Are you looking for a new type of eCommerce platform…a platform that can be customized from top to bottom? How about a platform that is integrated seamlessly with your back-end, allowing you to stay ahead of the customers, competition, and trends? Well, NetSuite’s SuiteCommerce is that platform.

This guide will answer questions like:

• What is SuiteCommerce?
• What are the different versions of SuiteCommerce?
• What are the benefits of SuiteCommerce?
• How much does SuiteCommerce cost?
• What do NetSuite customers say about SuiteCommerce?
• What platforms does Suitecommerce compete with?

What is SuiteCommerce?

SuiteCommerce is NetSuite’s natively integrated eCommerce platform. NetSuite has been involved in eCommerce since the early 00’s when it created NetSuite Sitebuilder.

SuiteCommerce’s main benefit, aside from being a solid eCommerce option in its own right, is the native integration with NetSuite. Integrating eCommerce with ERP is a must at the enterprise level. Choosing the natively integrated option can save your company headaches and resources that would be spent on software customization costs and management.

Aside from the native integration, SuiteCommerce is also one of the most customization platforms available on the market today. There is a lot of flexibility as to what the platform can do if you have the knowledgeable developers nearby.

SuiteCommerce Versions

NetSuite Sitebuilder was a mild success for NetSuite users, native integration to the NetSuite platform drew in enough customers for the platform to be sustained for over a decade. However, in 2013, NetSuite decided to get deep into the eCommerce landscape and released SuiteCommerce Advanced. Then quickly turning around in 2016 and released their third and perhaps final eCommerce platform, SuiteCommerce Standard.

SuiteCommerce SiteBuilder

NetSuite released Sitebuilder in 2003, and it was a mild success. eCommerce was relatively new at that point in general, and many of the eCommerce behemoths such as Shopify or WordPress were either fledglings or non-existent.

NetSuite Sitebuilder has no back-end; everything is manipulated by altering the files in an FTP folder. Sitebuilder comes with a basic eCommerce online store that offers minimal tweaking or customization, and only includes functionality for a shopping cart and other necessities.

You would be surprised as to how many websites still run on NetSuite Sitebuilder today. NetSuite no longer sells new versions of Sitebuilder but still does support their current customers. As the years go by, NetSuite will slowly fade it out and just support SuiteCommerce and SuiteCommerce Advanced but for now, Sitebuilder is still a part of the conversation.

SuiteCommerce

SuiteCommerce is now the standard option for NetSuite eCommerce. It’s is easy to set up and comes with pre-designed templates and quick drag-and-drop editing functionality. SuiteCommerce reminds me of professional platforms like Wix or Squarespace with its variety of visually pleasing and easy to set up themes, but also limited customization options.

Key Features of SuiteCommerce Standard Include: 

• Native Integration with NetSuite
• SEO friendly
• Drag and drop editing capabilities
• B2B and B2C functionality
• Upsell, cross-sell, social-sharing, coupon, customized pricing and more marketing functionality
• Responsive out of the box (Websites fit all devices)
• Built-in CDN (Content Delivery Network) for faster loading times
• Integrations with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager
• Priced around $2499 per month

Check Out the SuiteCommerce DataSheet Here!

SuiteCommerce Advanced

Suitecommerce Advanced (SCA) is the enterprise option in the SuiteCommerce offering. SCA is a fully-featured solution that is similar to the Magento solution for enterprises in its capacity and flexibility. SCA allows the developers full access the core code to enable customization that creates a unique experience for shoppers.

SCA is designed to be the omni-solution that seamlessly integrates with the back-end, enabling a top-to-bottom personalized experience from the first contact with the brand that continues on through the customer cycle.

Key Features of the SuiteCommerce Advanced Platform Include: 

• Natively integrated to NetSuite
• Developers have complete access to the code
• Single-page architecture and a content delivery network built-in for faster load times across the globe
• Functionality to enable engaging experiences on any device
• Sell through multiple brands, languages, and currencies with a single platform
• Supports multiple languages, currencies, taxes, international shipping prices, and customs documentation
• SEO Friendly
• Supports both B2C and B2B customers
• Extensions available to easily manage and add new site features and functionality
• Unified with NetSuite order and inventory management, CRM, and ERP
• Alternative images, product comparisons, faceted navigation, elastic site search and the ability to save shopping carts and create lists
• Drag and drop tools available for quick visual editing
• Integrations with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager
• Cross-sells, upsells, gift card, coupon, invoice functionality
• Guest checkout functionality
• Priced around $4999 per month

Check out SCA Data Sheet Here!

