eCommerce Software as a Service

INTRODUCTION

Take your business to the next level! Our eCommerce Software as a Service (SaaS) solution is a hosted software solution that’s easy to use and delivers the performance you need. We’ve taken the Internet’s best eCommerce platform and made it even better by unleashing its true potential.                –Marko Spasenovic, Founder and CEO.

 Get online fast and stay lean!  With eCommerce Software as a Service, we take care of all the technology required to run your store. Then, you can focus on selling your products and keeping up with changing customer needs.   Easy to use, free training and support, every tool and feature you need, no hidden fees or upsells. Plus all the tools ecommerce businesses need to succeed online….

A SaaS (Software as a Service) business is 1) a software company that sells their product through, 2) recurring payment (subscription) payment plans. This makes them different than a software company that sells through a one-time payment or other non-recurring method. It also makes them different from other businesses with non-software products also sold on a subscription basis, such as magazines or live-chicken-of-the-month clubs.

An ecommerce business is any business where the transaction occurs through a web site. A software company can be a SaaS company, but not be an ecommerce business, if you can’t pay through their website (for example, if they only accept payment in the form of live chickens).

So, the overlapping Venn diagram answer is most SaaS companies are, but are not required to be, ecommerce companies, and some ecommerce companies are SaaS companies.

For the differences and similarities question, let’s take two ecommerce companies, one a SaaS company, and one not. Both need to profitably acquire customers, but the SaaS company will aggregate value by building a base of customers that continue to pay them. The non-recurring revenue company needs to freshly acquire new customers in order to hit the same monthly revenue numbers. This is why many consider subscription payment models to be superior to one-off sales models.

In non-recurring sales model, the key monthly performance metric will be monthly revenues or monthly gross profit, while in a SaaS model, the key metric is likely to be Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR).

In both situations, cost of customer acquisition needs to be less than total lifetime value in order to have a chance in being profitable. In the SaaS company, the cost of acquisition target will likely be stated as “months to break even”, where the non-recurring revenue company will probably have a target stated as a percentage of margin or sales revenue.

Differences:
A SaaS (Software as a Service) business:
– Sells a service
– Sells access
– May not have to pay sales tax (probably not)
– Uses subscriptions or one time access payments etc
– More likely to receive re-occurring payments

E-Commerce business:
– Sells a product
– Sells a tangible physical object or a downloadable digital file etc
– Subject to sales tax (at time of sale or later as claimed by buyer on tax form); if a jurisdiction has sales tax
– Uses a shopping cart to sell products
– May or may not have re-occurring business

Similarities (pardon some of the obviousness):
– Both are internet based businesses
– Both require software (one the software is the business, and the other software is the store front)
– Both are concerned with internet marketing, and could benefit from blogs and social media

What is Open Source ecommerce? 

Open source software means that the user has complete access to the source code. This means that anyone can adapt and customize the platform to meet their business needs and use a composable architecture approach. Although by “anyone,” we really mean anyone with developer resources. Open source platforms are powerful and customizable, but also very complex. Changes are best handled by certified developers. Open source software is often developed in a collaborative way, and there are often communities built around development related to individual platforms. A user might choose an open source platform because they require extreme customization; with open source if a feature doesn’t exist, it can be built by altering the code. To use our metaphor above, open source is like owning a house. You can download it and knock out the walls and add in a finished basement if you want, so long as you have the money to spend on contractors. 

2. What is SaaS ecommerce? 

SaaS (or Software-as-a-Service) is a different delivery model in which the software is licensed on a subscription basis. Like renting a house, you pay a fee (often monthly) for as long you want to use the platform. SaaS platforms aren’t bought or downloaded by the user, but are instead hosted by the SaaS provider. The provider then does the work of securing, maintaining, and hosting the platform on their own servers, much as a landlord would handle a rental property’s upkeep. With a SaaS platform, the customer doesn’t have access to and can’t alter the source code, just as you can’t decide to add a second floor to your rented bungalow. SaaS platforms are a good option for ecommerce store owners that don’t want to devote time, energy and resources to maintenance.

How does SaaS e-commerce work?

A SaaS e-commerce platform is an e-commerce software delivered as a cloud-based system that can be accessed through all types of web browsers. SaaS e-commerce is typically sold on a subscription basis.

What’s the difference between a traditional e-commerce platform and a SaaS e-commerce system?

Choosing a (new) web store can be daunting: it needs to play well with the rest of your IT landscape, fit your budget, and align with your business’ short- and long-term needs.

