Before the emergence of the internet, if you needed to run a shop, you’d require a physical brick-and-mortar location. Welcome to the Best Ecommerce Platforms review.

That meant launching a business had the markings of a cumbersome process. Mind you, not all would-be entrepreneurs had the necessary liquidity to purchase their building.

Now, we are living in a slightly different era. The evolution of the internet has ushered in a vibrant industry where creativity and passion are more rewarding than real estate. 

In this age of the internet, everyone can start a company without worrying about physical foot traffic. However, you still need a location (home base) for your business; the key difference is that you set up a virtual store rather than a physical one.

eCommerce platforms are synonymous with how business owners carve out a segment for themselves in the new digital landscape.

With tools like Magento, Volusion, or Shopify, sellers can leave behind the days of restrictive sales on eBay or Amazon, opting instead for eCommerce sites that offer autonomous control.

The only problem?

Selling online has become an increasingly accessible, efficient, and cost-effective way to generate revenue in the digital arena, prompting everyone to strive for a piece of the pie.

And that has led to the mushrooming of companies all asserting to have the best online platforms to offer today’s small businesses.

Inundated with so much choice, how do you decipher the platform that’s right for you? Have you ever asked yourself what the best Ecommerce platforms are?

Choosing the Best eCommerce Platform for Small Business

Choosing the best eCommerce platforms is akin to picking a suitable physical address for your brick-and-mortar store. There are several angles to consider, from the site’s reputation to the kind of support you get launching your business live.

For some companies, the ideal platform would enable them to create something genuinely innovative for their eCommerce store.

For instance, you may prefer an open-source website builder with a user-friendly backend that allows you to experiment with cart abandonment recovery, inventory management, and various types of web hosting.

Conversely, if you’re a newbie in the world of eCommerce business management, then you want to switch from an open-source eCommerce platform to a hosted solution.

These user-friendly tools often simplify things for beginners by offering various built-in features, such as support for unlimited products, drag-and-drop functionality, and free themes.

To sift through some of the top performers contained herein, consider the following crucial points.

Crucial Considerations for an eCommerce Platform

Price/Budget: Whereas there’s more to an eCommerce platform than price, as a small business, you want to be cautious about taking on any extra costs. 

Most small businesses require useful eCommerce tools at a relatively low price. Today, most open-source & hosted systems come with a free version that you can try before committing, which is a good thing!

Backend & tools: In running your online shop, what kind of support would you need?

The best ecommerce platforms offer a range of features, including app management for mobile devices, support for CSS and SKUs, and WordPress plugins. Ensure that in your backend, you have access to everything, from inventory management to content management.

Scalability: The fact that your business is small today doesn’t mean it will remain so next year.

On the backdrop of the company’s growth, you may need support for selling digital products, new payment options, and unlimited products. Ensure that your platform can scale well, with a minimal learning curve.

Speed & performance: If pages do not load quickly, businesses struggle to convince people to buy their products.

Regardless of the number of products on your website or the plugins, add-ons, and other features you use, ensure that you can sustain your site’s performance with a reliable hosting provider.

Ease of use: Plenty of backend documentation and a drag-and-drop builder for editing your eCommerce solution enhance usability. Remember that hosted solutions offer better comfort than their open-source counterparts.

User experience: Just as building your storefront experience needs to be right, you also need to consider your customers’ experience.

For instance, is your cart easy to use? How well does it integrate with your online store navigation? Can you provide a range of payment gateways to choose from?

Marketing tools: Is your eCommerce platform able to assist you in drawing new customers and retaining the existing ones? Some tools come with access to stuff like email marketing systems, SEO tools, and abandoned cart recovery. Everything from marketing tools to content management can help enhance the bottom line.

Customizations: Open-source platforms offer more customization options than hosted systems. However, in most cases, you can still change the appearance of your eCommerce store by leveraging themes and a real-time editor. Check what customization options exist.

So, let’s jump right into this list of the Best Ecommerce platforms.

The Top eCommerce Websites Tools for Small Businesses

Now that you know some of the key pointers to look out for in tools for building your eCommerce website, we can audit some of the leading contenders in the market. 

Keep in mind that some of these tools make top-ranked products available to small business owners. But that doesn’t necessarily make them the right option for you.

Every business is unique, after all.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one eCommerce solution that has drawn the attention of businesses across the globe. In addition to being an incredibly accessible and easy-to-use eCommerce solution, WooCommerce runs on the WordPress Content Management System (CMS). This software powers a majority of the internet.

And since WooCommerce runs on top of such a great content management system, it’s easy to get assistance and guidance when building your online store on WooCommerce.

