out. WooCommerce doesn’t show checkout progress as the user proceeds. So, if there are many pages and fields, it can hamper the user experience.

    Use a clean and sleek design to create a single-page checkout with relevant fields and details: product names, quantity, prices, any additional charges, and discounts available. However, keep it minimal and avoid clustered checkouts.

    To make visually appealing checkouts, you could use plugins that help in enhancing the checkout layout. There are many WooCommerce plugins that you can use. They are customizable and improve the checkout page with clearly spaced-out information.

    Eliminate Unnecessary Fields

    WooCommerce doesn’t allow much customization in the checkout fields. You can not move them around, and its default settings aren’t optimized. So, how to fix it?

    Remove or hide the details you do not need. For instance, if you are a B2C store, you could get away with fields like ‘company name’. In case you offer products to both B2B and B2C, then consider marking relevant fields as optional.

    Also, instead of the default error message, use inline error validation. It uses a simpler design to highlight errors while filling out the checkout form. This makes the checkout pleasing to the eyes and boosts UX.

    Make Coupons Less Distracting

    Coupons are on the top of the WooCommerce page by default. This can distract the users, making them leave the site. So, there are several ways to tackle this, like:

    • Hide or delete that field from the checkout.
    • Rename the field with a better copy. Instead of writing ‘enter the code’, try ‘have any code?’. Opt for messages that make it less prominent.

    Coupons are vital for businesses. They are conversion-increasing tactics. But in general, they make the buyer wander away.

    Whenever we see that we can save money, we rush to Google to find relevant coupons or codes to save extra bucks. It’s standard practice for buyers. Just ensure that they keep users hooked and do not send them away.

    Restrict Distractions

    Checkout with many elements makes it difficult to proceed and negatively impacts UX. Focus on clean UI and remove any unwanted distractions. This could be an email/newsletter sign-up form or social media follow links. If it makes the page clustered, remove it. It won’t serve many purposes and increase the abandoned cart rate.

    Stick to essential elements such as bills, products, discounts, and product recommendations. You could get away with these if it feels too messy.

    Multiple Payment Gateways

    There are various payment gateways available today. If you stick to standard ones, it will make users leave the site. Imagine you are standing in a store line, and the cashier says they only accept cash. You would exit the store without purchasing.

    Similarly, you should give your buyers enough payment gateway options. Use icons to display these in the checkout section.

    In addition to this, it is beneficial to offer an express gateway to the buyers. In this case, the buyers can add contact and address details as they pay for the order instead of completing the entire checkout process. It saves them time and is convenient.


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    Exit-Intent Pop-Ups

    Exit-intent popups are pop-ups that appear when the user closes your website. Often businesses use them to direct users to other pages or collect their email IDs. How would exit-intent pop-ups help at an eCommerce store checkout?

    You could direct them to other high-value, high-converting pages. This can be personalized depending upon their journey to the store. Otherwise, you could direct them to the last product page they were checking and highlight reviews for better conversion. Also, you could collect their email IDs to nurture them later. You could send reminders about products in the cart or upcoming offers.

    Implement Order Bumps

    Order bumps are like products or additional service offerings at the checkout. These are like those products in the stores near checkout that aim at increasing average order value.

    You could do the same on your eCommerce website by adding complementary or add-on products. These could look like:

    • Accept tips
    • Free or paid gift-wrapping services
    • Offer insurance
    • Rush shipping upgrade.

    These help with the conversion rate. However, ensure that the price of these items should be less. The buyer shouldn’t have to reconsider the purchasing decisions. It could be an upsell or cross-sell as well, but it has to be a no-brainer.

    Use Rewards System

    Many businesses give reward points for every purchase. So let us say, if a buyer buys products worth $5,000, you give them 5000 reward points. These reward points could give them some freebies or discounts on their next order. So, maybe the buyer can redeem these 5000 points for $50 on their next purchase. Alternatively, you could give them freebies or tester-size products in their next purchase.

    This refrains the buyer from shifting to a competitor’s site since they want to collect more reward points to earn freebies. This incentivizes the user to purchase from your site and buy more products to earn more reward points. Also, with minimal discounts, you can increase customer retention massively.

