Before you create a website, you will need to choose the appropriate shop system. Not all shop interfaces are equally suited for sophisticated e-commerce projects, and because online shop developers often have a certain preference, it’s recommended that you take a look at them yourself before choosing one.
Creating a large webshop: shop software for large clients
If you want to create a very large online shop which also permits B2B functions in addition to offering thousands of products, you will need a shop solution from a professional and enterprise level. Products generally favored in this field are OXID, Shopware, Magento, Intershop and Hybris. Spryker is a new provider with an interesting modular approach.
OXID eShop
OXID eShop is good scalable shop software based on PHP with numerous interfaces for additional B2B software and a large number of extensions. In addition to a main shop, many subshops can be centrally managed in a common back end. A flat database structure ensures low server load. Companies that have created a webshop using OXID include CEP Sports and Unilever.
Shopware
Shopware, which is also based on PHP, relies on extensive marketing features for an impressive buying experience. A particularly user-friendly back end is good for beginners, and promotions, landing pages, banners and further CMS elements can be easily edited and managed. Well-known companies that have used Shopware to create a website include Quartier 206 and Blaupunkt.
Magento
Magento is the current market leader among shop systems based on PHP and is often used in very large online shops. Magento leaves nothing to be desired in terms of functionality and expandibility, but can is time-consuming and expensive to set up. You can also expect high costs for the server infrastructure. Thanks to a nearly inexhaustible number of feature enhancements, interfaces, third-party modules and the possibility to integrate SAP and PIM software, Magento is perfect for large companies. Companies that have created a Magento webshop include HAHN+KOLB, Ehapa and Stilwerk.
Intershop
Intershop is one of the longest established providers of enterprise-level shop software, and offers online shops as a SaaS solution, in addition to a traditional licensing model. Thanks to its Java code base, the shop software is very performant and is very suitable for traditional B2C online shops, as well as B2B areas like multichannel distribution models. It also provides seamless connectivity to third-party systems. Well-known companies that have created a webshop with Intershop include Swarovski and EDEKA.
Hybris
Hybrid is a veteran among shop systems, just like Intershop. The e-commerce platform, which is marketed by SAP, runs on Java and offers good server performance. Hybrid is even better suited for complex B2B shops than Intershop, and offers advanced personalisation and targeting options, in addition to in-house SAP support and extensive marketing functions. Companies that have created a Hybris webshop include Lufthansa and Adidas.
Spryker
Spryker is a newcomer among the shop systems, and has only been available for two years. Spryker differentiates itself from other providers by a fully modular approach. It’s not a complete shop solution, but instead a PHP based e-commerce framework which lets developers create very flexible customised shop systems. The set-up effort is correspondingly high. This is rewarded however by a very high scalability and performance. Because the software is still very new, there are almost no references for it, and there are still bugs to be reckoned with.
Creating a website: it is cheaper with Indian professionals
Whether you are planning a sophisticated e-commerce project or a simple online shop – in both cases is is worth it to outsource the development to India.
Outsourcing4work can provide you with professional service providers who will professionally set up your shop system, and develop expansions for your online shop as needed. If you would like to expand on an existing webshop, you can also hire an affordable developer.
We can offer you an entire range of IT Outsourcing options, from a fixed-price project to an entire team that will work exclusively for you as a type of branch.
