What’s the best ecommerce platform for your business?

Ecommerce platforms are how business owners of all shapes and sizes carve out a place for themselves in the new digital landscape.

It’s not enough to simply choose the best online store builder. Entrepreneurs look for the best ecommerce platform, an ecosystem of tools that seamlessly integrate, giving you complete control over every aspect of your business and the ability to scale as you grow.

Selling online has become such a cost-effective, efficient, and popular way to earn your fortune in the digital landscape, that everyone wants a piece of the pie. As a result, there are dozens of different companies all claiming to have the best ecommerce platform to offer today’s small business owners.

With so much choice, how do you determine which platform is right for you?

What is an ecommerce platform?

An e-commerce platform is a software application where both parties, the seller and the consumer, come and play their role. Essentially, a consumer should be able to use an ecommerce platform to discover products, shop around using a cart, and then check out.

While most people think their ecommerce platform is just a tool that lets them list products and accept payments online, a true ecommerce platform is much more than that. 

Your ecommerce platform should be a complete business command center from where you control everything from inventory to marketing. It should let you process payments but should also give you seamless access to all of the tools you need to sell online, including (but not limited to) your own online store.

What types of ecommerce platforms are there?

In order to make your online store accessible to the public, you have to have a hosting solution. Hosting stores your information on a server, which lets internet users visit your site and view all of the content. 

Every website is hosted somewhere, meaning it has dedicated server space from a provider. Some ecommerce platforms have hosting built in, while others require you use self-hosting or open-source hosting. 

1. Hosted

Some website builders offer a hosted platform. In this case, you don’t need to worry about the mess of self or third-party hosting and the additional fees attached. Shopify stores, for example, include website hosting in every plan. 

All Shopify updates are automatic and hassle free, so your site will always be up to date. Building on a hosted ecommerce platform gives you more freedom to focus on running your business not on putting out fires caused by downtime and the need to fix bugs.

2. Self-hosted

Self-hosted, or non-hosted, ecommerce platforms require merchants to use their own server space or pay to rent space from a hosting provider. This makes ongoing website management complex, as you’re responsible for updates, maintenance, and bug fixes. This requires a lot of internal resources that you could otherwise allocate elsewhere. 

Self-hosted platforms are typically open source, and you use a third party to host your website data. Third-party sourcing options charge fees for their services, and these costs quickly add up. Many times, these hosting services use tiered pricing structures, so those on the lowest plans don’t get much in the way of customer support. This can leave you hanging at really important times, like traffic boosts after unexpected press coverage.

What types of ecommerce are there?

There are four types of ecommerce. 

1. B2C. This refers to online selling from a business to an individual consumer. You might also hear people refer to B2C ecommerce as DTC, or direct-to-consumer. 
2. B2B. When one business sells to another business online, it’s B2B ecommerce. These transactions include wholesale buying, when the purchasing business intends to resell at a profit, as well as for business use—things like office supplies and equipment. 
3. C2B. Consumers also have selling power, as seen when they sell to businesses. Typically, these transactions are less traditional. A consumer might sell their influence in the form of a featured social post or they might offer a five-star review in exchange for money. 
4. C2C. Consumers can also sell to one another, a trend that has emerged with the popularity of the sharing economy. Platforms like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay offer a place to facilitate C2C ecommerce.

Key features of an ecommerce platform

Any viable ecommerce software will enable customers to buy your products and services from your online store. Where solutions differ is the degree to which they can unify and leverage both front and back-office applications with both their unique and shared data. 

Ecommerce platforms provide the unification of core business processes, where businesses can gain complete visibility across their company and ultimately meeting their most discerning customers’ expectations. An ecommerce platform should:

• Run on a single, unified platform. Eliminate integrations between separate systems with natively unified ecommerce, accounting, POS, inventory and order management, marketing, merchandising, customer service and financials on a cloud-based platform.
• Provide a 360° customer view. Deliver consistent and personalised cross-channel experiences, targeted marketing and superior customer service with a single view of all customer interactions and transactions across all touch points and channels.
• Intelligently managing orders. Exceed and set new customer expectations for buying, fulfilling and returning purchases, both online and in stores. Maximise profitability by centralising order management and having a single view of inventory across all channels and supply chain business units.
• Deliver innovative customer experiences. Rapidly create unique, personalised and compelling mobile, web and in-store experiences to differentiate your brand and exceed customer expectations.
• Support unlimited expansion. Quickly deploy sites for multiple business models, channels, brands, countries, currencies and languages all on the same platform.