Similar to other plugins for your WordPress blog, WooCommerce links with your existing WordPress website. The system comes with a range of excellent official extensions that you can deploy to ease the operation of your website.

For instance, you can select from advanced themes for your storefront and tweak with tools for dropshipping as well. And because WooCommerce is open source, it’s incredibly flexible, but again, to use it, you’d need a lot more technical know-how.

WooCommerce, unlike many other eCommerce platforms on the web today, comes with built-in blogging and the option to take unlimited orders.

Pricing: As an open-source solution, you get to use WooCommerce free of charge. But you’d have to pay for hosting and payment gateways. For the above reasons, we had to feature WooCommerce as one of the Ecommerce platforms.

Merits:

• Unlimited products & orders
• Runs on WordPress
• No limits on how much you can sell
• Add all the additional features that you want.
• Affordable, though you have to pay for hosting
• Broad themes, selection, and customization options

Volusion

Currently, Volusion ranks among the better-known options for eCommerce on the market, making it a perfect fit for businesses seeking growth opportunities.

Volusion grants you access to everything you’d need to launch a complete online shop.

Volusion features enable it to provide in-depth data reports. Additionally, you can find everything you need to monitor site performance successfully in one place.

With Volusion, you have the opportunity to grow your business at a pace that suits you, although the package does have some missing features. For instance, the package doesn’t come with any blogging tool, which is a significant setback in honing your marketing strategy with a content management system.

Additionally, Volusion is affordable, starting at a $29/month introductory price.

Volusion best suits folks who seek to get creative & explore new opportunities for future scalability. It’s packed with fantastic tools, including SEO elements that let you attract more customers online.

Volusion is a notable feature that makes it a strong contender for our list of the best Ecommerce platforms.

Pricing: For a personal package, the price starts at $29/month, but you can save up to 10% by committing to an annual subscription.

Merits:

• Access to built-in SEO tools
• A variety of payment processing options are included, including PayPal and Stripe.
• In-depth reporting tools
• Unlimited product options
• Automated Tax & shipping calculation
• Access to custom editing via CSS

Cons:

• No blogging options
• Limited free themes for selection
• Volusion payment is available only in the US
• Each plan has bandwidth caps.

Shopify

Increasingly, it’s becoming almost impossible to discuss online and eCommerce sales without mentioning Shopify.

The Shopify site offers some of the best sales features on the market, featuring a range of robust, industry-leading tools and a vast market filled with plugins.

If you intend to sell online in earnest, Shopify’s dedicated eCommerce platform is one of the best options available.

Shopify is a software that you pay for using its SaaS model, and it’s particularly designed to assist those who seek to build the ultimate online store.

It provides numerous advanced sales tools, linked with alternatives like Squarespace and Wix, and includes an SSL certificate for added security. You gain access to 24/7 customer support, an integrated payment processor, and exclusive discount codes.

You can also sync your orders and inventory across sales channels, such as Amazon and eBay, and there’s also the opportunity to access new sales routes, like dropshipping, with the help of plugins.

The Best Ecommerce Platforms list can’t go without mentioning the ecommerce giant like Shopify.

• Shopify Pricing- Basic Shopify Vs Shopify Vs Advanced
• Shopify vs Weebly: Which Is The Best ECommerce Platform

Pricing: A free 90-day trial followed by $29/month for the Basic Shopify plan. At $299/month, you get access to the Advanced Shopify plan.

Merits:

• Availability of a free trial to help get started
• An array of themes
• Massive amounts of plugins for selection
• Unlimited products on all plans
• Fantastic for all kinds of business
• Integrated payment options

Cons:

• Limited blogging platform
• Fees can dramatically hit the roof.

SquareSpace

If you want an eCommerce platform that lets you combine your online selling strategy with your offline sales, then Square Online Store, a site-building technology from Square, is worth checking out. 

If you have a Square POS system, you get to build a website for free. And since Weebly powers this store builder, that means you get the same customization limitations that come with a Weebly store.

Checkout: Shopify vs Square: Definitive Ecommerce Platform Comparison

Similar to the Weebly store building solution, Square Online Store offers ease of use when launching your online store. And in no time, you can start building your highly professional-looking website. 

And because everything seamlessly integrates with your Square POS system, you also have access to inventory management. When anything sells online, it updates your inventory in the backend.

Additionally, Square utilizes artificial intelligence designs with its store builder, allowing you to enjoy an exceptional experience without incurring significant costs. 

You’ll find it easy to add features and products to your store; plus, with the option to start on a free plan, you’ve nothing to lose.

Pricing: The free plan gets you started, with the option to upgrade to a more advanced store experience.

