An ecommerce platform is a software solution that allows you to build and run an online store. There are many different ecommerce platform options available, varying in quality, features and ease-of-use. However, there are no perfect solutions; each ecommerce platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. Thus, it is essential to consider the characteristics of each platform and your own needs before making a decision.
Ecommerce platforms are used by businesses that sell products or services online. This could be done through a website, mobile app, or through PDFs. Platforms eliminate the need to build an ecommerce website from the ground up. They provide the infrastructure and features needed in order to sell products on the web. As with any platform, there are good options and great options for ecommerce platforms. In this article we look at some of the best ecommerce platforms for a new businesses.
The best ecommerce platform for your small business will depend on the size of your operation and sales goals. For example, new businesses looking to grow online sales need more flexibility, scalability, and customer support than a larger business with a solid online presence.
The growth of internet and ecommerce has become unstoppable. Nowadays we can buy anything online at just a few clicks and often for a reasonable price. E-commerce industry is rapidly growing, both in the number of businesses specialising and their turnover.
How do I create a free ecommerce website?
You can create a free ecommerce website by using tools and platforms like Square Online, Prestashop, or Ecwid. Use any of the tools listed in the article and choose from the free-to-use ecommerce website templates to give your ecommerce site a professional look. These tools also allow different levels of customization that you can implement to make the site suit your brand aesthetics. Finally, you can connect the site to reliable suppliers using an above-listed service like Zendrop.
BigCommerce
It’s hard to miss out BigCommerce when we’re even mentioning the term “best eCommerce platforms.” BigCommerce is among those big sharks that rule the sea of eCommerce today. It’s a SaaS-based shopping cart software providing an insanely easy interface to its users. The online stores built on BigCommerce have witnessed excellent user experience, and that means pretty numbers in revenue!
BigCommerce is among the apex choices because users can customize the entire online stores without getting into coding too much. BigCommerce has a buyer-centric approach that reflects in various integrations like PayPal, FraudLabs, and tons of other apps.
BigCommerce has developed a broad community of designers, developers, marketers, consultants, and much more. The BigCommerce partner directory helps you in finding the best experts out there to get things done. You can hire these experts for additional designing, development or marketing services.
Now, something important.
BigCommerce is widely popular for so many reasons, but one of the reasons is- BigCommerce Themes. They are advanced, buyer-centric, and have every feature a buyer needs. You can also add various add-ons to enhance your store with additional features.
BigCommerce has its own theme store where you can get free and premium themes and start with your online store. BigCommerce certified partners (as we discussed BigCommerce has a huge community now) can also help in developing your custom themes.
PSDCenter is a proud partner with BigCommerce and has done some remarkable works in the last 10 years. You can check out the collection of our BigCommerce themes & add-ons from our very own theme store.
In this article, we will also have a quick look at the pros and cons of each platform, just to give a clear picture.
Advantages
- You will find a lot of learning material with BigCommerce itself from customizing to marketing your store.
- BigCommerce is one of the best eCommerce platforms for security purpose. It offers multi-layer security to its stores. BigCommerce is also very significant when it comes to speed. Your BigCommerce store will load at the fastest speed for sure.
- All necessary features to customize and market your store are built-in.
- BigCommerce offers great features in terms of SEO.
- BigCommerce is one of the best eCommerce platforms to start a full-fledged online store. There won’t be any need to migrate to another platform in the future.
- There are tons of BigCommerce add-ons you can use to emphasize your online store.
Disadvantages
- You need to upgrade to bigger plans if your revenue crosses the limit.
- Unlike Shopify, there’s no Lite version of BigCommerce. (But Shopify Lite has limited features and can be used for a very few use cases.)
Shopify
Shopify recorded its billionth order in the second quarter of 2018.
That single statement says a lot about Shopify and why we’re mentioning it in this list.
Shopify comes with an entire eCommerce solution that allows you to set up an online store with complete ease. It gives you the freedom to organize your merchandise, easily customize your storefront, track records for orders and to accept payments with few clicks.
The administrative interface of the store comes in English, all other things like email conversation, checkout, etc. comes in other languages. Just like BigCommerce, Shopify is one of the very few platforms that can be used by all three kinds of businesses – small, medium & large. BigCommerce and Shopify are often compared as both the eCommerce platforms are widely accepted and offer superiority to the users.
So, what’s new with Shopify?
It has Shopify Plus – an eCommerce platform with advanced functionality. It helps in growing your business by providing a large space of 2 terabytes of storage. Shopify Plus simplifies your backend workflows and lowers down complexity, and some other features like:
- Going international with a multi-lingual store.