    Design Tips

    The last tip is to enhance the visual appeal of the checkout. WooCommerce default checkout is basic, boring, cluttered, and not appealing. You could add layouts, themes, and plugins to beautify checkout pages.

    Opt for a clean and minimal layout. Avoid harsh and loud colours. Highlight your security badges and seals at the checkout to get buyers’ trust. This is essential if you have a new website/store. Building trust as a new website means honing security badges, reviews, and social proof.

    Implement these tips to see better conversion rates. Abandoned carts are a real problem, and these tips will help you overcome those by a margin. There are many other optimization options for landing pages and product pages. You could implement those to increase conversion rates significantly.

    Conclusion

    Look into the customer journey funnel and look for challenges that users might face when using your store. It could be a lagging site, non-inclusive product options, limited payment gateways, or a hard-to-navigate website. Understand the reason why customers are leaving the cart mid-way through.

    Does the competitor site have better offers? Do they provide a better return and delivery policy? Is your site content, graphics-heavy? Analyze the reasons for low conversion rates and optimize accordingly.

    FAQs

    What is the average conversion rate for WooCommerce?

    As per a survey by Littledata, the average WooCommerce conversion rate is 0.3%.

    How to increase conversion rates at WooCommerce checkout?

    You can conversion-optimize WooCommerce checkout in the following ways:

    • Skip sign-up
    • Single-Page Checkout
    • Eliminate Unnecessary fields
    • Exit-Intent Pop-Ups
    • Implement Order Bumps
    • Use Reward System

    What are the issues with WooCommerce checkout?

    Some of the most common issues with WooCommerce checkout are:

    • Can not Track Progress
    • Lack of Field Customization Options
    • Inappropriate Field Placement
  • Top Shopify Alternatives to Consider

    E-commerce has grown and changed over time to become the most well-known, favored, and widely utilized method of purchasing and selling items.

    To perform online marketing and sales activities and control logistics and fulfillment, most businesses with an e-commerce presence use an e-commerce shop or an e-commerce platform. An e-commerce platform is required to administer and personalize an e-commerce store for it to be successful. The majority of individuals utilize Shopify as their e-commerce platform of choice.

    What is Shopify?
    Top Shopify Alternatives

    1. WooCommerce
    2. Ecwid
    3. Pixpa
    4. Shift4Shop
    5. Sellfy
    6. PinnacleCart
    7. BigCommerce
    8. Wix
    9. Magento
    10. Square Online
    11. Squarespace

    Step-By-Step Guide for Beginners to Setting up a Shopify Store

    What is Shopify?

    Shopify Inc., a Canadian worldwide e-commerce platform for online businesses and retail point-of-sale systems, was launched in 2006. The Shopify platform provides several services to online shops, including payment processing, marketing, shipping, and customer involvement.

    To try Shopify for yourself, you may join up for a free trial. During the trial period, you can create your online store, try free Shopify apps, and even make a sale. You can select from three different plans depending on your needs. For fledgling e-commerce businesses with occasional in-person sales, the basic plan is Rs 1,994/month, Shopify costs Rs 7,447/month for expanding businesses selling online consistently, and Advanced Shopify costs Rs 30,164/month for booming businesses that require advanced reporting.

    Although Shopify is considered the most easy-to-use platform for small and large e-commerce businesses, some people, like yourself, may be looking for alternatives. Why?

    Let’s look at some of the drawbacks of Shopify:

    • There is no fixed price for Shopify. You have to pay for different marketing apps, transactions, and extra charges after buying a subscription if you don’t use Shopify payments.
    • Presently only a limited number of free templates are offered by Shopify. You’ll have to pay a one-time charge to utilize any other themes other than the free ones.
    • If you’re encountering technical difficulties, general support may or may not be able to assist you. Instead, you might have to ask your question in a forum and wait for a response from a developer. Only the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia have phone numbers for customer support.
    • Some retailers may need to ask consumers to upload a file, such as a picture printed on a pillowcase or mug. Shopify will let you collect this information, but you’ll have to add some HTML code to your template manually. The second option is to pay for an app to do the work for you, but that isn’t ideal.
    • Shopify isn’t a content management system, it’s designed only to sell goods. Shopify is not the best option if you want to include rich material on your sites, such as movies, carousels, and other things, in addition to the products you want to sell.