Merits:

• Impeccable if you’re already using the features of the Square ecosystem 
• Combines online and offline selling
• Great for AI design
• Easy to use for newbies
• Incredible for inventory management tools

Cons:

• Limitations in customization options, specifically with the checkout
• Limited payment processing options

GoDaddy

For small businesses, it’s critical to find an eCommerce and website hosting solution that’s easy to use. After all, it’s likely you don’t have time to learn how to use the platform.

Again, small businesses rarely have the additional funding to pay an expert.

Through ADI, GoDaddy simplifies the process of building your shop. Moreover, it supports more industries than several of its competitors. With Artificial Intelligence Design built in, you can employ GoDaddy to quickly and easily design something that best suits your specific niche.

However, even as you gain speed, you often lose creative freedom. GoDaddy offers a limited range of features, particularly in terms of blogging. 

For a comparatively low price, with GoDaddy, you get access to one of the easiest-to-use platforms in the market today. However, the service lacks certain aspects, particularly for small businesses experiencing rapid growth.

Pricing: This solution offers a one-month free trial, with prices starting from around $19.99/month for the Online Store plan.

Merits:

• Artificial Intelligence Design support
• Convenient & easy to use
• Hosting available
• No coding knack needed
• Excellent speed to get online fast

Cons:

• Lacking blogging tools
• Limited advanced tools
• Limited creative control

Weebly

When compared to some of the other eCommerce platforms we’ve highlighted so far, Weebly is still a relatively emerging service for today’s small businesses. It’s best-suited for building a beginner-friendly website.

You won’t need much time or skills to get started. Additionally, you can enjoy a budget-friendly solution with Weebly, thanks to its low starter prices.

However, this platform lacks the scalability that comes with other eCommerce solutions we’ve covered so far. You won’t be able to sell across multiple channels, such as Facebook or Etsy.

Furthermore, customizing various aspects of your website, such as the checkout page, becomes harder.

On the positive side, though, Weebly comes with fantastic extra features, such as blogging and password-protected pages. And it’s an excellent fit for businesses looking to sell a couple of products to stand out online.

With this website builder, you get loads of professional-looking themes to sift through. What’s more, since Weebly conducts its transactions via Square, you can rest easy because in place, a payment system you can trust.

Pricing: For primary use, you receive a free tier, which can be upgraded to the Pro version for $12/month. This version includes a complimentary domain and a $100 Google Ads credit.

Merits:

• Beginner-friendly & easy to use
• Plenty of responsive themes for selection
• Very affordable
• Membership area & team collaboration
• An extensive selection of integrated apps to pick from

Cons:

• Not ideal for international websites
• Limited design options, specifically in the checkout page

Squarespace

Squarespace is a perfect cloud-hosted eCommerce platform for businesses seeking significant creative autonomy. The website builder resembles Wix, although it comes packed with advanced features, including excellent integration with social media channels.

If you are looking to build an attractive online business or portfolio, Squarespace can help. There are numerous chic and modern templates to choose from, and you can adjust your style at any time. 

Moreover, you get the privilege of mobile-optimized checkout with zero transaction fees on all plans, a free domain on all annual plans, and access to SSL security.

Sadly, you don’t get as many eCommerce features as you’d get with the Shopify platform.

Pricing: With Squarespace, you don’t get a free plan; however, the prices start at  $18/month, thus making it comparatively affordable.

Merits:

• Free domain on annual plans
• 24/7 customer support
• Excellent social media integration
• Lots of templates for selections
• Budget-friendly plans

Cons:

• Large transaction fees
• No market app
• Limited payment gateways: only PayPal, Apple Pay, or Stripe 

Magento

Magento stands apart as one of the most popular eCommerce platforms for successful and established retailers. Already, some of the world’s prominent brands leverage this tool to connect with their clients online.

Magento also supports external sales channels, such as Amazon. With free-to-download software, Magento delivers an exceptional sales experience.

Regrettably, as is the case with most of the open-source solutions, to create something exceptional and impressive with Magento, you’d need a developer knack or a professional on your team.

Thankfully, in the Magento landscape, you’ll find a community of individuals willing to collaborate with emerging businesses to create an excellent website.

Pricing: You get a free software download for Magento, although you’d pay for web hosting solutions along with other premium tools. Besides, the tool has an enterprise version, but it costs $15,000

Merits:

• Open source for absolute customization control
• Flexibility to customize your platform
• Excellent for global sites
• A large community of developers to liaise with
• Versatile Magento marketplace 

Cons:

• Need to manage your hosting & payment gateways
• Expensive to set up
• Difficult to use

Ecwid

Ecwid was designed as a robust eCommerce platform, intended to support businesses that want to sell their products anytime, anywhere. 