- For high-value customers, set a wholesale channel.
- As your team grows, feel free to create unlimited staff accounts.
- Transaction fees are lower with Shopify Plus.
- Shopify Plus has a higher level of support
Along with BigCommerce, Shopify has captured a large portion of eCommerce industry today. You can safely say, these are the two best eCommerce platforms for all three size of business viz. Small, Medium, and Large.
PSDCenter has a broad panel of Shopify experts, and we have developed some outstanding themes for future stores. Don’t forget to check them out.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of Shopify you should know:
Advantages
- You can set up an online store instantly.
- You don’t need any coding knowledge to set up your store.
- The customer support of Shopify is very good.
- Just like BigCommerce, so many cool Shopify themes are available.
- The platform has tons of apps and add-ons to give more power to your online store.
- Shopify Lite plan is available that can be a great option for many small businesses.
- Shopify also offers great SEO features, just like BigCommerce.
- Shopify has a PoS system that can be integrated with your online store as well.
Disadvantages
- You often have to rely on third-party apps to get things done.
- Transaction fee on every payment gateway transaction.
- You may face content limitations in many Shopify themes.
3dcart
3dcart combines everything you need to sell products online. It helps you in creating, designing, marketing, and managing your store with built-in features. It allows you to control online as well as offline payments, deal with your inventories, set up real-time delivery options etc. You don’t have to worry if you don’t know HTML, CSS, JavaScript or any other programming language.
Just like Shopify, 3dcart has a wide field for developers, so there’s much external help you can take for theme development or any other modification for your online store. PSDCenter is one of the biggest certified developers in 3dcart for more than 10 years, so you can safely rely on us when it comes to 3dcart. Check out our themes and development services for 3dcart.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of 3dcart you should know:
Advantages
- Variety of checkout options are available in 3dcart.
- 3dcart offers unlimited storage to the users.
- Great SEO features and social media integrations.
- You can develop a decent looking responsive store with 3dcart.
- 3dcart is continuously updating the platform to offer the best services.
Disadvantages
- There are free themes available, but you might be disappointed with the quality.
- The dashboard is not very interactive and informative.
- You might need to invest some time in understanding the entire platform, unlike BigCommerce or Shopify.
Square Online
Are you looking for an ecommerce builder that will allow you to combine your online selling strategy with your offline sales? If so, then it’s definitely worth checking out Square Online, the site-building technology available from Square. If you already have a Square Point of Sale System, Square will allow you to build a website for free. The store builder is powered by Weebly, however, which means that you’re going to get the same customization limitations that you had with your Weebly store.
On the plus side, like Weebly’s store building solution, the Square Online system comes with all the ease of use that you could ask for as a beginner trying to launch your shop online. You can immediately begin building highly professional looking stores in no time. Additionally, because everything integrates with your Square point of sale system, you get access to advanced inventory management too. When something sells online, it updates your inventory in your back-end.
Square also uses artificial design intelligence with its store builder. This means that you get a more advanced experience, without having to spend a fortune. Adding products and features to your store is easy, and with the free plan to get you started, there’s nothing to lose.
Pricing: Free to get started with the option to upgrade to a more advanced store experience.
Pros
- Excellent if you’re already using features of the Square ecosystem
- Easy to use for beginners
- Combines online and offline selling
- Fantastic inventory management tools
- Great for AI design
Cons
- Limitations in customization options, particularly with the checkout
- Limits to your payment processing options
Wix
When it comes to value for money and performance, Wix is one of the best options for eCommerce stores. Designed to deliver exceptional performance, even when you’re new to building your own online store, Wix gives you absolute creative control over your site. There are tons of features included in the eCommerce plans that you get with Wix, including a drag and drop store builder, hundreds of templates, and a mobile-optimized performance.
You can choose from a range of payment solutions and a secure checkout system. What’s more, there’s the option to create stunning product galleries with your in-depth store manager tools. Another great thing is that there’s the option to calculate global tax and shipping on your back-end too. Unfortunately, there aren’t quite as many shopping features on Wix as you would get with Shopify, but that’s to be expected from a site that’s not focused entirely on eCommerce.
Wix might not be the most advanced solution for ecommerce website building in the world – but it’s an excellent way for beginners to get started.
Pricing: Free ad-supported version if you don’t mind displaying Wix ads on your website. However, to sell products, you need the Business Basic plan that costs $23 per month.
