Finding the right e-commerce platform is much like finding “the right partner”. It is a tedious process that is mostly trial and error, so you need to show some patience when searching for a match. If you are having trouble deciding which way to go know that it is all about gaining a better understanding of what you really need:

1. Type and size of business. The type of business you have will define the kind of platform you will need to setup. If you are a small business owner, a simple free service platform will be fine. You can, of course, opt for a low-cost service which will give you better usage, features and control. Webmasters have a lot to say about the difference between paid and free services. Free services are good if you have some workable knowledge about webhosting and web design, but they will prove tedious to a complete newbie. A small monthly fee is not so much if your needs are more specific. A paid service will be intuitive and easy to manage—so a novice user can easily work his way through the system.
2. Needs for an upgrade. Every small business owner aspires to grow his company and with this growth, every aspect should follow. Ultimately, you want your choice of a platform to be one that is easily upgraded. When your business begins to grow, you want to be able to tweak the system so that your website keeps up with the upgrades the overall business is going through. Similarly, part of this upgrade will involve wanting to move to another platform, and your current one should support this too.

Ability to make upgrades. Just as this world is constantly evolving and going through some changes, your e-commerce website should have the capacity to cope up. A good platform is one that offers constant upgrades and updates that will put your system on the same level of all the leaders in the web. You cannot just establish your site and leave it on its own. A good site should be moving and growing with the times—and a good platform should support such changes.