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An ecommerce website builder is the key to every great online store. This tool makes it simple to start an ecommerce company by creating a website.
If you are interested in selling products and services online, you will need an ecommerce builder.
To get started in web design, you don't need to have any previous experience. Check out these recommendations to help you find the right option for your needs.
Here are in-depth reviews about the eight top ecommerce website builders. Then, a buyers guide will help you narrow down your choices.
#1 — Wix Review — The Best Drag and Drop Ecommerce Builder
Wix is a top-rated site builder. Wix can be used to build any kind of website, including ecommerce websites.
Wix has been used by more than 160 million people around the world to build websites from scratch. Wix doesn't require any programming or technical knowledge. Wix can help you build what you want if you know the details.
Wix offers a variety of beautiful templates for online stores. These templates have been used by thousands to promote their products and offers. You can then customize your website to reflect your brand with the drag-and-drop easy ecommerce website creator.
Wix is an excellent choice for beginners. This platform is accessible to anyone, regardless of their technical skills. Wix is so amazing because:
- Intuitive drag-and-drop site builder
- 500+ beautiful templates
- SEO optimized
- App marketplace for custom functions
- Advanced design features such as video backgrounds, animations and scroll effects are available.
- Mobile-optimized eCommerce site
- Free hosting and custom domains
- Supports multiple payment methods
- Store manager tools and product pages
- $300 in advertising vouchers
- Customer service available 24/7
- Unlimitted products
Wix offers ecommerce plans starting at $23. However, I recommend that you start with the Business Unlimited plan. You pay only $4 per month more and get enhanced features.
Start building your Wix website for free. You can then take advantage of a 14 day free trial to gain premium features.
#2 — BigCommerce Review The Best Large Ecommerce Sites
BigCommerce is another leader in ecommerce. This platform has been serving ecommerce sites in more than 120 countries for over a decade.
BigCommerce has helped merchants to sell over $25 billion. This is a great choice for those who don't want their sites to be restricted in any way.
This platform is ideal for international ecommerce sites, wholesalers, B2B sellers and multi-channel sales. BigCommerce is the best platform for selling at scale.
- It is easy to use and secure
- Powerful ecommerce analytics for customer insights
- No coding is required for drag-and-drop tools
- WordPress Integration
- Checkout API and SDK allow for custom checkouts
- Fully customizable theme customization with built-in Javascript, HTML and CSS
- Optimized to mobile and SEO
- Built-in faceted search
- Cross-channel sales support (brick & mortar, social, marketplaces, etc.)
- Support for multiple currencies
- Global CDN
- Cross-border fulfillment
- Built-in payment processing
BigCommerce is my top recommendation when it comes to large ecommerce sites. This is a great option if you are looking to sell online with no restrictions.
Plans starting at $29.95 per Month For 15 days, BigCommerce is free to you.
#3 — Squarespace Review — The Best Ecommerce Designs
Squarespace is an additional website builder that allows you to create any kind of website.
Squarespace is designed for businesses, unlike traditional site builders. Squarespace subscriptions include ecommerce functionality, except for the personal plan.
Squarespace is a popular option for creative professionals looking to show their portfolios online and make sales. Squarespace offers many features, including:
- Award-winning design templates
- Built-in tax tools
- Sales support for digital content and subscriptions
- Gift cards and discount codes
- Secure checkout from any device
- Recovery tools for abandoned carts
- Integrations with Ecommerce for Shipping and Payment Processing
- 24/7 customer support
Squarespace will require you to connect to your payment processor in order to create an online store. Ecommerce plans start from $18 per month. To avoid 3% transaction fees, upgrade to the Basic Commerce plan ($26/month).
Squarespace is a great choice if you are looking to create a visually stunning ecommerce website with amazing designs.
#4 — Square Online Review The Best For Small Businesses With Physical Retail Space
Square is most well-known for its payment processing and POS systems. The platform offers business owners the opportunity to create an online store for free.
Square Online allows you to easily build an ecommerce website for brick-and-mortar retailers that are currently selling Square POS.