How ecommerce stores work ?

Building an eCommerce website is similar to starting a business of any kind in a number of key ways you need a business plan, a marketing strategy, and a product or service your audience genuinely wants. But there are a few specific features that are absolutely essential to any eCommerce business.

1. Website

The core component of any eCommerce store is its website. Without a physical storefront, an eCommerce website is the main way consumers will come to know your brand. 

It’s the primary place they’ll go to learn about the products you sell and how you fit into the larger industry. And the experience they have on the site—how easy it is to navigate, find what they need, and check out—will heavily influence what they think of your brand. In short, you don’t just need a website. You need a really good website. That means one that’s:

• Informative
• Easy to use
• Easy to find
• Attractive—nothing too cluttered or with clashing colors
• Friendly for mobile devices
• Trustworthy

If a consumer lands on your website and it looks like it was made in 1990 or thrown together by someone who did the bare minimum, they won’t trust that your business is legit. And your website is the main opportunity you have to convince them why you’re the best option for the products they want, so you have to do a good job selling yourself through your copy. 

2. Web hosting

Web hosting is a necessary service for getting your site online. Every website you see around the web is hosted somewhere. Most of them pay a web hosting company for the service.  Thankfully, this step is easy. Signing up for a web hosting plan is quick, and shared plans for business websites start at around $6 a month. 

3. Domain name

The domain name is your address on the web. It’s what you’d type into a browser to bring up a website. In most cases, you’ll want a domain name that matches the name of your ecommerce store. 

But if you want to grab the .com, your available options are limited. Most of the obvious choices are taken and you may need to get creative to find something that works for you. It’s best to consider available domain name options before you name your ecommerce business, so you choose one you can get. 

3. Ecommerce software 

Ecommerce websites require a special set of features to allow people to make purchases. This software is how online businesses are able to provide:

• A shopping cart
• Secure payment processing
• A check out process
• Customer account creation
• Wish lists
• Customized recommendations
• Discount codes

A good eCommerce software makes setting up a lot of the features you need simple, and lets you provide customers with options that improve their shopping experience. 

4. Security

News about data breaches has become a regular part of life. But even if it’s a common occurrence, ecommerce website owners need to do everything in their power to make sure your website doesn’t become a target. 

Ecommerce websites have an obligation to customers to invest in security features to protect the personal and financial information you collect through the site. 

That means an SSL certificate, secure payment processing options, and security software that provides an extra level of protection. 

5. Shipping and returns

Packaging and shipping items is a big part of the work of running an online business. And the cost of deliveries is a significant expense you have to account for. 

You need to figure out whether you’ll cover the cost of shipping (and build the expense into your pricing), or if you’ll pass it along to customers and risk losing some purchases in the process. 

Once you’ve figured that out, you need to make the same calculations in deciding how to handle returns. Many customers expect a seamless return experience at no, or at least minimal, cost to themselves. Having to pay for return shipping could make them less likely to purchase from you again, but shouldering the cost will affect your profits.

It’s a tricky balance to figure out, but one every eCommerce business that sells physical products faces.

6. Privacy policy

Customers are increasingly expressing discomfort around online privacy issues. And governments are responding with regulations around how businesses collect and use data. To make sure you stay on the right side of the law and behave in accordance with what your customers most likely want, talk to a lawyer about how to draft (and follow) a respectful privacy policy. 

7. Online marketing

Ecommerce marketing is how your customers learn you exist, and where you start to make the case for why they should buy from you. For ecommerce businesses in online marketplaces, most if not all of your marketing will happen in online channels. You’ll need to explore search engine optimization (SEO), social media, pay-per-click advertising (PPC) , content marketing, and possibly tactics like affiliate marketing. Marketing’s a big part of the job of running a successful online store. How successful you are is often directly related to how much you invest in ecommerce marketing.

What does a great ecommerce experience mean to you?

When you’re deep into ecommerce comparison shopping, it’s easy to forget why you’re picking an ecommerce platform at all. Do you really need to find the best ecommerce platform? At the end of the day, there is no best choice for everyone. Instead, look for the right ecommerce platform that lets you serve your customers the best ecommerce experience that makes shopping online feel easy.

