What Is An eCommerce Platform And Why Do You Need It?
To put it simply, eCommerce is the buying and selling of products and services online. Basically, anyone from freelancers, to small and big businesses can make money from selling products online. And now that almost everyone is going online, when’s the best time to start than now, right?
Now, what is an eCommerce platform? Think of it as your store… but it’s online. An eCommerce platform is a software application or website that allows business owners and/or creators to manage their website, marketing, sales, and operations.
Having your own eCommerce store is beneficial for both you and your customers because:
- You and your customers do not need to go to any physical stores and waste time and gas.
- Your customers can just freely search for what they need on your online store with just a few types and clicks instead of checking every corner of a physical store.
- You can easily monitor your business’s inventory, costs, and growth through analytics.
- You will only need to spend a little to start your online store. Sometimes even as low as $2!
What to Look for in eCommerce Platforms?
Your best eCommerce platform will mainly depend on what you need for your business and what features are important to you. For example, if you want to monitor the growth of your business, then you need to look for eCommerce Platforms that have an Analytics feature. Another is that you may prefer platforms that require lesser transaction fees.
But for the basics, here are some features that you may want to look for in eCommerce platforms:
Easy Setup and Customization
This is especially important for beginners. If you just started getting into eCommerce, then you wouldn’t want to focus all your time on designing your website when you have your products to take care of, right? You should look for eCommerce platforms that are easy to set up and customize. If you are a beginner, a drag-and-drop customization feature would be a life-saver.
Analytics
I have mentioned this before but if you want to monitor your business’ growth, then you will have to find an eCommerce platform that offers an Analytics feature. Through this feature, you can monitor how many visitors your online store has, which products sell well, your total number of sales, and more!
Shopping Cart
This should be obvious enough. Any e-commerce site should have a shopping cart where the customer may store and consider the products before proceeding to the checkout page.
Payment Options
Now that your customers are on the checkout page, you should be ready to offer them different payment options. I have had instances where I have to give up on a product because, for some reason, my card is not letting me do a transaction. For this, you must have other methods ready. A few examples of popular payment gateways for online stores are PayPal, Square, Apple Pay, and Stripe.
Support
Lastly, if you are a one-man team, then you must at least have someone to help you with the technicals of your store. This is where a tech support team comes in. An eCommerce platform should have a Support feature in case anything goes wrong with your website. I mean, when will you even have the time to learn about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript?
10 Best eCommerce Platforms of 2023
1. Nexcess
Nexcess is one of the fastest and easiest ways to create an online store with WordPress without writing a single line of code. They offer customizable website designs, premium plugins, automatic updates and maintenance, security, and 24/7 support.
And if you already have an online store, they offer free migrations to their platform.
Other features include:
- Auto-Scaling For Traffic Surges
- Cloud Accelerator to Drive Performance
- SSL Certificates
- Domain registration
- And more!
Depending on your chosen platform, Nexcess offers the following plans:
- Fully Managed WordPress Hosting: $13.30/month
- Fully Managed WooCommerce Hosting: $13.30/month
- Fully Managed Magento Hosting: $34.30/month
2. BigCommerce
BigCommerce aims to help online sellers (either big or small) to grow their businesses. The platform includes online store creation, search engine optimization, hosting, marketing, and security.
BigCommerce has a drag-and-drop page builder that is easy to launch and navigate. They also have a selection of ready-made themes and customizations to choose from. They also make your site mobile-responsive from the homepage to the checkout page.
More of their features include:
- Checkout Customization
- WordPress Integration
- Advanced Search
- SEO features
- Tech support
- And more!
BigCommerce has no set pricing amount given as they tailor to each merchant’s needs. You can request pricing here.
3. Zyro
Zyro is another perfect eCommerce platform for beginners as they will provide you with the ability to create a beautiful and fully functioning store without having to learn any coding at all. Zyro’s powerful eCommerce builder has everything you need to start including customizable templates and themes, a logo maker, and professional AI tools.
More of their features include:
- Free domain for 1 year
- 24/7 customer support
- Drag-and-drop editor
- Report and analytics
- And more!
You can check Zyro’s different plans and pricing here which start for as low as $2.90/month.
4. Wix
Wix is one of the more popular website builders that can help you build any type of website including an eCommerce store. Wix offers multi-channel integration, a wide selection of ready-made and customizable themes, and access to a variety of plug-ins and add-ons for your website’s functionality.
