Are you looking for a way to take your business to the next level with an online store? If so, then we can help you out with our list of the best eCommerce platforms out there.
No matter what business niche you are based on, an online platform to broaden your horizon is a must. Starting an online store is in no way an easy task, however. Fortunately, there are eCommerce platforms out there that can help you do it all effectively.
Before we get into what the best ones are, let’s first talk about why eCommerce platforms are important.
Why Use an eCommerce Platform?
First of all, let’s go through some reasons why you should give eCommerce platforms a try in the first place.
- Convenience: It is just easier to set up an online store using an eCommerce platform. No need to bother with codes or hire expensive programmers. They are designed to be accessible even to beginners.
- Help and Support: Should something go wrong with your site, good eCommerce platforms will have a ton of resources, from live support to help forums, to help you solve it.
- Trust and Security: Having a store backed by the branding of a well-known eCommerce platform means that customers will find it easier to trust your legitimacy.
- Understand your Consumers: To grow your online store, it is necessary to know your customers and these platforms have analytics to help you do just that.
We’ve previously done comparisons of online store platforms like Shopify vs WordPress, WooCommerce Vs Shopify, and WooCommerce Vs Magento. Today, we wanted to take a detailed look at all the available eCommerce platforms as well as their pros and cons.
We will be covering the pricing, advantages, major purpose, and the overview of each one so you don’t have to. So without wasting any time, let’s get on with the comparison.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is one of the best free eCommerce platforms and powers millions of users worldwide. It provides a scalable and flexible platform that is ideal for small-scale to medium-sized businesses. Built on WordPress; the most popular CMS platform, it is a plugin perfect for WordPress aficionados.
As you WooCommerce is a WordPress theme, you’ll need to set up a WordPress website of your own before you can a. It includes 5 secure and reliable payment options that you can use. From bank transfer, credit card, check payment, PayPal, Stripe, and even Cash on Delivery, you can further extend the payment processors with add-ons.
Pros:
- Both WordPress and WooCommerce are free to start with
- Tons of free WooCommerce extensions and plugins available to add features
- Tons of Free and Paid WooCommerce themes available
- Easy payment gateway options
Cons:
- Unlike other professional platforms, you don’t have any central support
- Requires extensions for many features
- Additional expenses required for a premium plugin, theme, and hosting
- Dependant on WordPress
Pricing Options:
As we have mentioned above, WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin that is FREE to download and use. There are various add-ons and extensions that you can buy and add functionalities that you require. And the price range depends on your business scale and needs.
The more add-ons you need, the more your expense. All of the add-ons vary with their features and their price ranges from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars.
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Magento
Established in 2008, Magento is an open-source software built by eBay that is both flexible and scalable. Just like with WordPress, it has a large marketplace and community where you can find themes, extensions, and add-ons that you can use to your benefit. However, users do need to take care of domains and hostings by themselves.
A modern-day cloud eCommerce platform, as it claims on their site, it is a uniquely integrated platform for analytics, advertisement, content creation, and commerce! There are an estimated 300,000 developers worldwide all dedicated to bringing the best of Magento services to you.
Pros:
- Built-in SEO options to increase ranking
- Advanced testing capabilities
- Marketing and Promotion tools included
- Flexible and scalable
Cons:
- Expensive pricing for plans and hosting
- Slow loading time compared to other platforms
- Requires advanced development and coding knowledge
- Not suited for beginners
Pricing Options:
Currently, there are three different installation options that Magento provides. The first one that is Magento Open Source is a free version where you will need to take care of additional coding, hosting, and configuration yourself.
Magento Commerce and Magento Cloud are the premium and advanced plans that are designed with larger scaled businesses in mind. The cost of these two plans depends on the revenue of the online store, so we can’t really put a price tag on it.
The costs of installation can start from $22,000 and reach up to $190,000 per year. This excludes the additional cost of any themes, hostings, or extensions.
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Shopify
Established in 2006, Shopify has managed to garner popularity thanks to its flexibility and easy to use features perfect for even beginners. It is a web application designed to cater to the needs of anyone who wishes to start an online store. In simple terms, Shopify is like hiring a contractor to handle all the projects while you are still in control over major decisions.
