Is It Time to Re-platform Your Ecommerce Website?

Chris Hooven, Vice President, Business Development, OSF Global Services

Online shoppers are savvy. They have amassed a high level of expectations regarding their web-based shopping experience, which means they have become more demanding when it comes to your webstore. In short they want an engaging, informative and personalized event.

If you’re like many retailers, your current ecommerce platform is not equipped to handle these increased demands and the slew of new channels, from m-commerce to social media. That’s because most ecommerce platforms are a complex environment of multiple third-party and legacy applications that have been implemented over time to create a better online retail experience.

By re-platforming your ecommerce website, you can create a more stable, modern environment that allows you to improve online traffic, increase revenue, create targeted marketing campaigns, boost system performance and reduce costs. However re-platforming is a major initiative that will impact your entire business operations, from the front-end to the back-end. So carefully study your current environment before making the leap.

Deciding if the time is right

How can you tell if it’s time to re-platform your ecommerce website? There are a number of signs including:

  • Your business is growing – Look closely at the cost/performance benefits of you webstore to determine if it can continue to meet your expanding needs.
  • Technology changes and innovation – Technology changes at a rapid clip. Take an inventory of your platform and business needs to determine the functionality required to support your ecommerce goals.
  • Navigation, coding and search capabilities – Evaluate your current navigation structure, URL syntax, coding and search functionality to better understand if you are providing your customers with the best possible online experience.
  • Technology support model refresh – As your ecommerce site becomes larger, more complex and increasingly dynamic, you need the horsepower to implement changes and handle traffic. Determine the type of support you need, what type of platform would work best, and if you should move to an outsourced or SaaS model.
  • More back-office integration – Integrating specific business applications with your webstore can streamline the order lifecycle and enhance personalized service while automatically adjusting inventory and decreasing costs. If back-office integration has been on the back burner, re-platforming provides an ideal opportunity to connect and reconnect with existing enterprise and third party assets, such as ERP, CRM and supply chain.
  • New goals for your webstore – Whether it’s finding ways to speed page loads, increase your conversion rates or reduce shopping cart abandonment, your ecommerce goals are always changing. Does your current platform allow you to quickly respond to rapidly evolving business needs and a changing market?
  • Security and compliance – Your webstore must offer the utmost in security, both for your business and your customers. Re-platforming enables you to upgrade your security functionality and ensure compliance with ecommerce regulations.
  • The role of mobile devices – Customers want access to your webstore any time and from any Internet-enabled device. That means your ecommerce site must be able to meet the increasing demands of mobile commerce and be prepared to handle tablet commerce.