Are you prepared to begin trading online? Thinking about creating an eCommerce website? If the answer to both of these questions is yes then you might be seeking the best eCommerce platform for this, am I right? If that is the case then you are exactly in the right place. And, yes, this article is just for you as we have compiled a list of the best eCommerce platforms in 2020.
Okay, let us begin with the understanding of what actually is the eCommerce platform. An eCommerce platform is basically a software where you are allowed to build a beautiful online store for your business virtually via the internet. Using this software, you are permitted to manage your items, website, operations, and everything that is related to online trading.
You are well known about how cut-throat online industries are right now to start your online business. The online retail industry is a highly competitive space, and that includes the eCommerce platforms that power them.
The market has become flooded with hundreds of different eCommerce solutions of all types and sizes. You will come across several eCommerce platforms that are available for businesses. And it’s quite perplexing to decide which one to choose. Also, it is not possible for an individual to go through innumerable options to find out the best option.
To make your work easy, we have included ten best and most popular eCommerce platforms that will help you with setting up your online business. You can select the eCommerce platform that best suits your needs and situation.
Let’s get started with the details that you need to know about eCommerce platforms before selecting any platform for your online trade.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is considered as one of the most popular and widely accepted eCommerce platforms. It is so popular that more than 30% of all online stores on the internet use WooCommerce which is a large group. WooCommerce is a type of plugin that adds eCommerce abilities to your WordPress sites.
WooCommerce is a free and open-source WordPress shopping cart plugin that is possessed and developed by WordPress. You will be able to set up a proficient and complete eCommerce website without much difficulty in the aid of this platform. Though it is a free plugin, you need to add some paid extension for advanced features.
For businesses that are small and already have a website on WordPress, WooCommerce is the ultimate platform. Also, for those who have a limited budget allocated for an online store but still want to do great, it is for them. It has thousands of third-party themes and plugins, giving it a great deal of flexibility to accommodate most needs.
The free WooCommerce download comes with features such as Mobile-optimized shopping, Geo-location support, Catalog management, Inventory management, Shipping options and calculator, Search engine optimization, Coupons, and discounts Product reviews.
You can use WooCommerce in business verticals such as Home Furnishing, Food and Beverage, Fashion and Apparel, Beauty & Cosmetics, and Consumer Electronics.
Pros:
- Free of cost
- Allows implementation of your skill to create additional functions
- You can consult with the massive community
- No commission for the service provider
- The limitless potential provided by its extension
Cons:
- It is difficult to handle for beginners
- Need proper attention and care for plugins optimization
- You need to manage everything like hosting, and domain name
- Adding up hosting and the domain name becomes expensive
Pricing:
Although WooCommerce software is free, you still have to pay for a web hosting account and a domain name. It may cost around $3.85 per month.
Shopify
Shopify is considered one of the best eCommerce platforms for beginners and small to medium-sized businesses. You can design an attractive online store for selling your items using this platform. Shopify is suitable for drop ship, rely on Facebook Ads, or Instagram marketing.
You can access everything that is required for an online store such as domain names, web hosting services, and so on in this eCommerce platform. All you need to give is your time, your innovative ideas, and money of course to invest in it. Shopify comes with an elegant drag and drop interface which helps you to customize your online store perfectly.
From storefront design to content marketing to performance analytics, everything is integrated on this platform. It is a simple thing to upgrade your store with any third-part extensions once you are done with basics.
The Shopify comes with features such as Unlimited product listings, Custom domains, Real-time sales statistics, Inventory tracking, AI/Personalization, and Availability of over 70 themes/templates.
You can use Shopify in business verticals such as Beauty and Cosmetics, Consumer Electronics, Fashion & Apparel, Food & Beverage, and Home Furnishing.
Pros:
- It is easy to use and set up
- Fast loading time
- Comes with several certified partners
- Offers single click selling
- Provides an extremely wide variety of themes
- Allows multiple channel and social selling
Cons:
- Poor SEO in consecutive studies
- You are charged for transaction fee
- It has no customization for the checkout process
- Limited to provide only 3 product options
Pricing:
- Basic Shopify ($29/month)
- Shopify ($79
- Advanced Shopify ($299).
A 14-day free trial is available, with no credit card required.
BigCommerce
For those people who need a lot form their online retail stores, BigCommerce is the perfect eCommerce platform. This platform will amaze you with several outstanding features that are worthy of very big enterprises.
No wonder you will get an exceptionally flexible and versatile experience with BigCommerce. As it is stuffed with robust and influential features, its price is quite high than others. Also, this is the main reason behind BigCommerce being resilient by large companies. Do not worry about support as it comes with a highly dedicated support medium that is available for your 24/7.
The BigCommerce comes with features such as Custom domains, Unlimited product listings, Unlimited bandwidth & file storage, Multi-currency sales, Reporting, Ratings & reviews, Gift cards, 12 free themes, 160+ paid themes, Integrations with shipping & POS software, and Page builder.
