With the growing popularity of online shopping, the complexity of online retailers’ business operations is also on the rise. In 2022, more than ever before, e-sellers need to be able to capitalize on services offered by software providers. Software providers need to leverage platform integration to connect their services with the most important shopping platforms to gain unrestricted access to data stored on them.
The most important choice when starting an integration with eCommerce platforms is deciding which one will be primary. Many factors must be considered, such as the platform's popularity, the number of users, etc.
Below, we will take a look at the importance of connecting your software with various eCommerce platforms. We will also dive deeper into the top platforms that you should consider for integration in 2022.
Main Reasons to Develop an eCommerce Platform Integration
The eCommerce platform integration process involves connecting your software or app with external shopping platforms. You can integrate your existing software with Magento, Shopify, or WooCommerce. This integration enables you to access a plethora of valuable data related to your clients' operations. The data includes the e-store product, order, shipment, or tax information.
Regardless of the type of software you are offering, it is imperative to integrate with the platforms your clients use. For example, suppose most of your target niche uses Magento. In that case, it is essential to integrate with Magento in order to allow your system to gain unrestricted data related to shoppers’ information, abandoned cart info, product stocks, product descriptions, and prices.
The process of integrating an eCommerce platform with your software can be time-consuming and expensive. In 2022, it’s vital to choose the platforms you want to integrate with carefully. You’ll also need to invest in support, maintenance, and upgrades once the platforms are connected. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options available today.
Top 9 Platforms in 2022 for eCommerce Platform Integration
1. Shopify
Shopify is one of the top eCommerce shopping platforms in 2022, featuring over 1.5 million active stores and many advanced technological features. In addition to providing high-quality services at an affordable price, Shopify provides e-shop owners with a plethora of built-in marketing tools, tech support, and integration options for third-party apps.
Integrating your software with Shopify allows you to reach millions of prospects based in the United States, Canada, and Europe. However, its API is complex and hard to integrate with, and Shopify releases a new version every three months.
2. WooCommerce
WooCommerce, the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress, is powering almost 30% of all online stores. It enables users worldwide to sell their goods easily.
WooCommerce is unique in that it comes with multiple API versions. Every time a new update appears for a specific version, developers must update the code to ensure compatibility with the newest version of WooCommerce. Consequently, a connection with WooCommerce requires constant effort and a lot of financial assets involved.
3. Etsy
In the dropshipping world, Etsy is considered a top shopping marketplace. According to Statista, over 4.36 million sellers from more than 234 countries are using this platform to sell their handmade goods.
Although Etsy uses the RESTful interface, which is simple to implement and work with, the integration process typically takes up to 6 weeks and requires a team of experienced developers.
4. Magento
Magento is a large, open-source platform that offers many customizable options, a great variety of product attributes, and numerous product comparison charts. The integration process with Magento is complex due to the proprietary EAV (Entity-Attribute-Value) database model, 40+ product and category information tables, and data import issues.
5. OpenCart
OpenCart boasts over 350,000 store owners and has a vast experience in the eCommerce market. However, note that connecting your software to this platform requires a significant amount of time, effort and money invested, as well as specific skills related to OpenCart’s architecture.
6. PrestaShop
PrestaShop is a rapidly growing eCommerce platform that allows users to create online stores. Many software providers choose this platform because it allows them to quickly expand their customer base by integrating their software with PrestaShop.
7. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a powerful eCommerce solution that provides professional SEO tools, customizable design themes, abandoned cart saver features, and other cool features.
BigCommerce integration process is quite complex; therefore, it might give you some headaches if you desire to connect with BigCommerce manually.
8. CS-Cart
CS-Cart is a relatively new shopping platform that offers a seamless drag-and-drop interface and a wide variety of themes. The platform comes with a mobile app for iOS users and enables its users to conduct their operations in several foreign currencies. It also has a RESTful API and utilizes four methods for modifying data, detailed API documentation, and other features designed to make it easy for companies to use its API.
9. Wix
The Wix platform provides users with a simple and efficient way to create online stores. The platform has continually evolved to meet the needs of modern shoppers.
Wix provides a RESTful API to access its store data, returning JSON objects and using HTTP methods (POST, GET, PUT, DELETE) to retrieve or modify data.
Conclusion
To succeed in today’s highly competitive B2B software market, performing at least one eCommerce platform integration is a must. This requires spending a great deal of time and money on the process, plus trying to maintain the connection with each individual platform in the long run. A much better and cost-effective alternative to manual integrations with each of the needed shopping platforms is API2Cart. This modern unified shopping cart data interface works by connecting your software with 40+ platforms simultaneously, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, OpenCart, BigCommerce, and PrestaShop.
Top comments (0)