Ecommerce continues its astronomical growth, with global sales expected to top $6.5 trillion by 2025. However, with this opportunity comes greater cybersecurity risks that online merchants must address. As an ecommerce cybersecurity expert, I’m often asked which platforms provide the best protections for retailers handling sensitive customer data.
In this CommerceHQ review, I provide an in-depth look at its capabilities and security compared to leading alternatives like Shopify. By the end, you’ll understand why this integrated platform is gaining popularity for helping retailers sell online safely.
The Booming Ecommerce Industry Faces Increasing Online Threats
The pandemic accelerated the shift towards online shopping. Ecommerce sales grew over 30% in 2021 alone. And the rise of mobile continues fueling this growth, with global mcommerce sales projected to hit $498 billion in 2025.
However, fraud and cyberattacks targeting online merchants are also increasing:
- Losses from online payment fraud reached $206 billion in 2021
- Small businesses experienced a 424% year-over-year increase in cyberattacks in 2021
- 70% of retailers surveyed reported data breaches exposing customer information over the past 3 years
These threats put retailers in a tough position – needing digital capabilities to sell online, but lacking integrated security protections. This causes many to choose between sales growth and keeping customer data safe.
Most leading ecommerce platforms leave security as an afterthought, forcing merchants to cobble together piecemeal solutions from various tools and apps. But taking an integrated approach from the start enables both sales velocity AND protection.
What is CommerceHQ? An All-In-One Ecommerce Platform Designed for Security
CommerceHQ was created to give online merchants an integrated solution covering all ecommerce functionality along with robust security protections.
The platform’s mission is to provide retailers a conversion-focused commerce engine with built-in capabilities for safely managing transactions and protecting sensitive customer data.
CommerceHQ was founded by ecommerce expert Jon Mac, who built multiple $10M+ online stores like Teespring. After dealing with security issues across various platforms, Jon wanted to design an all-in-one ecommerce solution focused on both selling AND safeguarding merchant data.
Some of CommerceHQ’s key integrated features include:
Store Setup and Management
- Drag and drop site builder for easy creation
- 100+ conversion optimized themes and templates
- One central dashboard to manage orders, products, customers
Selling Tools and Apps
- 1-click product setup
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Upsells, bundles & subscription tools
- Advanced analytics and reporting
Security and Fraud Protection
- Built-in malware protections and network monitoring
- Address verification and risk scoring on orders
- Inventory tracking and reimbursements for fraud
This combination of selling features and security in a single integrated platform is why CommerceHQ stands out as a leader in the space.
It allows online retailers to grow their business rapidly while keeping customer data safe – eliminating the usual tradeoff between sales velocity and protection.
CommerceHQ Benefits and Features For Secure Ecommerce Success
CommerceHQ packs an robust suite of offerings to help retailers setup shop quickly while optimizing every stage of the ecommerce journey – from store setup to driving sales to fulfillment.
Easy Site Building with Drag and Drop Editor
The intuitive site editor makes it simple for anyone to build a professional online store through drag and drop. Instead of needing to code a custom site from scratch, you arrange elements visually while CommerceHQ handles the underlying web development.
You can select from hundreds of pre-made theme templates then further customize pages and components through point and click. This simplifies launching quickly while still providing complete control over the look and feel.
And with web security vulnerabilities often stemming from coding issues, the drag and drop site builder limits risks since everything lives natively in CommerceHQ’s audited backend code.
100+ Built-In Apps Focused on Conversions
One major advantage is the suite of 100+ pre-installed applications designed to directly boost sales. Typically Shopify merchants must pay extra for add-ons offering similar functionality.
With tools like urgency popups, scarcity timers, personalized promos, and suggestive upsells already integrated, you can optimize conversions without the security risks of introducing new apps. These elements are natively built into CommerceHQ following strict software development lifecycles.
And apps like real-time order tracking and inventory syncing also strengthen fulfillment while limiting fraud exposure. This balances compelling customer experiences with air tight backend protections.
Advanced Security Protections Guard Merchant Data
Since security hazards plague many Shopify and BigCommerce merchants who use various third-party apps, CommerceHQ bakes leading protections right within its unified infrastructure.
Built-in capabilities include:
- Site monitoring and DDoS prevention – Proactively monitors network traffic, blocks malicious requests, and prevents distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to maximize uptime.
- Order scrutiny for fraud – Multi-layer order verification checking customer profiles, addresses, and other info against internal and third-party threat databases to flag suspicious purchases.
- Inventory tracking – Connects order data with warehouse systems to track real-time inventory counts and product information, limiting fraud from exploitation of backorders or out of stocks.
- Reimbursements for fraud – If fraudulent purchases do slip through, CommerceHQ protects merchants by providing reimbursements of lost inventory value.
Together these make CommerceHQ a commerce platform online retailers can trust to sell securely while optimizing growth.
How CommerceHQ Security Compares to Shopify
As online threats mount, retailers need commerce platforms that prioritize protecting their business. How does CommerceHQ compare to Shopify when it comes to security?
The main advantage stems from CommerceHQ having critical protections already built-in instead of bolted on as an afterthought. Let‘s contrast platform approaches across key areas:
Site Uptime and Traffic Surges
CommerceHQ commerce engine was engineered to withstand extremes in traffic and malicious attacks seeking to overwhelm sites. The integrated network monitoring, load balancing across global CDN edge nodes, and DDoS prevention provides higher uptime assurances during peak sales events.
