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eCommerce Platform API: Difficulties of Integration
For software vendors who work in the eCommerce sphere, integration with shopping platforms is the lifeblood. It is what allows them to offer their functionality to online store owners. From inventory management, order fulfillment to creating shipping labels, etc.
Usually, such types of software don't have a lot of integrations with eCommerce platforms, as integration development is quite challenging. This article will dive deeper into the peculiarities of eCommerce platform API integration and find out about a solution to easily integrate with multiple shopping platforms at once.
For all kinds of SaaS software vendors, using real-time information is important if you want to gain a competitive edge in the eCommerce business sector. Nevertheless, because each eCommerce platform API has its particular structure, each integration would have its array of issues. When working with a large number of eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, comprehending each platform might require a significant amount of knowledge and energy. Integration with just one eCommerce system is hard, but it gets even more complicated when several systems are involved. Consequently, many eCommerce application suppliers have integration with only a couple of eCommerce platforms, leading to lost revenue and prospective customers.
Developing in-house integration with eCommerce platforms brings many difficulties, some of which are listed below:
Each eCommerce platform API has its unique logic and architecture, which takes time and expertise to master. Establishing connections with every endpoint is a one-of-a-kind and time-consuming procedure since each integration has its specific set of problems. One of the most difficult problems is hiring a highly skilled and competent developer ready to concentrate on your system integration.
There are numerous issues associated with the APIs of many of the eCommerce platforms and marketplaces. For instance, the Amazon API is somewhat outdated, and its API documentation is quite complex and doesn't often give all of the information required. Magento API integration is particularly difficult due to the inconsistency of its API documentation. Lack of Etsy API documentation can lead to additional development effort and research, and its API functionality might change without notice.
It takes a lot of time and effort to create fully functional integration modules. One integration requires approximately a month to finish. Waiting for one to be properly created and validated may lose you thousands of prospective clients.
Developing a fully functional integration module needs the assistance of a competent expert as well as a significant amount of time and effort. As a result, every integration generally costs approximately several thousand dollars, if not more.
It's not the end of the tale when a system integration is made. Integration support and upgrades will require IT professionals or at least one programmer. Otherwise, minor modifications to the eCommerce platform's functionality might destabilize the entire data accessibility and editing process. You may experience data loss or inaccurate data extraction. Additionally, your consumers may request changes and unique customizations. Furthermore, you must devote a significant amount of effort to modifying your existing code.
Implementing data exchange across multiple systems, as we've seen, takes a substantial amount of technical effort. All of these aspects make in-house connections with eCommerce platforms complex. Therefore it's critical to figure out how to make things go more smoothly.
Using a third-party integration solution is a reasonable choice if you want to avoid integration challenges. For example, API2Cart provides a unified API to integrate with more than 40 eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, including Shopify, Amazon, Magento, OpenCart, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, BigCommerce, and many others.
The major benefit of this sort of integration is that you won't have to worry anymore about setting up connections with eCommerce platforms. API2Cart has already done this work for you.
Using API2Cart you will be able to get, add, update, sync different store data like orders, products, customers, shipments, etc. You can see the full list of supported API methods on our documentation.
Moreover, we provide a 30 free trial period for you to see if API2Cart solves your business needs. Keep in mind, we are always open to your proposals and requests. We constantly add new features and support for new platforms.
If you have any questions about how our service works, feel free to contact us. We will gladly help you with any issues.
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