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    Top Shopify Alternatives

    Here is a list of the top alternatives to Shopify to consider:

    WooCommerce

    Shopify Alternatives - WooCommerce
    Shopify Alternatives – WooCommerce

    WooCommerce is an open-source platform (plugin) for turning WordPress blogs and websites into e-commerce stores. You may customize your store to your heart’s content using code. WooCommerce is free to install, and the extensions are often inexpensive, allowing you to expand your store’s capabilities at a minimal cost. However, you might struggle to construct a highly customized web store you want on WooCommerce unless you have any technical experience. The basic WooCommerce plugin is free to use but add-on features are chargeable.

    Ecwid

    Shopify Alternatives - Ecwid
    Shopify Alternatives – Ecwid

    Ecwid is ideal for people who just wish to add e-commerce functionality to an existing website. It easily links to your existing website to offer more sales and e-commerce functionality. You don’t need to start from scratch. No coding knowledge is required to add e-commerce features to your website.

    Once you set up your Ecwid store, you can sell not just via your website but also through your social media account and other marketplaces like Amazon. Users can also create, manage, and track advertisements from the Ecwid dashboard.

    The free plan costs $0/mo, the Venture plan costs $15/mo (Rs 700/mo), the Business plan costs $35/mo (Rs 1500/mo), and the Unlimited plan costs $99/mo ( Rs4990/mo). You pay even lesser for all the plans when you pay annually.

    Ecwid Pricing Plans
    Ecwid Pricing Plans







    Explore Ecwid



    Pixpa

    Pixpa's homepage
    Pixpa’s homepage

    Pixpa is an easy-to-use, all-in-one website builder platform specially designed keeping in mind the needs of creative professionals and small businesses. Pixpa stands out from other website builders with its focus on simplicity, flexibility, and powerful editing features. It’s full-featured ecommerce store builder is powered with all the tools required to run your online business – products and inventory management, discounts, taxes, shipping, abandoned carts, and easy order processing.

    E-commerce galleries enable photographers and creatives to sell prints or digital downloads of their work through their websites. Print orders can be auto-fulfilled through integration with WHCC photo labs. Client galleries enable photographers to shift to a digital workflow and make it easy for clients to view, proof, purchase and download images.

    With a host of built-in tools such as SEO Manager, Marketing Pop-Ups, Announcement Bar, and much more, you don’t need any extra plugins to start growing your traffic and converting more leads.

    Pixpa offers 24/7 fast and proactive customer support through live chat and email. There is also a comprehensive help centre with guides and step-by-step tutorials.

    Pixpa Pricing

    Pixpa’s all-inclusive pricing plans range from $5 to $25 monthly. Discounted annual and 2-yearly options are also available. All plans offer generous resources, unlimited bandwidth, SSL certificates and 24/7 support.

    Pixpa Pricing

    Shift4Shop

    Shopify Alternatives - Shift4Shop
    Shopify Alternatives – Shift4Shop

    Shift4Shop has been providing SEO-focused e-commerce software since 1997. Shift4Shop’s e-commerce platform is free to use monthly. There are over 100 online payment methods, including international processors. Furthermore, because Shift4 specializes in payment processing, they may provide you with significantly lower credit card processing rates than Shopify.

    Shift4Shop may be a better fit for you than Shopify if you’re an SEO nerd who depends heavily on organic search.

    Shift4Shop’s basic plan comes at $29/month, the Plus Store Plan comes at $79/month and the Pro-store plan comes at $229/month. All the plans come with features like Domain registration, secure web hosting, a built-in blog, API Access, a shopping cart, and more than 50 mobile-ready themes among many additional features.

