Picking the right e-Commerce solution for your business can be a tedious task. With many platforms flooding the market, there are an array of options available making it even harder to choose.

Although the requirements might vary and there is no single platform that is perfect, we can’t but stop to vouch for open-source e-Commerce platforms. Here are some benefits of open-source e-Commerce platforms.

1.    There Are No Vendor Locks

This is a major reason why most companies offering Open-Source E-Commerce Development choose to work with an open-source platform. With proprietary software like Shopify, or Magento there is always the risk of Vendor lock i.e a licensing fee should be paid to use the e-commerce platform. On the contrary, with open-source solutions, you have full control over your project.

2.    Custom Build

Proprietary platforms like Shopify offers the option of choosing a templated theme. But once that’s done there is no customization available. There are no complaints if you are looking to put your website up and running but if you want to have uniqueness to your website, mostly like it would not be possible.

What fun is there if all websites look the same?

On the other hand, with open-source platforms the source code can be edited and modified in any way possible which opens endless possibilities to create and build what comes to mind. Thus, developers in any software company in UAE and business owners can create what they desire without any imposed restrictions.

3.    Integrations

This falls back to our second point. Business owners require quite a lot of integrations for their e-commerce platforms to perform seamlessly. Hence it is important to choose a platform that you want to use, where you can seamlessly integrate the various third-party software, you might need.

Some of these might include Payment Gateways, CRM’s, Shipping Vendors, Accounting Softwares, Analytics and Tracking, Shopping Channels, or anything custom made.

Proprietary software platforms will have plugins or modules that can be integrated smoothly with your e-commerce platforms. This can go easily until you need something specifically custom-made for your business. In such cases, an open-source solution would be your go-to option.

4.    Strong Community Backing

A major benefit of using open-source platform us that they are backed by a strong community, especially Drupal.

Drupal is open source, i.e it is owned by no single person or company and anybody can use the source code and modify in any way they like. It is also pro-developer and hence attracted a large developer following. The best thing about this is that there are very few limitations imposed on the software. If it lacks functionality, the community can help create it. The number of modules that extend Drupal’s base functionality is astounding.

So, is Open Source the Best Choice for You?

It should not be seen that e-Commerce is the panacea for all your business requirements. What you need to understand is the actual business requirement and your business goals and then take it from there.

If you are confused about any company offering software development services in Dubai would be able to help you out.