Today, companies that fail to adapt to market changes risk being left behind and becoming obsolete. This challenge becomes even more daunting for marketers when their organization is burdened with outdated technology and processes. As a result, businesses face immense pressure to embrace new technologies and processes that drive customer engagement, loyalty, and sales. This is especially true for B2B eCommerce considering commerce replatforming or ecommerce migration to modernize their digital infrastructure.
When your company is expanding and aims to optimize its online presence, re-platforming becomes a necessary step. It involves changing the technology or eCommerce platform that powers your online store to enhance user experience, boost conversion rates, and streamline operations.
This B2B eCommerce re-platforming guide will help you understand the reasons for re-platforming, the associated benefits, and how to choose the right platform for re-platforming.
What is Website replatforming?
It is the process of transitioning to a new platform to optimize user experience, scalability, and operations—is no longer optional for growing businesses. This guide explores replatforming strategy, benefits, and how to execute online store migration seamlessly.
Key Reasons for Replatforming
There are several reasons why businesses might choose to re-platform their eCommerce operations including the need to switch to omnichannel eCommerce. Here are common signs it’s time to replatform your ecommerce site:
- Outdated technology: Legacy systems struggle with modern demands, leading to slow speeds, security gaps, and poor digital commerce replatforming readiness.
- Limited functionality: Some eCommerce platforms may not offer the features that businesses require to meet the needs of their customers. This can result in a poor customer experience and lost sales.
- Lack of scalability: As businesses grow, they may find that their current eCommerce platform cannot handle the increased traffic volume. This results in website crashes and other problems.
- Changing business requirements: The business’s needs may change. When that happens, their current eCommerce platform has to adapt to accommodate the evolving strategies.
Benefits of Ecommerce Replatforming
Adopting replatforming best practices delivers measurable advantages:
Improved Customer Experience
An eCommerce platform should house various capabilities that can enhance the customer experience, such as:
- A more user-friendly interface: Designed with customers in mind, it facilitates easier product discovery and purchase.
- Faster loading times: More efficient infrastructure leads to faster loading times for customers.
- A wider range of features: This can include the ability to create wishlists, track orders, leave reviews, etc.
Increased Sales
Re-platforming assists businesses in boosting sales by improving product discoverability and simplifying the purchasing process for customers. Achieving this involves enhancing the customer experience and introducing new features that streamline the buying experience.
Enhanced Security
Re-platforming stresses the implementation of better security measures. This helps safeguard businesses from data breaches and other security threats. New platforms are often built with security as a priority and may offer features like two-factor authentication and encryption to protect business data.
Improved Scalability
Modern platforms are designed with scalability in mind and offer features like load balancing and caching to manage higher traffic volumes. As such, the platform can be scaled effectively to handle increased traffic, enabling businesses to grow without concerns about website crashes.
Reduced Costs
Re-platforming aids in cost reduction by eliminating the need to maintain and upgrade an outdated platform. New platforms are typically more efficient and require less maintenance. Additionally, they may offer subscription-based pricing models, allowing businesses to save on upfront costs.
How to Replatform an Ecommerce Site: A Checklist
Before you can re-platform your eCommerce operations, there are a few things you need to do to prepare. Follow this ecommerce site migration checklist for success::
- Analyzing your current platform: The first step is to analyze your current eCommerce platform to understand its strengths and weaknesses. This will help you determine what you need in a new platform.
- Defining your requirements: Once you have analyzed your current platform, you need to define your requirements for the new platform. This encompasses factors such as functionality and features.
- Developing a budget: Re-platforming your eCommerce operations can be a costly undertaking. It is vital to develop a budget that includes the cost of the new platform and the cost of migration, customization, and training.
How to Implement Re-Platforming?
Have a Strategy in Place
After you have chosen a platform based on the defined requirements, you need to plan the re-platforming process. This includes developing a timeline, assigning roles and responsibilities, and identifying potential risks.
Implementing the New Platform
Once the strategizing phase is complete, you can begin implementing the new platform. This process would include migrating data, configuring the platform, and testing it.
Post-Implementation
Finally, once the new platform is implemented, you must train your staff and monitor the platform’s performance. You should also continue to evaluate your requirements and make changes as needed.
Replatforming Challenges & Mitigation Strategies
While ecommerce replatforming offers long-term gains, common replatforming challenges include:
- Data loss: Mitigate with phased migration and backups.
- Downtime: Use staging environments and off-peak launches.
- Integration failures: Prioritize API-first platforms for seamless ecommerce replatforming.
- Budget overruns: Align costs with ROI by focusing on critical features first.
Why Partner with Ignitiv for Your Replatforming Journey?
As a certified ecommerce replatforming partner, we deliver:
- Accelerated timelines: Agile methodologies for faster go-live.
- Risk mitigation: Proven strategies for seamless ecommerce replatforming.
- Future-proofing: Platforms built for scalability and innovation.
Let us help you navigate choosing the right ecommerce platform and executing replatforming for scalability.
Contact us today to transform your B2B eCommerce operations.
FAQs
If your platform lacks scalability, struggles with integrations, or has rising maintenance costs, it’s time to consider replatforimg.
Redesign focuses on aesthetics; replatforming strategy involves upgrading core technology, integrations, and architecture.
Cost of ecommerce replatforming varies by platform, data complexity, and customization. Budget for licensing, migration, and training
Potential risks of ecommerce migration include data loss and downtime. Partner with experts to minimize disruptions.
Follow replatforming best practices: detailed planning, phased execution, and post-launch monitoring.
Bombas switched to Shopify after its website crashed due to increased traffic post-Shark Tank appearance, costing them $15,000 in minutes. Similarly, Kizik incorporated replatoforming as they wanted a stylish and intuitive platform, similar to Apple’s, to boost customer trust and credibility.
