Here are the best eCommerce platforms that you can use to build your business online:
- Shopify
- Amazon
- WooCommerce
- BigCommerce
- eBay
- Etsy
- Adobe Commerce
- Zyro
- Weebly
- Wix
- Shift4Shop
- BigCartel
- CoreCommerce
- PinnacleCart
- OpenCart
- Nexcess
- Sellfy
- Volusion
- Square
- Prestashop
- nopCommerce
- SamCart
- ShopSite
- Zoey
- EKM
The best eCommerce platforms in 2022
Shopify is one of the best eCommerce platforms and has everything you need to start selling online, which is why it is considered the largest and the most popular industry.
If you are looking for an eCommerce platform that is easy to use and has many features, Shopify is the best option for you.
This platform has a drag-and-drop store builder, which makes it easier even for those with no coding knowledge to create a professional-looking website.
You can sell from one to thousands of products across multiple platforms, update and restock them automatically, and even take orders offline.
You can get your online store its domain from their site, and you won’t need to purchase a separate web hosting plan since your store will be live the moment you decide to publish it.
It supports marketing tools such as advertisement campaigns and email marketing. You can also optimize your website using SEO plugins like Yoast, which gives you a rating on how great your product will perform and rank in various search engines.
There are also a ton of plugins and add-ons that could help you manage your business 24/7, like Spocket for dropshipping, ShipBob for inventory management, and Sprout Social for social media management.
It’s also easy to establish your website on mobile since their pre-made themes are mobile-ready.
And in addition to those features, you also do not have to worry if you come across any problems while building your site since their customer support is very responsive.
Shopify Features:
- Sell unlimited products
- Sales channels
- Drag-and-drop website builder
- Free SSL certificates
- Shopify POS
- Shopify Dropshipping
- Shopify Analytics
- Shopify Inventory
- International market management
- Email marketing tools
- SEO tools
- 24/7 customer service
Shopify Pricing
- Basic Plan ($19 per month)
- Shopify Plan ($49 per month)
- Advanced Plan ($299 per month)
If you don’t want to go through the tedious process of building a website, then your best bet would be to sell on Amazon Seller Central.
You must create an account, set up your storefront, list your products, and start selling.
The great thing about Amazon is that it’s a one-stop shop– buyers can purchase anything they need without going to different websites.
In addition to this, sellers don’t worry about marketing their products because Amazon will do it for you.
Amazon automatically advertises your products to millions of potential customers, and you only pay a commission when your product sells.
Another advantage of selling on Amazon is that it has built-in features that help you manage your inventory and orders.
You can also use their fulfillment services to have Amazon themselves ship your products for you.
In terms of Amazon’s pricing plans, they are different compared to other eCommerce platforms.
With Amazon, you pay a monthly subscription fee and a per-item fee. The monthly subscription fee ranges from $39 to $79, while the per-item cost ranges from $0.99 to $12.99, depending on your product category.
Amazon Features:
- Amazon Seller Central StoreFront
- Amazon Seller Central Brand Analytics
- Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
- Pay-per-click advertising
- Amazon Customer Service
Amazon Pricing:
- Individual Selling Plan ($0.99 per product sold)
- Professional Selling Plan ($39.99 per product sold)
- Referral Fee (8%-15% for each product sold)
- FBA Fulfillment fees ($0.15-$7.55)
WordPress is famous for being a content management system (CMS). It allows people to build blogs and websites and create personal space online.
However, WordPress is more than a CMS or a website builder; it also offers its users an eCommerce platform– WooCommerce.
If you already have a web hosting plan for your WordPress website, you can easily install and set up the WooCommerce plugin.
Once you have successfully done it, you will see the WooCommerce option on your administrator dashboard.
Once you click on it, you can start editing your store details and customize your web pages.
You can also add your products, set up your payment methods and tax rates, and add your shipping cost.
Woocommerce also made it easy to promote your products since you can easily create coupons and promotional discounts for the items you are selling.
Being on the search engine’s first page is also easy since there are plug-ins like Yoast SEO that could help you optimize your product description and website content.
WooCommerce Features:
- Free to download and use
- Sell physical and digital products
- Upload videos and pictures seamlessly
- Mobile-ready themes and templates
- Website Plugins
- WooCommerce Shipping
- Payment Collection
- Ad Revenue
- Google Analytics Integration
- Advanced SEO Tools
- Automated site back-ups
- 24/7 Customer Support
WooCommerce Pricing
- WooCommerce Plugin ($25-$150 per year)
- WooCommerce Hosting ($6.95-$12.95 per month)
- WooCommerce Domain ($15 per year)
BigCommerce is one of the best eCommerce platforms you will encounter if you are hunting for a place to build your online store.
The best thing about BigCommerce is that it offers a wide range of essential features for every online store.
Its features include product management, order management, shipping, and payment processing.
It also has a wide range of built-in marketing tools that can help you promote your products and drive traffic to your store.
BigCommerce is also known for its scalability, as it can easily accommodate the needs of small businesses and large enterprises.
Another advantage of using BigCommerce is its security features.
BigCommerce is PCI compliant and has an SSL certificate that can protect your customers’ information.
It also has a fraud detection system that can prevent online scams.
BigCommerce Features:
- Page Builder Visual Editor
- Checkout Customization
- Mobile Optimization
- App Integration
- Coupons & Discounts
- SEO tools
- Digital Multi-Currency Wallets
- Abandoned Cart Saver
- Product Options and Variants
- Advanced Shipping Options
- Real-Time Shipping Quotes
- 24/7 Customer Support
BigCommerce Pricing:
- Standard ($29.95)
- Plus ($79.95)
- Pro ($299.95)
- Enterprise (undisclosed)
eBay Store
Aside from being one of the best, eBay is also one of the oldest eCommerce platforms you can find online.
Founded in 1995, eBay has consistently provided a place for businesses to start selling online with the most straightforward and uncomplicated yet functional features it can offer.
As of now, eBay is available in over 30 countries, and it has over 175 million users.
You should no longer worry about intricate eCommerce platforms that would only give you a headache.