You can use WooCommerce in business verticals such as Fashion & Apparel, Health & Beauty, Sporting Goods, Food & Beverage, Home Furnishing, Automotive, and B2B (wholesale & distribution).
Pro:
- 15-day free trial
- It is mobile-friendly
- Comes with several packages
- Custom option to create your pricing plan
- It is flexible and scalable
- Comprehensive abandoned cart feature
Cons:
- It charges more for a large amount of data
- Comes with few themes
- Cart abandonment isn’t on entry plan
- No feature of 1-click Selling/Upsells
Pricing:
Talking about prices of BigCommerce, the basic plan starts from $29.95 a month whereas its Plus Plan costs $79.95 a month. Also, its premium plan costs $299.95.
Magneto
Magneto, a great eCommerce platform is an ultimate choice for you if you have a skilled developer and along with that sufficient budget to get a customized website. Various renowned brands like Nike, Procter, and Gamble, and Cisco have trusted Magento for its better services.
In order to deal with it, you should be a very skilled coder as it is a fundamental part of the package. You need to do everything to adapt to this platform if you want the best and only best for your online store. So, do whatever is needed and you will see great results.
Magento Open Source comes with basic features like Integrated checkout, payment & shipping, Mobile-optimized shopping, Global selling, Catalog management, Extended Functionality via App marketplace, Instant purchase, Site search, and Customization options available.
You can use Magneto in business verticals such as Beauty & Cosmetics, Consumer Electronics, Fashion & Apparel, Food & Beverage, Home Furnishing, and Sporting goods.
Pros:
- Offers Single Click selling
- Very well SEO optimized
- Provides a variety of options for small businesses and massive corporations
- Long term plan for large companies
- Allows you to code certain features yourself
- Scalable and highly customizable
Cons:
- Beginners will have to struggle to use it
- Themes are quite expensive
- Requires Development Skills
- No virtual support
Pricing:
There are no exact pricing plans for Magneto. However, it can be estimated from $20,000 to $200,000. It’s expensive, right?
Wix eCommerece
Wix eCommerce is a novice-friendly eCommerce platform that is quite popular among people to set up their stores online. The design of Wix eCommerce is very simple and the interface is quite easy to use. Wix eCommerce can be the best option for you if you are new and are starting your first ever online store because even beginners can deal with it with so much ease.
Don’t worry about the help and support as here you will get 24/7 support. Also, it is the most straightforward eCommerce website building experience. You do not require more budgets as a result you can easily start your small business website. Although it comes with limited features, those are enough to start with.
The lowest eCommerce-capable tier of Wix.com offers eCommerce options such as Digital products, Product galleries, Shipping options, Discount codes, Inventory management, Abandoned cart recovery, Mobile-optimized, Payment options, and Other functionalities available via extensions.
You can use Wix eCommerce in business verticals such as Arts & Design, Food & Beverage, Beauty & Cosmetics, Fashion & Apparel, Sporting Goods, and Toys & Games.
Pros:
- Easy to use and set up
- Beginner-friendly
- Comes with several free and amazing themes
- Provides on-page support
- Suitable for small stores
- Saves time in building a website
Cons:
- Lacks a powerful security system
- Not well suited for larger corporations
- Lacks marketing features and integrations
Pricing:
You will see Wix eCommerce with the following four pricing plans.
- $4.50: You need to register a domain yourself
- $8.50: Comes with a free domain for a year and extra space
- $12.50: Improves on space and functions
- $24.50: VIP plan that grants you top priority
Weebly
Weebly is an outstanding and extremely powerful eCommerce platform which is an ultimate choice for people who are interested in building a simple yet attractive online store with built-in marketing automation. However, this platform is not appropriate for you if you want to build an SEO website.
You can set up and customize your website very easily with its drag and drop editing feature. You are provided with an option to use HTML and CSS to customize your template wherever necessary. Weebly comes with several free themes but unfortunately, all are not responsive. So you need to choose it very carefully.
Pros:
- Offers stunning and free designs
- Cheap features
- Powerful email tools
- Able to create a wide variety of sites
- Shows excellent value
- Cost-effective eCommerce marketing automation
Cons:
- Difficulty with SEO
- Extra charges for transaction fee
- Basic inventory management
Pricing:
The basic plan of Weebly is free. But there are other payment plans like:
- Personal plan: $6.00
- Professional plan: $12.00
- Performance plan: $26.00
Squarespace
If you want to build a simple yet versatile website for online trading, then Squarespace is an extremely suitable eCommerce platform for you. Squarespace comes with a drag and drop builder which makes website building even easier. If you wish to get a professional-looking website without spending long hours then Squarespace is definitely for you. There’s no looking elsewhere.
Moreover, if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, Squarespace without any doubt is the best option with basic eCommerce needs. Despite several amazing features, it doesn’t have any additional themes which limit its functionality.
Squarespace serves verticals such as Arts & Design, Food & Beverage, Beauty & Cosmetics, Fashion & Apparel, and Toys & Games.
