Are you considering a software like a service (SaaS) or an on-premises solution for the ecommerce platform?

In the fast-changing realm of ecommerce you will need to ensure you make a good option for your business. Your choice will affect your staff and the resources you will need to manage and maintain your website, so here are some things to consider.

SaaS vs on-premises ecommerce

All websites must be hosted on servers to allow them to be accessed by visitors through their web browsers. You will need to decide where your servers should be.

Your ecommerce software and hosting are included in a SaaS solution, often managed through the same provider, and you will pay a monthly fee. Cloudfy is definitely an illustration of a SaaS ecommerce platform.

In contrast, with an on-premises solution your ecommerce software runs on servers either at your premises or around the servers of an external hosting provider. When you purchase a platform such as WooCommerce for WordPress, for example, this is the approach you would take.

The main difference between these options is when involved you will be to keep your site running.

Pros and Cons

Factors that might affect your choice includes your company size, budget, and your business goals.

SaaS – your software, hosting and maintenance are included and you will regularly receive updates that are automatically implemented from your provider, so you'll also have the latest version.

This approach has become increasingly popular like a single solution for the ecommerce needs. Having a wide range of ecommerce functions available as they are your site could be ready to go quickly. Because SaaS platforms are optimized for ecommerce, they deliver good performance and fast load times for the customers. Available for monthly payments it's easy to manage your budget and achieve a lower total price of ownership.

While some businesses might believe that their scope for personalization is restricted if they select a SaaS solution, providers like Cloudfy give you in-built flexibility for design, integrations and extensions and a powerful application programming interface (API) that will permit you to produce a site to meet your requirements. SaaS ecommerce is another scalable solution that may grow with your business so you don't need to pay for resources that you don't yet need.

With updates, maintenance and server configuration all handled for you personally you shouldn't have for high-level technical skills internally. Easy to use dashboards will mean customer service, sales and marketing teams can all be involved with running your website.

If you have questions, you will have the support of your provider's customer support team.

Keeping your data safe as well as your customers' information secure has not been more essential as well as your provider will be payment card industry (PCI) compliant and will probably operate with higher levels of data security.

On-premises – you'll own and control your resources, even when you use a third-party host company. You will need to have a very good concept of the quantity of traffic you'll handle to be certain you've enough capacity. Unless you're using a wide open source option you will also pay permission fee for the ecommerce platform.

You will manage the performance and delivery of your site which can be very attractive, with respect to the scale and complexity of the business. With good in-house expertise for the networking, systems administration, and coding you can make your personal customizations and manage performance to meet your requirements precisely.

However, should there be any problems you will have to resolve them and your team will be responsible for maintenance, updates, and replacing equipment when needed. While you control performance this can only be to the limits of your own infrastructure or perhaps your hosting provider. Additionally, you will need to take responsibility for making sure you have adequate back-up arrangements and disaster recovery plans if the servers fail.

You will also be responsible for the security and compliance of your site, including implementing security patches and updates from your platform provider.

Making your choice

SaaS is a great choice for lower infrastructure costs as well as for companies that don't wish to have high-level technical expertise in-house to manage maintenance and security. Instead, you can concentrate on high quality content and customer experience. If you have developers also it experts you can use their skills to customize and increase your platform using the support of the provider.

If you have a complex business, a larger budget, and stringent security requirements an on-premises option would be worth taking into consideration. For businesses needing a lot of customization and control this may once happen to be the only option but modern SaaS solutions now provide much more flexibility.

Before you make your decision find out more about the way a SaaS ecommerce solution like Cloudfy can suit your needs. Book your free demo today.