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Whether you want to set up a new store or buy an established ecommerce business, discover what are the best platforms in 2024.
There are countless ecommerce platforms in the market, and all promise to be the best, which is why choosing the right one for your business can be confusing.
Before selecting the best ecommerce platform for your business, there are several factors to consider, such as integrations, features, user-friendly interface, scalability, and payment gateways, to name a few.
You also have to consider your goals for the short and long run. In this article, you'll find a list of a few of the most popular ecommerce platforms and a brief description of their features and pricing to better decide on the service you'll use.
Keep reading!
Related: 6 Types Of Ecommerce Business Models (+ Examples)
After carefully reviewing features, user opinions, and how helpful these ecommerce platforms are for merchants, these are the top 5 ecommerce platforms. Some of them use artificial intelligence to provide a better service and offer integrations with other SaaS, third-party apps or tools that help merchants reach more potential customers, increase sales, and seamlessly manage their operations.
Here are the best ecommerce platforms according to our review:
Shopify is an ecommerce platform for all types of businesses, from small and medium to top-tier brands.
The platform allows users to design and manage online stores connecting multiple channels (websites, social media, and marketplaces), as well as physical locations such as stores and pop-up shops. The platform has sold over $947 billion through its system and hosts stores from over 170 countries.
This ecommerce platform integrates with a broad range of third-party apps that for online store design, production, search for leads, and more. All this is done through their 4 verticals, which focus on setting up the store, sales, marketing, and operations. Each business solution includes multiple ecommerce features that turn the platform into a whole package for those who are just beginning their own ecommerce or who want to take their online store to the next level.
Shopify also offers web hosting for its users and, as an extra, provides them with all the necessary information about subdomains, SSL certificates, and DNS, among others. This helps merchants get everything they need for their ecommerce in just one place and forget about using multiple services for operational efficiency.
As an extra, the platform offers an ecommerce solution for enterprises. Companies such as Mattel, Staples, and the Dollar Shave Club use Shopify.
Pros: Easy to use, effortless setup and integrations, offers discounts with shipping carriers, and robust features.
Cons: Few customizable templates (around 70), users have experienced limited customer support, and can be considered expensive.
Price: Plans go from $14 monthly USD (billed annually) to $2,300 monthly on a 3-year term.
Salesforce's B2C, B2B, and D2C ecommerce platform is powered by an AI CRM that comes with customizable templates, flexible workflows, powerful insights, personalized experiences for customers, integrations, and more features that help run an online store smoothly.
The platform focuses on providing a solution to build online stores, increase customer acquisition and engagement, use AI for more efficient store management, boost revenue with embedded apps, make informed decisions through reports, and manage orders.
Businesses like L'Oréal, Sonos, Duluth Trading, and more chose Salesforce's ecommerce platform as their storefront solution.
Pros: Uses AI for data insights, user experience, and smarter store management.
Cons: It can be expensive and has a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with Salesforce solutions.
Price: The ecommerce platform price starts at 1% of Gross Merchandise Value, while the Order Management Solution is priced at 1% of Gross Merchandise Value/Order.
This is an open WordPress-based ecommerce platform that enables merchants to create their online store, develop ecommerce solutions for others, and boost sales through multiple themes and extensions. Currently, over 4 million stores use this ecommerce platform.
WooCommerce helps merchants choose a hosting provider by listing potential options (Bluehost, Nexcess, Pressable, SiteGround, WordPress.com, and WordPress VIP). Once settled, merchants can flexibly build their online store and manage their payments.
Developers can create custom store templates since the solution is an open-source ecommerce platform and provides all the required documentation needed. WooCommerce provides the option of using hooks, filters, APIs, or pre-built extensions to develop almost any kind of online shopping experience a merchant might have in mind.
Enterprises can also use this ecommerce platform to scale their sales. These companies can manage their online store easily by using the platform's payment gateway, integrating their business with their CRM or ERP, selling across multiple marketplaces and channels, and more.
Pros: No-code, flexible and customizable design, open source ecommerce platform, and multiple integrations.
Cons: Can be expensive, comes with a learning curve for those new to ecommerce, and can have limited features.
Price: Will vary according to the ecommerce features you use.
Wix is known for being a user-friendly website builder, but you can also use it to build an ecommerce store. Merchants can choose from multiple free themes and design their storefronts with a drag-and-drop builder. Even if it isn't an ecommerce platform, Wix eCommerce allows you to sell physical or digital products, dropship them, print on demand, and subscriptions.
Some of Wix's main ecommerce features are the possibility to sell through marketplaces, in-person by syncing inventory information and orders, and internationally, access to a marketing suite to manage paid advertising, search engine optimization, emailing, social media, gift cards, and more, business automation for easier inventory management, customized reports, handle logistics from start to finish, and more.