With eBay, you all need to create an account, set up payment methods, and start listing your products.
They even went ahead and got an upgrade– aside from just posting your items on their platform; you can already create your own eBay storefront.
eBay also has a wide range of features that can help promote your products and drive traffic to your store.
This eCommerce platform is also known for its security features that automatically detects fraudulent behavior of the customer so your store and revenueis always protected.
eBay Features:
- Product Listing Preferences
- Auction Option
- Pricing
- Shipment Processing
- eBay Bucks
- Bill Me Later
eBay Store Pricing:
- Starter Store ($4.95 per month)
- Basic Store ($21.95 per month)
- Premium Store ($59.95 per month)
- Anchor Store ($299.95 per month)
- Enterprise Store ($2,999.95 per month)
Etsy
For all artists and creative entrepreneurs, Etsy is their heaven; for us, this website is one of the best eCommerce platforms.
The reasons behind Etsy getting into this list is endless, but to start with, setting up a store on this eCommerce site is as easy as clicking the type of products that you want to sell, then choosing the things that you would need any assistance with, and lastly, you can then create your shop.
You can then edit your shop preferences, name your shop, upload your product photos and videos, set up your payment methods, and you’re all set!
Etsy also offers global shipping, so your products can reach buyers from all over the world.
Etsy is also known for its security features. It has a fraud detection system that can prevent online scams.
Of course, like other eCommerce platforms, Etsy also has limitations, and one of these is that you can only list unique, handmade, or vintage products in your store.
Etsy Features:
- Shop Builder and Manager
- Product Listings
- Videos and Photos
- Pattern by Etsy
- Direct Checkout
- Shipping Labels
- Buyer Protection
- Payment Processing Partnerships
- Gift Cards & Coupons
- Payment Methods
- Global Shipping
- 24/7 Customer Support
Etsy Pricing:
- $0.20 per listing
- Etsy Plus Subscription ($10 per month)
Adobe Commerce
Formerly known as Magento, Adobe Commerce is an excellent self-hosted e-Commerce platform business owners can use to run their online store.
This eCommerce platform lets business owners complete control over their B2C or B2B. You can design your storefront, customize how your products would be displayed, and manage your inventory all in one platform without the need to be a master in coding or web design.
Users can also manage multiple storefronts using one cPanel, unlike other eCommerce platforms requiring one control panel to handle a single store.
Suppose you are an online business that launched your store in multiple countries. In that case, you can also manage various storefronts using one cPanel; unlike other eCommerce platforms, Adobe Commerce makes your life easy because all the stores that you are managing, no matter where it is located, are accessible with one control panel.
Adobe Commerce is known for its scalability as it is an open-source platform, which means that it can be customized to best suit the needs of your business as it grows.
Assigning roles and responsibilities to different users is also a breeze. You can create as many user accounts as you want and give them specific roles that best suit their abilities.
Setting up different payment options is also possible with Adobe Commerce, and they also have 24/7 customers that could assist you if any problem arises.
Adobe Commerce Features:
- Adobe Commerce Application
- Core Application Support
- Business Intelligence Pro
- Single-tenant, dedicated infrastructure
- Deployment Tools
- Larger dedicated staging environment
- Faster support response time
- Increased customization available
- 50GB of testing
- Disaster recovery and data retention
- Varnish-based CDN
- Image Optimization
- DDoS protection and WAF
- Performance Monitoring Tools
- Infrastructure Support
- Technical Account Manager
- High-Availability Architecture
- Automated data backup
- Expansive monitoring and alerting
- Scalability & High Performance
Adobe Commerce Pricing:
Adobe Commerce has never disclosed its pricing as it will depend on factors such as how big a company is, the number of customer representatives it needs, and the different add-ons that its business operations demand.
But in general, the price range for Adobe Commerce is $22,000 per year.
Zyro Website Builder
Suppose you are looking for an eCommerce platform that will help you launch you’re to help you launch your online store in the fastest and easiest way possible. In that case, Zyro is one of the best options online for you.
With Zyro, building your website is possible even if you have zero knowledge of eCommerce tools, programming, or coding.
You can also sell your products across multiple platforms without transferring from one website to another.
Users of Zyro also experience hassle-free online selling because they provide business management tools like AI writer, AI background remover, AI slogan generator, AI image, AI business name generator, and AI blog title generator, which makes posting products and landing into the first page of search engines relatively more straightforward.
Zyro also offers a range of features to help businesses grow their online stores, including AI-powered product recommendations, abandoned cart recovery, and automatic tax calculations.
Improving your brand positioning and promoting your business to a broader audience is also possible with Zyro, as they have built-in and easy-to-use SEO tools that will help you with your website ranking, and they help their users collect customer emails and automatically launch email marketing campaigns.
Zyro Features:
- Website builder
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited storage
- Free domain for one year
- Free SSL
- Free web hosting
- Free templates
- Blogging tools
- Live chat customer support
- Sell up to 500 products
- 24/7 Customer support
- Easy to Use Drag and Drop Editor
- Fully Responsive Themes
- Optimized for Search Engines
- Product Recommendations
- Abandoned Cart Recovery
- Automatic Tax Calculations
- 14-Day Free Trial
Zyro Pricing:
- Starter Plan ($29.90 per month)
- Business Plan ($49.90 per month)
Weebly
Starting as a web hosting platform in 2007, Weebly emerged as an eCommerce platform online when it was acquired by Square last 2018.
As an online business owner, you would want to use the best eCommerce platform that is easy to use, has everything you need t set it up, and has complete marketing tools.
Weebly offers thousands of free templates for its users, has a drag-and-drop functionality that a basic online store needs, and if you need more features, you can always add additional features on their App Center.
Team management is also made easy with Weebly. Suppose you are the owner of your beautiful online store with different employees to handle various business operations. In that case, you have complete control over the roles and permissions given to every team to give them their virtual workspace within their online store.
This eCommerce platform is available on App Store and Google Play so that you can build and manage your store from your smartphones.
Weebly also offers a 14-day free trial, so it is best for store owners who want to try them out without paying immediately.