Beyond simply the best online store builder, think about the other business tools those platforms offer. It’s often beneficial to use a seamlessly integrated ecosystem, consisting of your online store, payment processor, POS, and even small business lender. Shopify, for example, has an entire suite of tools that help you manage every aspect of your business, and an App Store with over 4,000 apps to help you customize the experience for your customers and your team.

Best ecommerce platform for your business

1. Shopify

Shopify is one of the best software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms for ecommerce. This platform comes with complementary tools and features for multi-channel selling and dropshipping, so you can sell directly through your website, at your retail store, on social media and third-party marketplaces, and everywhere in between. Choose from over 100 paid and free themes to get your store up and running fast with zero learning curve.

Moreover, Shopify handles all aspects of your business. You can use our best-in-class suite of business tools to build a complete business command center. Shop Pay handles payment processing with low transaction fees, Shopify POS administers in-person sales, and Shopify Fulfillment can help you get products into customers’ hands. It also offers unlimited bandwidth and online storage, so you don’t need to pay more as you get more traffic and grow your business.

Shopify’s mobile app offers almost complete parity to manage your business online or on your mobile device, with everything from fulfilling orders on mobile to adding products, real-time sales and inventory updates, and more. With all of these powerful features, you can set up your business with little technical know-how and budget and scale to an international online brand without changing platforms along the way. 

Some more features:

• Price: Basic Shopify: $29.99/month; Shopify: $79/month; Advanced Shopify: $299/month; 10% discount on annual plans and 20% on biennial plans when paid upfront
• Free trial length: 14 days
• Customer support options: Callback phone support; email support; support provided in 19 languages; community forum; support content
• Integrated sales channels: Facebook, Instagram, Google, Walmart Marketplace, eBay, and Amazon
• Mobile app features: Suite of mobile tools to fully manage your online business
• POS: Yes

2. Wix

If you have a small product selection, Wix Ecommerce is a great option for you. This platform enables small businesses with less than 50 unique products to create beautifully designed websites. It’s simple and easy to create an effective website.

Wix ecommerce is set up with a drag and drop theme. You can add and remove features as you see fit for your business. This makes it easy for you to create your customized storefront.

As far as ecommerce functionality goes, Wix has a few helpful tools. The platform lets merchants track orders, accept online payments, sell products on multiple channels, and create abandoned cart campaigns. 

However, it lacks certain features that are imperative for product-based businesses in particular. Shortcomings include the absence of low stock alerts and other key inventory management features. If you have more than 10 or so products, you’ll want a platform with more robust inventory tracking tools. Plus, you need to use a third-party app for social commerce integrations.

• Price: Business Basic: $23/month; Business Unlimited: $27/month; Business VIP: $49/month
• Free trial length: No free trial
• Customer support options: Callback service available 24/7
• Integrated sales channels: Facebook and Instagram require third-party app Ecwid
• Mobile app features: The ability to manage your website, though lacks key business tools like inventory management; requires separate app to use mobile POS
• Point-of-sale: Yes

3. BigCommerce

This platform is well-suited to enterprise-level software companies. considered an Open SaaS platform provider and a growing headless commerce provider based on low total cost of ownership and highly flexible APIs.

Bigcommerce offers small business and start-up plans as well, with built-in features and SEO control. The integration options, like our headless WordPress plugin, make the platform a frontrunner across headless commerce.

Valuable features include international selling, SEO tools, and multichannel selling on social and third-party marketplaces. However, with these powerful features also comes complexity. 

Lack of flexibility and ease of use were major factors in Grace & Lace’s decision to migrate from the platform. It moved over to Shopify Plus, Shopify’s enterprise solution, to take advantage of more than just the ecommerce platform—the brand quickly reaped the benefits of having an entire ecosystem of business tools from Shopify.

• Price: Standard: $29.95/month; Plus: $79.95/month, or $71.95/month when paid annually; Pro: $299.95/month, or $269.96/month when paid annually; Enterprise custom pricing
• Free trial length: 15 days
• Customer support options: 24/7 technical support via phone, email, or chat
• Integrated sales channels: Google Shopping, Facebook, price comparison engines, eBay, Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, and Instagram
• Mobile app features: View analytics, update orders, manage inventory and products, and search for customers; some features are Android-only
• Point-of-sale: Yes

4. Magento Commerce

Magento stands out as one of the most popular ecommerce platforms for established and successful retailers. Some of the biggest companies in the world already use this tool to make sure that they can connect with their customers online. What’s more, Magneto also supports external sales channels like Amazon too! Magneto is perfect for delivering next-level sales experience, with a free-to-download software.