Squarespace offers options for its eCommerce extension such as Abandon cart auto-recovery, Digital products, Personalized products, Product import/export, Real-time shipping rates & tracking, SEO tools, Upselling and cross-selling, Gift cards, Automatic discounts & Limited integration options.
Pros:
- It is really easy to set up.
- It is great for simple stores.
- Offers stunning designs
- It has solidified SEO tools.
- It has a drag and drops web design feature.
- Integrates with ShipStation and ShipBob
Cons:
- No integration with Amazon
- Limited design choices
- No store for extra themes or features
- No dropshipping
- No marketing automation integration
- Faster for the price
- No app store for more features and functionalities
Pricing:
Squarespace has the provision of following four price plans.
- Personal Plan: $12 per month
- Business Plan: $18 per month
- Basic: $26 per month
- Advanced: $40 per month
OpenCart
Talking about OpenCart, it is an extremely awesome open-source eCommerce platform. Well, it is quite similar to the WooCommerce platform. OpenCart gives you the functions that are needed to create an online shopping store.
If you are willing to use OpenCart as your eCommerce platform then you will need to manage most of the things all by yourself like web hosting, domain name, plugins, and many others. It means you need to take care of creating the website yourself. Besides that, OpenCart is open-source as a result, you will get several add ons and additional software which will be useful for creating an online portal.
Pros:
- Free of cost
- Open-source
- Large Community
- You can create your additional functions and sell them
- Dedicated support team
Cons:
- You need to manage hosting and domain name yourself.
- Hosting and the domain name increase your expenses
Pricing:
Well, OpenCart is a free eCommerce platform but you still need to pay for a web hosting plan, a domain name, and various plugins and add ons.
Volusion
Volusion is one of the best and dynamic eCommerce platforms that give you a great opportunity to sell your physical products online. You can easily create a powerful and attractive website with its drag and drop and in-page editing. It comes with 11 free themes. And you are also offered a good number of premium themes.
Volusion, a great eCommerce platform furnishes you with various learning materials with which you can deal with any type of online store without any difficulty. Moreover, it incorporates several marketing options like SEO, selling on Google, eBay, Amazon, social selling, rewards, and coupons, and so on.
Volusion serves verticals such as Beauty & Cosmetics, Consumer Electronics, Fashion & Apparel, Food & Beverage, Home Furnishing, and Sporting goods
Volusion offers site-building features such as Secure checkout, Drag and drop builder, Free and paid themes, Secure payments, Inventory management, Discounts and coupons, Automatic tax calculator, SEO tools, Social media integrations, Ratings and reviews, SKU import/export, and Abandoned cart reporting.
Pros:
- Clear inventory and marketing system
- Well laid out dashboard
- Dedicated support and help center
- Extreme flexibility with Sitemaps
- Comes with built-in subscription/recurring payments
Cons:
- The structure of the URL is not satisfactory
- Slower SaaS platforms
- Lacks built-in blogging functionality
- Requires more up/cross-selling features
Pricing:
The pricing plan of Volusion is as follows:
- Personal: $29/month
- Professional: $79/month
- Business: $299/month
- Custom: contact vendor
3dCart
With more than 22,000 merchants using this platform for online trade, it is still not as popular as industry giants like BigCommerce and Shopify. Nevertheless, 3dcart is a great choice for gain around eCommerce users. It is a really progressed eCommerce platform that is very useful for building high-end industrial websites. The sad thing is 3dCart is not beginner-friendly. It means you will require lots of technical skills to deal with this.
3dCart offers unlimited storage and this is a good thing for every online trader. Also, you need not pay any transaction fees. With the use of its POS, you will get support for multi-channel selling. Shipping is its strongest point as it provides advanced shipping solutions with no API.
For those who have been in the eCommerce industry for the past few years are recommended to use 3dCart as their eCommerce platform as it has capabilities that you can take advantage of. Drag and drop builder is not available in this platform that is why you’ll need to have a basic understanding of coding and development to customize your themes and templates.
Pros:
- Unlimited storage
- Has extremely good functionality
- Supports all necessary integrations
- Offers better blog feature compared to other SaaS eCommerce
- Provides business user management tools like email, QuickBooks, inventory, and others
Cons:
- Tedious to use
- Beginners will have difficulty using it.
- Not so visually appealing website
- Potential issues upgrading
Pricing:
You can get 3dCart following five different pricing plans:
- Startup store: $9.50 per month
- Basic store: $14.50 per month
- Plus store: $39.50 per month
- Power store: $64.50 per month
- Pro store: $114.50 per month
All of the above-listed eCommerce platforms are perfect and amazing in their own way. They all come with amazing and appealing features. As per the pricing plans of each of the eCommerce platforms, you will get different necessary features for an eCommerce website. So check out this list thoroughly, and get the best option for you as per your requirements.
I hope this article is helpful enough for you to select one of the eCommerce platforms to get started with an online business. Do let us know in the comment section.