When you need to create a site for your business, one of the first questions is this: ** Do I need a showcase website or an ecommerce site? * *
The most honest answer is: it depends on what you have to get.
There is no absolute best site. There is the right site for your business, for your time and for the budget you want to invest.
Why do an ecommerce when you don’t really need it can make you throw money. But doing just a showcase website when you already have a ready product to be sold online can limit you.
So let’s see the difference in a simple way, without too many turns.
What is a showcase website?
Awindow displayis a site designed to present your business, explain what you do and bring people to contact you.
No need to sell directly online with shopping cart and payment. It takes you to find, make you understand and make you choose.
A showcase website can be perfect for:
- aesthetic centres;
- gyms and personal trainers;
- professional studies;
- restaurants;
- local shops;
- craftsmen;
- services activities;
- small and mediumsized enterprises.
Basically, it’s the right solution when the customer doesn’t have to buy online, but he has to figure out who you are, trust you and contact you.
What is an ecommerce site?
Aecommerce website, instead, is a site designed to sell products or services directly online.
It has a product catalog, a cart, a checkout, payment methods, order management, shipments, notifications, automations and all the technical part necessary to sell.
It is the right choice when you want the customer to buy without switching from a phone call, from WhatsApp or a manual request.
An ecommerce can be perfect for:
- clothing brand;
- shops with products easily purchased online;
- companies that sell physical articles;
- activities with standardized products;
- brand that want to sell throughout Italia;
- companies that have budgets for marketing, management and growth.
But it is important to say it immediately: an ecommerce is not only a site with the products.
It’s a real sales channel. And like every sales channel, it must be managed.
The main difference: informing or selling online
The simplest difference is this:
- The showcase website* serves to present your business and generate contacts.
- The ecommerce site is used to sell online.
The showcase website works on trust, clarity and contact.
Ecommerce works on sale, product management, checkout, shipping and continuous marketing.
So the question is not: “What is more beautiful? “
The right question is: **How do you really buy my client? * *
When should I make a showcase website?
You should make a showcase website when your business needs to be explained well.
If you sell a service, if you work on appointment, if you need to make understand your method, if the customer before choosing must trust, then often the showcase website is the most sensible choice.
For example, if you have an aesthetic center, it is not said that you need to sell treatments directly online.
Maybe you need a site explaining services, showing the environment, telling why a person should choose you and bring the user to book a consultancy or write about WhatsApp.
In that case, an ecommerce would be more expensive, more complex and probably useless.
When should I make an ecommerce?
You should make an ecommerce when you have products that can be bought online in a simple way.
The customer sees the product, understands size, color, price, availability, shipping and can buy without need of too many explanations.
For example, a clothing store that sells easy-to-order items online can evaluate an ecommerce.
But if the same store sells ceremony dresses, custom dresses or products that require proof, advice and guided choice, then maybe a complete ecommerce is not the best choice.
In that case it can make much more sense a site showcase with digital catalog.
What is a showcase website with digital catalog?
A showcase website with digital catalog is a very interesting medium way.
Show the products online, but without requiring the activity to manage cart, checkout, payments, shipments and returns.
It is useful when you want to show what you sell, but you prefer the customer to contact you for information, availability, sizes, appointments or quotes.
For many local activities it is a smarter solution than ecommerce.
For example:
- ceremonial dress shop;
- furniture showroom;
- activities with customized products;
- B2B company with products on request;
- local store that wants to show the catalog but sell in store.
In these cases the digital catalog gives you visibility and order, without charging you all the complexity of an ecommerce.
If the main goal is to bring people to their home, find examples and criteria in our study ofsite showcase for a physical store without ecommerce.
The real point: ecommerce costs even after launch
One of the most common mistakes is to think that the cost of ecommerce is just that of creating the site.
It’s not like that.
An ecommerce requires investments even after launch.
We need traffic, marketing, advertising campaigns, product management, newsletters, content, optimization, customer support, shipments and data analysis.
At first it is also normal to lose money or earn little, because you are building a new sales channel.
For this, if you need an online presence in the short term, it is often smarter to start from a well-made showcase website.
It makes you more credible, makes you find online and allows you to start getting contacts without building a more complex machine immediately.
How much does a showcase website cost and how much does an ecommerce cost?
Costs change according to the project, but we can give a realistic reference.
With E-ROE, the initial development of a custom-made showcase website** may cost*0 euro instead of 1,500 euro**.
If you choose to publish it after you see it, the annual service costs 480 euros as a final price. Dynamic functions or advanced integrations require a dedicated quote.
A professional ecommerce site, on the other hand, leaves more easily from about 3.000 / 4.000 euro, because it requires a more complex structure.
Not only design and pages, but also:
- product catalogue;
- cart;
- checkout;
- payment methods;
- shipments;
- automatic emails;
- technical configurations;
- optimization for sale;
- any apps and integrations.
The point is not to say that ecommerce costs too much.
The point is to understand if it makes sense to do so now.
Showcase or ecommerce website: practical examples
Let’s make some concrete examples.
Esthetic Center:* in most cases is better a showcase website. We need service pages, photos, clear explanations and buttons to book or write.
Palestra or personal trainer: Also here often is better a showcase website. The goal is to make the method understand and bring test requests or advice.
** Clothing store with standard products:*** can make sense an ecommerce, if there is availability to invest in marketing and management.
** Ceremony dress store:*** better a showcase website with digital catalog. The customer looks at the models, then book or ask for information.
** Craftsman or local company:** A well-made showcase website is often enough, perhaps with pages dedicated to the services and the work done.
Brand of physical products:* if the product is clear, shipping and selling online, then ecommerce can be the right choice.
How we work on E-ROE
We at E-ROE are specialized in creating showcase websites and creating ecommerce.
The difference is that we do not propose the same solution to all.
First we understand what your business really needs.
For the ** showcase results***, we work with custom code solutions, without WordPress and without preset templates.
This allows us to create a lighter, cleaner and built site around your business.
For ecommerce*, however, we work mainly on Shopify, because it is a solid platform, scalable and suitable for online sales.
The choice depends on your goal.
If you have to find yourself, explain your services well and receive requests, you probably need a showcase website.
If you have to sell products online and are ready to invest also in marketing and management, then we can evaluate an ecommerce.
So which site should you choose?
Choose a showcase website if you want:
- submit your business;
- receive contacts;
- find you on Google;
- explain your services;
- increase customer confidence;
- start with a more sustainable investment.
Choose an ecommerce if you want:
- sell products directly online;
- manage orders and payments;
- send in more areas;
- build a real digital sales channel;
- invest in marketing in the medium-long term.
The right choice is not the biggest one.
It’s the one that suits your business now.
Do you want to understand which site is for your business?
If you don’t know if you need a showcase website, a digital catalog or an ecommerce, we can help you understand it.
We analyze your business, product type or service you sell and tell you what is the most sensible solution not to waste budget.
We can also prepare you a first concrete idea of the project, so see how it could become your site.