However, one of the downsides of this company is that the languages they offer are limited.
Weebly Features:
- Free SSL Security
- 500MB Storage
- Custom Domains
- Site Search
- Shopping cart
- Search Engine Optimization
- Lead Capture and Contact Forms
- Advanced Site Stats
- Pop Up Notifications
- Advanced E-commerce
- Accept payments through Square
- Accept payments through 3rd party providers
- Item badges
- Item options
- Inventory management
- Automatic Tax Calculations
- 14-Day Free Trial
Weebly Pricing:
- Weebly Pro ($12 per month)
- Weebly Business ($25 per month)
- Weebly Business Plus ($38 per month)
Wix
You must have already heard of Wix as a website building platform, but most of us don’t know that it also offers an eCommerce site builder for its users.
The platform makes it easy to create an online store, with no coding required.
This user-friendly website is not different from an average eCommerce platform, as it makes eCommerce store creation easier through the tools and features that they have.
These features include free themes, drag-and-drop functionality, contact forms, social media integration, and more.
Wix is unique because it offers an AI-powered assistant called Wix Artificial Design Intelligence, or Wix ADI. This tool will help store owners create their websites by asking them what they need and want for their websites.
Wix also takes care of dropshipping, product reviews, inventory management, automatic tax calculations, and marketing for its users.
The best thing about Wix is that it offers a free plan for those who want to try out the platform before upgrading to a paid subscription, so it’s perfect for small enterprises working with a limited budget.
Wix Features:
- Custom domain
- Free domain
- Free SSL certificate
- Free unlimited bandwidth
- 35GB storage
- 5 video hours
- Site booster app
- Visitor Analytics app
- Professional logo
- Social media logo files
- Easy to Use Drag and Drop Editor
- Fully Responsive Themes
- Optimized for Search Engines
- Product Recommendations
- Abandoned Cart Recovery
- Automatic Tax Calculations
- 5 Accepted Payment Methods
- Customer care
- 14-Day Free Trial
Wix Pricing:
- Wix Connect Domain ($4.50 per month)
- Wix Combo ($8.00 per month)
- Wix Unlimited ($12.50 per month)
- Wix VIP ($24.50 per month))
Shift4Shop
Shift4Shop is one of the most promising eCommerce platforms online that most users claim o be the ultimate Shopify killer.
Now, for an eCommerce platform to dethrone a reigning king, one must be able to deliver more than what the leading platform can, or it offers its services at a lower cost.
Guess what? Shift4Shop does both.
The platform not only offers affordable and flexible payment processing options for each order made by your client- which would help boost your sales and catapult your profit; they also provide their services for free.
Shift4Shop was previously known as 3DCart, but it was renamed as such when Shift4 acquired it.
Now the advantage that Shift4Shop compared to the most popular eCommerce platforms stems from the fact that Shift4 earns from each item purchased by the customer and not the usual fee business owners pay for the eCommerce platform they use.
Some other eCommerce solution that it provides is its product listing optimization, automated shipping, and automatic tax calculations.
ShiftShop will also provide you with a free SSL certificate to ensure the safety of your website, as well as a free domain for one year when you sign up for their services.
So if you are a business owner who wants to digitize your business and needs a trusted eCommerce platform to start with, Shift4Shop is your best bet.
Shift4Shop Features:
- Web Hosting
- Unlimited Orders
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Domain Registration
- SEO Tools
- Built-in Blog
- Intuitive Shopping Cart
- Product Recommendations
- Abandoned Cart Recovery
- 200+ Payment Providers
- 50+ Mobile-Ready Themes
- Automatic Tax Calculations
- Affiliate Program
- 24/7 Tech Support
Shift4Shop Pricing:
Shift4Shop’s free End-to-End eCommerce plan is exclusively available for merchants from the US.
For business owners who would want to avail of their services, the pricing plans that they offer are as follows:
- Shift4Shop Basic Store ($29.00 per month)
- Plus Store ($79.00 per month)
- Pro Store ($229.00 per month)
- End-to-End Ecommerce ($0 per month)
BigCartel
One of your best options in terms of eCommerce platforms that would help you boost your business is BigCartel.
BigCartel assists its users in creating and establishing their online stores, listing and optimizing their products for search engines, up to payment gateways, and managing inventory.
Depending on your paid plan, BigCartel offers a range of features to help businesses grow their online stores through their fully-customizable eCommerce store, chat support feature, real-time data analytics, marketing tools, shipments tracking, and a whole bunch of beneficial functions that make online selling effortless.
You can start selling online through this eCommerce platform with zero coding or programming and taxation knowledge, as they are the ones that will handle these for you.
Once you log in, BigCartel will show you their dashboard with the store’s general data analytics,
Big Cartel also offers 24/7 customer support to assist you throughout the entire process of creating and running your eCommerce business.
You can also check your online stores’ product inventory and create discounts and coupons to promote your products, plus a lot of their additional features that are readily available for their users.
The best part about BigCartel is that if you sell five products or less, you can avail of their services for free.
BigCartel Features:
- Website Builder
- Drag-and-Drop Editor
- Custom Domain
- Google Analytics
- Free Customizable Themes
- Product Recommendations
- Inventory Tracking
- Bulk Editing
- Abandoned Cart Recovery
- Sales tax autopilot
- Shipment Tracking
- 24/Seven Customer Support
BigCartel Pricing:
- Platinum Plan ($9.99 per month)
- Diamond Plan ($19.99 per month)
CoreCommerce
CoreCommerce is one of the newly-launched eCommerce platforms that provide many features and benefits for business owners.
The best thing about this eCommerce platform is it offers instant online store setup, web hosting, free SSL certificates, and API integration, all of which provide a secure and effective way to have 100% customer satisfaction.
They also have custom store templates that they offer for free, free Quickbooks integration, and automatic tax calculations.
Aside from that, CoreCommerce is also PCI compliant and is integrated with over 70 payment gateways, making it easier for customers to transact with businesses.
CoreCommerce offers 24/7 U.S.-based customer support and has a wide range of features that benefit business owners who want to boost their sales and have a better online presence.
