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So you want to redevelop your own multi-vendor e-commerce website like Amazon or eBay. But what you have now is a little WordPress website, and you’re so clueless where to begin. The first thing you might though is to use one of existing CMS upgrades or resettle to the new e-commerce engine, like Magenta or OpenCart.
The problem with those engines is that they become too slow and complex over time. Too many plugins, too many modules. Eventually, every open-source solution becomes a mess. But you need that exact easy to manage solution that you have had back those days when you started your business.
This could prove to be really impossible to figure out. Whether to choose CMS or go for a tailor-made multi-vendor marketplace. A lot of people before you have jumped from WordPress to paid e-commerce solution. And eventually, they all chose to develop their own custom marketplace website.
Let’s break into detail why you may possibly want to make a fresh start with your e-commerce business.
Ready-made solution: Pros and Cons
The most obvious reason to buy a ready-made CMS system is the price. We all know how hard it is to keep a positive cash flow. Frankly speaking, if you just starting business, having a spare 10 thousand dollars seems unlikely. You definitely have other more urgent needs.
But don’t underestimate CMS prices. 3-4 must-have extensions will simply account for 1 thousand dollars. Because, hey, that’s how those “free” CMS make a living – upsales! Keep in mind that many CMS systems require monthly payments. Shopify, for instance, will cost you about 1k per year, plus 2,5% from all transaction made in your online store.
Adding to this a programming/SEO guy who will tweak those parts and make them work together and you’ll get to $4k to $5k over the first year of work.
The second advantage of ready-made marketplace products is that they work out-of-the-box. Well, sort of…
We‘ve already mentioned extensions you’ll need to buy in order to get required UX/UI performance. Besides all those additional functions you’ll definitely have to install, there are performance issues.
Yes! Performance is a weak spot of any ready-made solution. And that’s because of modules. Instead of getting one perfectly optimized software product, you get five products with different complexity and efficiency. Not to mention possible compatibility issues you may encounter.
Among Custom Software Development Companies, many can provide resources to create a good marketplace.
Multi-vendor Marketplace Website Development
Custom development eliminates such problems. We make one, solid product. Your store will be perfectly optimized, fit together, and ready to work up from the start.
Moreover, we’ll make load testing in live environment. It will help us to identify the maximum operating capacity of your website as well as any bottlenecks and determine which element is causing degradation. Thus, we’ll optimize your store to real conditions.
Must-Have Features of Multi-vendor Marketplace
- Individual front-end dashboard and store page for every vendor.
- Secure and multiple payment gateways.
- By-store statistics on the amount of visitors and purchases.
- Multiple admin roles to share control with individual sellers.
- Flexible category structure that allows adding new groups of products.
- Easy scalability while preserving page load speed.
- Modular structure of the product page with the possibility to add new description blocks.
Additional Features
- Social logins and authorization through social media APIs.
- Invoice and report generation for seller.
- Easy mass import of products and prices.
- Optional blog functionality for every vendor you have.
- Cross-platform marketing statistics.
- Seller shipping management system or integration with external APIs of logistics companies.
- Review module with the option of sharing review between different vendors on your platform.
Multi-vendor marketplace development pricing
Under $25k in Ukraine, about $50k both in Poland and Germany and well above $125k in the U.S. On top of that, please keep in mind that the final price can be doubled based on the number of function you want to add.
For those of you who’re just starting a company, the price may seem a bit off. That’s why we frequently advice making an MVP with minimal UI/UX and only must-have functions. In the meantime, you can gradually expand your platform’s capabilities and up-sell new features to your vendors.
Bottom Line
There is no need to list all advantages of multi-vendor marketplace. They generate more products, customers, traffic, orders, and revenues. But all these bonuses come with a price. Intense usage will put your website under extreme pressure. That is why it is increasingly important to develop a solid product that will withstand high loads and serve your business goals.
