It is at once a thrilling and terrifying
prospect, but the potential rewards are worth it. Plus, with the
Internet, starting a business may be easier and more affordable than you
imagine.
That's not to say that starting an
online business isn't hard or that it doesn't entail all sorts of
daunting challenges. It does, but that is why creating a successful
venture is so incredibly satisfying.
If it is your dream to sell your
one-of-a-kind products online, then you will need a fantastic,
attention-grabbing website. You'll also need a reliable host with which to store that website, and you'll want to make use of the best e-commerce platform that you can afford.
If you're not even certain what an
"e-commerce platform" is, then you've come to the right place. We'll not
only define e-commerce platforms but also reveal our picks for the best
and most reliable services out there.
What Is an E-commerce Platform?
Basically, an e-commerce platform is the software that your website
needs to be able to sell products to customers. Think of it as a
storefront that includes capabilities for browsing the wares, placing
them in a shopping cart and making a payment. All of this requires a
broad selection of functionalities, and the whole transaction has to be
secure from beginning to end.
Rather than making a webmaster have to put together all of these single
components by themselves, an e-commerce platform provides a package
deal. This largely simplifies the process, and a really good platform
still allows for plenty of customization so that you can build some
fantastic brand identity into your website.
How We Decided?
The following list of five e-commerce platforms is the result of
exhaustive research. Because we have thoroughly tested each one, we can
recommend them with confidence to our readers.
In our comprehensive review, we looked at dozens of e-commerce
platforms. Many of these simply weren't up to the challenge. The most
important factor when deciding on a platform is the robustness of its
third party software.3rd Party What?
What makes the App Store or Android so good?
It's the millions of apps and services that have built just for that
service. Without it we wouldn't have anywhere near the optionality. The
same goes with eCommerce platforms. Some platforms incentive 3rd party
developers to make great add ons that create a MUCH better experience
for both retails and customers.
After sifting through all of the options, we came up with five
finalists, any of which we feel confident about recommending to our
readers.
Pricing Considerations
Our review tested each e-commerce platform on the basis of several
metrics. We looked at pricing plans and payment methods because we know
that costs matter when it comes to running an online business. Price is
always going to be a huge consideration, but that does not mean that it
must dominate all other considerations.
Mobile = Must
Another critical metric is whether or not the e-commerce platform has integrated mobile capabilities.
More and more consumers are doing their shopping on a cell phone,
tablet or other mobile devices. This means that it is critical for an
e-commerce website to be optimized for viewing in these formats. Failure
to ensure this optimization may mean that your potential customers end
up going with your competition.
Security Concerns
Security was a major concern throughout our review. After all, consumers
are becoming increasingly savvy, and they don't want to give their
credit card number to just any website. Accordingly, all of our top
picks had to support HTTPS and SSL certificates to ensure secure
checkout capabilities. We also verified that the platforms we chose were
Payment Card Industry compliant.
As we conducted our review, we did not neglect SEO capabilities. This
remains a top metric for getting a website to figure prominently in
Search Engine Results Pages, so no e-commerce website can afford to
ignore SEO. Our top picks have great SEO features like the ability to
add a blog to your website, use your own domain name and the capacity for customers to leave reviews.
Pro Tip - Picking an eCommerce solutions that allows cross platform selling is the smart move.
Platforms like Shopify allow you to sell on Amazon, Etsy and other
marketplaces which massively increase your ability to generate sales.
Top E-commerce Platforms
1 - Shopify:
Best all around
- 100+ themes
- Full blogging platform
- Mobile commerce ready
- Your own domain name
- Free SSL certificate
- 70 payment gateways
- Simple organization and editing
- Great for novice users
- App compatibility
- A bit pricier
Simplifies Things for You
Shopify has many strengths to recommend it. Among the most vital of these is the inventory system. It truly simplifies the process of organizing
and editing products on your website. If you need to add a new product
or delete a discontinued item, you'll have no problem getting it done
with this system.
The inventory system even streamlines the process of having multiple
fulfillment centers. You can organize products by groups, making it
really easy to create categories that are intuitive for you and your
customers.
One of the other things that we really appreciate about Shopify is that it allows you to sell through multiple channels. This is an enormous advantage because a majority of consumers visit marketplaces like Amazon or Etsy when they begin looking for a product. With Shopify, you can easily integrate your presence on marketplaces with your website.
Easy to Use
Shopify also is incredibly easy to use even for people who have never managed an e-commerce website before.
Essentially, Shopify provides users with a comprehensive framework for
building an online store. You get to make all sorts of customizations to
arrive at a finished product that is a perfect showcase for your
products.
