The basics: planning and goal setting
Before you actually start creating your online platform, we recommend that you answer a few basic questions:
- What is the platform about? (shop, online course, community, course platform, marketplace, streaming platform, etc.)
- Who is your target group? (B2B, end customers, special interests...)
- What should the platform do? (Selling, imparting knowledge, facilitating exchange...)
Why that's important:
The answers to these questions will help you with the next step: concrete planning. The better you know your goal and the demands of your online platform, the better you can work towards it.
- Focus: You avoid working on too many fronts at the same time.
- Time-based planning: The more you know what you need, the faster you can find the right solutions.
- Clarity for third parties: If you later bring designers, programmers, or investors on board, you can give them a clear picture of your project.
Possible range of functions — your collection of thoughts
So that you don't forget anything important, you'll find many typical features here that may be of interest to your online platform. Go through the list and decide for yourself which points you want to delete and which you absolutely want to take with you:
- User registration and management: User accounts, password reset, roles and rights (e.g. admin, moderator, user)
- Profile or dashboard features: Manage your data, get statistics, view progress or orders
- Payment processing (for shops or paid platforms): Connection to common payment services such as PayPal, Stripe, credit cards, etc.
- Product or content management: Create products, manage prices in a shop; forum posts, groups, comments in a community
- Content Management System (CMS): blog or article management, editorial content, SEO functions
- Messaging or chat features (for communities or support): Direct messages, public posts, FAQs
- Uploading files or images: Users can upload images (e.g. for profile pictures, product photos); videos or documents (e.g. for learning platforms)
- Search features: Relevant results and filters (e.g. by categories, keywords)
- Analytics and tracking: internal evaluation to see what's happening on your platform
- Security and privacy: SSL encryption, GDPR-compliant cookie banners, secure password policies
- multilingualism (if your target audience is international)
Tip: For your research, use platforms that you like to use yourself and go through the functions available there step by step. In our experience, you learn more about your ideas on the “living object” than if you just play them through theoretically.
Technical approaches — from no-code to full stack
Depending on how much experience you have, or how complex your platform should be, there are various ways of technical implementation. Here we will introduce you to the most common ways, including the respective advantages and disadvantages.
Construction kits and no-code
examples: Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Bubble
advantages:
- Very quick implementation without programming knowledge
- Lots of ready-made templates and plugins
- Often cheap, especially for starters
Disadvantages:
- Limited customization when it really needs to be complex
- Ongoing platform costs can add up over time
- Dependence on provider (less flexibility when moving)
These modular systems can be used for an initial proof of concept — but don't underestimate the enormous amount of time, which will invariably flow in despite the providers' promises. It remains a good idea to consider whether this investment of time in a system that may only be used for a short time is really worthwhile.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
examples: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal
advantages:
- Large community, lots of plugins (e.g. e-commerce, forums, course areas)
- Relatively quick start, lots of templates
- Wide range of hosting providers
Disadvantages:
- Strong dependency on plugins (can become obsolete or trigger conflicts)
- Security issues (regular updates are mandatory)
- Performance can be limited during rapid growth (but there are solutions)
The use of many plugins in particular is often a pitfall that only increases over time. It takes a lot of time and knowledge to keep the plugins permanently functional and compatible with each other.
Shop systems (e-commerce)
examples: Shopify, Shopware, Magento, WooCommerce (for WordPress)
advantages:
- Designed specifically for shops (with shopping cart, payment processing)
- Shopify offers a lot of convenience (hosted solution, support)
- Magento or Shopware are very powerful and expandable
Disadvantages:
- With hosted solutions (such as Shopify), you're tied to the system
- Open source solutions such as Magento require more technical expertise and maintenance
Some shop systems require an underlying CMS as a supporting system, so this category is more likely to be seen as an extension of content management systems.
Frameworks and full-stack programming
examples: Vue.yes (front end) + PHP/Laravel (back end)
advantages:
- Maximum control and flexibility
- Perfectly adaptable to complex or very individual requirements
- Good scalability with the right setup
Disadvantages:
- Higher learning curve or need for professionals
- Higher costs for external development
- You are responsible for (almost) everything yourself (hosting, security, updates)
An individually created online platform is literally the flagship among platforms. Here you have full control over every detail and can fully implement your wishes. Important: Online platforms created in this way are virtually infinitely scalable — you won't run into limits here.
Tip: Full stack or hardcode programming can always be preceded by a proof of concept or minimum viable product (MVP). This is created as no-code/low-code and is later switched to hardcode. Advantage: The effort is lower at first and you can get a version of your platform faster, with which you can test your idea first.
If you already have a specific project idea on the table and need advice on how to implement it, get in touch with us. We'll show you the best way to build your online platform.
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Start small and scale later
As already shown, it makes sense for many projects to first go live in a smaller version: A Minimum Viable Product (MVP). In doing so, you focus on the core functions, test whether there is a demand for them and get feedback.
- Start with your core idea
- Gradually expand the circle of testers
- Add features step by step
Scaling tips:
- Avoid oversized solutions at the beginning: Otherwise, you'll pay for something you might never need.
- Automate where possible: email marketing, billing, notifications, etc. — this saves time when user numbers increase.
- Build a team: At the latest as your platform grows, you often need design, marketing, or developer support.
It's important to keep an eye on when the limits of MVP have been reached and when you should embark on the path of hardcode programming with your online platform.
Budget and resources — how to implement your platform
1. Create your own online platform
costs: Especially time, plus costs for plugins, themes, hosting.
advantages: You're independent, you learn a lot, you're in full control.
Disadvantages: Long learning process if you have little previous knowledge. Plus a steep learning curve. Mistakes often occur that you only notice late.
2. Cooperation with an agency
costs: Depending on complexity, however, payments can often be made monthly or based on milestones.
advantages: Expert knowledge, usually faster implementation, professional advice, better quality, prevention of expensive beginner mistakes and detours.
Disadvantages: Higher investment that, however, lives up to its name.
Tip: In some MVPs, you can earn money even if the market feedback is very good. In this way, you can counterfinance part of the development costs with this early income. In addition, this income is a positive sign of the viability of your idea.
Important terms that arise when creating an online platform
You don't have to know everything by heart, but you'll often come across these terms:
- Hosting: Internet storage space that your platform runs on.
- Domaine: Your web address (e.g. www.deinprojekt.de).
- Front-end: What the user sees (design, interface).
- Back end: The “engine room” side of your platform (server, database, logic)
- Content Management System (CMS): Allows you to edit content without deep programming knowledge.
- Plugin or extension: Additional features that you can integrate into a CMS or other system.
- API: Interface that various programs use to communicate with each other.
- Minimum Viable Product (MVP): A first lightweight version of your platform to get quick feedback.
Build an online platform with Axisbits
As a full-service agency with many years of experience in developing online platforms, Axisbits covers all areas that are decisive for your successful project — from concept and MVP to launch and beyond:
- Consulting & concept: We help you define your goals and develop a strategy that is market-oriented and profitable in the long term.
- UI/UX design: Our creative team ensures that your online platform is not only functional but also visually convincing.
- Software development: Low-code as a start and hardcode programming for unlimited growth — we'll show you what works best in which phase.
Using the example of Platform for emergency care pools At Vokus Personal AG, you can take a closer look at one of our projects. You can find more in our portfolio.
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