Currently, over 1 million ecommerce websites use Wix's ecommerce solution.
Pros: Easy to use and friendly interface, fast loading pages, includes free hosting provider, and is compliant with PCI DSS Level 1.
Cons: Limited customizable templates, users have experienced insufficient customer support and limited ecommerce features.
Price: Plans start at $17 monthly USD and can go up to $159.
Ecwid is an ecommerce platform that allows users to create an online store while at the same time connecting to other selling channels such as marketplaces or social media. For merchants with physical stores, they can connect it to the platform for smoother management.
With their marketing tools, merchants can promote their catalog with automated ads for Google and Facebook. Among their ecommerce features, you can find integrations with TikTok, Pinterest, and Pixel; automated emails for abandoned carts, discount coupons, gift cards, and SEO tools for easier positioning on search engines.
This ecommerce platform offers an array of integrations for payments and shipping that can help merchants automate tax calculations and inventory tracking. The online store, checkout page, and customer notifications can be designed and built without having to code.
Finally, the Ecwid mobile app offers merchants enough freedom to manage their digital business from their phones. With it, users can manage their catalog and orders, customize their payments and shipping methods, and access performance reports.
Pros: Customizable looks for the online store without coding, easy to use, live customer support, and multiple integrations.
Cons: Limited ecommerce features and customization, and can be expensive.
Price: Plans begin at $335 monthly USD, billed annually, and go to $1,415. There's also a free option for creating an online store.
When deciding which ecommerce platform to select, going through users' reviews can be very enlightening since it will give you a general idea about what each product offers. Whether you are building a basic online store or looking for a sophisticated solution to manage multiple stores, here are the 7 key elements when comparing ecommerce platforms.
When comparing ecommerce platforms you should review available integrations, especially if you already have software in place within your business. By syncing with other tools and services, merchants can save time and money when managing their ecommerce businesses, boost their sales, and offer an enhanced shopping experience to their clients.
Integrations can be with tools that help with customization, email marketing, advertising, inventory management, checkout, and more.
Ecommerce platforms have specific features that can be game changers for your business, like using AI, being open source, the extent of the solutions for each step of the sales process, or more. That will be their competitive advantage over the other options and possibly be the reason why a merchant chooses to build their online business with said platform. Find a comparison of other ecommerce platforms here.
Ecommerce platforms must provide a seamless user experience for merchants and visitors.
'User-friendliness' impacts conversion rate and the total sales coming from this channel.
From a seller's perspective, it can signal how easy it would be to scale the ecommerce business with that platform. Will the store be capable of handling more transactions and products? Or is the payment gateway robust enough to carry on with more purchases without crashing?
A functional ecommerce platform should also offer meaningful insights for data-driven decision-making that will help you meet your goals and scale your business processes.
While reviewing ecommerce platforms, we also covered which ones included a hosting provider and which ones suggested a third party. Platforms that offer hosting services usually store the information gathered through the store, meaning that migration can be a bit more challenging for merchants if they want to switch platforms.
One of the key factors to look into the hosting provider is security. Merchants and clients want to ensure that their transactions are secure and that their banking information won't fall into the wrong hands. When comparing hosting environment options, dig deeper into security information such as SSL encryption, firewalls, and security updates to avoid any intrusions and data breaches. A reliable hosting provider will keep your store safe and help merchants gain their client's trust.
Among the features merchants can find on e-commerce platforms are growth marketing tools that allow businesses to create social media ads, launch email marketing campaigns, or optimize the site for search engines with built-in SEO tools. Additionally, these marketing tools provide valuable insights on campaign performance so merchants can make informed decisions about the future of their business growth.
Even if this one is self-explanatory, ecommerce platforms should offer consistent and useful customer support that can help merchants troubleshoot issues, guide them through the platform, or point them in the right direction regarding integrations, features, and more.
This customer support must be available and easy to reach so that in case of an emergency, merchants can have the support they need to solve their issues and avoid any more potential damage to their online store.
Customization features are a must for any ecommerce platform since they'll help bring to life the look and feel of your brand. In the market, smaller merchants can find options with a drag-and-drop builder, which is easier to use for non-developers due to their friendly interface. However, they might also come across some customizable themes (for example, when building WordPress ecommerce websites).
There are other platforms designed specifically for SaaS, designed to charge services under a subscription model. These tools are built to fit online business needs, such as recurring payments management, features for customer retention, or subscription reports.
Some of these specialized platforms are Chargebee, Recurly, and FastSpring.
If you want to have an ecommerce but don't want to start from scratch, you can buy an established ecommerce business. Or, if you already have an established and profitable ecommerce, you have the option to sell.
Explore Boopos marketplace to find vetted ecommerce stores and qualify for a loan to acquire an online store. You can find options from various industries. Look through our ecommerce offer and find an alternative that fits your business' expectations and preferences.
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