Whether you already run an ecommerce store or you’re thinking about launching your first store, choosing the right ecommerce platform is essential.
But this is not as easy as it sounds. After all, there are dozens of platforms available, and choosing between them can be a challenge. To help you get started, here’s a roundup of the best ecommerce platforms available right now.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is one of the biggest players in the market, and it is one of the most popular platforms for stores of all sizes. Tens of thousands of stores run on the platform, and it provides a comprehensive solution if you want to develop an ecommerce website.
There are lots of designs to choose from, and the themes are easy to customise so you can create the exact look that you want. It’s easy to get the hang of, and it’s simple to make changes to the look and feel of your site as well as adding features.
Signing up and getting started is very easy, and there are lots of useful features you can start using such as analytics and CRO tools. It also comes with free SSL, which is essential for any store selling online.
BigCommerce provides excellent shopping cart software, and you can use this to provide your customers with useful features like an instant checkout.
All it all, it’s a very reliable platform that is a great option for small businesses.
Prices start from $29.95 a month, and there is a 15-day free trial. One of the major benefits is that there are no transaction fees on any of the plans and there are no limits on the number of products you can sell.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms in the world, running hundreds of thousands of websites both large and small.
One of the key benefits of Shopify is that it is very easy to set up and use. The clean and intuitive interface makes everything simple, and it also comes with many free templates for your store so you can easily find a design that best matches your brand image. You can also choose from a good selection of premium themes.
It’s got some excellent SEO tools, and you can also create your own blog easily, which can help boost your SEO further. Shopify also makes it easy to expand and sell on other marketplaces like Amazon, so you can manage all your products from one place.
Prices start at $29 a month, and you can also enjoy a free 14-day trial. There are no product limits, but you do have to pay a transaction fee on every sale.
You can also view an example E-commernce Shopify site here.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is slightly different in that it is an ecommerce platform built on WordPress. So if your website is already on WordPress, or you are familiar with the platform, it is one of the best ways to get started.
One of the main benefits of WooCommerce is that it is very easy to customise. In fact, it claims to be the most customisable platform. On the homepage, it also boasts over 75 million downloads and claims to be the platform of choice for 28% of all online stores.
It’s easy and intuitive to use, and there are lots of useful features such as the ability to set up guides to download from your site, which can be great for lead generation.
There are also lots of plugins that you can instantly download and start using to add useful features to your site, but while some of these are free, others are premium plugins that you will have to pay for.
Despite the cost of some of the plugins, WooCommerce is free to start using. All you need to pay for is your domain name and hosting just like you would with any WordPress site.
Volusion
Volusion is another popular ecommerce platform that is very easy to use for beginners, and the navigation is simple and intuitive. Despite being very user-friendly, the platform is not as capable as some of the other more powerful platforms.
One of the best features is the reports that you can create in Volusion. This is very useful because you can get access to lots of data and find out about every aspect of your store to help you make decisions.
It’s also very easy to customise the design of your store, and the SEO tools are good, allowing you to manage all your SEO including meta data. You can also sell on other marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
Prices start at $29 a month, but this only allows you to sell a maximum of 100 products. There is also a 14-day free trial.
Magento
Magento is one of the biggest names in ecommerce. It is particularly popular with larger stores looking for a professional solution, but it is not particularly suited to smaller stores.
It has a huge range of tools and features that you can use to create almost any store you want on the platform. You also have multilingual options and can use multiple currencies, which is great for international stores.
It’s highly flexible, but it is not the cheapest option and is not for the budget-conscious ecommerce store owner. If you are just getting started, there are better options available.
Wix
Wix is another option that is very popular if you want to set up a simple ecommerce store. It’s a website building platform, so you can build all kinds of sites with it, but it also offers plans with ecommerce features so you can set up your store.
It comes with a huge collection of templates so you can set everything up quickly. The drag-and-drop editor is very easy to use, so you can make changes to your website with ease, even if you have no experience.
Excellent 24/7 support is also available if you need any help with anything. Wix may lack some of the more advanced features, but that might not matter for you. If you want to set up a simple store with no fuss and at a good price, it’s hard to beat.
The cheapest plan that allows you to accept online payments is ‘Business Basic’, which costs $17 a month.
Other Ecommerce Platforms
The above platforms are the best available right now for most purposes, whether you want to set up a quick and simple online store or you need to launch a major store with thousands of products.
But that doesn’t mean you are limited to these options, and there are many more platforms to consider:
- Weebly is similar to Wix in that it provides a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to set up your site quickly. The Pro plan starts at $12 a month when paid annually.
- SquareSpace is another simple option that you can use to set up a store fast and sell unlimited products. The Business plan starts at £15 a month, or the Commerce plan is £20 a month and has 0% transaction fees.
- 3dcart is a popular platform that comes with lots of features including the option to sell unlimited products. The startup plan has no transaction fees and costs $17.10 a month when you pay annually.
Set Up Your Online Store
If you plan to sell anything online, choosing the right ecommerce platform will make everything so much easier, whatever business model you plan on running. These are some of the best that you can choose from at the moment, so try them out yourself. Use the free trial periods to see how you get along, then choose your platform and start growing your business.
