You might notice ecommerce platforms are shifting from “optional” to “mandatory” for companies of all sizes with products to sell online. Sure, you can sell independently through a custom-built ecommerce website, but be prepared for the hefty development costs and technical headaches.
If you really want to scale your business and have liftoff, you need a third-party software application to act as the backbone of your online retail experience. Put another way, if you don’t use one of the best ecommerce platforms, it’s going to be really hard for you to compete online, especially in a post-pandemic world.
Need help keeping up with your ecommerce orders?
When you choose technology to build or augment an online store, you are putting a huge amount of trust in the company providing it. An ecommerce platform is a software application at the nexus of complex functions, such as inventory management, CRM, web design, mobile commerce, and analytics. A lot goes into building a dynamic and user-friendly interface to help you streamline how your business interacts with customers, clients, and employees.
The best ecommerce platforms have an intricate alchemy of pricing, features, customer service, convenience, and simplicity. The technology needs to offer features, such as the ability to list products, an SEO strategy that launches your product pages to the top of search engine results, shopping cart abandonment recovery, and seamless integration with a fulfillment center.
A challenge for business owners is finding the right technology that fits their needs. If you feel overwhelmed by the choices, pull up a chair. We’ve put together a guide detailing the pros and cons of the best ecommerce platforms to help you decide.
Shopify has been a dominant player in the ecommerce space for 15 years, powering more than 1.6 million retailers online from large multinational corporations like Budweiser to kitchen table operations. The all-in-one system provides all you need to build and promote your business online like templates, a payment processor, and email marketing tools. Plus, Shopify easily integrates with complementary services such as automatic order fulfillment. The subscription-based service is affordable starting at just $29/month after a free trial.
WooCommerce is a customizable ecommerce platform great for businesses that already have a site built through WordPress. Rather than starting over on a new platform, you can add the WooCommerce plugin to any existing WordPress site for easy selling. The platform is highly customizable due to its open source, meaning you can modify everything – add unlimited products and accept as many orders as you want. The basic plugin is free on a self-hosted WordPress site, but costs can add up when you factor in paid additional features, such as hosting, domain name registration, templates, and marketing.
BigCommerce is a cloud-based platform that lives up to its name, because it’s geared toward large volume sellers like Ben & Jerry’s and bigger small businesses. BigCommerce offers web hosting, international selling, SEO tools, and multichannel selling on social and third-party marketplaces so customers don’t have to buy directly from your store. The platform’s plans are free for 15 days and start from $29.95/month for unlimited products.
You may only think of Square for payments on-the-go, but it transitioned to becoming a full ecommerce platform for merchants after purchasing the website building app Weebly in 2018. You can now set up electronic shopping through Square for only the cost of payment processing (2.9% + 30¢). You can upgrade to paid plans for more features and functionality, such as unlimited storage, third-party integration, custom URL, and analytics.
Wix is a great option for small businesses, freelancers, and individual sellers. If you’re looking to build a website and include a shopping cart, Wix is the ticket. The powerful site builder doesn’t skimp on ecommerce features like order tracking, automated sales tax, and abandoned cart recovery. Similar to other platforms, Wix offers a free trial with paid subscriptions starting at $28/month for a basic plan.
| Feature | Shopify | Square | BigCommerce | WooCommerce | Wix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | Very user-friendly, intuitive UI | User-friendly, simple setup | Moderate, requires some learning | Requires technical knowledge | Very user-friendly, intuitive UI |
| Design Flexibility | Wide range of templates, customizable | Limited templates, basic customization | Extensive templates, highly customizable | Highly customizable with themes and plugins | Good range of templates, customizable |
| Payment Options | Multiple gateways, Shopify Payments | Square Payments only | Multiple gateways | Multiple gateways integrates with many payment processors | Multiple gateways, Wix Payments |
| E-commerce Features | Extensive, scalable, robust apps | Basic, good for small businesses | Extensive, scalable, robust apps | Highly flexible and scalable with plugins | Basic to moderate, suitable for small to mid-sized businesses |
| Integrations | 4000+ apps in the Shopify App Store | Limited integrations | 700+ apps, robust API | Thousands of plugins and extensions | 300+ apps in the Wix App Market |
| SEO | Strong SEO capabilities | Basic SEO tools | Strong SEO capabilities | Strong SEO capabilities, highly customizable | Good SEO tools, not as advanced |
| Customer Support | 24/7 support via phone, email, chat | Limited support | 24/7 support via phone, email, chat | Community support, limited official support | 24/7 support via phone, email, chat |
| Scalability | Highly scalable for all business sizes | Limited scalability | Highly scalable for all business sizes | Highly scalable, dependent on hosting | Good scalability for small to mid-sized businesses |
| Hosting | Hosted solution | Hosted solution | Hosted solution | Self-hosted (requires separate hosting) | Hosted solution |
Shopify: Ideal for businesses of all sizes seeking a robust, user-friendly platform with extensive e-commerce features. Perfect for those wanting a comprehensive solution with strong support and many integrations.
Square: Best for small businesses or startups needing a simple, cost-effective solution for both online and offline sales. Integrates well with Square's POS system but isn't as scalable or flexible as other options.
BigCommerce: Suitable for large businesses or those with complex needs, offering a highly scalable solution with extensive features and integrations.
WooCommerce: Perfect for those wanting complete control and customization over their online store. Requires technical knowledge and is highly scalable, ideal for those comfortable managing their own hosting.
Wix: Great for small to mid-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use platform with good design flexibility. User-friendly but not as advanced or scalable as some other platforms.
Ultimately, the best ecommerce platforms help you reach the goals and objectives you have set for your business. Improving the quality of your ecommerce experience is an ongoing endeavor you shouldn’t have to journey alone. That’s where we have a part to play in propelling you forward.
While you’re focused on taking technology to the next level, we’ll take the stress out of fulfillment. If you plan to grow your business, contact Ship My Orders today and we’ll help you rise to the occasion.