You can create a free online account and keep it as long as you wish without incurring any fees.

Ecwid is best suited for businesses seeking a solution to integrate with their existing social media networks, websites, or business pages. You can sync and manage all storefronts from a single control panel.

Ecwid is a cloud-based platform, meaning it’s hosted for you, and therefore, no installation is required. Also, you can add the Ecwid experience on any site via a plugin, including Wix, Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress sites.

Ecwid features a responsive design, best-suited for any device, and offers the option to add your site to multiple blogs, social networks, and websites simultaneously, as well as automatic language detection.

You won’t incur setup or transaction fees with Ecwid. Additionally, you can choose from a variety of secure payment methods.

Pricing: Small companies looking to get online can opt for the free forever plan, an excellent option. Alternatively, you can go for the unlimited plan for $99/month to sell anything you want online.

Merits:

• Working with the existing website
• Automatic language detection
• Availability of free and affordable premium plans
• Options for selling in different marketplaces and social sites
• You get to create a mobile app for the app store.
• Availability of secure payment options

Cons:

• Expensive integrated payment fees
• No phone or live chat support for lower plans
• Superficial backend stats
• Not a standalone or eCommerce (need for website)

3dcart

3dcart aims to offer today’s businesses an all-in-one solution for their eCommerce software needs. The name “3dcart” symbolically captures the company’s 3-dimensional view of eCommerce, encompassing shoppers, store owners, and search engines.

If you search for a solution that offers all the tools you’d need to build, market, and sell from a supreme online website, then 3dcart has your back. You get to enjoy a wide array of Shopping cart software & eCommerce buy buttons.

Furthermore, there’s an impressive inventory system that enables brands to track their sales and products easily. Regarding flexibility, 3dcart is an excellent customization tool, allowing you to modify your theme whenever you wish.

However, the 3dcart experience falls short in a couple of areas. For instance, though you get support for unlimited products, orders, and bandwidth, you won’t get help for any mobile app. 

Furthermore, much like 3dcart, it offers SSL technology, a robust app selection, and more. It’s not very user-friendly.

Pricing: Costs start at a comparatively affordable $19/month. If you’re looking for a variety of tools at a low price, you’ll find them here.

Merits:

• A robust solution with plenty of customization
• A large number of features, even on the low plan
• Affordable pricing
• POS for selling offline
• 15-day free trial
• Unlimited bandwidth & products

Cons:

• Difficult to set up for newbies
• Free themes feel dated.
• Relatively small app selection

Cons:

• Needs some technical knack
• Requires third-party payment gateways

BigCommerce

If you intend to build an online store and sell across multiple platforms and channels, then BigCommerce does it for you. Idyllic for smaller businesses in the process of growing larger.

You get a scalable online selling solution with BigCommerce. However, the tool’s advanced functionality and features can be somewhat challenging to use.

BigCommerce offers a vast array of features to explore. Meaning, the majority of the functionality you’d need is already embedded in your software. 

Again, you won’t have to rely as profoundly on app platforms, as is the case with Shopify. You can sell on eBay, Square, Amazon, Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook. BigCommerce will help grow your business while keeping expenses relatively low.

BigCommerce offers extensive sales features for selection; ensure you have the necessary expertise or talent within your team to maximize the benefits this platform has to offer. 

Moreover, you can unleash some incredible SEO tools to help with building your site’s online presence via Google.

Pricing: BigCommerce’s basic pricing plans start at $29.95/month. It’s cost-effective considering the number of features that you get at this price.

Merits:

• In-built visual merchandising tools
• Zero transaction tool
• Product reviews & ratings
• Unlimited bandwidth, storage, and products
• A large pool of free apps for selection
• Perfect for selling across multiple channels

Cons:

• Limited free themes for selection
• The pricing gets a bit difficult to comprehend
• Not as easy to set up as some tools

Wix

Wix counts amongst the best options for eCommerce stores in terms of performance and value for money. 

Even for beginners, Wix offers absolute creative autonomy over your site, delivering a remarkable experience. 

Wix eCommerce plans come with numerous features, including mobile-optimized performance, hundreds of templates, and a drag-and-drop store builder.

What’s more, you get a secure checkout system and an array of payment solutions for selection. Using the store manager, you can create stunning product galleries. Additionally, on your backend, you have the platform to calculate shipping and Tax.

Ok, you won’t find the most advanced website builder with Wix, it’s perfect for newbies getting started.

Cost: If you don’t have a problem displaying Wix ads on your site, you get a Free ad version. However, using a Basic Business Plan for $23/month, you can sell products.

