The Motivation Behind Pakk: Part 1
Where to start?
In 2020, at the time of writing, there are more ways to launch an e-commerce site than I could possibly list, but here’s a quick attempt anyway:
- Use a super-popular, open-source blogging platform with an equally popular e-commerce plugin (Wordpress + Woocommerce)
- Use a popular, open-source content management system (CMS) with an e-commerce add-on or module (Drupal)
- Choose from a stable of veteran, open-source, dedicated e-commerce platforms (Prestashop, Zencart)
- Choose an enterprise grade, monolithic, open-source e-commerce platform (Magento)
- Use a hosted page-builder service to create a simple site and e-commerce functionality with an add-on (Wix)
- Create a static site and use drop-in Javascript e-commerce functionality (Snipcart, Molten, Foxycart)
- Use a dedicated, hosted, SaaS e-commerce platform (Shopify, Bigcommerce)
- Use a monolithic, enterprise-grade, open-source ERP with sitebuilder module (Odoo, ERPNext)
- Use a monolithic, enterprise-grade, hosted ERP with sitebuilder module (Netsuite, SAP)
That’s barely scratching the surface and already the list feels quite overwhelming, whether you’re just getting started with your first store, or have outgrown your current solution and are looking for something more suitable.
But that’s just the start
The complexity doesn’t stop at choosing how to ‘launch your site’. In fact, you might view that as just the tip of the iceberg. An e-commerce store, is, or at least should be, an elegant and functional way for your customers to interact and transact with your business. Thought of this way, an e-commerce presence is less ‘website’ and more ‘online store’. The distinction is subtle but important. E-commerce has unavoidably grown up on the back of content management: early stores were simple dynamic websites with buy buttons, so it made sense to adapt blogging platforms and CMSs to e-commerce, or even to build simple standalone e-commerce ‘platforms’.