The choice between hosting that web store in the cloud or on-premise often boils down to one major factor: flexibility. On-premise (traditional e-commerce) hosting is a method that many businesses stay true to because it’s what they know and how they’ve managed e-commerce for a long time. It’s sometimes also clearer from a cost perspective because you understand your upfront e-commerce costs.

But with SaaS e-commerce, hosting in the cloud means that it doesn’t require much effort to upgrade. You can keep your existing settings, and there’s no need to reconfigure your entire web store after each upgrade. You can do all this for a convenient monthly fee.

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What are the benefits of SaaS e-commerce?

Here are the main benefits of opting for a SaaS e-commerce platform:

  • Always on the latest software version: This is the most important benefit of SaaS e-commerce. E-commerce platforms typically release a few new features throughout the year to help their clients grow their online business. If you have a SaaS e-commerce solution, you benefit from those new features as soon as they’re rolled out.
  • Monthly subscription: SaaS e-commerce is sold as a monthly subscription and is cheaper than purchasing a traditional e-commerce platform.
  • Easier maintenance: When the SaaS e-commerce is hosted with the provider, the provider is responsible for software maintenance, hosting, uptime, performance, and speed. Typically, SaaS upgrades and updates are done automatically, this translates to significantly easier maintenance, which saves your business time and money. For example, with Sana SaaS it’s always the case that we take care of security, upgrades, hosting, backups, and keep an eye on website traffic.
  • Quick to install: SaaS e-commerce is the easiest and quickest way to launch a web store because it isn’t installed or maintained by the users themselves. With a SaaS e-commerce platform, your business can go to market in record time.
  • Increased security: Because of the automatic updates, your SaaS web store will always be up to date and protected against vulnerabilities like downtime, data loss, and hacks. Discover more ways Sana SaaS can help avoid security issues.

Best e-commerce site builders 2022

See the e-commerce site builders and choose the one that’s best for your needs. Compare pricing, features and more for the leading brands

We charge an advertising fee when a visitor completes a purchase from one of our partners through a link on our site. The fees may affect the ranking Full Advertiser Disclosure Best ecommerce solution

Wix eCommerce Logo
  • Templates for eCommerce
  • Anyone can use Wix’s Editor
  • Best platform for eCommerce

9.8Outstanding

Squarespace Commerce Logo
  • Great e-commerce platform
  • Simple payment flow
  • State-of-the-art templates

9.4Excellent

Square Online Logo
  • Free domain w/ plan purch.
  • No coding skills needed
  • Sell online or in-person

9.3Excellent

BigCommerce Logo
  • Best-in-class SEO
  • Save with built-in features
  • 15-day free trial

9.2Very good

Network Solution Ecom Logo
  • 50% off using SAVE50DIY
  • SEO & marketing tools
  • Flexible packages

8.8Very good

Web.com Logo
  • 50% off using code BUILD50
  • Great eCommerce plans
  • Hundreds of templates

8.6Very good

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Free advice for business owners who want to launch an online store

With the rise of online shopping, making the move to an online store has countless benefits. But the sheer quantity of options for launching a website can be overwhelming. That’s why Best E-Commerce Builders offers a methodical comparison of the most popular, highly-rated website builders. We provide information based on first-hand experience with website builders to help you make the best decision for your particular needs and get your store online in no time.

Choosing an E-commerce site builder

Before you dive in, make sure to think about the kind of website you’d like for your business. Do you have a particular model in mind? Must-have features? A designer theme or template? What can you do without? Our reviews and analyses pick through all of the most important aspects of e-commerce website builders to make your choice as simple and stress-free as possible.

CONCLUSION

Our Software as a Service (SaaS) solution is fully hosted on cloud infrastructure and offers the same features embedded in a typical eCommerce site. Your customers will enjoy a clean, informative shopping experience with a familiar set of navigation menus, product browsing and search functionality, reviews, wish lists, and more capabilities not generally available in open source eCommerce software solutions.

Miva Merchant is a professional all-in-one eCommerce software solution, packed with features that allow you to sell products online and manage your entire business. You can add sales automation, marketing tools, accounting functionality, an online store builder and more to power your online business.

Manage your entire e-commerce store on the cloud  and see exactly how your business evolves. You can easily add product, promotions and content to your online store with the workflow you are used to. It includes everything a growing business needs, such as real-time insights, inventory management, delivery options, support for multiple channels and much more.

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