In 1994, the first item ever was ordered online at Amazon – a book.
This $12.48 transaction made history and signaled the world that the “internet is open” for
online transactions. Today, the e-commerce industry has grown into a trillion-dollar industry.
Data from Statista shows that e-commerce sales worldwide hit a staggering $4.3 trillion in
2021, and the number is growing by the day. With the shift towards digital retail moving at the speed of light, many companies plan to go online.
The common dilemma that many retailers are facing is; which e-commerce platform should one choose to start their venture.
One platform—nopCommerce, stands tall above the competition, offering rich and transformational functionalities to small and medium sized stores. We’ll delve into the crux of nopCommerce and explain why it’s the best platform for your business.
What Is NopCommerce?
NopCommerce is a free and open-source e-commerce solution for all businesses. It powers tens of thousands of online stores worldwide, including reputable brands like Volvo, Reebok, North Face, and the Hyatt Hotels.
The platform offers cutting edge features and functionalities anyone would expect in a world-class e-commerce platform, including:
- Product comparison tools
- User reviews
- Shipping management
- Discount options
- Marketing
- Mobile access
- Data security
Unlike other solutions, nopCommerce is based on the ASP.NET framework and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 back-end database.
Since its inception in 2008, nopCommerce has won numerous prestigious awards, including CMScritic’s “Best eCommerce for SMB” award and the Packt Open-Source Award.
Advantages of Using NopCommerce for Your Project
With a plethora of options out there, it can be challenging for any business owner to determine the best e-commerce solution for their business. Here are the top reasons to choose nopCommerce for your project.
1. It’s an Open-Source Platform
NopCommerce is an open-source platform, which means it’s free.
No upfront fees, no subscription fees, and no hidden fees are required to set it up. Anyone can download the source code and modify it to fit their custom requirements.
There is a common fallacy in the tech world that “free solutions” don’t receive security updates and aren’t backed by support.
But this is not true for nopCommerce. The platform has an active community of supporters and skilled developers who are continually working to maintain its standards and make it faster, safer, and more reliable.
2. It Offers Multi-Store Support
The multi-store environment has become the new norm in the e-commerce community.
Retailers are no longer restricting the scope of their businesses to a single storefront. Instead, many are opting for multiple storefronts.
NopCommerce comes with a multi-store feature that allows retailers to run more than one store from a single installation. This allows store owners to host multiple stores on different domains and manage all the stores from a single nopCommerce administration panel.
NopCommerce online retailers can set the following features separately per store:
- Products per store
- Product prices per store
- Payments per store
- Tax rules per store
- Shipment methods per store
- Content (newsletter, blogs, news) per store
With the multi-store feature, retailers can create a nopCommerce marketplace where small vendors can sell their products separately.
3. Ready for Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce)
In an age where mobile phone usage surpasses desktop, a mobile-friendly design is a must-have. Furthermore, the current shift to online shopping fueled by the novel COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge in mobile commerce.
Experts predict that M-commerce will account for 72.3% of all sales by the end of 2021.
In line with the changing consumer behavior, savvy retailers are leveraging mobile-ready e-commerce platforms to grow sales. The nopCommerce platform offers free, mobile-friendly features which are ready to use out of the box.
In addition, nopCommerce enables store owners to create a mobile version of their sites easily without extra development work or add-ons.
4. Comes with Pre-Built Integrations
Another great thing about nopCommerce is that it comes with pre-built integrations.
These integrations can help to save resources while allowing store owners to launch or revamp their online stores quickly. All nopCommerce integrations come from different nopCommerce developers experienced in building integrations for payments, shipping, etc.
For example, the platform is integrated with more than 50 payment getaways and methods, including PayPal, Alipay, WorldPay, and Stripe.
5. It’s Easy to Scale
One of the most significant benefits that users get with nopCommerce is on-demand scalability. NopCommerce can work with cheap Windows hosting solution providers like SmarterASP and enterprise hosting solutions like Azure cloud.
Moreover, it comes with a scalable database facility and a pluggable modular architecture that makes customizations while scaling your business a seamless and hassle-free experience.
The Final Thoughts
NopCommerce makes a strong case for being the best e-commerce development platform. It’s powerful, secure, and cost-effective. Plus, it comes with plenty of features and functionalities that are hard to find elsewhere for free.
If you want to build a feature-rich, secure and scalable e-commerce store, contact us today. We offer a wide range of nopCommerce development services tailored to your unique needs.