One thing that sets Shopify apart from other platforms is their POS (point of sale) options and Hardware. It lets you sell not just online but even in physical locations as long as you have an iOS or Android device. Currently powering over 1,000,000 active users, Shopify is no doubt another great eCommerce platform to opt for.
Pros:
- Built-in speed and hosting services.
- Add-ons and extensions available to add features
- Easy-to-follow and user-friendly options to get started
- Advanced marketing tools to increase your SEO rankings
Cons:
- Initial setup process can be a hassle
- Exporting blog posts is not easy
- Only 10 free templates to choose from
Pricing Options:
Shopify offers a 14-day free trial package for those that want to try out their services before indulging. However, they have 4 different plans ranging from $25 to $2300 per month.
Basic Shopify is designed for beginners and start-ups. The second plan Shopify is aimed at any growing businesses and the third plan Advanced Shopify is targeted at the larger scaled businesses.
Each plan consists of unlimited product listing capacity, 24/7 support, and all of the features integrated for a smooth and optimal online experience.
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Wix
Wix is a website builder that includes all features you could need to get an online store started. Your eCommerce site will be stored on the Wix servers but you have full control over how it performs. Despite this, you still get access to a range of awesome eCommerce based features making it a worthy eCommerce competitor on our list.
It gives you options for hundreds of professional themes, secure hosting, stunning galleries, and more. It is also one of the best eCommerce platforms for SEO with its useful tools. Wix is not only one of the best eCommerce frameworks but stands as one of the top website building software.
Pros:
- Wide range of online store templates, sales and marketing features
- Includes easy to use a mobile editor
- Easy to modify and user-friendly interface
- Ability to add product-based videos
- Fast loading speed hosted with Wix’s servers
Cons:
- A poor inventory system with a lack of analytic tools
- No option for multi-channel integration
- Limited bandwidth on file storage
- Cheaper plans have advertisements
Pricing Option:
Wix has a Free Plan option you can opt for if you want to try out their features first. Their premium plan starts at $17 a month and ranges up to $159 a month.
The Connect Domain Plan offers highly limited storage and bandwidth. Then there is the better Combo Plan that offers an advertisement-free experience as well as a free domain for a year.
The Unlimited Plan offers unlimited bandwidth, better storage, and useful apps. Finally, the VIP Plan has all of these features along with priority response and VIP support.
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BigCommerce
A reliable eCommerce system catered towards smaller businesses and enterprises, BigCommerce is an easy to access platform. It is a paid-for hosted eCommerce solution that allows business owners to easily start an online store. This service has very high scalability and will work super well for huge enterprises as well as small businesses.
Equipped with the best possible conversion and marketing tools that aren’t just email marketing, this is one way one of the best platforms to get started. If you’re not convinced, then BigCommerce boasts an average growth rate of 28% for its merchants. For fast-growing businesses, BigCommerce is a worthy investment.
Pros:
- There are no transaction fees even if you use a third-party payment gateway
- A good set of reporting tools integrated with all plans
- Built-in SEO and Product review features
- Easy to add custom fields and customize the design
Cons:
- Limits on annual sales and prices varying accordingly
- No mobile apps available
- Premium themes are quite expensive
- The built-in blog does not include RSS feeds
Pricing Options:
Thus there are 4 premium plans you can opt for. The first plan Standard comes for $29 per month offering all of the basic features including built-in features, various payment gateways, 24/7 live support, the point of scale, and more.
The second plan Plus ranges from $79 per month and includes additional features and is ideal for middle-range or growing businesses.
The Pro and Enterprise Plans are aimed at higher scaled businesses. While Pro costs $299 per month, the Enterprise plan can be fixed according to the services you require.
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Wrapping Up!
And this sums up our list of the best eCommerce platforms for any start-ups, larger enterprises, or private businesses. While we have discussed the pros, cons, as well as the pricing plans of each of the platforms, the best one for your eCommerce store will depend on your specific needs. Hopefully, this eCommerce platform comparison will help you find the best option for your own online store.
If you found this article helpful, why not check out some more of our reviews and comparative articles? However, we do appreciate our user’s feedback. So, feel free to leave a comment down below to let us know what you think about this post.