Pros
- Excellent range of high-quality themes to customize your site
- Multiple secure payment options for your customers
- Large selection of apps and plugins
- Can start out for free
- Plenty of coupon and discount options
Cons
- Limited eCommerce features
- No way to export your data
- Difficult to add extra functions as it isn’t open source
Squarespace
Squarespace is an excellent ecommerce platform for companies that want a lot of creative control. This cloud-hosted website builder is similar in style to Wix, although it comes with a few advanced features, such as excellent integration with social media channels.
If you’re searching for a way to build an eye-catching online business or portfolio, then SquareSpace is a good choice for you. There are a lot of sleek and modern templates to choose from, and you can change your style whenever you choose. Unfortunately, there aren’t as many eCommerce features available with this tool as you’d get with Shopify. On the plus side, you can access SSL security and a free domain with any annual plan. You also get the benefit of a mobile-optimized checkout with no transaction fees on any of your plans.
Pricing: Prices start at $18 per month for Squarespace, making it a relatively affordable option. However, there’s no free plan.
Pros
- Excellent social media integration
- Plenty of fantastic templates to choose from
- Budget-friendly plans
- Great for those who need 24/76 customer support
- Free domain with annual plans
Cons
- Large transaction fees
- Limited payment options – only Stripe, PayPal or Apple Pay
- No app market
Weebly
Weebly is a wonderful ecommerce platform for small businesses that need a simple online store. It has marketing automation built-in, too. Other platforms like Shopify required a third-party app to get those features.
You’ll pay anywhere from $8 to $38 a month for Weebly’s ecommerce platform, depending on the plan you choose.
If you’re focused on speed and performance, you may need to choose another ecommerce platform. The average load time for most ecommerce websites is 3.2 seconds. The average load time for a Weebly website is 3.8. It may not seem like much of a difference, but it may as well be an eternity with the fast pace of the internet.
Design and Ease of Use
Weebly excels in both design and ease of use. It has a variety of templates to choose from, all designed for a good mobile user experience.
It’s easy for someone with no technical knowledge to jump right in and build a high-quality, professional-looking online store. It’s beginner-friendly than other platforms like BigCommerce but isn’t as ideal for someone who wants to have a developer come in and customize things.
Features and Integrations
Weebly has an impressive range of features and integrations, especially when you consider the price point. If you want to sell digital products, though, you’ll have to upgrade to the highest tier plan.
If your business sells personalized products, all of Weebly’s plans include this option. Many others on the market don’t have the capability to sell personalized products right out of the box.
That said, Weebly doesn’t include things like one-click upsells, abandoned cart emails, real-time shipping rates, and tracking, or subscription/recurring billing. These aren’t features you can add with a third-party add-on.
Pros
- Beautiful site designs
- Easy to use dashboard makes it easier to manage your store
- Weebly offers an excellent value. It’s the lowest price for marketing automation.
- Powerful email tools
Cons
- If you’re focused on SEO, you’ll be disappointed with Weebly. It’s one of the worst out there of all the ecommerce platforms we’ve reviewed.
- You’ll be charged an additional transaction fee on top of fees your payment gateway charges. If you have a high sales volume, you could pay more than you would with another platform.
- Lacks an Amazon integration
Weebly is best for local brick-and-mortar stores that require limited functionality. It also works well for businesses with personalized products that don’t have the budget to work with other ecommerce solutions.ProductSummaryRatingsWeeblyTry For FreeReviewExcellent Value For Basic StoreStunning Template DesignsPowerful Email ToolsTransaction Fees On Lower PlansWeak SEONo Amazon IntegrationValue2.5Features2.8Performance2.6Ease of Use3.6Design & Themes4.3Integrations2.3
What Do You Think About These Free Ecommerce Platforms?
These were my top picks for free ecommerce platforms. Now tell me your opinion. What do you think of this list? Any free ecommerce software I missed that you think has great potential? Let me know about it in the comments section.
Also, if you liked the article, I would really appreciate it if you can give it a share on social media. I assure you, your network will see you as the new ecommerce superman (talk about patting myself on the back!)
Conclusion
Some companies have a really tight budget when starting their business. Yet, business is all about profit and if you don’t have enough money for your startup, then it can be tricky. But it doesn’t need to be that way. There are many platforms for entrepreneurs who want to start their own stores – opening an ecommerce store can get you on the road to success, even if you’re broke. As long as you have a great idea and execution, your business will do well.
There are ecommerce platforms that are famous and have a reputation in the market because they can help businesses get more profits. If you want to make your business grow, it would be best if you get an ecommerce platform.