CoreCommerce Features:
- Website Builder
- Instant Store Setup
- Web Hosting
- Free SSL Certificates
- Multi-language Translation
- API Integration
- Social Media Integration
- SEO Tools
- Product Marketing
- Customizable Store Templates
- Quickbooks Integration
- Automatic Tax Calculations
- Checkout by Amazon
- Secured Online Payments
- CorePayments
CoreCommerce Pricing:
- Entrepreneur ($0 per month)
- Basic Plan ($29.00 per month)
- Pro Plan ($79.00 per month)
- Business Plan ($229.00 per month)
PinnacleCart
Pinnacle Cart is a great eCommerce platform for all kinds of businesses who would want to bring their business online.
Whether you already have an existing online business on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram but are clueless about how you could transfer your products to a professional-looking website, or if you are entirely new to the concept of selling online, Pinnacle Cart is the best eCommerce platform for you.
Pinnacle Cart offers a wide range of features, such as their user-friendly and customizable store builder and store designer, product management tools, inventory control, marketing tools, payment gateway integrations, reporting & analytics, and many more.
Aside from that, Pinnacle Cart also has many built-in features, such as their abandoned cart saver, product recommendations, order management tools, SEO and marketing tools, automatic tax calculations, and shipping integrations.
You would also benefit from Pinnacle Cart’s omnichannel approach, where you can manage your online stores across Amazon and Google Shopping through their platform.
Using this platform, you can manage your business through your computer or phone.
PinnacleCart Features:
- Web Hosting
- PCI-compliant Cloud-based Serves
- SSL Certificates
- Customizable Web Designs
- Multiple Admin Accounts
- Unlimited Products
- Product Filers
- Split Shipping
- Unlimited Sales Volume
- Blog
- SEO tools
- Influencer Marketing/Blogger Outreach
- Content Development
- Re-marketing Management, Drip Marketing
- Conversion Optimization
- Affiliate Management
- Ad Creation
- Market Discovery
- Over 30+ payment providers
- 24/7 Customer Support
- 14-day free trial
PinnacleCart Pricing:
- Free Plan
- Standard Plan ($79.95 per month)
- Advanced Plan ($199.95 per month)
- Enterprise Plan
OpenCart
An affordable, open-source platform, OpenCart is an excellent option for businesses of all sizes. With no transaction fees, its users can keep more of your profits and focus on improving your online store.
The first thing to look at on any eCommerce platform is how easy for its users to build a complete online store that is both functional on the front and back-end, and OpenCart pretty much does the job.
It also has an easy-to-use user interface and offers a fully-customizable online store. Since it is open-source, it supports over 40 languages. It provides email marketing tools to ensure that your customers and target market get updated with your latest items.
OpenCart also makes cash or recurrent payments easy through the multiple payment gateways they have integrated into the eCommerce sites built through them.
Shipment tracking and sales reports are also readily available for their users to ensure their online store’s success.
The only downside to OpenCart is that it has limited SEO tools, and you must have at least some background knowledge about web development; you need to take care of your website’s maintenance since it is an open-source platform.
OpenCart Features
- Administrator Dashboard
- User Management
- Product Listing Tools
- Affiliate Marketing Options
- Discounts, Coupons, and Specials
- Unlimited Products
- Inventory Management
- Feedback & Reviews Importation
- Rewards Points
OpenCart Billing
OpenCart is an open-source platform so that you can build your eCommerce site on it for free.
Nexcess
Nexcess is primarily a web hosting platform, but others don’t know that it has a feature that allows people to build their own online with their StoreBuilder quality.
Nexcess’ StoreBuilder includes features like Store Setup Wizard, all organized in one menu item.
For the Store Setup Wizard, you can change your site name, add your tagline, upload your logo, and edit your currency- pretty much upload every information your website needs.
You can also download and install plugins to boost your online store’s performance, design, and security.
Nexcess also made it easy for its users to accept payments online through the multiple payment gateways they offer.
You can also integrate third-party apps like HubSpot, gain more revenue through AffiliateWP, and improve your customer support by adding a Live Chat feature.
If you want to start selling online but feel intimidated by the complexities of doing such, Nexcess is an excellent e-commerce platform for you to begin with.
Nexcess Features
- StoreBuilder by Nexcess
- Free Themes
- Free Domain
- Free SSL Certificates
- Intuitive Design Features
- Easy to Maintain Website
- Live Customer Support
Nexcess Pricing
Nexcess offers a free plan for their StoreBuilder, but if you need their web hosting services, here are their pricing plans.
- Magento Pricing ($29.50-$429.50 per month)
- WooCommerce Pricing ($13.30- $104.50 per month)
Sellfy
If you want to open an online store that sells physical items, subscriptions, and digital products, one of your best options would be Sellfy.
Setting up an eCommerce store on Sellfy is one of the most simple processes since you only need to sign up and give your email, and then you’re all set.
The fewer steps in creating a website are a big hit, especially for new online sellers.
Creating your store-front is also very straightforward for Sellfy, as they allow a fully customized eCommerce space that is mobile-ready, where users can connect their domain.
One of the best features that Sellfy has, which gives them an edge over other eCommerce platforms is its built-in marketing features that allow its users to conduct pixel-based marketing, email marketing, and even generate discount codes that are proven and tested ways to improve a store’s sales.
The online store that Sellfy users can run is also not confined to their website– their users can automatically post and embed their products on their social media accounts as they publish them on their online store.
Like other competitive eCommerce solutions, they offer reliable and secure payment gateways.
Sellfy Features
- Sell unlimited products
- Connect your domain
- Email marketing
- Remove Sellfy branding
- Store design migration
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Product upselling
- Product Migration
- Priority support
- Free trial for 30 days
- SSL secure payments
Sellfy Pricing
- Free Plan ($0 per month)
- Starter Plan ($22 per month)
- Business Plan ($59 per month)
- Premium Plan ($119 per month)
Volusion
Although Volusion is one of the eCommerce platforms that didn’t have much clout on the internet, it is still considered an excellent eCommerce platform that business owners can use to sell online.