Several attractive templates are available if you don't want to do
much in the way of customization. Each template is optimized for display
on mobile devices, so your customers will be able to shop whenever,
wherever. However, that's not the end of the mobile options. Shopify is
set up so that you can make all sorts of modifications to your
e-commerce website via a mobile device. With your on-the-go lifestyle,
there's no reason to settle for anything less.
People who don't want to pay for a theme are in luck. Shopify offers nearly a dozen free themes
that are all geared toward selling certain products or services.
Entrepreneurs who are looking for a more deluxe or individualized theme
may choose from many other paid templates.
If you'd like a bit of help in setting up your online store, Shopify
makes it available to you. Ask for the assistance of a Shopify-approved
developer who can make the final tweaks to your website to make it
perfect.
Compatible With Lots of Apps
One of the things that really sets Shopify apart from the competition
is the number of apps with which it is compatible. Currently, there are
more than 2,000 apps
from which to choose. These will really dial up the functionality of
your website and make it possible for you to offer even better service
to your customers.
Of course, it's also vital that you get excellent service from your
e-commerce platform, and that's precisely what Shopify provides. Support is available 24/7 via
the phone, email and live chat. Additionally, you can rely on a highly
involved community to provide you with even more solutions.
Shopify offers its basic package at an affordable cost of $29 per
month. From there, the prices rise to $79 and $299 per month, with each
successive tier including more staff accounts, discounted shipping, gift
cards, reduced payment fees and more. Your monthly costs may rise
depending upon your use of paid themes, plugins and add-ons.
Overall, we're confident that anyone will be pleased by the functionality, service and support offered by Shopify.
2 - WooCommerce:
100% Free.
- Modern and clean interface
- WordPress Content Integration
- Pre-installed payment gateways
- Total control of the checkout process
- Set Default Currency
- Geo-location Support
- Support/Hosting
Pros:
- Developers love it
- It's free
- WordPress integration
Cons:
- You might need developer help
WooCommerce offers complete customization, however, if you are newer to coding or Wordpress then you'll need to hire a developer which can cost a pretty penny.
This e-commerce platform is not as highly recommended as Shopify, but this doesn't mean that people won't be delighted with their service. Perhaps the biggest drawback to using WooCommerce is that it's really meant for use with WordPress. Accordingly, if you're a devotee of this CMS, you'll probably find that WooCommerce gives you everything you need and want. If WordPress isn't your thing, you'll have to look elsewhere.
Developers' Choice
The fact is that many developers swear by WooCommerce. If pros who design websites for a living can stand by this product, it's a cinch that you can too.Adding to the attraction of WooCommerce is that it is free. That's hard to believe, but you really can use this platform without cost. For those of you who are starting a business and don't have a lot of capital, this can be a huge incentive. Of course, it does lock you into using WordPress, but many people are happy to use this popular CMS anyway.
WooCommerce seems to recognize that many online businesses begin as blogs. Accordingly, they make it easy to integrate sales with a blog whether those sales are via affiliates or sales directly on the blog itself.
Flawless WordPress Integration
One of WooCommerce's main advantages is that it's so perfectly integrated with WordPress. If you already have a WordPress blog and you want to start selling, then adding WooCommerce into the mix will be incredibly easy. You already understand how WordPress works, and WooCommerce operates along the same principles. That means you can hit the ground running.Unfortunately, WooCommerce isn't perfect. The learning curve can be really steep, especially if you are new to WordPress as well. Those who are familiar with WordPress will have an easier time, but if they want to do anything more sophisticated than just offer a handful of products, then they may have to dive into learning more code.
That brings about one of WooCommerce's other shortcomings: It's time-consuming. WooCommerce is capable of creating the most individualized, highly customized storefronts out of any other platform on this list. However, to make the most of these capabilities, you're going to make a huge investment of time.
In fact, you may even find that you need the assistance of a developer as you build your storefront. This can become expensive, and it may mean that you'll need someone else to help with periodic maintenance until you get up to speed.
Great Selection of Themes
When it comes to themes, WordPress has some really outstanding
options. Some of these are purpose-built for use with WooCommerce. Numerous free themes are available,
but you can gain access to thousands of others if you are willing to
pay a bit of money. Almost any WordPress theme can be enhanced with
code, but this is not necessary if you're satisfied with the
out-of-the-box functionality of the theme you choose.
Some of these themes have drag-and-drop capabilities to make
designing your storefront easier than ever. Others will require more
intensive, hands-on work. How easy or difficult this process is really
depends upon your ultimate vision for your online store.
WooCommerce distinguishes itself from the competition by making all
of WordPress' more than 50,000 plugins and apps available. Whether you
need to track inventory or improve your marketing, you'll find an app to
get the job done.
WooCommerce is a free software, and the support for it can be
hit-and-miss. You send a request to the support team and wait for an
answer. Alternatively, you may be able to ask the WordPress support
team. Either way, you don't have a lot of options for contacting
support.