For examples of SCA websites, please click HERE.

NetSuite Ecommerce Reviews and Adoption

G2Crowd is a well-established enterprise software review aggregator, and its magic quadrant is an excellent way to tell how well a given solution is performing in the market. If you’re unfamiliar with magic quadrants, the closer a solution is to the top right of the square, the more the market approves.

SuiteCommerce’s status as a contender leaves a lot to be desired in terms of satisfaction for its users. However, NetSuite is a company with a solid track record and a good vision on the marketplace. I imagine they will be working to improve their solutions status in the coming years.

SuiteCommerce Pros

• Native connection from backend to front-end boosts efficiency and transparency and is widely regarded as SuiteCommerce’s most important feature
• Seamless integration with email marketing functionality allows for easy product promotions in email campaigns
• The built in features combined with the customization options allow it to be a dynamic and flexible webstore
• Friendly and reliable support
• Informative and extensive documentation

SuiteCommerce Cons

• Prone to miscellaneous errors
• Can be sluggish at times
• Taking advantage of all the platform offers comes with a steep learning curve

For a more in-depth breakdown of SuiteCommerce reviews, check out our SuiteCommerce Review Here!

SuiteCommerce Competitors

Shopify

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shopify is far and away the leader in the eCommerce industry. With offerings that scale from the smallest of brands to the largest enterprises on the planet, Shopify is a top consideration for any business looking to sell anything online.

Shopify has been a leader in the industry for the past few years and does not appear to be giving up ground anytime soon.

Shopify is so ingrained in the eCommerce industry that they have their own gateway to process online payments. This allows them to offer discounts to their customers that other platforms will never be able to match.

Shopify Features

• Comes with 70+ professional themes
• Responsive for all devices out of the box
• Web-based drag and drop builder as well as HTML and CSS editors
• SEO friendly
• Integrates with over 100 gateway options if you choose not to use Shopify’s own gateway
• Full blog functionality
• Automated shipping rates and tax
• Multiple languages
• Customer management tools
• Integrates with 3rd party fulfillment and dropshipping companies

For a full list of features, click HERE!

BigCommerce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a distant second or third behind Shopify is the BigCommerce platform. Bigcommerce is a reliable platform that many enterprises have been coming to in recent years. Bigcommerce is capable, secure, and uniquely open to integration with extensive API functionality. BigCommerce is a solid choice for any serious enterprise that is looking to do business over the internet in 2020 and beyond.

BigCommerce Key Features

• Fully-customizable themes with built-in HTML, CSS, and Javascript
• Mobile-responsive themes
• Customize the checkout experience with a server-to-server checkout API and SDK
• SEO friendly
• Coupon and discount functionality
• Faceted Searches
• Drag and drop functionality
• Google Cloud Platform infrastructure, Google AMP and Akamai Image Manager built-in
• Extensive B2B functionality

For a full list of features, click HERE!

WooCommerce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WooCommerce is an eCommerce application based on the popular open-source content management system, WordPress. Just like WordPress, WooCommerce is completely open-sourced and customizable for any business. Woocommerce comes with a rest based API and a number of extensions to help you easily manage orders, customers, and products. WooCommerce is 100% free to use and does not even have transaction fees. Woocommerce is a great option if you’re business has the development talent in-house to take advantage of an open-source platform.

WooCommerce Key Features

• Entirely open source, which means you can modify and customize anything and everything
• Backed by a strong community that develop new apps for the platform every day and provide support for new users
• SEO Friendly
• Over 400 extensions currently available
• Since it works with WordPress, there are countless themes for you to choose from, or you can build your own from scratch
• Built-in blogging
• Built-in payment processing from top of the line gateways
• Tax and shipping rate functionality based on your location

For a full list of features, Click HERE!

If you want more information on everything NetSuite, check out our guide, What is NetSuite?