More of their features include:
- Mobile optimization
- Domain
- Advanced SEO Tools
- Logo Maker
- Analytics
- And more!
You can start using Wix for as low as $4.50/month! Check their pricing here.
5. Shopify
Shopify is definitely one of the eCommerce platforms that is well-known and mostly used by online businesses, both big and small. Shopify is an all-in-one platform that delivers everything you need to establish an online business, even if you have no coding or design knowledge.
The platform is very user-friendly so you will not need to spend hours building and starting your own online store.
Another good thing about Shopify is that it has a built-in payment processor that works with major credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
More of their features include:
- Unlimited products
- Staff accounts
- 24/7 support
- Inventory locations
- Discount codes
- And more!
You can start building your online store with Shopify for as low as $29/month with a 14-day free trial! Check the plans and pricing here.
6. Squarespace
If you want a beautiful website that will exactly fit your aesthetic and branding, then Squarespace is the right platform for you. Squarespace has a bunch of aesthetically-pleasing themes that are ready for customization. Aside from this, the platform offers an unlimited number of products, customization using CSS and JavaScript, and a professional email address from Google. They also have advanced SEO tools to help you get your brand out there.
More of their features include:
- Email marketing
- Logo maker
- Social media tools
- Free Custom Domain
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Basic Website Metrics
- And more!
Start using Squarespace for as low as $19/month. You can check more of their plans and pricing here.
7. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a customizable, open-source eCommerce platform built on WordPress. So, if you are someone who is a blogger that uses WordPress and you are planning on selling your own products, then WooCommerce would be your best choice. If you already know how to use WordPress, WooCommerce should be a breeze.
You just need to add the WooCommerce plugin to your WordPress site and set up a new store in minutes. WooCommerce offers secure payments, configurable shipping options, store analytics, and more!
More of their features include:
- SEO tools and optimization
- Themes and customization
- Support from WordPress experts
- Extensions
- And more!
The best thing about WooCommerce? You can start building your website for free!
8. Ecwid
Ecwid is a popular e-commerce platform since it has no transaction costs (other than usual credit card processing fees) and a free plan. So, if you are really just starting from scratch with very little budget, then this platform is for you! Though it offers a free plan, its premium plans come with more features including social media tools, advanced SEO tools, and more!
Another great thing about Ecwid is that its storefront is translated into 45 different languages (and growing), so customers can shop your store easier in their native language.
More of their features include:
- Sales Channels
- Mobile app
- Discounts
- Payment options
- And more!
You can start using Ecwid for free but their paid plan starts for as low as $15/month! You can check out their plans and pricing here.
9. Sellfy
Are you planning to sell mostly digital products? If that is the case, then you may want to consider Sellfy. Sellfy is an easy-to-use eCommerce for creators to sell merchandise or digital products — all from one place. Creators can sell print-on-demand products, digital goods, and physical products, or earn recurring revenue with subscriptions.
The platform offers website and theme customization and mobile optimization. Another great thing about Sellfy is that they will automatically translate the website content according to the user’s geographical location.
More of their features include:
- Built-in marketing features
- Tracking pixels
- Store embed
- Secure payments
- Email Marketing
- Upselling
- And more!
You can start using Sellfy for free but if you want more advanced tools ready for you, then their plan starts at $29/month. You can check out the plans and pricing here.
10. Volusion
Volusion is a well-established eCommerce platform that started last 1999. Volusion’s all-in-one eCommerce online selling platform lets you easily create, manage, and expand your online store with a multitude of built-in features and available add-ons. They have a bunch of ready-made themes and customizable layouts for your website. They also have In-House Design Services if you want some expert help in terms of branding.
More of their features include:
- Mobile Friendly Themes
- Logo & Favicon Upload
- Product Display Options
- Search Functionality
- Subscription-Based Products
- Gateway & Payment Processing
- And more!
You can start building your online store with Volusion for as low as $35/month. You can check more of their plans and pricing here.
I hope these 10 eCommerce platforms will help you build the online store of your dreams! And if you know or have more eCommerce suggestions that you personally use, I would love to hear about them in the comments section below 🙂
I’m Anastasia and I’m a full-time blogger, online entrepreneur, and Pinterest marketing strategist. I help digital entrepreneurs and bloggers drive targeted traffic from Pinterest either through my online courses or through Pinterest consultancy.
