For ecommerce business owners like you, using databases is becoming increasingly important for managing and analyzing customer data, seamless transactions from payment gateways, and inventory. But there are many different types of databases available, making choosing which type of database is best suited for your needs much more challenging.
In this article, we will provide an overview of the most common types of ecommerce databases and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. Knowing these things can help you decide which database infrastructure to use on your ecommerce site and gain a competitive advantage in the industry. Let’s begin!
Relational Databases
This database type, commonly used in ecommerce, uses Structured Query Language (SQL) for managing and storing data in tables with columns and rows. The tables can be related through primary and foreign keys, allowing complex data relationships to take shape.
This makes relational databases well-suited for managing transactional data, such as orders and inventory, in ecommerce applications. Having up-to-date information is necessary for TCPA compliance when obtaining consent from consumers to send them marketing messages.
However, scalability is its main weakness. While relational databases can be scaled up or down, they may not be as flexible as others in handling large volumes of unstructured data.
There are several types of relational databases used by ecommerce websites, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server.
Compared to other ecommerce databases, migrating from one relational database to another is seamless. Use migration tools to extract the data from the old database, transform it to the new format, and load it into the new database. This makes migrating from MySQL to PostgreSQL or any other relational database type easy and painless.
API Databases
Ecommerce sites can access this database type through an Application Programming Interface (API) to provide a way for different systems and applications to exchange data and information.
The flexibility of these databases makes sharing data and information across different platforms easy. You can also scale API databases up or down to handle changing business requirements. Both can be important for ecommerce websites that use multiple systems and applications to manage their operations, as well as experience spikes in traffic during peak shopping periods.
On the other hand, API databases work best with a dependent and reliable internet connection. Slow or unreliable internet connectivity can impact the performance and availability of the API database.
Examples of API databases for ecommerce include RESTful, SOAP, and GraphQL.
NoSQL Databases
Unlike relational databases, NoSQL databases do not rely on a structured data model and can store unstructured and semi-structured data. Because of this, you can easily scale them horizontally to handle large volumes of data and distribute them across multiple servers to improve performance and availability. This makes them well-suited for ecommerce applications in the process of global expansion, which is one of the more popular eCommerce trends to date.
Another strength of NoSQL databases is their flexibility. You can easily customize them to meet the specific needs of your ecommerce business. They can also handle various data types, including text, images, and video.
For instance, migrating from a relational database like Postgres to a NoSQL database such as MongoDB, known as ‘Postgres to MongoDB‘ migration, can offer greater flexibility and scalability for ecommerce platforms. However, NoSQL databases suffer from a lack of support for complex transactions and data relationships. This can make managing transactional data, such as orders and inventory, in ecommerce applications challenging.
Document, key-value, wide-column, and graph databases are several types of NoSQL databases used in ecommerce.
Cloud Databases
Cloud databases are similar to API databases, as both offer scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness to ecommerce businesses. They can also be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. Their dependency on internet connectivity also determines the performance and availability of cloud databases.
The main difference between cloud databases and API databases is in how ecommerce sites access and manage them. Cloud databases are available through a direct connection to the database server and API databases through an API. A third-party provider can also manage both, but your ecommerce business can also control API databases.
Cloud databases like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud SQL, Microsoft Azure SQL, MongoDB Atlas, and Firebase Realtime provide a scalable and cost-effective way to manage data.
Conclusion
Ecommerce businesses rely heavily on databases to manage and analyze customer data, transactions, and inventory. Choosing the correct type of database is crucial for your business to remain competitive and adapt to changing market conditions.
By selecting the right database, businesses can optimize their ecommerce operations, improve customer experiences, and gain a competitive advantage in the industry.