Finest ecommerce platforms

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What would you do with an additional $ 1,500 per day?

With a little work and the right platform, you can create an online store that will generate that type of sales (and more).

Shilpi Yadav is an excellent example. She quit her job to start an online clothing store based on her Indian heritage. Despite all the risks, the brand now makes more than half a million dollars a year (around $ 1,500 a day on average).

She built her online store with Shopify, one of the best ecommerce platforms out there. However, there are a variety of options to choose from depending on what you need.

And the most important thing standing in the way of your own $ 500,000 success story is deciding which ecommerce platform is right for your new business.

To help you out, I've checked out seven of the best options in the industry, depending on your current situation.

The top 7 options for the best ecommerce platforms:

Wix – Best for flexibility and customization
Shopify – Best All-in-One Ecommerce Platform
BigCommerce – Best for medium to large stores
Squarespace – Best Ecommerce Platform For Creatives
WooCommerce – Best for WordPress Websites
OpenCart – Best for selling digital products
Ecwid – Best for integrating with your current platform

How to choose the best ecommerce platform for you

The best ecommerce platform for your business depends on several factors such as: B. Your level of experience, your customization needs, and the types of products you want to sell.

However, choosing the right platform can feel overwhelming as there are tons of options to choose from.

To make things easier, I've made a list of things to consider during the process.

It can be helpful to start with a list of requirements and the features you will need. From there, you can narrow down your choices based on the following criteria.

Physical and digital products

Digital products are a booming market. However, selling and delivering digital products is not the same as delivering a physical product to someone's doorstep.

Different ecommerce platforms treat each product type differently. And some may not support digital products at all. Hence, it is important to understand which type you want to sell before making a decision.

Deployment options

If you already have a website, the best deployment option is to integrate an online store instead of building a brand new website on a new platform.

If you use WordPress, you can also add e-commerce functions via a plugin.

Unless, of course, you want to start with a clean board.

However, if you don't have a website, then you probably need a website builder who is capable of building something from scratch. So, think about which route to take and choose a platform with the right features.

Daily management

Order management, product creation, order tracking and dashboard navigation are important factors in day-to-day e-commerce management.

And it's important to choose a platform that is easy to use and manage on a daily basis. It shouldn't be a problem creating new products, checking the status of an order, or updating your website's pages.

In addition, it is important to find the right balance between flexibility and customization and ease of use. And remember, the more customizable the platform, the more difficult it is to manage. Why?

Because flexible platforms offer more settings and options to configure.

You can simplify your workload by choosing a platform that offers just enough flexibility without going overboard for your specific needs.

Design and flexibility

Some ecommerce website builders (like Wix) are really drag and drop, which means the customization options are endless. If you can imagine it, you can build it. However, this freedom also makes it difficult to use the platform.

Other platforms can be integrated into your current website and will take on the look and feel of your existing website with just a few customization options. For some users, this is perfect.

But others may want more control.

When you're just starting out, simple designs and ease of use are more important than design flexibility.

However, if you already own a physical store or an established brand, design is more important so that you can create a cohesive aesthetic from one touch point to the next.

Advanced e-commerce functions

Would you like to offer discounts or be able to accept payments through different payment processors? You might want to send a reminder email to visitors when they leave your website with something in their shopping cart.

You may want to create customer profiles and analyze advanced analysis.

Other advanced e-commerce features include:

Email Marketing Integrations
Memberships and Recurring Payments
Gift cards and discount codes
Partial payments or payment plans
Shipping and fulfillment management
Product variants
Product categories

Think carefully about what you need and what would be nice. You can then use your requirements list to narrow your selection list.

The different types of e-commerce platforms

This list includes different types of ecommerce platforms. And which type you should choose depends on your current situation.

Ecommerce website builder

These are comprehensive website builders with e-commerce capabilities.

This option is best for businesses with no existing website (or businesses that want to start over). Website builders also don't need a lot of design experience to be up and running. Hence, it is an excellent choice for beginners.

Adding e-commerce functionality to an existing website

If you already have a website, integrating an online store is much easier than restarting on a different platform. Some of the recommendations in this list can be used with an existing website so you don't have to worry about starting over.

However, customization usually requires some programming knowledge so it is not suitable for beginners.

WordPress plugins

This option is best for users who are already using WordPress to run their website.

Note: If you don't know what a WordPress plugin is, this is probably not the best option for you (use a website builder instead).

# 1 – Wix Review – The Best for Flexibility and Customization

Wix is a great option if you are looking for an affordable and flexible ecommerce platform. It's famous for its drag-and-drop interface with complete freedom of design to create anything you can think of.

Wix also gives you access to 500+ pre-built website templates and plenty of customization options (without coding). Or, you can create pages from scratch with full design control.

In addition, they have a robust mobile app that allows you to make changes and manage your business from anywhere in the world.

Wix also offers a variety of marketing features such as email, Facebook ads, and social media posts right from your account dashboard. You can even sell directly on social media.

