If you’re following along in the series, How to Build a Marketplace, this is part 2 where I’m going to talk about the platform you’ll be building your marketplace on. I chose this is as part 2 because the foundation of what you build on is a big factor in making sure you’re set up for success.

One note before we move ahead. I’m making a couple assumptions.

1. You understand your business/model/market/audience, etc. (I hope this is common sense).
2. You potentially have money to put into this. (It’s a business, take it serious).
3. You have a co-founder (or two) to fill in the skill gaps you don’t have.

Let’s jump right in!

Be clear on the type of marketplace business you’re starting

I’m going to assume at this point you’ve got a good idea about your business but just to be clear, it’s important to think through this. As you think through you need to understand the following:

• How will customers be utilizing the marketplace? A mobile app or web app.
• What type of products are you selling? Physical products, digital products, services, etc.
• What’s the location? Local, national, global. This can really affect customers and vendors around payment options and payouts.

Let’s start with what makes a quality marketplace?

Before we dive into the options, let’s think through what features you’ll potentially need at a high level. These could vary depending on your business model but it’s good to see what features you can slide on and what features are must have.

For Buyers

• Easy sign-up — Reduce as much friction as you can. Sign-in with Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.
• Search functionality — In my opinion, this is vital and a must have. Honestly, it’s essential for most ecommerce sites. Not only does your search need to be quick, offer filtering options but it needs to be relevant. Make sure users can find what they’re looking for in an instant.
• Cart / Checkout — Consider how customers will need to purchase products. Will it require subscriptions? Is it national vs. international payments or both? Can customers checkout as a guest. There’s a lot to consider here.
• Review system – When you’re building a two-sided marketplace, reviews deliver a ton of value for potential buyers. Don’t shy away from negative reviews either. As long as the seller can respond of course.
• Type of Product(s) – Digital? Physical? Services? This is important to consider because this can change the checkout/cart you choose to go with. Additionally, the delivery of products needs to be thought out.

Sellers

• Easy sign-up — Just like your buyers, your sellers need a seamless way to get started with your marketplace.
• Adding products – Another crucial feature for sellers. Depending on the type of marketplace, sellers will want the ability to customize certain things as they upload products.
• Support system — Customers expect top-notch support no matter where they buy from. Having the ability for customers to interact with the sellers is a key part to offering a solid customer experience.
• Review system — It’s important to put yourself in your sellers shoes. They need to the ability to reply to all those 1 star ratings. In a lot of cases, the customers may be confused and giving a bad rating for all the wrong reasons. Offering sellers the ability to provide context helps potential buyers.
• Storefronts — Again, depending on the type of marketplace, giving sellers the ability to showcase themselves a bit can go a long way.

Choosing the best marketplace platform.

Now that we’ve gone through all the options to consider at a high-level, I think it’s worth looking at the platforms now. These could vary depending on your business model but it’s good to see what features you can slide on and what features are must have.

First off, there’s no easy way to build a marketplace. Sure, there are services like ShareTribe (I’m going to break down) but if you’re serious about building a marketplace it’s either going to take some up-front investment or you have the chops to build it yourself.

I know there’s plenty of tutorials on how to do it yourself and that’s great but not everyone can design and code. I’m breaking down a few routes you could take but don’t shy away from budgeting $5-10k to get something built. Don’t get me wrong, I’m about the cheapest, MVP possible but you’re building a damn marketplace. It takes time and you have to have the basics nailed down that we broke down above.

Let’s breakdown a few solutions.

WordPress

When we built the first versions of MOJO Marketplace, we chose WordPress and I would never go back and change it. Back then (2009), there wasn’t WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, etc. so it was essentially WP as a platform to manage all the content and all of the commerce and seller functionality was custom built.

Today, it’s so much easier with the help of WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads. Here’s a few recipes that could work depending on the type of marketplace you’re building.

WooCommerce (Learn More)

• Product Vendors (Woo Extension – $79)
• WC Marketplace (WP plugin repo + add-on’s of course)
• Shitloads of WooCommerce Marketplace Themes

Easy Digital Downloads (Learn More)

• Marketplace Bundle (EDD Extensions – $499)
• Lots EDD Marketplace Themes

Pro’s:

Both plugins have been around the block for a long time and are definitely capable of handling a marketplace. Especially if you’re just building an MVP. Easily extendable and customizable. Plenty of designers/developers to call within the WordPress community to help if you don’t have the chops.

Con’s:

WordPress open source (also a pro) so it will require you to stay up to date and be sure to protect yourself security wise. Also, WP is very database intensive so I’d be prepared to experience some performance issues if you’re not careful. This can be costly in the future. Lastly, buying so many plugins can be annoying and you can open yourself up to conflicts and security issues with so many plugins.

ShareTribe (Learn More)

I personally have not used ShareTribe. From the site it seems to have a lot of the features you’d need. My only issue with the service is the customizability. From what I can see, the example sites or other sites I found using it seemed really boxed in their templates. Again, I haven’t used the service but I’d love to see them go into more detail about the custom options.

Pro’s:

Easy to get started as it’s essentially an out of the box solution. Pricing seems reasonable, plus you get a free 30 day trial. Not too shabby. They also have a pretty impressive list of features for any advanced marketplace. This could serve well for an MVP solution.

Con’s:

It feels a little “boxed” in and only ideal for a few use cases. Meaning, if you have anything specific needs for your marketplace or business model, it may be hard to pull off. Pricing right out of the gate for testing a business model is a bit steep especially if you have FREE sign ups as the pricing is by users.

Stripe Connect (Learn More)

I could put this under the “Custom” section but it’d be pretty easy to get a few pages designed and hire a developer to integrate Stripe connect to start testing out your idea. I like Stripe connect for obvious reasons (it’s Stripe) but for short-term and long-term you have the flexibility in the world it just may take some engineering/dev chops to get you rolling.

Pro’s:

I love how it gives you the ability to serve any use case. This is huge if you’re idea has specific needs or you’re looking to differentiate yourself. Additionally, you have some big flexibility in payout options which is big when it comes to recruiting sellers or vendors for your marketplace.

Con’s:

Like I mentioned, it’s going to require some dev knowledge or hiring someone that can build this for you.

Custom

If you’re a designer/developer or  little cash lying around I’d personally recommend this route. I’d most likely use Laravel PHP for the backend, REACT for the frontend, Stripe or Braintree, spin up a server on AWS and go to town. You can keep the front-end super light and control the technical debt from the get go.

Pro’s:

Ideally, you can still get something launched quickly if you stay focused and keep the first iteration small. Additionally, you don’t run the risk of being boxed in and you freedom to extend the product as you wish. You also have the power over the speed and performance based on your infrastructure and code base.

Con’s:

Time. Money. It takes a lot of time and some money to get you there. If you have the chops as a team to build this, that’s awesome but it does require your time and energy. If you don’t have the skills to pull this off, that’s ok. But it will take money and someone with the ability to strategically layout what you want built the right way.

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There you have it. Like I said above, I’m assuming you’re trying to validate your idea or build a business. I realize nowadays it’s cool to be an entrepreneur but anyone that’s been down this road know’s it takes time, money, limited sleep, stress, patience, hustle and everything else in between. I hope this series helps you get a few steps closer to what you’re trying to build.

Next up, chicken or the egg problem.