Furthermore, Magento is a non-hosted ecommerce platform made for developers who want a powerful, flexible system they can customize. It also lacks tools to create a seamless multichannel strategy. There’s no easy way to turn on social commerce or marketplace selling with Magento, and the same rings true for foreign currencies. So if going global is in your plans, Magento may not be the best ecommerce platform for you. 

Unfortunately, like many open source solutions, you are going to need some developer knowledge, or a professional on your team if you want to create something unique and impressive with Magento. The good news is that you can find a community of people in the Magento landscape that are willing to work with emerging brands to develop the perfect website.

• Price: Custom pricing only
• Free trial length: No free trial
• Customer support options: Phone support and online help center/technical support resources available
• Integrated sales channels: Amazon
• Mobile app features: n/a
• Point-of-sale: Third-party extensions available

5. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an ecommerce solution that has earned the attention of companies all across the globe. Not only is it incredibly accessible and easy to use, but it’s built on the WordPress Content Management System. This is the software that’s responsible for running the majority of the internet. Because WooCommerce is built on top of such a popular content management system, it’s easy to get help and guidance when using it to build your online store.

Plus WordPress is a content management system (CMS) first and an ecommerce platform second, many of the selling features are simple or rely on adding apps. And while there are plenty of apps and plug-ins you can add to your store, the more you use, the more likely it is you’ll break something. And this isn’t always a risk worth taking, considering limited support options.

Overall, WooCommerce’s fragility and unreliability makes it difficult not only to build an online store but also to maintain it. Plus, it’s not hosted, so you’ll have the added task and cost of managing your website hosting. It also lacks PCI compliance, which puts your business at risk when processing payments.

• Price: Average monthly fee is up to $30; WooCommerce estimates costs to be $120/year for hosting; $15/year for domain name registration; up to $100/year for your site theme; up to $108/year for shipping; 2.9% plus $0.30 per sale; up to $348/year for marketing and communications; and up to $79/year for SEO; up to $65/year for SSL certificate
• Free trial length: None, but offers a 30-day money-back guarantee
• Customer support options: Only available via live chat or email; no support offered for third-party apps and plug-ins
• Integrated sales channels: Google Shopping, Etsy, eBay, Facebook, Amazon, Pinterest, and Walmart; integrations are disjointed
• Mobile app features: Add products, manage orders, and view analytics
• Point-of-sale: Native POS available

6. PrestaShop

PrestaShop is an affordable open-source ecommerce platform that’s great for beginning businesses that have a somewhat technical background.  It is written in the PHP programming language with support for the MySQL database management system. It has a software dependency on the Symfony PHP framework. There’s no built-in customer support, and integrations can be hit or miss, so PrestaShop users do a lot of troubleshooting themselves with the help of the community. 

Business tools and features include inventory tracking, online shopping cart, international selling, and analytics reporting. You also have lots of control over the privacy and security settings on your PrestaShop site. 

Overall, maintaining your ecommerce site with PrestaShop can be cumbersome when it comes to third-party hosting, the multitude of unvetted add-ons and modules, and the cumbersome setup.

• Price: Free
• Free trial length: No trial
• Customer support options: Technical support available through paid support plans; support provided via phone, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (GMT+2); help center, technical documentation, and community forum available online
• Integrated sales channels: Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Facebook
• Mobile app features: n/a
• Point-of-sale: Available as add-on modules

7. Squarespace

Squarespace is an awesome option for small businesses that are looking for a sophisticated yet simple website builder. This website builder offers many store themes that businesses can use to build their website.

When you build your site on Squarespace, you’ll get access to their inventory management system. You can integrate this into your site to keep track of your inventory and know when you’re running low on certain products.

Moreover, it allows you to control various aspects of your website. You can set coupon offers, shipping configurations, and manage your email lists. This makes it easy for you to have complete control over your website.

Squarespace requires time and patience to set up if you want to sell online, not to mention there are only two payment integrations, Stripe and PayPal. If you have the budget, you may even outsource it. Once you’ve set up the ecommerce function, Squarespace has decent inventory tracking tools. Higher-tiered plans also come with the ability to sell gift cards or subscription-based products. 

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of the backend in Squarespace to turn your website into a full-blown online store, you can simply add the Shopify Buy Button.

