How to Build a Killer Ecommerce Tech Stack

Imagine surfing a Black Friday tidal wave of customers, your website running like a dream while you track every sale in real-time. Sounds impossible? It’s not.

That can be a reality with the right ecommerce tech stack. It’s the engine behind a smooth, high-performing online store that delivers amazing user experiences at every touchpoint.

In this guide we’ll break down the ecommerce tech stack and show you how to build one that’s custom to your business. Plus we’ll share the tools you need to level up your online game and grow sales.

Pro tip: Use a localization management tool, Centus, to effortlessly localize your store and drive global sales. Learn more.

What is an ecommerce tech stack?

An ecommerce tech stack is a set of software and services behind your ecommerce business that handles website management, sales processing, customer relationship management, data analysis and more.

Ecommerce tech stack consists of 5 components:

• Frontend. What your customers see and interact with. Website design, layout and user interface.
• Backend. The engine of your ecommerce site. Data storage, business logic and integration with other systems — all behind the scenes.
• Middleware. The bridge that makes the frontend and backend talk to each other. API managers and integration platforms are examples of this category.
• Databases. Repositories of your site’s information. Product listings and customer data.
• Third-party integrations. Tools and platforms that add payment processing, email marketing, analytics or other functionality to your online store.

Each part of your tech stack is important for your store to run and manage.

A good frontend keeps customers engaged, a solid backend runs smoothly, and the right middleware and databases keep everything connected and organized.

And integrating third-party software solutions can open up new functionality and make your online store more flexible and manageable

How to build the best ecommerce tech stack

Building a tech stack for your ecommerce business is not something you do blindfolded. There are many factors to consider and steps to take.

Here’s how:

1. Write down your needs

• Business goals. Write down both short-term and long-term goals for your online store. What are your goals? Improve customer experience, increase sales or expand to new markets? These goals will guide your tech stack decisions.
• Operational requirements. What are the daily operations you need to manage? Order processing, customer service, inventory management, marketing?

2. Research and selection of tools

• Platform selection. Choose an ecommerce platform that fits your business model and goals. Compare platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce or Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento). Consider features, ease of use and scalability.
• Tools compatibility. Choose tools that are compatible with each other to avoid integration headaches later on. Most importantly choose tools that are compatible with you. Check the learning curve and UI/UX reviews online.
• Expertise. Choose tools from providers that offer full support including technical assistance, bug fixes, integration help and custom development. This support ensures you have the resources to handle any issues or optimizations that may arise over time.

3. Integration considerations

• APIs and integrations. The tech stack should play nice with other solutions. Choose tools that have robust Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and integration options so different systems in your tech stack can talk to each other.
• Complexity. Evaluate the complexity of the tech stack against the functionality it provides. A complex tech stack can offer more functionality but also increases operational cost due to maintenance and updates.
• Scalability. Choose ecommerce solutions that can scale with your business growth. Scalable tools can handle increasing traffic and transactions as your online store grows without a huge jump in cost or operational headache.

4. Cost considerations

• Budgeting. Set a budget for your tech stack. Consider the cost of software subscriptions, custom development and third-party integrations. You don’t need all the bells and whistles.
• Cost-benefit analysis. Do a cost-benefit analysis by comparing the cost against the benefit like time saved, increased sales or improved customer satisfaction.
• Total cost of ownership (TCO). Calculate the long-term cost including initial setup, subscriptions, maintenance and upgrades.

For example, if a tool costs $100/month and has an initial setup fee of $500 and an annual maintenance fee of $200, the TCO for the first year would be: ($100*12) + $500 + $200 = $1,700.

5. Implementation and training

• Deployment. Deploy the chosen tools and make sure they are set up correctly for your needs.
• Training. Organize software training for you and/or your team. This is to ensure they can use the new tools effectively. Providing manuals or access to online resources can also be helpful.

6. Security and compliance

• Data security. Choose tools and platforms that follow data security standards and regulations so your customer data is safe.
• Legal compliance. Ensure your tech stack is compliant with legal requirements for customer data and privacy especially in the ecommerce industry.

