In 2017, billions of dollars were spent on online marketplaces. The detailed statistics demonstrate that consumers were buying almost 30% of health and beauty products, as well as 34% of electronic goods, 44% of clothes and shoes etc.

An online marketplace is a bottomless source of profit. The great point is to choose the most suitable way to create a high-quality marketplace. Fortunately, there are many ways to get this task done. Our experience shows that there are 3 most important factors that can influence your ultimate choice of the development method:

  • Software development skills;
  • Budget;
  • Time limits.

Now, we would like to highlight 4 best methods of creating an online marketplace. We will emphasize their pros and cons and help you to decide which to better select for your particular case.

4 Ways to Launch a Great Marketplace

Most of the online marketplaces have many common features. Some of them even look almost the same way. This may be caused by the development solution they are built on. The modern IT world provides us with many opportunities. But let’s find out which software development methods in this niche can really bring a successful result:

Hiring The In-House Team

Hiring an in-house development team is one of the best ways to get a ready-made marketplace done without the excessive fuss. However, this method is rather time-consuming. First, you need to find and recruit the required specialists. And only after the team is gathered and settled, the development process may start.

Using this method, you can easily:

  • Regulate the process;
  • Keep your hand on quality;
  • Take care of future updates and possible support.

Building the Cooperation with Remote Dedicated Team

The previous method demands much time, recruiting and HR skills, and even some proficiency in IT technologies. But hiring a remote team gives you an opportunity to get rid of these nuances.

The responsibility for marketplace development migrates to managers and developers you hire. However, you remain the major decision maker. Full control and information are still in your hands while a significant amount of time and effort is saved.

Software development outsourcing is one of the most beneficial but at times expensive ways to get a marketplace platform.

Using the Specific Development Solution

If you need a quick result, there is no better option than creating a marketplace on a basis of a ready-made tool. The method may be cheaper than the above-mentioned ones but still demands some investments. You need to pay fees for the external development tool.

There are 2 ways to implement this method in your project:

  • You can develop a marketplace by yourself using a tool like WooCommerce;
  • You can hire a development team to build a more advanced Magento-based marketplace solution.

Opting for the Software as a Service Method

Software as a Service method is one of the fastest and easiest ways to attract online customers to a new marketplace. Here, a user can interact with the interface without some specific programming skills.

Another advantage is a rather affordable price. Hiring an outsourcing team may cost you up to $50,000-$60,000. Using SaaS, you spend about $1,000 for development purposes. Limited customization opportunities are the main disadvantage of the method.

3 Quick Questions to Help You with the Choice

Briefly described, you can already see that there are plenty of methods to choose from. But it is necessary to decide on the one and only approach. Answer the following questions to make the most proper choice:

Do You Have a Technical Background?

This is crucial. Your IT expertise may help you a lot with hiring, leading and managing the development team. Otherwise, you will have to look for the remote professionals to work with.

How Much Money Can You Spend?

Hiring the development team is great but expensive. So can you afford it? Is your budget in the $1,000-$10,000 range or more? Develop a plan, estimate your investment capabilities and calculate future costs to narrow down the field of choices.

How Much Time Are You Ready to Devote?

Marketplace development from scratch may take from several months to a couple of years. SaaS platform may be launched in a few months. Make it clear how much time you have exactly to pick a suitable option.

Final Thoughts

Marketplace development may be tricky; this is a hard task so you should be extremely attentive when it comes to the development method you choose. Grow your idea, analyze the requirements, follow our guide, and launch the profitable marketplace solution!