• Price: Personal: $16/month, or $12/month when paid annually; Business: $26/month, or $18/month when paid annually; Basic Commerce: $30/month, or $26/month when paid annually; Advanced Commerce: $46/month, or $40/month when paid annually; Enterprise pricing also available
• Free trial length: 14 days, and you can opt for a one-time seven-day trial extension
• Customer support options: Email available 24/7; live chat available Monday through Friday, 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET
• Integrated sales channels: Shopping Feed extension to sell on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Google Actions
• Mobile app features: Website editing, scan shipping labels, order management, inventory management, and customer communication
• POS: Available via mobile app

8. Big Cartel

Big Cartel is often recommended as one of the best tools for bigger companies looking to build a profitable presence online. That’s because the service requires a significant amount of coding knowledge if you want to get the most out of it. The pre-built themes and design options are pretty lacking by themselves. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t explore this solution for your small company too.

If you’re an artist or a creative company, Big Cartel is an excellent choice – particularly if you also happen to have a lot of experience with code – or know someone who does. There’s even a free plan available that will let you start selling for free. If you’re involved with small-scale selling, like selling one-off pieces of art – then Big Cartel has everything that you need.

Although Big Cartel does require a lot of knowledge around CSS HTML and JavaScript, it’s still worth a closer look just for the sake of its free pricing plan. Just remember that you are getting what you pay for. For instance, there are no built-in blogging tools, no PCI compliance, and there’s very little design support available either.

• Price: 5 products: free; 50 products: $9.99/month; 250 products: $19.99/month; 500 products: $29.99/month
• Free trial length: None
• Customer support options: Email available every day, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET
• Integrated sales channels: n/a
• Mobile app features: Store analytics, add/edit products, track order shipping, manage discounts, and print packing slips 
• Point-of-sale: Requires third-party integration

9. Weebly

Weebly is still a relatively small up-and-coming service for today’s small business owners. It’s excellent for building a beginner-friendly website online. You don’t need a lot of spare time or tech talent to get started. Additionally, Weebly is very budget-friendly, with very cheap starter prices.

However, this platform lacks some of the scale that comes with the other ecommerce solutions that we’ve looked at so far. You can’t sell across a wide range of channels, such as Etsy and Facebook. Additionally, customizing various aspects of your website – like the checkout page, is harder than it should be. On the plus side, you do get some fantastic additional features included with Weebly, such as password protected pages and blogging. 

Additionally, Weebly is great for businesses that are only selling a handful of products that want to stand out online. There are tons of professional themes to browse through with this site builder. What’s more, because Weebly powers it’s transactions through Square, you know you’re getting a payment system that you can trust.

• Price: Free
• Free trial length: n/a
• Customer support options: Chat, email, phone
• Integrated sales channels: n/a
• Mobile app features: Drag-and-drop builder, order fulfillment, inventory management, payments, analytics
• Point-of-sale: Integrated Square POS

10. 3dcart

3dcart is an established, industry leading and robust e-commerce software platform that was founded already back in 1997. Their e-commerce software has a range of features that are built directly into the software, that makes starting and running your online store easy, fast and effortless.

It offers a shopping cart for store owners who want to sell online. The platform doesn’t have extensive features, but you can build a mobile-ready storefront fast. It offers hundreds of out-of-the-box features and templates to create and operate your store. You can also use its API and apps to integrate your 3dcart store with third-party apps.

• Price: $9.99 per month
• Free trial length: 15 days 
• Customer support options: 24/7 phone, email, and chat support
• Integrated sales channels: eBay, Amazon, Facebook
• Mobile app features: n/a
• Point-of-sale: Available for purchase

11. Volusion

Volusion is one of the oldest ecommerce platforms around. Launched in 1999, Volusion has helped businesses get online with no frills. You can create the basics, like homepage and product pages, plus, integrate with over 30 payment gateways and sell unlimited products. There is no free plan. You can also only sell physical products in Volusion. So if you want to sell ebooks or music, you’ll need another ecommerce solution. 

• Price: $29 per month
• Free trial length: 14 days
• Customer support options: Self-service help center
• Integrated sales channels: n/a
• Mobile app features: n/a
• Point-of-sale: Available as add-on

Conclusion

Choosing the best ecommerce site builder is really based on your needs. The options above all have their unique benefits to consider. For instance, if you’re looking for sales-specific features, then you’ll love the specialist functionality of Shopify. Alternatively, if you need something that provides a lot of creative control, then SquareSpace is a fantastic choice. But still everything depends on your requirements.