Their ecommerce plans include powerful features like:

Support of over 90 languages and local currencies
250+ apps to add extra functionality to your website
No additional transaction fees
Custom product pages
Worldwide shipping and taxes
Coupons and discounts
Advanced sorting and filtering
Product collections
Customizable checkout
Recurring payments

If you're already using Wix, you can upgrade to an ecommerce plan with just a few clicks from your account dashboard.

Wix offers four ecommerce plans for different sizes of online stores, including:

Business Basic – $ 23 / month
Business Unlimited – $ 27 / month
Business VIP – $ 19 / month
Enterprise – custom pricing

This is an excellent option if you have a small business or special design needs. However, if you're expecting a high volume of orders and a wide range of products, you're better off with BigCommerce or Shopify instead.

# 2 – Shopify Review – The Best All-in-One Ecommerce Platform

Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce website builder that operates more than a million online stores, making it one of the most popular options on this list.

It's not as customizable as Wix, however. However, it does offer advanced ecommerce features as it is specifically designed for hosting online stores. It's also easy to use and offers just the right amount of flexibility.

It's also incredibly versatile, supplying small businesses with mic and everything in between. Shopify plans include access to an incredible array of ecommerce features including:

Point of sale for stationary shops
Shipping costs for carriers in real time
Aborted recovery at checkout
100 different payment gateways
Automatic tax calculation
Customer accounts and profiles
Fulfillment centers
Advanced inventory management
Unlimited products
In-depth analysis

Plus, with 70+ professional themes (nine of which are free) and 4,100+ apps, you can create a beautiful and highly functional ecommerce store without starting from scratch. Or write a single line of code.

Combine this with the award-winning 24/7/365 customer support and you have an excellent e-commerce platform.

Shopify offers five plans for businesses of all sizes, including:

Shopify Lite – $ 9 per month
Basic Shopify – $ 29 per month
Shopify – $ 79 per month
Advanced Shopify – $ 299 per month
Shopify Plus special pricing

Shopify Lite is a great option if you want to embed products and purchase buttons on an existing website. However, the all-inclusive website builder is not included.

Note that Shopify has its own payment processor. They charge 2.4% – 2.9% + $ 0.30 whichever plan you choose. They also charge additional fees (0.5% -2%) if you use a separate payment processor like PayPal or Square.

# 3 – BigCommerce Review – Best for Medium to Large Business

Like Shopify, BigCommerce is an all-in-one ecommerce website builder specially designed for large online stores. It includes advanced e-commerce features suitable for managing large quantities and large numbers of products.

With a customer base of more than 100,000 stores including some big names like Ben & Jerry and SkullCandy, they're a smaller player in the industry.

However, this doesn't make the platform any less powerful.

BigCommerce plans include access to powerful, industry-leading features including:

Customer accounts for faster checkouts
Mobile-optimized cash register
Abandoned car restoration
Google AMP and Akamai
Advanced product filters
Coupons and discount codes
Advanced inventory management
Customer groups for personalized shopping
Over 65 payment gateways with no additional transaction fees
Built-in shipping management

In addition, all plans include unlimited products, file storage, bandwidth, and employee accounts.

You can choose from 12 free mobile design templates or opt for a paid template to make your online store stand out from the crowd without touching a single line of code.

BigCommerce offers four paid plans (with a 15-day free trial) including:

Standard – $ 29.95 / month with an annual sell limit of $ 50,000
Plus – $ 79.95 / month with an annual sell limit of $ 180,000
Pro – $ 299.95 / month with an annual sell limit of $ 400,000
Enterprise – custom pricing

If you're just starting out, BigCommerce is overkill for your online store. However, if you are an established company or want to sell in bulk, this is an excellent choice.

# 4 – Squarespace Review – The Best Ecommerce Platform for Creatives

Squarespace is known as a website builder, but its overarching plans include e-commerce features too. In addition, their design templates are known for their ease of use and creativity, which makes them an excellent choice for creative online stores.

You can also install and customize multiple templates at the same time to see which one you like best. Switching between templates takes just a few clicks.

In addition to beautiful templates, Squarespace has a variety of ecommerce features including:

Subscriptions, digital products, and personal compatibility
Integrated tax tools for automatic tax calculations
Discount codes and gift cards
Abandoned car restoration
Mobile-optimized cash register
Mobile store management
Extensive product lists
Quick view
Inventory management
Real-time shipping estimates

Additionally, Squarespace integrates with most of the major email marketing and social media platforms so you can sell and market your products like a pro.

And they have fantastic 24/7/365 customer support ready to answer your questions and help you set things up the way you want them to.

Squarespace offers three ecommerce plans (and one personal plan) including:

In person – $ 12 a month + no ecommerce functionality
Business – $ 18 per month + 3% transaction fees
Basic Commerce – $ 26 per month + 0% transaction fees
Advanced Commerce – $ 40 per month + 0% transaction fees

They also have a business plan with a dedicated account manager, SEO consultancy, and prioritized technical support.