    Shift4Shop Pricing
    Shift4Shop Pricing

    Sellfy

    Shopify Alternatives - Sellfy
    Shopify Alternatives – Sellfy

    Sellfy is a customizable store builder for companies that sell digital, physical, or subscription items. With an easy-to-use UI and various connections, Sellfy is one of the best Shopify options for selling digital products. Users can either build a store on Sellfy or integrate Sellfy into an existing website. Sellfy comes with amazing features like the availability of custom domains, third-party integrations, store customization, and sales analytics options.

    There is no free plan, but there is a 14-day trial. After that, the Starter plan costs $22/mo, the Business plan costs $59/mo, and the Premium plan costs $119/mo. On the negative, customization abilities are limited.

    Sellfy Pricing







    Explore Sellfy



    PinnacleCart

    Shopify Alternatives - PinnacleCart
    Shopify Alternatives – PinnacleCart

    PinnacleCart, created in 2003, is a shopping cart solution for small to mid-sized businesses with a strong marketing focus. You can choose to have PinnacleCart host your website or manage it yourself. As your traffic grows, you’ll either have to pay more or switch to a more costly plan with unlimited capacity. PinnacleCart offers just 12 themes, unlike Shopify, which has a large number of them.

    You can get a 14-day free trial, and after that, you can either buy the Standard subscription at $79.95/mo or the Advanced subscription at $199.95/mo. If you have a large business, then you can buy an Enterprise subscription by calling them. The Free and Standard plan offers features like up to 5 admin accounts, unlimited product categories, and customer service via live chat. The Advanced and Enterprise accounts include features like Customer Support via Phone, product filters, recurring billing options, split shipping, blog options, and over 30 payment options.

    PinnacleCart Pricing
    PinnacleCart Pricing

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    Press Kit plays a vital role in online publicity. Read All about Press Kit, meaning, components, why it is needed, and how to create it.


    BigCommerce

    Shopify Alternatives - BigCommerce
    Shopify Alternatives – BigCommerce

    BigCommerce has been one of Shopify’s primary competitors since it was created to assist massive, fast-growing businesses reach their full potential. BigCommerce boasts the most built-in functionality of any e-commerce platform, so you won’t have to rely on applications as Shopify does. There are over 55 payment channels available, with no additional transaction fees. Around 85% of difficulties are resolved on the first call, and support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. BigCommerce offers outstanding SEO and multi-channel selling capabilities, but some users may find it a bit less user-friendly than Shopify.

    Despite having many premium themes, BigCommerce only provides five free themes compared to Shopify’s nine. There is no free plan, but there is a 14-day trial. After that, the Standard plan costs $29.95/mo, the Plus plan costs $79.95/mo, and the Pro plan costs $299.95/mo.

    BigCommerce Pricing
    BigCommerce Pricing

    BigCommerce also offers an enterprise plan for big businesses for which one may get in touch with the BigCommerce Sales team.


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    Wix

    Shopify Alternatives - Wix
    Shopify Alternatives – Wix

    Wix is primarily a website builder, but it now offers e-commerce options that start at $20/mo (paid annually), making it a more cost-effective alternative. But it’s not the only feature that sets it apart from Shopify’s rivals. It also has some fantastic sales features and outperforms Squarespace and BigCommerce in design functionality. Users can either use the drag and drop features to build a website from scratch or just answer some questions, based on which the WIX ADI(Artificial Design Intelligence) designs a website just within a matter of minutes. Wix’s open development platform called Velo lets tech-savvy users build advanced web applications. Other than these, Wix comes with many other amazing functionalities.

    On the negative side, Wix can’t handle larger stores like Shopify, but it’s still great for small businesses that prioritize branding.

    Wix Website Plans
    Wix Website Plans
    Wix Pricing Plans for e-commerce and business
    Wix Pricing Plans for e-commerce and business







    Explore Wix



    Magento

    Shopify Alternatives - Magento
    Shopify Alternatives – Magento

    In terms of self-hosted solutions, Magento is arguably the most well-known e-commerce platform. It was initially released in 2007, and Adobe purchased Magento in 2018, allowing small businesses to use Magento Commerce and Magento Open Source.

    Now named Adobe Commerce, Magento has a worldwide developer community of over 260,000 people that contribute to the platform’s development. You gain access to an extensive partner ecosystem for third-party applications and add-ons, and you can customize everything in your business from the backend because it’s open-source. Adobe Commerce’s pricing details are not available on the site. Interested ones can fill in their details in the given form and get in touch with the Adobe team.

    Square Online

    Shopify Alternatives - Square online
    Shopify Alternatives – Square online

    Square online is a simple, powerful, and highly customizable tool that allows shop owners to manage their money, employees, and client base from a single screen. The Point of Sale App from Square is completely free. Downloading it is free, and there are no hidden costs. Building a site, selling, and hosting on the Square subdomain, everything is free. Users need to pay just the transaction fee on the orders placed on the site. However one needs to pay for services like a custom domain name and email address. Below are Square Online’s pricing plans-

    Square Online Pricing Plans
    Square Online Pricing Plans

    Square also includes several features and subscription services aimed at restaurants and other service-based businesses that aren’t available on Shopify. However, customization possibilities are limited in Square.

    Squarespace

    Shopify Alternatives - Squarespace
    Shopify Alternatives – Squarespace

    Squarespace is best recognized as a simple website builder for small company owners, freelancers, and creatives in a variety of industries that require a digital landing pad but not necessarily a fully equipped online store. Squarespace is well-known for its attractive templates. Around 70 attractive, contemporary website themes are available. On the negative side, their tools are limited, especially in terms of SEO.

    You may select between two plans: the Personal plan, which costs $16/mo or $12/mo if paid yearly, and the Business plan, which costs $26/mo or $18/mo if paid annually. Personal and Business Plans are suitable for websites, while the basic Commerce plans and Advanced Commerce plans are suitable for online stores. Here are Squarespace’s pricing plans-

    Squarespace Pricing Plans
    Squarespace Pricing Plans







    Explore Squarespace



    FAQs

    What are the alternatives of Shopify?

    Some of the top competitors and alternatives of Shopify are:

    • WooCommerce
    • Ecwid
    • Shift4Shop
    • Sellfy
    • PinnacleCart
    • BigCommerce
    • Wix
    • Magento
    • Square Online
    • Squarespace

    What is the most successful store on Shopify?

    Some of the most successful Shopify stores are:

    • Fashion Nova
    • Gym Shark
    • Allbirds
    • MVMT Watches
    • Kylie Cosmetics
    • ColourPop
    • Ruggable
    • Raycon

    Who is Shopify’s biggest competitor?

    BigCommerce is considered the biggest competitor of Shopify.

  • How to Start Ecommerce as a Side Hustle? | Steps and Tips to Get Started Today

    44 million Americans have a side hustle, and why shouldn’t they? A side hustle is a popular approach to make an extra profit while maintaining the safety net, that is your full-time job. Despite popular belief, the extra credits you work for can be both highly fulfilling and financially rewarding. You can be your boss and extract profits out of projects you are genuinely passionate about.

    On that note, starting an eCommerce business is the most sought way as a side hustle. Ecommerce is the buying or selling of goods and services via the internet. In today’s digital world, it has become pretty convenient and easy to set up an eCommerce store and kickstart your business.

    WIDGET: leadform | CAMPAIGN: undefined

    Steps to Start Ecommerce as a Side Hustle
    Decide The Product or Service To Sell and Your Target Audience
    Research About Related Ecommerce Businesses
    Set Up Your Online Store
    Promote Your Ecommerce Business
    Tips To Make Your Ecommerce Side Hustle Successful

    Number of digital buyers worldwide from 2016 to 2021
    Number of digital buyers worldwide from 2016 to 2021

    Steps to Start Ecommerce as a Side Hustle

    Setting up an online business might seem overwhelming at first, but it gets better with time, as said by Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”

    The following are four easy steps that will help you to start eCommerce as your side hustle:

    Decide The Product or Service To Sell and Your Target Audience

    You must be wondering what exactly you should sell. There are tons of business structures, be it service-based businesses, physical products, digital products, or software. It is common for people to get stuck on this.