As already mentioned, one of the big plusses of WooCommerce is that
it's free. The company earns revenue from the sale of plugins, so if
cost is one of your primary considerations, this may be the way to go.
3 - Squarespace:
Best for Ecom
- High-quality, industry-specific templates
- Futuristic design
- Grid layouts and 3D scrolling
- 100+ free and premium designs
- Hosting included
- RSS feeds and comment sections
- Template selection
- Simple to use
- Not the best choice if you seek customization
Squarespace is packed with numerous attractive templates.
Since this is essentially a website builder, you get a drag-and-drop
editor that even a total novice will find easy to use. Nonetheless,
you'll likely be pleased by how polished and professional your website
looks.
Not the Best for Customization
Keep in mind that Squarespace is best for people who aren't seeking a lot of customization. This is a really simple, straightforward platform
that doesn't necessarily lend itself to individualization beyond using
your own copy and images. In fact, Squarespace is a great choice for
photographers. Their software excels at displaying high-quality images.
Unfortunately, Squarespace is not the most robust and feature-rich
e-commerce platform. First and foremost, they offer website building.
Their e-commerce features are more of an add-on with limited
functionality. If you expect your website to grow exponentially,
Squarespace will have a hard time scaling with you.
In Squarespace's favor, it is incredibly easy to use.
The templates are intuitive and responsive. With such straightforward
operation, it's rare to need customer support. However, this is
available via phone, email and live chat.
Squarespace's business packages come with unlimited storage and bandwidth in addition to SSL security.
Monthly prices range from $18 to $40, all of which are affordable. Of
course, that low cost comes with bare-bones e-commerce features.
4 - Wix
Best site builder
- Personalized image galleries
- Video and image links
- Up-to-date templates
- Powerful web building tools
- More than 100 designs
Pros:
- Beginner-friendly
- Artificial Design Intelligence
- Competitive pricing
- Not built with eCommerce in mind
Like Squarespace, Wix is primarily a website builder
rather than an e-commerce platform. In fact, as far as website builders
go, Wix is actually the more robust alternative. However, its
e-commerce features are about on par with Squarespace. This means that
you'll probably only want to use this as your e-commerce platform if you
expect your store to only sell a couple of products.
Wix is a great option for beginners who don't have a lot of technical knowledge. The drag-and-drop editor is fantastic, and each template is flexible enough to be highly customized.
While e-commerce is not Wix's primary focus, they have enough tools to build an outstanding store.
Artists and photographers are particularly drawn to this platform. Wix
is feature-rich. If you need an aesthetic feature or a functionality,
you can find it here.
Artificial Design Intelligence
One of Wix's most interesting features is its Artificial Design Intelligence. If you don't want to examine all of the themes to find one that suits you, let the software do it for you. You can always add elements on top of what the software designs.The downside to using Wix is that it doesn't have the most robust e-commerce features. You can do much more with Shopify. Plus, some people feel like Wix has almost too many options. They get overwhelmed when trying to choose templates and add-ons. Nonetheless, the number of plugins available is not particularly extensive.
Wix offers outstanding customer support, and their pricing is competitive. Monthly prices range between $20 and $35 per month. While the cost is attractive, keep in mind that you don't get a great depth of e-commerce functionality. This is really only intended for businesses selling one or two products.
5 - BigCommerce:
- Unlimited products, storage, and bandwidth
- Unlimited staff accounts
- eBay and Amazon connected
- Social channel integration
- Built-in blog
- Mobile wallet (Amazon Pay and Apple Pay)
- Responsive websites
- Free sitewide HTTPS and dedicated SSL
Pros:
- Amazing management tools
- Not as good as Shopify
BigCommerce also performs well with respect to marketing tools. If you want to use coupons or beef up your SEO, you'll find plugins and add-ons to help. Users further appreciate BigCommerce's scalability. As your business grows, you'll have no problem bringing your website up to meet your traffic and sales.
Not as Straightforward as Shopify
Still, BigCommerce isn't perfect. It's nowhere near as easy to use as
Shopify. You may feel several times as if you need a developer working
with you as you create your website. Moreover, there's no mobile app. If
you don't spend a lot of time at your desk, this can be a major
disadvantage.
Another drawback to using BigCommerce is that you only have seven
free templates from which to choose. Of course, you only need one, but
if you're really wanting your website to stand out from the crowd,
you'll have difficulties.
Each of these free templates looks similar to the others. You can buy
a template, but these are relatively costly, running between $150 and
$250. The monthly fees can be expensive too. They start at just $29.95
but raise to $249.95 quickly. BigCommerce's pricing schemes are based on
the amount of your sales. As long as your sales are less than $150,000
annually, you can keep your costs down, but you'll also get leaner
support.
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