Although the business plan offers e-commerce functionality, I strongly recommend choosing Basic Commerce first. It is the cheapest tariff with no transaction fees and contains other important functions such as customer accounts and e-commerce analysis.

# 5 – WooCommerce Review – Best for WordPress Websites

The recommendations so far are all-in-one website builders. However, WooCommerce isn't. It's a WordPress plugin that can be used to add e-commerce functions to existing WordPress websites.

WooCommerce now powers about 30% of stores online. With over 80 million downloads, it's one of the most popular ecommerce platforms on this list.

Note: If you don't have a WordPress website yet, I don't recommend this route. Instead, stick to an all-in-one ecommerce platform.

WooCommerce is a lightweight plugin that adds ecommerce features like accepting online payments, configurable shipping options, product lists, and more. However, you must have an existing website to use it. So it's a great option if you're already using WordPress.

It includes powerful ecommerce features like:

Plugin extensions to increase functionality
REST APIs for developers to build custom platforms
Extensive tutorials and documentation
140 region-specific payment gateways
Support of subscriptions and deposits
Automated tax calculations
Shipping costs in real time
Mobile apps for iOS and Android
Physical and digital product capability
Endless product variants
Public support forum

And the best part about it? It is free to download, install and use. Forever.

However, some of the extensions are not free. So be careful when you deal with these.

With the power of WordPress, your customization options are only limited to what you can imagine. So with WooCommerce, the sky is rightly the limit.

Even so, it's not the easiest or most intuitive e-commerce platform out there. So I don't recommend it if you are new to WordPress and 100% familiar with it.

# 6 – OpenCart Review – The Best for Selling Digital Products

OpenCart is another open source e-commerce platform, similar to WooCommerce. It's not limited to WordPress websites, however. However, you need an existing website to use it.

Over 300,000 online stores use OpenCart to securely sell products of all shapes and sizes online. Additionally, most web hosting companies offer one-click installation or install it for free, so it's incredibly easy to set up.

Note: I only recommend this route if you have already set up a website.

While you can sell any type of product, the no-fluff interface (and the free price) is a great option for selling digital products to make more money on your online business.

All at no additional monthly cost as it's 100% free forever.

OpenCart offers a number of powerful ecommerce features including:

Simple and central admin dashboard
Advanced user roles and access controls
Manage multiple stores from a single dashboard
Limitless product variables and variations
Inbuilt affiliate management and reward system
Discounts and coupons
Unlimited products
Digital downloads with one click
Product reviews and ratings
36 built-in payment methods
Recurring payments

Plus, with 13,000 modules and themes on the market, you can add any functionality you can think of, including service integrations, conversion modules, email marketing, and more.

Note that not all OpenCart extensions are free. You may have to pay for more advanced features.

And they don't currently offer free support either.

If you can't find what you're looking for on their community forum, you have to pay for dedicated help. Dedicated support starts at $ 99 per site per month or $ 99 for a one-time fix.

# 7 – Ecwid Review – The best for integrating with your current platform

Like OpenCart and WooCommerce, Ecwid is an ecommerce platform that allows you to integrate with your current platform no matter what you are already using.

It integrates with platforms like Weebly, Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, and more. If you've already set up a website and want to add ecommerce functionality, Ecwid is an excellent choice.

With that in mind, they also offer an all-in-one ecommerce website builder if you want to start from scratch. However, there are better website builders out there.

So I only recommend Ecwid if you want to integrate e-commerce into your existing website.

This e-commerce platform offers a variety of features such as:

Multi-channel sales (social media, marketplaces, in person, etc.)
Integrated email marketing and advertising functions
Central inventory and order management
No transaction fees
Fully appealing designs
Built-in POS integrations
Customer accounts for easy check-out
Real-time shipping cost calculator
Product variants
Digital product functions
40 payment options

The biggest downside is that you cannot manage your business from your website account dashboard. Instead, you'll need to sign up for Ecwid. So you have to manage two separate accounts.

But the good news is … the limited free plan allows you to start forever giving it a try before investing.

The free plan only allows up to ten products, so you'll need to upgrade if you need more. Ecwid also offers three paid plans including:

Venture – $ 15 / month (up to 100 products)
Business – $ 35 / month (up to 2,500 products)
Unlimited – $ 99 / month (Unlimited Products)

As a standalone store builder, you may be better off with other options (like Wix and Shopify).

However, if you already have a website and want to add an ecommerce store, Ecwid is a great alternative to WooCommerce and OpenCart.

Summary

My # 1 recommendation for most users is Wix. It's great for users of all skill levels. Plus, it's easy to use, highly customizable, and affordable too. But if Wix is too customizable for you, Squarespace is a fantastic alternative.

For large stores, I recommend BigCommerce or Shopify.

However, if you already have a website, WooCommerce, OpenCart, and Ecwid are excellent choices depending on your needs.