    Here are a few things that you must bear in mind while selecting your product:

    • You must be genuinely passionate about it so that if it pays off well, you can continue to pursue it full-time in the future.
    • Consider the practical necessities of the product or service such as the competition and its demand in the market.

    You can start this step by making a list of possible products that you would want to sell as inspiration is present everywhere. Think of the products or services your close ones or your target audience might want to buy. There are numerous product lists suggestions available on the internet that might help you with this. Lastly, search for your product on Google trends and verify whether a demand exists for the product. As this will help you to find your target audience.

    A few more things that you should take into consideration at this step include:

    • Who is your target audience?
    • What are the pain points of your target audience?
    • How can your product help them?

    All this will help you set a definite goal in advance, which ultimately makes the rest of the steps easy.


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    Once an idea about selling something pops in your head, you would be tempted to start your business right away. But at this point, it is important to control your impulse and rather take a calculative decision.

    So, after you have decided on the product or service that you want to sell, you must conduct proper market research, watch out for your competitors, and, observe what they are doing, what is working, and what is not working for them. Here are a few things that you must consider while researching other businesses:

    • What is their business model?
    • Who is their target audience?
    • What are the social media platforms they are active on?
    • How do they generate leads (SEO, PPC, email)?

    All this will help you create distinguished characteristics for your business and you will also get to know what to do and what not to. Thus, conducting research and analyzing your competitors will give you a better understanding of how you should start eCommerce as your side hustle.

    Set Up Your Online Store

    Set up your online store - Shopify, eBay
    Set up your online store – Shopify, eBay

    The next step is to set up your online store from where your customers would be able to buy the products or services you are offering. You can choose eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, eBay, and more. They provide ready-to-use templates and easy-to-use store-building tools. With so many options available, it might be confusing to choose one platform from where you want to sell. Here are a few points that you should consider before selecting a platform:

    • Loading speed
    • Features and tools
    • Compatibility with payment getaways
    • SEO-friendly features  

    Make sure your store’s theme matches the theme of your business. Give your business a memorable name and be as creative yet clear with the logo. That’s what differentiates other businesses from yours. Also, try to make the buying process as smooth as possible, remove any additional steps and only ask for the information that is necessary to make the checkout process convenient for the customers.

    Also, nowadays, a platform that is gaining huge popularity for eCommerce setups and marketing is Instagram. It is easy to use as all you have to do is open an account, post pictures, think of a payment mode and start selling. Since people are getting more comfortable with Instagram shopping, it is definitely an option worth exploring.


    Boost your Ecommerce Sales with these 10 Simple Instagram Tips
    Want to boost your eCommerce sales via Instagram? This post is just for you! Mehar Gulati brings to you 10 tips on using Instagram to boost sales


    Promote Your Ecommerce Business

    Deciding on what to sell and where to sell is not the end of the process for starting an eCommerce side hustle.  No business becomes successful without great sales. Lead generation and sales are the most important part of any business. So, it is important that you spend your heart and soul on promoting it.

    The secret to a successful eCommerce business is to perfect your marketing strategy and channel it to the right platforms. Closely follow your competitors, and look for how they are generating leads, or which platforms they are investing in. Focusing on your marketing and making sure that you have a regular inflow of clients should be your priority.

    Tips To Make Your Ecommerce Side Hustle Successful

    Tips to make your eCommerce successful
    Tips to make your eCommerce successful

    If you are establishing a full-fledged eCommerce business or just starting with your side hustle, certain tips will help you make your business successful:

    Provide an Exceptional Customer Service

    A survey conducted by Greenwich states that “India loses around ₹11,640 Crore every year in revenue due to poor customer service.” Great customer service is essential for your business’s long-term growth.

    You should go the extra mile to meet the expectations of your customers and keep them satisfied. This will ensure that such customers keep coming back to you.