For one, Volusion offers expert-designed eCommerce stores that give users complete control over the design and look of their store that are not only functional on desktop browsers but are best viewed on mobiles too.
Like other eCommerce platforms, they also have plugins for easy inventory management, SEO, social media integrations, and importing ratings and reviews from other sites.
With Volusion, they allow third-party apps integration, batch order processing, multiple payment gateways, and credit card processing for faster and easier payment processing.
Volusion’s edge over other eCommerce platforms is its zero transaction fees for all of its plans, it provides more free themes, and its pricing plans are more affordable than its competitors.
Volusion Features:
- Mobile Friendly themes
- Customizable Layouts
- Product Display Options
- Category Pages
- Search Functionality
- Homepage Slideshow
- HTML/CSS Editor Access
- In-house Design Services
- Firewall Settings
- Inventory/Stock
- Warehouses
- A/B Testing
- Inventory Management
- Subscription-based Products
- Modern-day Checkout Solution
- Shipping Options
- Automatic Shipping Calculator
- Volusion API access
- Sitemap Indexing
- Cross-selling Functionality
- Admin Social Management
- ROI Tracking
- Third-party app integration
Volusion Pricing:
- Personal Plan ($35 per month)
- Professional Plan ($79 per month)
- Business Plan ($299 per month)
- Prime Plan (Based on GMV)
Square Shop
Like Shop4Shift, Square was a payment gateway company that ventured out and became an eCommerce platform. They then build thousands of online stores with their business management tools and user-friendly website builder.
To start with, Square offers reliable web hosting options with unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage, and a free SSL certificate.
This eCommerce platform also has a marketplace where users can integrate other software and purchase plugins and business tools to improve their store and help them manage their business.
Square also has marketing tools its users can readily use, like SEO tools, Facebook and Google Ads, Facebook Messenger, Blogs, and Vouchers.
The best thing about Square is that it offers a free trial and a free plan for its users, who would only want to avail themselves of their basic features.
Square’s only downside is its limited payment options, but overall, Square is an excellent eCommerce platform.
Square Shop Features:
- Website Builder and Domain Connecting
- Customizable websites
- Real-Time Inventory Management
- Product and Category Pages
- Square eCommerce APIs
- Square Team App
- Payment Processing with Square
Square Shop Pricing:
- Free Plan ($0 per month + processing fees)
- Plus Plan ($29 per month + processing fees)
- Premium Plan (custom + processing fees)
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is an eCommerce software that claims to have everything any business owner would need to sell online.
With over 300,000 merchants who avail of its service worldwide, PrestaShop allows its users to create products easily and provides the tools that business owners need to build a functional yet presentable online store quickly that makes customers purchasing experience more pleasant compared to their competitors.
It is also easy to promote your products and services with PrestaShop since they have SEO and marketing tools that ensure that your products get to be on top of different search engines.
PrestaShop also has multi-language and multi-currency options, so you can sell your products in over 75 languages worldwide.
On top of all these features, it costs $0 to use PrestaShop since it is a free eCommerce software. You would only pay for modules and additional plug-ins to improve your online store.
PrestaShop Features:
- Web Hosting
- Store Customization
- PrestaShop Add-ons Marketplace
- Product Creation
- Product Navigation
- SEO Tools
- Product Insights
- Reports and Analytics
- Facebook Ad Campaigns
- Messenger Integration
- Email Marketing
- Various Payment Gateways
- Automatic tax calculation
- Run Stock Inventory Management
- 24/7 Customer support
PrestaShop Pricing:
- Free Plan
nopCommerce
nopCommerce is an eCommerce platform built on the ASP.NET Core MVC framework. It is a self-hosted eCommerce platform with a large community of passionate developers and contributors who are always willing to help business owners set up their online stores.
With over 12 years of experience in the eCommerce market, nopCommerce offers features that all types of businesses could take advantage of.
For one, all online stores that use this platform are mobile-ready. This is because nopCommerce has a responsive design that automatically adjusts to the user’s device, making it easy for customers to browse and purchase products on any device.
It is also easy to run any business with nopCommerce since their site’s front-end and back-end are considered separate entities, which are imperative to allow the continuous flow of business despite any adjustments made.
With nopCommerce, selling your products is made easy since they provide not only the primary product attributes which give the buyers an idea of what they are getting, but they also offer product comparison, which eliminates reluctance and helps the customers decide and check out their items in less than a minute.
nopCommerce also provides marketing tools, multiple payment options, estimate shipping calculations, automatic tax calculations, and responsive customer services, all for free.
nopCommerce Features:
- Mobile commerce
- Multi-vendor marketplace
- One-page checkout
- Product Features
- SEO
- Online Check-out
- Marketing Tools
- Payment Options
- Product reviews and ratings
- Shipping methods and carriers integration
- Payment methods and gateways integration
- Customer Support
- Security and Compliance
nopCommerce Pricing:
- Free
SamCart
SamCart is an eCommerce platform created to help business owners increase their conversion rate and average order value.
As a venue for selling primarily digital and physical products, SamCart helps anyone to sell online through their user-friendly platform.
They take care of the hosting and the custom domain, so you, as the owner, just have to build your storefront, upload your products, and set up the payment and shipping methods that are most accessible to you and your customers.
They also have a drag-and-drop editor and pre-made templates that make it easy to create beautiful pages without prior web design experience. It’s so simple that it is almost as if you are editing your blog.
SamCart integrates with many popular payment processors and digital wallets, so paying for their orders would be the last problem your customers will encounter.
With features like one-click upsells and order bumps, SamCart makes it easy for customers to spend more money with every purchase.
SamCart also helps its users promote their business and products through third-party apps that help create marketing campaigns through email and social media.
Its built-in affiliate program tool, SamCart, makes it easy to recruit affiliates and pay them commissions for promoting your products.
It automatically takes care of taxes, coupons, and discounts and provides insightful data and analytics to help you better understand your customers and what strategies work best for your business.