7. Monitoring and optimization

• Performance monitoring. Monitor your tech stack. Use analytics to measure its impact to your business goals.
• Continuous improvement. Stay updated with the latest tech and be ready to adjust your tech stack to keep it optimized.

This framework will help you build a tech stack that meets your current needs and has room to grow with your ecommerce business.

Now that you know what to consider, let’s get to the tools.

Top picks for building your ecommerce tech stack

Building your ecommerce journey starts with a solid tech stack. Let’s look at the tool categories below:

Ecommerce hosting platforms

Hosting platforms are critical as they store your website’s data and make it available to visitors 24/7. They impact your site’s speed, security and scalability as your traffic grows.

Things to look out for in store hosting platforms:

• Uptime reliability. Look for platforms with high uptime guarantee preferably 99.999% so your site is always online.
• Load speed. Faster load times means better user experience and SEO rankings. Check the average load time for that platform.
• Scalability. As your business grows you’ll need a platform that can handle increasing traffic and transactions smoothly.
• Security features. Ensure the platform has robust security to prevent data breaches.
• Customer support. Accessible and responsive customer support is key to addressing issues promptly.

Shopify

• User friendly with an easy to use interface for beginners.
• Good uptime and load speed.
• Scalable as your store grows.

BigCommerce

• Lots of customization options to match your brand.
• Strong SEO to boost your site’s search engine visibility.

Adobe Ecommerce (formerly Magento)

• Highly customizable to your needs. But customization requires technical expertise. Consider using a Magento hosting provider that can handle complex hosting needs.
• Suitable for large enterprises due to its feature set and scalability options.

Ecommerce marketing tools

Marketing tools are your tools to attract and engage customers. They cover email marketing for personalized customer engagement, SEO tools for online visibility, social media for brand awareness and analytics to measure your website’s performance and understand customer behavior.

Mailchimp

• Unique features: Automation, audience segmentation, and multi-channel marketing.
• Pros: User-friendly, robust analytics.
• Cons: Higher tiers are expensive.

Ahrefs

• Unique features: Backlink analysis, keyword research, competitor analysis.
• Pros: Extensive SEO data, user-friendly.
• Cons: Expensive for small business.

Buffer

• Unique features: Social media post scheduling and performance analytics.
• Pros: Simplifies social media management.
• Cons: Limited features on free plan.

Ecommerce social media tools

Social media tools are vital for managing your online presence, engaging with your audience, and promoting your products across various platforms. They help schedule posts, analyze performance, and monitor customer interactions.

Hootsuite

• Unique features: Post scheduling, analytics, and social listening.
• Pros: Centralized social media management and extensive analytics.
• Cons: The interface might seem cluttered.

Sprout Social

• Unique features: Social CRM, post scheduling, and customer engagement tools.
• Pros: Comprehensive feature set and intuitive interface.
• Cons: Higher price point compared to competitors.

Later

• Unique features: Visual content scheduling, media storage, and multi-platform posting.
• Pros: User-friendly, especially for visual-centric platforms like Instagram.
• Cons: Limited analytics on lower-priced plans.

Ecommerce CRM tools

CRM tools are your platforms to manage and nurture customer relationships. They help you organize customer data, track interactions and analyze this data to get actionable insights.

Features to look for are contact management, interaction tracking, lead management and analytics. They can automate marketing campaigns, simplify communication and target marketing which is key to customer retention and sales.

Salesforce

• Unique features: Extensive customer data management, automation, and analytics.
• Pros: Comprehensive feature set, highly customizable.
• Cons: A steep learning curve.

HubSpot

• Unique features: Contact management, email tracking, and lead generation.
• Pros: User-friendly, robust free version.
• Cons: Advanced features require payment.

Ecommerce customer service tools

Customer service tools are essential for managing customer support and customer experience. They consolidate communication across email, chat and social media.

Look for features like multi-channel support, automated ticketing, self-service options and analytics. By using them you can reduce response times, process high volumes of support requests and analyze customer feedback to improve service quality.

