We have all become extremely dependent on our smart phones for communicating, checking the time, doodling and even shopping. Since our phones have become an extension of ourselves, you might want to consider whether your small business is ready to add an online marketplace.

While social media tries to teach businesspeople to go where customers are, and more often than not, that is online, the World Wide Web isn’t necessarily the right outlet for every type of business.

Why? For one, it’s expensive. Establishing an online marketplace requires written content and graphics such as photos of your inventory. It also takes a great deal of time establishing a viable, attractive, online shop, so before deciding it’s the right thing for your business, be certain you can invest the time to properly do so. Unless, of course, you hire professionals to assist you. And that’s costly.

Remember there could be bugs in the system, and that can be incredibly aggravating. You also need to be certain your small business has the inventory available for people to buy.

Two more considerations are payment and shipping options. Sure there is a bevy of entities vying to serve you, but you need to be sure their prices are reasonable and their service, impeccable.

If you opt for a multi-vendor e-commerce model, meaning your company doesn’t maintain an inventory, how can you be certain the entities with whom you partner are reliable? Can you trust other vendors to handle their side of the transaction efficiently and for a reasonable price?

There are countless companies capable of processing customer payments, known as payment gateways, and of course, there are fees associated with those services. You need to determine if you are paying too much for that convenience to make the sale worthwhile in the first place.

A recent article on Website Builder Expert details some important differences between online marketplace vendors Shopify and BigCommerce. Deciding between them, as well as several of their competitors, demands thoughtful research and consideration about where you want your business to go and how much you’re able to invest to take it there.

---

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer who tweets as @girlwithapen.