If you’re looking to make money online, you need to start by choosing the right eCommerce platform. These platforms allow you to build your own online store regardless of your coding skills or web design abilities. This is because they come with eCommerce specific features and designs that make setting up your business as simple and straightforward as possible
There are a lot of options when it comes to eCommerce platforms, so making your choice can be pretty difficult. Luckily for you, we’ve done the research and have come up with a list of the best eCommerce platforms.
OpenCart
This all-in-one eCommerce builder provides the tools to create and launch an online store, process orders, and manage your inventory. It’s a modular system, so you start with the basic feature set, then you add additional functionality through their marketplace of add-ons.
With the basic feature set, you have an unlimited number of products, unlimited product categories, the ability to manage multiple stores, a rewards-point system for customer loyalty, and much more. OpenCart is not self-hosted, so you will need a hosting provider. The best OpenCart hosting will include a one-click install to make software installation easier.
Magento
Initially released in 2009, Magento is one of the more popular open-source eCommerce platforms. It currently exists in two forms, Magento Open Source, and Magento Commerce. It is best suited for small-to-medium businesses that are already established and have the time, personnel, and skill to create their own site.
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Some of its features include integrated checkout, payment and shipping, catalog management, instant purchase, site search, mobile-optimized selling, and global selling. It also has over 5000 extensions for increased functionality.
WooCommerce
As a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce is free and open-source. It is ideal for small businesses that have a tight budget but want a robust online store. With its thousands of plugins and third-party themes, it has a great deal of flexibility and is able to accommodate most of your needs.
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Some of its features include catalog and inventory management, search engine optimization, coupons and discounts, mobile-optimized shopping, and product reviews. Furthermore, this platform integrates with Google Analytics.
Squarespace
Squarespace provides its users with drag-and-drop functionality and pre-built website templates. As a result, it is one of the most accessible platforms on our list to use.
It’s simple to assemble and modify this eCommerce regardless of your technical experience level. However, it can only cater to basic eCommerce needs. It’s an effective platform but only as a companion to the primary website builder.
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Businesses that handle a lot of inventory or have advanced online retail requirements would be better off with another option. Some of Squarespace’s eCommerce features include abandon cart auto-recovery, personalized products, SEO tools, digital products, upselling and cross-selling, automatic discounts, and gift cards.
Shopify
Shopify was started in 2004 by a group of snowboarding enthusiasts and now serves over 1 million businesses across 175 countries. This platform is ideal for beginners and small-to-medium sized businesses that need a lot of help to set up their store. Shopify comes with everything you need already integrated into the platform.
This includes things like storefront design, content marketing, and performance analytics. Once the basics are set up, you can upgrade your store with third-party extensions or change the shop’s code itself. This platform’s features include unlimited product listings, real-time sales statistics, inventory tracking, AI/personalization, and custom domains.
BigCommerce
This SaaS solution offers merchants enterprise-level functionality and performance that is simple and easy to use. BigCommerce is ideal for SMBs and MMs that require their platform to be able to handle large or complex catalogs. This platform offers a lot of out-of-the-box features and can have its functionality extended through third-party applications.
Features of BigCommerce include custom domains, unlimited product listings, bandwidth and file storage, gift cards, multi-currency sales, and ratings and reviews. Additionally, this platform makes it easy to edit and modify SEO-related features such as custom URLs, page titles, etc.
Conclusion
Every store will have different needs, budgets, and workforce, which will govern their choice. Therefore, the best platform for your eCommerce store depends on your needs. Look at your requirements carefully, and don’t be scared to test out a few solutions before making your ultimate choice. If you do your due diligence and don’t take any shortcuts, you will find the best application for your business.