SamCart Features:
- Drag-and-Drop Builder
- Pre-Designed Templates
- Unlimited Products
- Localization
- Digital Wallets
- Custom Domain
- Pre-purchase Order Bumps
- One-click Upsells
- A/B Testing
- Smart Pixel Tracking
- Advanced Reporting
- Add To Order
- Advanced Subscriptions
- Integration Engine
- Taxes & Vat
- Partial Refunds
- Custom Fields
- Payment Processors
- CRM Integration
- Coupons & Discounts
- Payment Options
- Customer Portal
SamCart Pricing:
- Launch ($49 per month)
- Grow ($99 per month)
- Scale ($199 per month)
ShopSite
ShopSite is one of the best e-Commerce platforms for small businesses and startups. It is easy to use and has a wide range of features, making it an excellent choice for those who want to build their own online store without prior experience in web development or design.
This platform also offers a wide range of templates you can use to create a professional-looking website without prior experience in web design.
Aside from your storefront, ShopSite’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to add products, create pages, set up taxes and payment methods and shipping options, and test your new store before launching it in public.
You can also create multiple stores across the globe using ShopSite since they offer multi-language and multi-currency options.
ShopSite also takes pride in that whatever store you build using their services will be available and functional on all devices.
ShopSite Features:
- Store-building Tools
- Catalog Management
- Business Tools
- Cybersecurity Tools
- Customer Service Tools
- Merchandising
- Commerce Tools
- Advanced Developer Tools
- Client-Side Applications
ShopSite Pricing:
- Free
- Starter ($5.99 per month)
- Manager ($29.99 per month)
- Pro ($59.99 per month)
- Enterprise ($199.99 per month)
Zoey
Suppose you are eyeing higher income through B2B and wholesale business. In that case, Zoey might be your best option as this eCommerce platform has gained popularity by supplying all the needs of companies who sell their items in bulk.
Zoey recognizes early on that one of the essential factors in a successful wholesale business is communications and payment processing.
This eCommerce builder has a great set of features that makes it easy for businesses to manage their inventory, orders, and customers in one platform. And because Zoey is built on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud, it promises its users a reliable infrastructure that can handle any traffic spikes.
Aside from that, Zoey also offers a wide range of integrations that can further improve the functionality of your online store.
Zoey Features:
- Virtual Design Editor
- Administration Tools
- Mobile App
- Order Portal
- Inventory Management
- Order Tracking
- Payment Options
- Shipping Integration
- Third-Party Integrations
- Reporting & Analytics
- Multi-Site Capabilities
- Multi-channel Marketing
- API Access
- Email Ticket Customer Support
- Free Trial
Zoey Pricing:
- Entry ($399 per month)
- Power ($599 per month)
- Advanced ($899 per month)
EKM
If you are looking for a less traditional e-commerce platform outside the US that allows you to sell anything anywhere, you can check out EKM.
EKM is rich in essential features to get your website live online such as web hosting, SSL certificates, fast servers, and unlimited bandwidth.
Like any usual platform for e-commerce, they also provide pre-made themes, Google tools, product filters, product search, image builder, and social plugins that help manage your eCommerce business.
Using their Holiday mode feature, you can also run your business without having to attend to it 24/7.
Small business models and new online sellers can also take advantage of EKM’s Account Managers that assist their users in ensuring the success of their small online store.
Adding the design of your choice is also easy on EKM. You just have to click on Design, and you will then have hundreds of choices on how your storefront would look like.
They also offer a 14-day free trial to let you experience first-hand what this platform can do for your business.
EKM Features:
- Online Store Builder
- SSL Certificates
- Fast Servers
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited Products
- Google Tools
- Blog
- Website Design Tools
- 70+ Customizable Themes
- Logo Builder
- Product Urgency Features
- Product Catalog Management
- Payment Processing Integration
- Shipping Integration
- Inventory Management
- Order Management
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Free Trial
EKM Pricing:
- Basic Plan ($34.99 per month)
- Standard Plan ($69.99 per month)
- Advanced Plan ($209.99 per month)
What is the best eCommerce platform for my business?
All eCommerce platforms offer different features, plug-ins, and add-ons, so you must find one that best suits your business needs.
When choosing which eCommerce platform is best for your online store, you can look at these factors.
Website Builder
If you have previously worked as a web developer or have a website creation background, you can do well with any eCommerce platform. Unfortunately, your list will be cut short if you are new to online selling.
For example, if you are a newbie, your best bet would be either Shopify, Etsy, or Amazon since they have everything set up for their users.
There’s no need to tweak themes, you don’t have to upload your photos for your site’s background, and you don’t even have to upload your products as you can easily import them from your manufacturer’s websites.
On the other hand, for eCommerce platforms like Shift4Shop, Volusion, and PrestaShop, you’d be able to maximize their website builder features if you have some knowledge about web development.
Shop Functionality
You might have the most beautifully-designed website, and you might have filled it with high-definition images, but all of that means nothing if your online store has 0 functionality.
In looking for an e-Commerce platform, what you need to look at is how it solves the problem of abandoned carts, how limited its payment gateways are, how it caters to multiple currencies, how fast transactions and online bookings are, and pretty much how smooth business operations and transactions come about.
Emails and push notifications are a big part of your online store’s functionality. When choosing the right eCommerce platform, you must look at their email communications and notifications features. Check if they automatically send receipts upon purchase, how fast they notify your customers about any updates, and if they allow you to send newsletters and other emails that will enable you to bond with your customers.
Some e-Commerce platforms are great for selling digital products, some can offer to build you websites that would showcase your physical products in the best way possible, and some are good at both but would cost you more than the other two.
Mobile Readiness
When’s the last time you said to yourself, “I want to have something; I’ll go get my laptop and check it out on Amazon!”
Your answer might be last 2010, which is understandable, as none of us use our desktops and personal computers to browse through and purchase things from an online store.
According to OuterboxDesign, over 230 million consumers in the US own smartphones, and 79% of them purchased something from their smartphone in the last six months.
That data proves that your online store should be functional even on mobile, and you should be paying for an eCommerce platform.
Apps and Plugins
Some influencers and bloggers may claim that integrated applications and plugins could only decrease your site speed and cost you more money, but the truth is, third-party apps are your best friends.
