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Many people want to create their own ecommerce store but they aren’t able to because they don’t know exactly what is the best free ecommerce design or the best free ecommerce platform. But it’s not that difficult choosing an ecommerce platform nor finding perfect one for your ecommerce project.
If you are planning to buy or construct an ecommerce website, this article is for you. If you are still not familiar about the word -ecommerce, let me give you a small description about it. Ecommerce is one of the best ways to sell and purchase goods and services that are available on the internet. Even though, it will grow more and more; so far this is one of the best ways to make instant transactions between buyers and sellers.
There are many ways to create a free ecommerce website but the best way is let someone else do it for you. Fortunately there is a great option that will allow you to build your free online store quickly and easily.
Free Ecommerce Platforms: Key Features
What key ecommerce features make the best free ecommerce platforms? I look for these key features:
Inventory management
Does the tool make difficult inventory management tasks more simple? Does it have features for tracking and giving real-time data on stock levels? Inventory management is the bread and butter feature of a good ecommerce platform. Executing this right shows ample proof of a good and robust free ecommerce platform.
Customization
What is the depth of customizations you can achieve with the product? As an ecommerce manager, you need to color and depict your platform according to your brand’s design aesthetics. Does the free ecommerce platform allow you to do that?
Support
How powerful is the product’s support feature? What are the different modes of support? Is there an active community backing the product? Support is usually lackluster on free ecommerce platforms. Having good quality support within the free tools option can be a game-changer, as support isn’t often included in free plans for a lot of SaaS products.
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Wix
Wix has gained a lot of popularity because of its simple interface and affordable prices. To use Wix, you don’t need any coding knowledge. You can simply drag and drop components and create beautiful online stores. Just like other platforms, Wix has more than 510 templates you can try your hands on. Templates are available for electronics, food & drinks, fashion, sports, clothing, and many other niches.
Wix also helps in creating a stunning online store for mobile devices. As we all know, mobile stores are gaining more and more attention, Wix is the eCommerce platform you can use for this purpose.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using Wix as an eCommerce platform:
Advantages
- There are multiple template choices available.
- The plans are very affordable compared to other eCommerce platforms.
- Wix Help Center has tons of articles and tutorials that can guide you to create an online store.
- The free plan never expires. Although, you can’t sell online with a free plan, but Wix gives you endless time to create and customize your online store.
Disadvantages
- Wix is an excellent option for starting an online store. However, it may not be a good option for a large-scale online store. You can initiate your business with Wix, but as you grow, you might have to shift to bigger eCommerce platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce due to less customization in Wix.
- Once you choose a Wix template, you’re kind of stuck with it. Wix has its custom codes, so it’s hard for you to migrate as well.
Squarespace
Squarespace is another widely accepted SaaS eCommerce platform with beautiful templates and design capabilities. It offers a great collection of themes, so you really don’t have to worry about finding the right template for your business. You might have to try your hands on Squarespace editor before you jump into designing your site. Even though it’s a drag-and-drop editor, but not as smooth as Wix. So you might need a little practice.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using Squarespace as an eCommerce platform:
Advantages
- Squarespace templates are feature-rich, and the collection covers a wide range of industries.
- Template designs are responsive. That means, your online store will look pretty good on mobile devices.
- The style editor gives you great options to edit fonts, colors, images, sidebars, background images, and pretty much everything without any coding knowledge.
Disadvantages
- Addition of rich snippets is a bit tedious in Squarespace.
- “Personal Plan” is inferior in terms of features.
- You can’t import and export digital products.
Volusion
Volusion is one of the leading hosted eCommerce platforms that focus on providing a full kit for businesses with inventory management, customer management, marketing features, and much more. One of the best things about Volusion is, it has great customer support. There’s tons of learning material available already on how to build an online store with Volusion, so you’ll find every answer. With Volusion, you don’t have to be a nerd if you want to build an online store. Volusion is running over 30,000 online stores and has helped these stores to sell over $26 millions of goods. Those are some high numbers!
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using Volusion as an eCommerce platform:
Advantages
- Volusion offers a comprehensive set of tools that can help you build a great online store without much coding knowledge.
- As we mentioned, there’s 24×7 support from Volusion. So, ask any question from the beginning to the end.
- Volusion doesn’t charge transaction fees in its lower plans.
Disadvantages
- Every plan has a bandwidth limit, so after a certain point, you need an upgrade.
- You have to pay extra bucks for SSL certificate.
- Volusion doesn’t offer a built-in blogging function.
Magento
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.
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.
Pricing: There is a free software download available for Magento, but you will need to pay for your own hosting solutions and other premium tools. Additionally, it’s worth noting that there’s an enterprise version of this tool, but it costs $15,000.
Pros
- Open source for complete customization control
- Flexibility to customize your platform
- Huge community of developers to work with
- Excellent for global sites
- Versatile Magento marketplace
Cons
- Difficult to use
- Can be expensive to set up
- Need to manage your own hosting and payment gateways
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.
