What Is Cloud-Based Ecommerce? Pros & Cons And Recommended Platforms

Are you looking to build a cloud-based ecommerce website or app?

Cloud hosting has become the go-to hosting infrastructure for ecommerce due to its speed and reliability.

In this post, we discuss what cloud-based ecommerce is, what its benefits are and a few solutions you can use to implement it.

What is cloud-based ecommerce?

Cloud-based ecommerce refers to hosting an ecommerce website and app on a server that’s powered by a cloud-based infrastructure.

What’s a cloud-based infrastructure?

Well, traditional hosting is dependent on a physical server that sits in a fixed location. The website or app you build needs that server in order for its users to access it on the internet.

However, the website or app is limited to the resources that are installed on that physical server, which can lead to downtime if the website or app exceeds the server’s limits, if a natural disaster damages the server, if a power or hardware failure occurs, or if the server is hacked.

A cloud-based infrastructure is connected to a network of physical and virtual servers. This allows the server to draw on more resources as needed, a feature known in cloud hosting as “scalability.”

This makes cloud-based ecommerce servers less likely to suffer from the effects of DDoS attacks, traffic spikes and hardware failures.

It’s why cloud hosting is most recommended for ecommerce websites since marketing campaigns, sales and seasonal shopping can lead to unexpected traffic surges.

Here’s a basic explanation of different server types and their effect on ecommerce websites:

Shared hosting – Cheap but hosts multiple websites on a single, physical server. Other websites can eat up resources, causing your online store to go offline.
VPS hosting – Virtual private server hosting is affordable and allows multiple websites to have their own space on the same server. It’s technically scalable, but not to the same degree as cloud hosting.
Dedicated hosting – Your very own server that only hosts your website or app. However, it’s not scalable and can lead to downtime if something happens to the server.

Cloud hosting is scalable and has become quite affordable, which is why it’s become so popular for online stores.

Pros of cloud-based ecommerce

Scalable
Better performance
Cheaper infrastructure
More affordable than ever
A lot of options to choose from
More recruitment opportunities
Environmental friendly

Scalable

Your website and mobile app are vital to your ecommerce business. If either goes offline, you lose sales.

Cloud computing allows your server to draw on more resources as needed to sustain it through surges brought on by traffic spikes and DDoS attacks.

Your server will return to using as many resources as you opted in to pay for once the surge is over, so you won’t need to upgrade to your provider’s next plan up right away.

Better performance

Because cloud servers do not rely on a single server’s hardware to draw on more resources, they’re faster as a result.

Speed is not dependent on how much traffic your site receives or how many resources are being used.

Plus, because cloud technology has the ability to scale, websites that run on it have better uptime performance.

Cheaper infrastructure

One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is how much money it saves you as far as your ecommerce business’ server infrastructure goes.

There are a lot of server infrastructure solutions for ecommerce businesses to choose from, and one of the most reliable is an on-premises server that you manage yourself and do not share with other websites.

Unfortunately, this type of server infrastructure is quite expensive.

A cloud-based ecommerce server infrastructure is much cheaper to run and provides even better reliability than your own dedicated server would.

It’s also cheaper to maintain since your cloud provider will implement updates for you, and you can automate quite a few tasks.

More affordable than ever

Cloud solutions and cloud providers have come a long way. While shared hosting remains to be the most affordable hosting solution that exists, cloud hosting has become quite affordable for all websites, especially online stores.

There are dedicated cloud platforms for all online businesses as well as cloud ecommerce platforms that make it easy to manage online stores.

A lot of options to choose from

We’ll get to this more in the next section, but one of the biggest benefits of choosing a cloud-based infrastructure for ecommerce is the sheer amount of options you have to choose from.

There are several cloud platforms that allow you to develop your own ecommerce website or app from scratch as well as all-in-one ecommerce platforms that are powered by cloud-based server infrastructures.

More recruitment opportunities

When you use a dedicated server to host your ecommerce website, you’re limited to IT workers who live near you or are willing to relocate near you.

Cloud-based server infrastructures are accessible remotely, which allows you to include job candidates from all around the world.

Environmental friendly

The debate on whether or not “the cloud” is environmentally friendly can get pretty heated.

While it’s true that cloud providers require a lot of energy to power their infrastructures, those providers have the means to switch to more sustainable ways of receiving power. And many do!

When you operate your own dedicated server, your server’s power is dependent on whatever type of power the rest of your physical business location uses.

Cons of cloud-based ecommerce

Can be more expensive in certain cases
Requires you to migrate your site to a new server
Limited control over your server

Can be more expensive

Cloud hosting saves you money by preventing you from having to build and maintain your own dedicated server or purchasing dedicated hosting services from a third party.

However, cloud hosting, unfortunately, can lead to unpredictable hosting bills as many cloud providers charge you based on usage.

So, if you’re hosting a sale and receive more traffic than usual, you’ll use more cloud resources and will rack up a higher hosting bill as a result.

Plus, if you’re on shared or VPS hosting at the moment, cloud hosting will appear to be much more expensive in comparison.

Migration

If you already have a website that’s hosted on a shared, VPS or dedicated hosting server, you’ll need to migrate it if you want to switch to cloud hosting.

This means migrating quite a bit of data, which can be tricky.

Fortunately, many cloud providers offer migration services.

Limited control over your server

When you move your site from your own dedicated server to your cloud provider’s server, you relinquish control over your own server.

While this may very well be a reason to migrate your site to the cloud, it does carry the risk of your site going offline for security and technical problems you have no control over and cannot monitor yourself.

Alternative cloud solutions for ecommerce

If you don’t want to build an ecommerce website or app from scratch but also don’t want to use a cloud ecommerce platform, consider using an open-source ecommerce solution you can purchase cloud hosting for.

WooCommerce is the most popular open-source ecommerce solution. It’s a WordPress plugin, so you can use any cloud host that supports WordPress.

Magento, PrestaShop and OpenCart are other popular open-source ecommerce solutions.

Tips for moving your ecommerce business to the cloud

Start by choosing the right solution for your business. If you’re a small, medium or large business, you’ll do just fine with an ecommerce platform or a cloud host that supports an ecommerce-based content management system like WooCommerce.

If you’re an enterprise business, you’ll likely want to choose a reliable cloud provider and build your website from scratch with the help of a development agency.

Let professionals handle migrations, and ensure you manage customer data, security, and your website’s design and functionalities carefully following the migration.

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