    Work on Store Optimization

    Once you’ve laid the foundation of your business, the next step is to work on your store optimization. Here are some things that you can do to optimize your store:

    1. Make your store mobile-friendly
    2. Increase the loading speed
    3. Improve your navigation bar
    4. Improvise your search button
    5. Create impressive product pages
    6. Add a section of related items

    Keep Updating Your Inventory

    It won’t take a long time before your existing products start losing their thunder in the market. You need to keep on improvising and adding new products or services to your business to keep it relevant. Offering new and improved products and services from time to time will help you to retain your customers and also attract new ones.

    Conclusion

    A side hustle is a new trend that everyone seems to like, be it young children from school, college students, or even working professionals. It might seem tough in the beginning but with time, it pays off well both in terms of money and experience. So, it is indeed possible to handle a side hustle alongside your full-time job, college, and social life. All you need is strategic planning and a bit of patience. Thus, deciding to start an eCommerce side hustle is a great first step in itself and once you have set the foundation of your business, it will be ready to fly to newer heights.

    FAQs

    Is starting eCommerce as a side hustle profitable?

    The eCommerce industry is full of competition, but if you know what the market wants and have a plan in hand, it can be very profitable. However, the profit will depend upon the type of products or services you are selling and also your business model.

    • Amazon
    • Flipkart
    • Myntra
    • Shopify
    • eBay

    What can I do as a side hustle?

    • Sell products or services online
    • Teach a subject online
    • Rent out your vehicle
    • Start creating videos on Youtube and Instagram
    • Start a blog
  • Google Shopping- A Smart and Free Way of Attracting New Opportunities.

    Google has announced that they will be allowing the merchants to list their products on Google Shopping search results for free of cost starting with the US and to be continued in the whole world. This is one of the new way to kick start their work while helping the retailers to sell their product and asking the ads merchants to take the advantage of this new opportunity in the person of lockdown. The main concentration of Google in this case is to revive their revenue source in this difficult situation where they are not having work due to complete global lockdown. Google Shopping ads now drive 76.4% of retail search ad spend, generating 85.3% of all clicks on Adwords or Google Shopping campaign ads. Let us discuss that weather this initiative will be going to be a boon or a bane for Google.

    Benefits of the Google shopping campaign

    Benefits of the Google shopping campaign
    Benefits of the Google shopping campaign

    The Google has shown the benefits and the interest of all 3 sections of the society (retailers, shoppers and ads merchants) who are directly connected with the Google shopping facility.

    • The change given in Google shopping, in the product search offering will help the retailers in such a way that; -now they will be able to get free exposure and experience to millions of people( new and existing) who come to Google every day for fulfilling their required shopping products and materials.
    • Like the retailers, the shoppers will be able to get more choices over the product and the brands over better pricing from more stores due to the new campaign by Google Shopping. This will be all possible on discovery through the Google Shopping tab on the Google search platform or Google search engine.
    • The advertisers will also get the benefit of this new facility provided by Google shopping in such a manner that, now they will be getting a new section for running paid campaigns because of this free listings on Google shopping tab. The Ads merchant will be able to get the advantage of the free listings, and this will inspire the new Ads merchant to work in this streamline and make it a new source of revenue.

    Also Read: Things To Remember Before Buying From AliExpress


    Partnership in Google shopping campaign

    Partnership in Google shopping campaign
    Partnership in Google shopping campaign

    Google has also made a new partnership with many other platforms for the Google Shopping tab that are working in the same field and helping the businesses by providing their premium facilities. These platform include


    Also Read: Flipkart – Bringing Products at Your Fingertips


    Reason behind the Google shopping campaign

    During the period of COVID-19 and so far, Amazon’s trillion-dollar company, Jeff Bezos has been considered, the most notable winner in terms of business working and expansion who has added  $24 billion in his total wealth from the same time, the global shutdown began. While on the other hand, the tech giants like Google and Facebook who are having all their revenue from ads are facing heavy crisis, as there is no business in the world and so, advertisers has cut a big portion from their 2020 marketing budgets. This has pushed the tech giant like Google in the back-foot. The company is now trying to search a new source income in the person of global lockdown.

    Since, all the businesses are shut down in this time period except the e-commerce and the basic utility business so, this tech giant is also trying all it’s strategies in the same sector by just integrating it their own business model and making this facility, free for all.