Just like other plugins for your WordPress blog, WooCommerce can simply connect with your existing WordPress website. The system also comes with a range of excellent official extensions that you can use to make running your website a little easier too. For instance, you can choose from advanced themes for your storefront, and you can play with tools for dropshipping too. Because WooCommerce is open source, it’s very flexible, but this also means that you’re going to need a lot more technical knowledge to start using it.
One particularly useful feature of WooCommerce is unlike a lot of the other eCommerce platforms available on the web today, it comes with built-in blogging, and the option to take unlimited orders.
Pricing: As an open-source solution, WooCommerce is technically free to use. However, you will need to pay for your own hosting and payment gateways.
Pros
- Unlimited products and orders
- Add all the extra features that you want
- Affordable, though you need to pay for your own hosting
- Huge selection of themes and customization options
- No limits on how much you can sell
- Built on top of WordPress
Cons
- Requires some technical knowledge
- Needs a third-party payment gateway
Shift4Shop
Shift4Shop is a hosted ecommerce platform that provides customers with everything they need to operate an online store. Ratings-wise, it ties with Shopify and comes in just short of BigCommerce overall. Shopify beats them in terms of design and the mobile user experience. Shift4Shop offers more features than Shopify, though.
Shift4Shop offers a variety of features out of the box and has flexible pricing plans. That makes it a top ecommerce platform for small business owners on a budget while growing their business. It’s also an excellent option for business owners who don’t want to get bogged down with the technical details.
All plans are billed monthly, with no annual commitment. Prices start at $19 a month. You’ll never pay more than $229/month.
Design and Ease of Use
Shift4Shop offers more than 100 design templates to choose from. There are a lot of free options, too. If you want a premium theme, you’ll pay anywhere from $99.99 to $199.99, depending on the one you want.
This ecommerce platform is incredibly easy to understand. The website builder includes a quick design bar. That’s how you can quickly and easily edit parts of your design without needing to change the HTML code directly.
Features and Integrations
No matter the plan you choose, you’ll get all the tools you need to grow your store. These include:
- Basic SEO tools
- Subscription and recurring billing
- Abandoned cart emails
- Coupons
- Ratings and Reviews
- Real-time shipping and tracking
- Upselling and cross-selling
- Variable products
- FBA interaction and Dropshipping
- Facebook Sync
You’ll have to upgrade to a higher-priced plan if you want Amazon and eBay sync. eBay isn’t an option on the lower-tier plans. However, you can add Amazon to those plans with a paid add-on.
Shift4Shop has a lot of solutions to support any online selling strategy. You can easily get your store up and running within a few minutes – thanks to unlimited products and variable product options.
Pros
- Loads fast
- No transaction fees
- Works with more than 100 payment gateways
- Easy to use without a lot of technical knowledge
Cons
- Customer loyal program is only available on the higher-priced plans.
- Limited library of apps and plugins
- Customers report shoppers experiencing errors when 3dcart conducts server maintenance and upgrades.
- You cannot get an annual discount like you can with similar ecommerce platforms.
Shift4Shop is best for entrepreneurs who want to get to market fast. It’s an ideal choice for a variety of business models since it has an array of features and functionality right out of the box.
What to Look for in an eCommerce WordPress Theme
While you may have specific needs that aren’t covered here, you’ll find that most online stores require the following features to function properly. When searching for a theme, ensure the one you select has:
- Full integration with an eCommerce platform. This might sound like a no-brainer, but you really do need to ensure the theme you pick has this compatibility. WooCommerce is the most popular choice in the WordPress space but compatibility with Easy Digital Downloads is a good one to look for too, especially if you plan on selling services or digital goods.
- Promotional tools. Many of these will be included in whichever eCommerce platform you choose to use but your theme should carry support as well. Look for features like email marketing integration (with the likes of MailChimp and aWeber), wishlist support, and discount and coupon codes.
- Payment processing capability. Again, this is another feature that’s often rolled into whichever shopping cart platform you pick but ensure your store can process payments from multiple sources. Will you accept credit cards? PayPal? Stripe? Lock this down upfront to avoid drama later.
- Reporting tools. Many eCommerce themes come with robust reporting tools (or interfaces for the integrated tools within WooCommerce, for example), so look for specific mentions of this as well.
Conclusion
E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services using electronic systems such as the Internet, rather than in person or by telephone. E-Commerce platforms host your online store including payment options and shopping cart where your customers can buy products and pay for them online with a debit/credit card, credit card or PayPal.
Choosing an ecommerce platform to host your online store can be one of the most important decisions in growing your business. If you are looking for free ecommerce design, make sure the platform you choose is easy to use, flexible and powerful enough to support your business. Hundreds of ecommerce platforms exist on the internet. Most of them focus on certain kinds of businesses. Some may require technical skills to build a website and are expensive to run.