Analysis paralysis is a very real sickness, and you and I are both constantly at risk.
We as “doers,” independents, marchers to the beat of our own drums. Entrepreneurs who deal in and with technology– in charge of operations from very big to very small– all have plenty of decisions to make. And any one single decision can completely shut us down if we let it.
Your Brain on Shopping Carts
It’s obvious that an e-commerce business can’t exist without a functional website. But those who have taken the leap from, “Online business is cool! I want to do that!” to “I need a website. What kind should I have?” know how loaded that task is. And how a weekend spent unpacking it can easily turn into a week, a month, or even years!
Granted, I’m the one building very comprehensive comparisons of e-commerce platforms. But if you’re the type to get stuck in a rut, I’d suggest you put that sort of thing aside. Rather, I’d like to encourage you to do the simple, easy thing.
You Gotta Start Somewhere
Look, if you’ve already been in business a while and your scale is large, then you probably want to give some good, hard thought to your next choice of shopping cart. But if you’ve never sold anything online despite talking about it forever, you just gotta start already!
Taking action today will spark an amazing sense of accomplishment and serious momentum for your sprouting business.
Why Shopify Is the Best Platform for Nontechnical Sellers
If I’m forced to give you only one option, I’m going for quick and easy. And on that note, I’m suggesting you use Shopify.
Now here’s why I say Shopify and not one of the other paid hosted platforms, like Bigcommerce, Volusion, or Magento Go: I know that plenty of people who do the Shopify trial find that it just plain makes them feel good. The admin space is clean and easy. The free, default themes are good enough to start with. It’s all quite slick.
Granted, all of the big hosted e-commerce platforms are updating like mad lately, and competitors like Bigcommerce (which I like very much) have gotten the “slickness” note. In the near future, the playing field is likely to become even more level in this specific area.
But if you need just one suggestion, I can tell you Shopify is the most consistently praised platform that I know of in terms of ease of use. And that’s what we’re focused on here. Ease. And the present.
Go Time!
So there you go. If you’ve been talking about selling online for weeks, months, or even years (!) and have yet to, I hope you’ll take my advice today and get moving! Know that it’s worth it. Know that you’re going to feel awesome for it. And even if it was possible to choose the wrong shopping cart your first time out of the gate, know that nothing’s getting set in stone here.
Just go for it, and you’ll see.
Photo credit: Tim Simpson / Flickr
This post contains affiliate links. Rest assured, though, that I don’t recommend any companies that I haven’t used and experienced for myself.