There are a number of considerations you need to make before choosing a website platform for your online store and even more discrepancy is needed when your running your store in South Africa. The right platform needs to align with your product, audience, budget, technical ability, and long-term goals. That decision becomes more complex when you’re operating in a South African context as you need to integrate local payment systems together with regional shipping or courier companies.
I have created a YouTube video as well as an in-depth downloadable guide to help South African entrepreneurs cut through the noise.
Why Platform Choice Matters More Than You Think
The platform you choose will shape:
- How quickly you can go live
- What payment gateways and courier plugins you can access
- How flexible your design and content strategy can be
- What future upgrades and scaling will cost you in time and money
You’re not just picking a template. You’re picking a foundation for your business.
What I Cover in the Video and eBook
In the video, I walk through four popular website builders available: Wix, WooCommerce, Shopify and ECWID. I break each one down based on seven key criteria namely:
- Dashboard control panel functionality
- Pricing
- Payment processor optionality
- Shipping integration
- Product management
- Order management and fulfilment
- Analytics dashboard
Check out the video here:
The free eBook highlights:
- A clear comparison table
- Pros and cons of each platform
- Recommended plugins
- South African integrations
- Ideal use cases
- A decision-making framework to choose the right fit
What Happens After You Choose
Most entrepreneurs think the hard decision is over once they select a platform. But that’s just the starting point. What matters next is how you use the platform to:
- Tell a clear, compelling story
- Guide users toward action
- Integrate the right tools for retention, upsells and logistics
- Align your design with your business model and sales cycle
That’s where strategy kicks in and where most DIY setups fall flat. If you’re feeling stuck, I offer personalised consulting and web design through Stitch to help you turn that choice into a real sales engine.
A website builder isn’t just a tool. It’s a business decision.
