3 minutes reading
AGATA MISTELSKA l E-COMMERCE l 14.06.2024 l 5 MIN
In a nutshell:
- 1.1 Background information
- 1.2 Overview of key data - advantages and disadvantages
- 1.3 Who is Sote for?
- 1.4 What sets Sote apart from the rest?
In this review of a platform like Sote, we will look at its features and functions. An assessment will be made as to whether this platform is suitable for your business, taking into account not only its functionality but also its maintenance costs. Through this analysis, you will be able to make an informed decision regarding the choice of e-commerce platform for your business.
What is Sote?
Sote is an e-commerce platform for setting up online shops. The creators emphasised that Sote was primarily developed for small and medium-sized online shops, offering support for international sales as well. Although Sote is a Polish platform, with the help of various language versions it is possible to introduce your shop to the foreign market.
Basic information
| Software type | Saas |
| Country of origin | Poland |
| Year of issue | 2011 |
| Access to source code | Partially |
Overview of key data - advantages and disadvantages
| Price | ❌(has various packages ranging from £55 to £375 and one-off annual payments) |
| Hosting included in the price | ❌ (1 year: PLN 900.00 net) |
| Integration with accounting systems | ❌ |
| Own domain | ❌ (not included in package price) |
| SSL certificate | ❌(price 175 PLN net) |
| Running a blog | ✅ |
| Sharing on social media | ✅ |
| Integration with payment systems | ✅ |
| Implementation of promotions and discounts | ✅ |
| Integration with Allegro | ✅ |
| Shipping cost calculator | ✅ |
| Search and filtering | ✅ |
| Returns management | ✅ |
| Technical support | ✅ |
| Manual 301 redirections | ✅ |
| Mobile friendly | ✅ |
| Updates | ✅(included in the package price, but some are charged extra) |
| Internal search engine | ✅ |
| Editing of URLs | ✅ |
The pros and cons of having a shop on Sote from an angle:
SEO: Sote has basic SEO functionality such as meta tag editing and a site map. Additional options are chargeable and any advanced option requires interference with the template or the purchase of additional modules.
Maintenance costs: Once a subscription is purchased, the administrator is given access to a comprehensive panel to launch and configure the online shop. Packages start at PLN 55, the most expensive one is PLN 375. We also have the option of paying annually, the price of the cheapest package is PLN 550, while the VIP package costs PLN 3750. All additional functions are chargeable
Business scalability: Sote is not fully scalable. It does not provide the flexibility and growth opportunities that some other e-commerce platforms offer. There are many limitations in editing the templates of individual categories. Average affordability for SEO is also an issue. In addition, development comes with a constant increase in fees.
Who is Sote for?
| Shop up to 1000 products | ✅ |
| Shop up to 10 000 products | ✅ |
| Shop up to 100,000 products | ❌ |
| Shop 100,000 products and more | ❌ |
The developers of Sote have indicated that the platform has been developed primarily with small and medium-sized online shops in mind
What sets Sote apart from the rest?
- Simplicity
Operating the administration panel is not a problem. The platform is easy to use and transparent, making it easy to manage an online shop even for those without experience in running an online business.
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
The platform offers the SOTE AI tool, which uses artificial intelligence to support the shop by generating product descriptions, blog posts, translations and other AI-created elements.
- Safety
As part of the package, users receive a comprehensive service and professional help from the technical department. In addition, they have access to new security-related updates every month. In the event of a need for assistance, users can contact experts by phone, email or online chat.
Examples of shops built on Sote
Before you make a final decision, it is worth taking a look at some examples of online shops running on the Sote platform.
Meru-knives shop
Alisa shop
Shop Odszyte
Source: www.sote.pl/clients
Is it worth choosing Sote: Our opinion
Sote is a simple platform, no programming knowledge is required, It is operated via an administration panel so that we do not have to interfere with the source code. The price of the basic package is low, although all additional features are chargeable. In view of this, development is associated with ever-increasing fees. In addition, Sote is not SEO-friendly, it has basic functions and every change is an interference with the template, which forces us to change it. Although Sote has some advantages, it is certainly not an option for entrepreneurs focused on continuous development. If you want to check out this platform, you can take advantage of the 14-day trial period.
If you want to compare Sote with other platforms you can also read our other articles:
Read the article: Review of WooCommerce - Creating a 2024 shop
Read the article: Shoper review - Creating a 2024 shop
Read the article: Sky-Shop review - Creating a shop 2024