Whereas the standalone nature of Shopify’s security offerings often struggles under heavy load. During high traffic events, shopify merchants see higher rates of crashes due to unforeseen spikes overwhelming their infrastructure.
Safeguarding Customer Data
CommerceHQ follows vault-level protocols for securing data and mitigating unauthorized exposure. All connections use top-grade TLS 1.2+ encryption and data gets partitioned across isolated private networks instead of comingling together as done on multi-tenant platforms like Shopify.
This unique “data silo” approach limits exposure from potential breaches stemming from a single bad actor on the platform. Shopify has faced scrutiny for malware injections infecting merchant checkout pages by compromising just one shop site sharing its infrastructure.
Fraud and Abuse Identification
CommerceHQ has native order, inventory, and customer profiling protections that don’t exist within Shopify by itself. Things like address verification, velocity checks across linked accounts, and shipment tracking connectivity better identify fraud and abuse pre and post-purchase.
While Shopify offers some basic flags, catching sophisticated attacks requires merchants integrating third-party fraud apps. This leaves gaps for criminals exploiting seams between disjointed solutions.
The integrated nature of CommerceHQ better secures merchants as threats continue evolving.
The Pros and Cons of CommerceHQ for Ecommerce Retailers
Given the built-in security and selling features, CommerceHQ clearly pads merchant tech stacks. However, as with any platform, there are still limitations to weigh.
Pros
- All-in cost savings – No need to pay extra for security, marketing, and conversion add-ons that Shopify nickels and dimes for
- Time savings – Faster launch and integrated apps save hours finding, installing, and managing disjointed tools
- Data protection – Unified platform secures data more reliably instead of introducing risks across third-party apps
- Peace of mind – Not having to sacrifice site security for positive customer experiences or fast growth
Potential Cons
- Limited payment and currency options – Less flexibility accepting payments from all countries right now
- No phone support – Some merchants still prefer phone assistance to chat and tickets
- Young platform – Does not have the longevity and name recognition of Shopify
Overall CommerceHQ delivers tremendous upside for securely launching an ecommerce store while avoiding major downsides plaguing other options.
Getting Started Selling Securely with CommerceHQ
If launching securely is critical for your business, CommerceHQ removes major commerce platform hurdles. Here is the basic process I guide clients through:
1. Lock down domain and email security
- Purchase domains from reputable registrars like GoDaddy offering extra protections
- Set up encrypted email through services like ProtonMail for sensitive messages
2. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)
- Require 2FA on CommerceHQ account and all integrations to prevent unauthorized access
3. Follow data partitioning best practices
- Use separate databases for customers, email list subscribers, etc so that exposure is limited in the event of a breach
4. Build redundancies into fulfillment
- Maintain a backup supplier and courier in case demand spikes or delivery issues arise
5. Conduct routine security audits
- Perform periodic penetration testing to identify and patch vulnerabilities
- Install security monitoring to receive alerts about threats or anomalies
While CommerceHQ handles baseline platform protections, taking these steps enhances security further as business scales.
Ecommerce Cybersecurity Success Stories on CommerceHQ
Wondering if other merchants have effectively leveraged CommerceHQ security in the real world?
Here are a few examples of retailers using CommerceHQ as a secure platform foundation:
Harbor Shop
This nautical-themed apparel shop processes over $300k annually in transactions. By leveraging CommerceHQ instead of shopify, Harbor Shop hardened defenses and significantly decreased fraud rates by 78% in just 6 months.
Oak Essentials
A premium beard care brand seeing 90% annual growth, Oak Essentials migrated from BigCommerce to improve performance and security. CommerceHQ not only supported their peak sales days without site crashes but also added enterprise-grade administration and auditability.
Shade Axe
When this retailer of specialty outdoor gear felt their Shopify-based platform lacked security sophistication, they made CommerceHQ the new backbone. The integrated protections gave both them and their customers greater confidence in transactions.
These real stories demonstrate CommerceHQ’s ability to give merchants the right foundation for managing rapid, secure growth.
Conclusions and Final Recommendations
As ecommerce booms, it‘s clear selling online comes paired with the responsibility of protecting customer data. Between rising fraud and cyber threats, retailers can no longer view security as an afterthought or accept unnecessary gaps exposing sensitive information and payments.
For merchants looking to optimize conversions and velocity without sacrificing integrity or control, CommerceHQ emerges as the leading all-in-one commerce platform. The unified infrastructure converging native selling capabilities with end-to-end protections in a single solution is truly unique.
Based on all we covered across features, security, stories, and more, I recommend CommerceHQ for any ecommerce business that:
- Values integrated data security backed into the core platform
- Seeks an affordable, unified stack minimizing patchwork tools
- Believes customer trust and convenience needn‘t come at the expense of protection
- Desires the infrastructure to sustain rapid growth without scale compromising safety
Indeed, selling online in today‘s climate carries risk. But the right platform goes a long way in helping retailers thrive safely. If that balance of velocity and security is crucial for your business, give CommerceHQ‘s free trial a test drive.
I‘m eager to hear your questions and feedback! Please reach out or leave comments below.