Merits:

• High-quality themes to help customize your store
• Free plan
• Huge apps & plugins selections
• Lots of discount & coupon options
• Customers have multiple secure payment options.

Cons:

• No option to export your data
• As an open-source project, it’s hard to add extra functions.
• Limited eCommerce features

Ekm

Presently, in the eCommerce market, EKM doesn’t get as much attention as WooCommerce and Shopify options. But that’s not to say EKM isn’t warranting your attention.

Founded in 2002, EKM is one of the first platforms to appear in the UK. The remarkable solution is akin in style to Shopify and packs exceptional features.

The service is specifically best suited for sellers in the UK, although it can be used worldwide by EKM.

EKM comes as a comprehensive, all-in-one eCommerce solution that provides everything a small business needs to sell online, including essential features such as payment options and a domain name.

And if you need a wide range of customization options, you get to select from over 100 themes. All these features, from the free domain to the SSL certificate, are available on all plans.

And since the service is based in the UK, its customer support is also located there. This poses a problem for international businesses, as it may impact their brand.

Cost: You have up to 28 days to try the free service, after which you can upgrade to a premium plan starting at $32.49/month, VAT inclusive.

Merits:

• Access to excellent online service
• Access to unlimited products
• You can add WordPress to your site.
• You do not incur a transaction fee
• You get amazing features
• SSL certificate & free domain
• Once your account is ready, you will have a dedicated account manager for three months.

Cons:

• Comparatively, the prices are expensive.
• The support bases in the UK
• All plans incur VAT

Big Cartel

Big Cartel is often endorsed as one of the best tools for prominent companies seeking to build a profitable online presence. This is mainly because Big Cartel requires a significant amount of coding expertise to utilize its capabilities fully.

The pre-built design and theme options are entirely lacking. But that alone ought not to deter exploration of this solution for your small business.

Big Cartel makes for an excellent choice for artists or creative companies, particularly if you happen to have lots of coding experience or know someone who does.

You get a free plan with this solution that lets you start selling for free. If you deal in small-scale selling, such as selling one-off pieces of art, then Big Cartel does just that for you.

Although Big Cartel requires in-depth knowledge of CSS, HTML & JavaScript, it is still worth considering due to its free plan. Remember, you get what you pay for. For instance, you don’t get blogging tools, limited design support, or PCI support either.

Pricing: You have access to the free plan or upgrade to a paid version of Big Cartel for $9.99/month.

Merits:

• Free plan for small businesses
• Use of a custom domain
• Excellent for creative businesses
• Quick setup
• Handy for selling products digitally & in-person

Cons:

• Limited payment options-Stripe or PayPal
• Limited themes for selection
• No PCI compliance, blogging, or advanced support
• Needs a decent amount of know-how

X-Cart

X-Cart asserts to top the list of the best eCommerce platforms for businesses looking for a high-performance open-source solution. 

Let’s find out why X-cart has made it to the list of Best Ecommerce Platforms in this ecommerce sites review.

Unlike other paid solutions, X-Cart stands out by charging only a one-time license fee for the software. Not unless you opt for the X-Cart hosted solution, you won’t incur the monthly payment.

Modeled as a pure avenue for convenient online selling, the X-Cart solution suits small businesses that aim to keep costs as low as possible. The free version of the software can help determine the suitability of X-Cart.

X-Cart also comes with a limited theme selection.

Cost: You have a free plan. However, to get a feel of its pricing plans, you’d first need to create an account.

Merits:

• One-off fee
• You import/export inventory data
• Lots of great editing tools
• Excellent for international sales
• Effective SEO features
• Easy WordPress integration

Cons:

• Ambiguous pricing
• Full support attracts additional costs.
• You’ll need your web hosting.
• Limited theme selection

Final Word

The website builder you choose to leverage your small business ultimately depends on your specific objectives. The 15 options highlighted in this post all have their exceptional privileges.

For instance, businesses seeking sales-specific elements have their solution in Shopify’s specialized functionality. Or the company needs something that offers plenty of creative autonomy, then Volusion is an incredible choice, as is Squarespace.

BigCommerce gives you all the functionality you’d need in the line of multi-channel selling, Square lets you combine online and offline trading, and GoDaddy is easy to use. Moreover, Wix offers value for money.

So, which eCommerce solution best suits your small business?

There are many factors that we consider when compiling our list of the best Ecommerce platforms.

There are other ecommerce platforms out there that didn’t make it on this compilation of Best Ecommerce Platforms.

If there is a worthy opponent to the 15 best ecommerce platforms mentioned in this review, kindly comment below.

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