Most eCommerce platforms make use of plugins and applications to include live chat support in their users’ online stores, to help them automatically update and restock their products, to upsell and cross-sell, to drop ship products from manufacturers, and a bunch of essential processes that a business needs to sell online successfully.
Check if your eCommerce platform allows you to download apps and plugins to boost your online store’s performance, and always be mindful of how much they charge you as you install them!
Blogging options
One of the most effective tricks these million-dollar brands do that most of us don’t notice is ensuring that they are the authorities in their niche.
Do you want to know which foundation shade suits you best? Check out Sephora’s suggestions. Do you want to know the cardio workout that will help you lose weight faster? Go to the Nike website.
And guess what you’d see there.
Tons of blogs offer expert opinions and answers to all the possible questions their target market might ask.
One rule to rule your industry, no matter how saturated it is, is to become a respected authority in it. How would you do that? Start blogging. And how do you start blogging in your shop? Get an eCommerce platform for your online store that allows you to do such a thing.
Search Engine Optimization
An online store thrives in conversions, and you get a higher chance of getting a higher rate of conversions if you have a high website traffic rate.
Website traffic is a combination of the number of visitors your website gets in a day and how often they visit.
You can get more website traffic through paid ads, but if you want to focus on organic or natural search results (which are free!), then you have to make sure that your eCommerce platform gives you the best tools to optimize your products.
Check if the platform you’re eyeing has features like optimizing your site for Google Shopping, editing product descriptions and metadata, and adding ALT tags to product images.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Even with all of these fantastic eCommerce platforms, there will still be technical hiccups from time to time.
It’s best to be prepared for something going wrong by checking if the platform you’re using offers 24/7 technical support, not just through email or a contact form on their website!
The best platforms for your online store have a live chat support feature where you can talk to a customer service representative in real-time whenever you need some assistance.
Cost
Last but the most essential part in choosing where to build your online store is how much it would cost you to avail of their services.
Some e-Commerce platforms offer their services for free, but they would be taking money from you through transaction fees. Some would give flat rates to build your online store but eventually bring more money after a year of using their services.
If you are an online store owner, the best solution to know the most cost-effective option would be to narrow down your choices, discuss their existing plans with the e-commerce platform’s live agent, and research reviews and feedback about the e-commerce platform you want to choose.
How do I create my online store?
In e-Commerce, knowing what your market needs is just the tip of the iceberg; you need so much more than that to sell online.
Creating an online store that would make you a lot of money takes a lot of hard work, patience, and expertise, but if you want to know the basics of how to create your own online store, here are the steps that you could follow:
1. Choose your domain name.
A domain name is what your customer types when they want to visit your store. You can buy your domain name from a trusted domain name registry, or it can come as a freebie from your web hosting or your eCommerce platform.
Remember that choosing a catchy and easy-to-remember domain name could give you an advantage, as retention in your target market’s mind is a key to successfully selling online.
2. Choose the best eCommerce platform for your store.
An eCommerce platform is a must in building your business online, as this is where you will be making your store.
We have suggested the best eCommerce platforms you can find on the internet above, but if you still want to explore other options and think you are still looking for something else, always feel free to do your own research.
3. Pick a template that suits your store.
If you have previous experience in blogging, you would know how templates work, but if you don’t, a template is like a skeleton of how your store would look.
You can edit the pre-made templates given to you by the eCommerce platform of your choosing, but you can always go online and look for other designs that suit your taste well and is highly functional and convenient for your customers.
4. Design your Store Front.
A storefront is the first page customers see once they enter your website.
Experts suggest that in creating and designing a storefront, the owner should always think as if they are the customers and analyze the direction and sequence of their purchasing behaviors.
First and foremost, responsive, as you don’t want your customers to get frustrated in looking for the things.
You also have to make sure that your page speed is way within the recommended loading time.
It’s also advantageous to use user-generated content and when worn photos if you are selling items of clothing, accessories, shoes, or bags so that your customers can get a feel of what it’s like to use your products.
Your storefront is the first thing your customer sees in your online store– make a mark!
5. Upload test products.
Daniel Nathanson of UCLA’s School of Business couldn’t have said it any better- you would get it wrong anyway; so instead of releasing your product all at once and having to do it all over again because you’ve made errors either in the pricing, dimensions, and shipping details, you can publish one or two items on your website and see how it goes.
A part of product testing allows you to check the market viability of what you want to sell; it also helps you assess how efficient the shipping process is, how fast your product is moving, and if you still have other things to improve on details.
6. Set up shipping and payment methods.
The next and one of the most crucial steps in creating your online store is setting up the shipping and payment methods.
You will usually see the shipping options for your store in the general settings of your store, where you will need to click on the Shipping Options and edit the default entries on it.
For the payment methods, you can also edit them in the general settings options on most of these sites. Most of the time, you would need to set up multiple payment options to cater to the payment option that’s readily available for your customers.
Never skip this step, Set up as most businesses often lose a lot of money in incorrect shipping fees and unavailable payment options.
7. Set up marketing campaigns.
There are over 24 million online stores in the market, and you would lose many opportunities if you don’t take advantage of marketing campaigns.
Digital marketing is essential in setting up your online store because it strategically promotes your products as something your target market needs.
Digital marketing includes email marketing, social media marketing, influencer marketing, and content marketing.
You can start with the most basic form of digital marketing- email marketing by sending out a welcome email to your customers or even just announcing any promos or discounts you might have on certain products in your inventory.
Utilize every platform you can to market your online store!
8. Do a sample order.
Before you launch your online store, it is highly suggested that you do a sample order first.
You need to go to your website, check if your products have the correct images on them, see if all buttons are functional, check if the process of adding something to the cart, edit the shipping details, and up to checkout is smooth and error-free.
Sample orders will give you an idea of what your customer would experience when they visit your store, and it will provide you with an opportunity to spot other errors in the details.
9. Launch your very own online store.
Once you’ve gone through all the steps above, you can now publish your e-commerce store!
What are the best eCommerce platforms for small businesses?
Generally speaking, small business owners can use all the sites I have suggested to build their online stores.
