We are building our online store - we use hubspot, and our site is on wordpress. We are evaluating BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Shopify.
My first question is whether or not any husbpot/worpress users have specific recommendations about which platform is best? And why?
Also, I know that HS has integrations built for Shopify and WooCommerce, but I don't know how good they are. Are you able to get adequate information through them? Or are we likely going to need to build some custom integration regardless of which platform we choose?
You have to use a subdomain when your website is built in one CMS like WordPress or HubSpot, and then your shop is hosted by BigCommerce or Shopify.
The general CMS features of an eCommerce store are usually weak, as their main focus is on the shopping features. And so for many companies that have a lot of content to host, the CMS features in Shopify and BigCommerce are not good enough. So this is when they go for the sub-domain feature.
Having everything on one domain, is good for domain authority. But provided you put keyword links between your main site and your shopping site, it should be fine to host your website on one CMS and shopping on a subdomain.
The eCommerce BigCommerce integration you found is good - it used the eCommerce Bridge API which is the same API that the Shopify integration is built upon. So as long as you don't customize too much in BigCommerce, the integration will work very well and give you all those amazing features HubSpot offer for eCommerce.
Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce are all great options for building an online store. As a HubSpot and WordPress user, you may want to consider the built-in integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce, but it's important to weigh the pros and cons of each platform before making a decision. At the end of the day, you want an e-commerce solution that's optimized for search engines, provides secure payment gateways and is designed to maximize sales conversions to help you succeed in a competitive market.
There are a huge number of e-commerce platforms designed for your business practice. These platforms are very popular because they help you promote and expand your business. You should research the task at hand and choose the features you need for such a platform. This is a good option for small businesses that want to save money and help their business scale and thrive in the future. Shopify vs magento platforms are among the most relevant today. These shopping platforms are a good commerce option, especially for beginners. I wish you easy earnings!
1. Shopify - there is a native integration into HubSpot and when you use it, it launches a set of eCommerce features in HubSpot. Many of these features are in a v1 stage, and so they are limited, but they are being added to. So for example, you cannot add SKU's to an abandoned cart email. The issue with going Shopify when your website is in WordPress is that the Shopify site will need to be on a sub-domain and will look different to the rest of your site.
2. WooCommerce - there is a HubSpot partner that has built an integration. It simply syncs your customers and their last order date and a few other fields to the contact object. As WooCommerce is so configurable, it is difficult to create a good out-of-the-box integration as everyone has set theirs up differently. I would suggest using the eCommerce Bridge API and creating your own integration as part of the development process if eCommerce is a serious part of your business, or just use the basic one listed in the app marketplace if it is not.
3. BigCommerce - I don't know of any integrations that exist. But you can also use the eCommerce Bridge API to build the integration. Like Shopify though, this would mean your eCommerce part of your website will sit on a sub-domain.
We've also build eCommerce stores integrated with HubSpot on https://sylius.com/ - it is a more enterprise solution that the 3 you have mentioned.
Dan - thanks for a thoughtful response! I've been doing some more digging, and so far we've ruled out Woocommerce (mostly for the simplicity that shopify and bigcommerce offer - which seems to be pretty well know).
How does the functionality of this integration compare with the native integration Hubspot has with Shopify?
Also, regarding your comment about subdomains, I'm a little unclear on how that works. For example, when I click around on some of shopify's customers stores, I notice that some of stores have the "myshopify" subdomain, but others don't....
What's the longterm SEO implications of having your shopping cart on a subdomain? Like for example, if you were to want to switch to a more enterprise solution like Sylius down the road?
You have to use a subdomain when your website is built in one CMS like WordPress or HubSpot, and then your shop is hosted by BigCommerce or Shopify.
The general CMS features of an eCommerce store are usually weak, as their main focus is on the shopping features. And so for many companies that have a lot of content to host, the CMS features in Shopify and BigCommerce are not good enough. So this is when they go for the sub-domain feature.
Having everything on one domain, is good for domain authority. But provided you put keyword links between your main site and your shopping site, it should be fine to host your website on one CMS and shopping on a subdomain.
The eCommerce BigCommerce integration you found is good - it used the eCommerce Bridge API which is the same API that the Shopify integration is built upon. So as long as you don't customize too much in BigCommerce, the integration will work very well and give you all those amazing features HubSpot offer for eCommerce.
