You need to make sure that the platform you choose for your online shop is the right one for you. We say this because switching to a different platform later can be very hard.
The good news is that there are a lot of platforms out there that let you sign up and make a full-fledged online store in a few hours.
The problem is that there are SO MANY platforms to choose from!
We’ve narrowed it down to the top 8 choices to make it easier for you. We’ll tell you what you can expect from the platform and how much it will cost.
Top 8 eCommerce Platforms
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the best way for WordPress sites to sell things online. To set up your store, you must first install WordPress and then install the WooCommerce plugin.
WooCommerce is the easiest platform to use by a long shot. It is easy to use, so if you are just starting out, you will love WooCommerce.
There isn’t much to learn about it. And anyone can use one of its pre-made templates to make a beautiful website. There are also a lot of ways to change things, so you can make a store that looks the way you want it to. There are also a lot of free and paid add-ons you can use to make your store even more useful.
WooCommerce makes it easy to make custom product pages with images, descriptions, prices, discounts, and more for your product catalog. You can also add product blocks to any post or page you make.
What we really love is that WooCommerce takes care of everything you need. It helps you set up your payment gateway, auto-calculate taxes, add shipping methods, manage inventory, and so much more.
Highlights
- The interface is easy to use
- Any number of product listings
- Powerful tools for running a store give you full control over your website’s data.
- Multiple payment integrations
- Addons and extensions available
- Price: It’s free of charge! To get started with WooCommerce, you will need a domain name and a hosting plan to make a WordPress website.
This usually costs quite a bit, but we’ve worked out a deal for you with Bluehost. Our customers can save 72% on their hosting plan and get a free domain name for the first year. So, for just $2.75 a month, you can get a reliable hosting plan, a domain name, an SSL certificate, a CDN, and a 1-click WordPress install.
Get the offer that only Bluehost has.
Are you ready to begin with WooCommerce? Follow this step-by-step guide: How to Open a Store on the Internet (Step by Step).
You might also be interested to know that Bluehost has a hosting plan for WooCommerce sites that starts at $12.75 per month and is made for their unique needs. This plan already has WordPress and WooCommerce installed, which makes it easier to get started. Click the link below get this plan:
Shopify
Shopify is a fully-hosted platform that makes it easy to set up an online store. You can sell either physical goods or digital goods, or both.
Shopify takes care of all the technical aspects of running an eCommerce site such as site speed, security, and hosting servers. You just need to create an account and start building.
Once you’re inside, you’ll find a drag-and-drop store builder and a lot of themes to help you make a beautiful store.
This is great for people who don’t know much about computers. But WooCommerce is a better choice if you want to give developers more freedom.
Another problem is that many users have had trouble with SEO because the URLs are hard to change and there are a lot of duplicates. So you don’t have many ways to improve your website’s search engine rankings.
Highlights
- More than 60 payment gateways work with mobile devices.
- Connections between online markets
- Offline retail option
- Pricing: Compared to other eCommerce store builders, it is more expensive. Their basic plan starts at $20/month.
Weebly
Weebly is more of a website builder that comes with eCommerce tools to help you sell your products.
So, you can list and sell both physical products and digital ones. You can even collect donations on your site.
The fact that this platform has a free plan is a big plus. You can use the site’s basic features for free and start using it right away.
If you want a shopping cart and different ways to pay, you have to sign up for the Pro plan or a higher one. Weebly lets you choose from safe payment methods like Square, PayPal, and Stripe.
The only bad thing about this eCommerce platform is that, unlike WooCommerce, it doesn’t have tools for managing inventory.
Highlights
- Built-in options for blogging
- Drag and drop website builder
- Domain names and web hosting
- Dashboard for reporting
- Pricing: Plans with extra features start at $12 per month (billed annually).
Web.com
You can make any kind of website or online store with Web.com’s help. Once you sign up, there are hundreds of design layouts to choose from. You can choose the one that gives you the best chance to show off your products.
The fact that they offer domains, hosting plans, a do-it-yourself website builder, and an eCommerce builder is interesting. You can also use a number of tools for SEO and marketing.
This means you can get everything you need to set up a website in one place.
On top of that, Web.com makes it easy to sell your products on popular online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay. So that you can sell as much as possible from your Web.com site.
Highlights
- Simple solutions for shipping
- Easy connection to popular shopping platforms
- Reporting on eCommerce
- Secure payment options
- Purchase order management
- Pricing: The eCommerce Essentials plan, which costs $13.95 per month, is a good way to start selling.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a popular website-building platform to create a website that’s ready to scale. It also makes it easy to turn your site into an Open SaaS business in the future.
It has tools for beginners that are easy to use as well as tools for advanced website owners that are more complicated. For example, you can make a multi-storefront to reach customers in new areas and from different types of customers.
BigCommerce also lets you sell and fulfil orders on more than 100 platforms, such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Snap, Walmart, Target, and more.
BigCommerce is best for those who want a hosted platform where the web hosting and technical aspects of website management are taken care of.
The downside is that you won’t have much say over how your website changes. Plus, BigCommerce puts a limit on how much money you can make from sales based on the plan you choose. For example, with the Standard plan, you can sell up to $50,000 per year. You’ll have to change your plan if you want to make more money.
Highlights
- Improve and market products
- Get valuable customer data and insights
- Connect to powerful apps made by other people
- 24-7 tech support
- No fees to do business
- Unlimited accounts for staff
- Pricing: There are four plans for BigCommerce. The standard plan starts at $29.95 per month. You can try it out for free for 15 days.
Squarespace
Squarespace is an easy-to-use online store builder for newcomers. It comes with beautiful website templates that you can use to show off your products to their best advantage.
The platform is easy to use and has a lot of features you can use to make your site. You can start by building your site the way you want with a drag-and-drop builder. You can also change how your product pages look however you want.
With Squarespace, you get powerful analytics tools that are built right in. This lets you keep track of the sales of your products and study how customers act in your store.
One thing to remember is that if you don’t sign up for one of the more expensive Commerce plans, you’ll be charged a 3% transaction fee on your sales.
Highlights
- Websites with responsive designs
- Simple to use and keep up
- Custom layouts and colors
- Social media integrations
- Starting price is $23 per month.
Ecwid
Ecwid is another eCommerce platform with a forever-free plan. You can make an account and start selling without paying anything.
With Ecwid, your website, social media, marketplaces, and in-person sales can all work together. You’ll also have access to advertising tools like Google AdWords and Facebook Ads.
What makes Ecwid stand out is that it has a central dashboard where you can manage everything, such as your inventory, prices, etc., from one place.
Highlights
- Easy to keep track of orders and stock
- Manage marketing tools on a mobile phone
- The Ecwid App store has more tools.
- Live support
- Plan that’s free forever. Plans with extra features start at $15 per month.
website set up and grow.
Big Cartel
Big Cartel is a place where artists and makers can sell and buy things online.
Anyone can build an online store and start selling online because the platform is easy to use. Plus, there’s no coding involved, so it’s great for people who are just starting out.
There are also built-in ways to keep track of inventory, shipping, and sales tax.
Big Cartel doesn’t charge fees or sales commissions. To start your online store, you pay just one price per month. There is also a free plan that lets you sell up to 5 items.
Highlights
- Few pictures per product
- Themes you can change for free
- Sell online and in person
- Real-time stats
- Inventory and shipment tracking
- Sales tax on autopilot
- Pricing: It’s free to sell up to 5 items. For more, it starts at $9.99 per mont.
READ MORE: