Custom eCommerce Platform Development Services

Custom eCommerce Platforms Made Simple

It might sound simple, but one of the most important aspects of an eCommerce application is being able to incorporate the features that are needed and leave out the ones that are not. Platforms should not be “bloated,” which can slow down everything running on it. There should be exactly what you need while still allowing extensive additions as a business grows. Adding and removing features isn’t an option with off-the-shelf software, so customization is often necessary to make the platform as efficient as possible. 

At the same time, a program must be powerful enough to get the job done while also being simple enough on the front end for non-tech people to change things — and test things — on the fly. Let’s look at how all of this comes together to create the most efficient system for a custom eCommerce business. 

The ideal scenario is for a non-technical person — anyone who is not on the IT team — to be able to make significant setting changes without the help of specialists. At the same time, there's a spectrum of functionalities that all systems have in place to protect settings so that people are not able to break the system or site. Usually, the solution to that is to have a staging, aka “sandbox,” environment. It’s basically a testing environment where folks can easily go just go play with everything and not really have any consequence if they break stuff. The idea is to get an accurate clone of that current production environment into some other environment, then have the non-tech person to be able to experiment with the new settings. 

What types of global changes are we talking about when it comes to non-technical people making changes on a staging site? Some common ones that might seem complex (but can be very easy) include the header and footer. Examples of when these are needed might include: 

• What if the name of the company changes?
• What if the logo changes?
• What if the site’s color scheme changes? 
• What if a new category is needed in the drop-down menu? 
• What if new pages are added to the footer 

In order to make end-user changes easy and smooth, and at the same time reduce development time, Clarity has created a set of “building blocks” that make up the core of an excellent eCommerce platform. Among its features is a set of what are called components or directives. Each component is extremely easy to put onto any page or any section of a template or theme, and then they can easily be configured. 

As an example, the search box is a very robust feature. It has a lot of capability because it's very adjustable. Someone can modify what the format of the autocomplete looks like, they can modify how many records show up, and they can modify what types of data get presented. In addition, we can change basic components such as: do we show the autocomplete? Do we show a loading icon while we're waiting for the autocomplete results to come up? What’s the text that appears whenever there aren’t any results.  

These can all be changed very easily with settings, no coding required. All you have to do is put a little element into the HTML or use the friendly editor. It’s quite simple, but then you get a huge boost of capability. The reason that we did that and kind of the way is because of the “building blocks” approach we’ve taken for our eCommerce system to make it more efficient. 

This includes any components that can be decomposed into smaller sets of components, and there's kind of a logical ending point for different subcomponents. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of components that we've built, many of which are independent on their own. They're a great starting point and but still have the capacity for additions. Most are made to work together in some way. 

Whenever somebody is working on the site making updates to presentation, styling, etc., they get to take advantage of this componentization. These components let clients do any unique thing they want. An easy way to explain it is to compare it to working with Legos. At its core, there aren’t that many different shapes of the basic Lego, and these basic blocks make up the bulk of a set. Many of these pieces even make up the core of a particular building project. For these basic blocks, the plastic dies to make them hasn’t changed significantly in decades. 

But Lego has also made thousands of other pieces, and some of those are only used in a single set. The basic building blocks might be the same, but it’s these special pieces — ones that put the details on a Lego Empire State Building or Lego Star Wars Vehicle — that increase the cost and take time to make. In the end, these pieces are necessary because they put the finishing touches on the toy and make it recognizable. 

To continue the Lego analogy, consider this: There’s a phone app that lets you take a picture of the Legos you have and then tells you what you can build with them. Similarly, we have hundreds and hundreds of very powerful eCommerce “Legos” that are enterprise-level ecommerce blocks that can be used to mix and match. Each has its place to suit the business and what your customers are looking for so that the actual control is in your hands, allowing you to modify and adjust as necessary. 

We see that most businesses are very busy and that they are very much focused on operating, growing, and scaling their business. Clarity can provide support to execute these plans when it comes to eCommerce operations through the platform and peripheral components that that apply. Examples include SEO, digital marketing, security performance, ongoing support, and maintenance. A client might also choose us to help with reviewing analytics, determining SEO optimization...the list goes on. We can help with all those peripheral aspects as well as the core implementation, integrations, and external systems that we need to integrate with, such as shipping, taxes, payments, fraud validation, and security audits. 

Clarity has the experience to work on all the above and provide custom eCommerce development services, but the primary thing that we do is to go through a process we call Discovery. We will work with the client team to find out what they need, which building blocks will work best for their business. With hundreds of blocks at our disposal, the process can go much more smoothly and fit each client. They might say that paid ads are important but don’t care about SEO. Another company might make SEO their primary focus but not have the need for certain shipping options. 

After our very thorough consultation, we can offer any features they might want on a website, recommending which modules and best practices might suit them best. These blocks can be put together, customized to the individual client. Much like a new Lego die that has to be made, this customization and building of special components is where a good part of the cost comes from. 

As advanced as these building blocks are, it doesn’t preclude the client team from being able to access the full breadth and depth of their custom eCommerce platform. A scenario we often see is clients who have an internal IT team or even an external like team. They still want this team to be able to make modifications and maintain security. 

We can do a handoff with a client’s internal team members after the project is completed, providing training, support, and resources if your internal team wants to take over some or all the maintenance. We can provide documentation as well as videos and other forms of training that we can share. 

We're also happy to provide white glove and zone training for the client team, then walk through what we built with the pieces in the parts, and then we'll talk about these different pieces that could be integrated in the future. We have worked with many clients who want to have more of a hand in the project, so we’re happy to teach them about the building blocks we’re using. 

Clarity Provides What You Need

The building blocks we offer provide an extensive library to use when you’re ready to create a B2C, C2C, or B2B eCommerce platform (or upgrade an old one). It’s custom work built on a solid foundation; the house frame might be made from the same materials, but you get to choose the paint, fixtures, carpet, and everything else to make it your own. It’s the same with your custom eCommerce platform. We can make it everything you want it to be.  

A custom eCommerce platform solution can give you the flexibility you need while also providing the necessary settings changes to make non-tech users happy. Clarity is ready to make that happen, so schedule a call with us today.