Zendesk

• Unique features: Multi-channel support, automated ticketing, and self-service options.
• Pros: Easy to use, scalable.
• Cons: Can get expensive as you scale.

Freshdesk

• Unique features: Omnichannel support, AI-powered chatbots, and self-service solutions.
• Pros: Intuitive interface, affordable pricing.
• Cons: Customization can be limited.

Ecommerce web development tools

Web development tools are essential for building, designing and maintaining your ecommerce website. They ensure your site is functional, user friendly and visually appealing. Look for tools that offer customization, responsive design and robust security features.

Shopify

• Unique features: User-friendly design, secure payment gateways.
• Pros: Extensive customization, large app marketplace.
• Cons: Monthly fees can add up.

WordPress with WooCommerce

• Unique features: Extensive customization, large community support.
• Pros: Scalable, SEO-friendly.
• Cons: Requires more technical knowledge.

Ecommerce payment processing tools

Payment processing tools are necessary for transactions on your ecommerce site. They should be secure, reliable and have a seamless checkout experience. Look for tools that support multiple payment methods and currencies and low transaction fees.

Stripe

• Unique features: Customizable payment flows and support for multiple currencies.
• Pros: Secure, developer-friendly.
• Cons: Per-transaction fees.

PayPal

• Unique features: Trusted by consumers, straightforward setup.
• Pros: Wide acceptance and additional financial services.
• Cons: Fees can be high for small transactions.

Ecommerce inventory management tools

Inventory management is key to maintaining the right stock levels in your warehouses. Ecommerce inventory management tools help you track your stock levels, manage orders, track sales and forecast future demand.

They give you real time data on your inventory, alert you on low stock levels and automate reordering to prevent stockouts or overstock situations. Effective inventory management can save you costs, improve customer satisfaction by ensuring timely deliveries and give you valuable insights into sales trends.

Shopify Inventory Management

• Unique features: Real-time tracking, automated restocking.
• Pros: Integrated with Shopify platform, easy to use.
• Cons: Less flexible for non-Shopify users.

Zoho Inventory

• Unique features: Order management, automated reordering.
• Pros: User-friendly, affordable.
• Cons: May require additional apps for full functionality.

Shipping and logistics tools

Shipping and logistics tools are the key to delivering on time to your customers. They take care of the process from the moment an order is placed to the customer’s doorstep.

These tools help in automating shipping, managing returns, comparing shipping rates among carriers and providing tracking information to customers. They make logistics operations efficient, cost effective and customer centric.

ShipStation

• Unique features: Centralized shipping, automated label creation.
• Pros: Integrates with many ecommerce platforms, efficient shipping solutions.
• Cons: Monthly fee, setup can be complex for beginners.

Shippo

• Unique features: Discounted shipping rates, easy label printing.
• Pros: User-friendly, cost-effective.
• Cons: Limited international shipping options.

Ecommerce analytics tools

A good analytics tool should have multiple data visualization options to help you see your metrics at a glance and should also have real time data to keep you updated on your store’s performance as it happens.

Google Analytics

• Unique features: Real-time data, audience insights.
• Pros: Comprehensive data, free to use.
• Cons: A steep learning curve for beginners.

Hotjar

• Unique features: Heatmaps, session recordings.
• Pros: Visual insights, easy to use.
• Cons: Limited historical data.

Ecommerce localization tools

When you’re expanding your ecommerce business globally, localization tools are your best friend. They help you translate your website content into different languages, adjust prices to local currencies and even ensure your site complies with local laws and cultural norms.

Look for localization tools that support many languages and regions and make it easy to update localized content as your products change.

Shopify Plus

• Unique features: Multi-currency, local payment methods.
• Pros: Seamless integration, easy to use.
• Cons: Monthly fee, primarily for Shopify users.

Centus

• Unique features: Comprehensive localization, multi-language support, regional compliance assistance.
• Pros: Easy integration, robust language options, dedicated support, affordable.
• Cons: Subscription-based.

Localization tools make your ecommerce store fit into new markets seamlessly. They handle the language and currency changes, make your products look good to a global audience and operations smooth across borders.