As you have observed, all of these sites have the best features, the most flexible payment options, they offer the most cost-efficient marketing tools, and most of them are very affordable, which is best for small businesses whose budgets are better used to improving other aspects of their business than spending it on an eCommerce platform.
However, based on experience and years of research, these are the best eCommerce platforms for small business models:
- Shopify– Although Shopify does not offer the most affordable pricing plans, they are best for small business owners who need an all-in-one platform that can help them with every step in creating their online store. What sets Shopify apart from other e-commerce platforms is its easy use.
- Amazon– Amazon is an excellent choice for a small e-commerce business because it already has an existing customer base to which you can market your products. Moreover, Amazon is one of the most trusted sites on the internet, so customers are more likely to purchase from your store if it’s hosted on Amazon. Amazon also offers a wide range of services to help you run your business, such as fulfillment, logistics, and customer support.
- WooCommerce– WooCommerce is best for small business models starting their online stores from scratch because it is a WordPress plugin that automatically turns a WordPress site into an eCommerce store. It’s free to use, which makes it very budget-friendly for small businesses. WooCommerce is also very customizable, so you can tailor it to fit your business needs.
- SquareSpace– SquareSpace pretty much ticks all the requirements that a small e-commerce store needs in an e-commerce platform. It is an all-in-one platform with robust features that make selling simple and easy. SquareSpace also has beautiful modern designs that help your store stand out from the competition.
- Zyro– What a small business needs in an eCommerce platform is affordability without compromising quality and features. Zyro offers just that. For as low as $11 per month, you can already start building your online store with Zyro. It also has powerful tools and features to help you grow your business.
- PinnacleCart– PinnacleCart is one of the most underrated platforms in the world of e-Commerce, as you get everything you need in creating your online store if you do business with them. From hosting, to marketing, to checkout, PinnacleCart lays down a promising framework that would work best for small-scale companies.
- EKM– EKM may be pricier than the other sites on this list, but this is the perfect eCommerce solution for new online sellers and smaller business models since they offer 1 on 1 assistance through their Account Managers. This is not a self-hosted eCommerce platform, so it doesn’t require any knowledge of programming and web development. It also provides accurate real-time analytics to give its users an idea of how they perform in the market.
What are the best e-Commerce platforms for large businesses?
Suppose your online store is starting to get more orders, and you’re thinking of scaling up your business. In that case, you might need to consider migrating to a different eCommerce platform that can accommodate your growing needs.
Here are some of the best e-Commerce platforms for large businesses:
- Shopify Plus– Shopify Plus is best for businesses outgrowing their existing eCommerce platform because it offers enterprise-level features at a fraction of the cost. It’s also very scalable, so you can easily add more features and products as your business grows.
- BigCommerce- BigCommerce is another excellent choice for businesses looking for an enterprise-level eCommerce platform. It offers many features, including unlimited products and categories, abandoned cart recovery, and 24/7 customer support.
- Adobe Commerce– Adobe Commerce is the best choice for businesses that need a highly customizable eCommerce platform. With this platform, you can easily add plugins to improve your business’ performance or remove features that potentially slow down your website. Assigning roles and granting permissions to employees is easier on Adobe Commerce.
- Zoey– There is no doubt that Zoey is the best eCommerce solution for business-to-business transactions that involves bulk orders, multiple transactions with hundreds of businesses, and a lot of products as it conforms to the needs of your store. They stand out in terms of B2B transactions and their self-service order portals that give the customers the freedom of choosing and getting what they want from the array of products you offer. Marketing campaigns are also easy to build and launch using Zoey, as you can manage them in a single dashboard.
What are the best eCommerce platforms for dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a business model where you sell products without stocking them yourself. When a customer orders a product from your store, you simply contact the supplier and have them ship the product directly to the customer.
Dropshipping is a great business model for starting an online store because it’s easy to set up and manage, and you don’t need to invest a lot of money upfront.
You may want to venture out on dropshipping, as you’ve heard a lot of feedback that people earn a lot of money from it.
Still, you shouldn’t be jumping on this trend immediately if you don’t know much about it or if you are not using the platform that has robust features for this method of selling online for your eCommerce store.
Here are some of the platforms that offer the best eCommerce solutions for your dropshipping business:
WooCommerce- Woocommerce is excellent for dropshipping as they offer the best plugins to get your products from different manufacturers across the globe.
List of WooCommerce Dropshipping Plugins:
- Spocket
- AliDropship
- WooDropship
- WooCommerce Dropshipping
- DropshipMe
Shopify- just like WooCommerce, Shopify also offers dropshipping options and plugins that online sellers can use for their business. What makes Shopify even better is that they have a long list of free plugins where you can just click on the items you want and transfer them to your site without the need to transact with the manufacturer.
List of Shopify Dropshipping Plugins:
- Spocket
- Spreadr
- Importify
- Dropified
- DropShop
- Printful
BigCommerce- BigCommerce offers a similar list of plugins for dropshipping, but what makes them inferior is the fact that they have a sales limit, so if you start getting more sales, you will be forced to get their more expensive paid plans.
List of BigCommerce Dropshipping Plugins:
- Spocket
- Gooten
- Modalyst
- Spreadr
- AliExpress Dropshipping
In Summary
There’s a huge misconception that a good product can sell everywhere.
Building a website that helps you showcase the best features of your products, catering to the customers’ needs, and ensuring smooth transactions whenever a purchase is made involves a lot of tools and services like web hosting, live chat support, and multiple payment methods that only an excellent eCommerce platform could provide, which is why we have given you this list.
The top 25 eCommerce platforms of 2022 not only help online sellers to create their websites, design and customize their online stores, post their products, and provide multiple payment methods to earn more revenue.
On top of that, they also understand the need for good marketing strategies, great customer relationships, and excellent customer service to carve out a positive image and a solid brand positioning for the companies in their respective industries.
If you are able to choose the right eCommerce solutions for you, it would be like working with the best business partner that shares the same goals and vision for your business.
So make a list of what you want to see in an eCommerce platform, and use this article as your guide.