Let's look closer at the benefits and features that Square Online offers.
- Quick setup without any coding
- Built-in payment processing
- Automatic sync with Square POS system
- Delivery on-demand and in-house support
- Integration with Instagram
- Inventory management tools
- Accept gift cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay
Square Online makes it easy to launch an ecommerce website. You only need to pay transaction fees, which start at 2.9% + $0.30. Paid plans are available for $12 per month and include advanced features. It's free to try.
#5 — Bluehost Review – The Best Turnkey WooCommerce Shop Builder
It can be difficult to get WooCommerce up and running.
Building a WooCommerce store can be difficult.
Bluehost is here for you.
Bluehost's WooCommerce Online Stores make it easy to set up WooCommerce stores.
Bluehost's Online Store Creation Experience is the first step. This tool will help you to create your store and upload products.
This is a great thing, as Bluehost has been a long-standing WordPress hosting provider. They get WordPress. So who better to help you maximize the best ecommerce store plug-in for it?
Remember what I said about companion plugins above?
Bluehost has selected the best ones for your web store and provided them free of charge.
This is a huge deal, as it would have cost $80 to install and use USPS shipping, FedEx shipping and UPS shipping for one example. Bluehost offers the three main shipping companies and a $240 savings.
These are just three plugins.
Bluehost offers many additional features that go beyond the basic package. The basic package includes unlimited products, access to traffic analytics and 24/7 support. You can also create manual orders manually and pay for your payments easily.
You also get CodeGuard Basic, a year free for maintaining your site's backups.
If you sign up for a 36-month commitment, all of this comes at a reasonable price of $12.95 per month. If you are serious about running an online store, you will want to be there for at most three year.
Upgrade to Premium for $24.95/month and you will also have the ability to book appointments online, sell subscriptions, personalize your products, and customize them further.
They'll also give you CodeGuard Basic completely free of charge, along with domain privacy and protection.
Bluehost takes the work, research and upkeep out of your hands. This is why it is one of our most popular ways to create and maintain an ecommerce shop on your WordPress website.
Bluehost Online Stores powered by WooCommerce are available for you to get started today.
#6 — WooCommerce Review The Most Ecommerce WordPress Plugin
WooCommerce is the best choice if you have a WordPress site and want to add shopping cart functionality.
This plugin was specifically designed for WordPress and is one of the most widely used WordPress plugins.
Why is WooCommerce so amazing? Let's take an in-depth look at WooCommerce:
- It is fully customizable and can be customized with additional features to enhance its functionality
- Flexible and open-source
- 140+ payment integrations and gateways
- Ability to manage orders while on the move
- Supports physical and digital products as well as subscriptions
- There are hundreds of extensions available for free or paid.
- Fully scalable
- Developer friendly with REST API
You will need a WordPress site to get started with WooCommerce. This means that you will need to manage the domain registration and hosting yourself.
The WooCommerce plugin can be installed for free.
#7 — Shopify Review The Most Out-of-the Box Ecommerce Functions
Shopify is the leader in ecommerce. It's trusted by more than 1 million websites across 175 countries.
Shopify has enabled more than $200 billion worth of online sales.
It is very versatile. Shopify is able to accommodate any need, whether you are starting an ecommerce business or expanding your existing online presence. Shopify comes with everything you need for building your website and selling online.
- Templates specific to each industry
- Supports multiple sales channels (point-of-sale, social media, online marketplaces, etc.)
- Drag-and-drop store builders
- More than 70 templates
- Custom domains
- Secure checkout
- Gift certificates
- Support available 24/7
- Unlimitted products
- Built-in payment processing
- Shipping discounts
- Marketing tools
- Business insights
Shopify's ecommerce platform can be used to support any business regardless of its size or industry.
Plans starting at $29 per Month Shopify is available for free after a 14-day trial.
#8 — Shift4Shop (formerly 3DCart), Review — The Best Ecommerce Software for Developers
Shift4Shop, formerly 3DCart, might be the right solution for you if you have specific needs and are working with a designer or developer.
Shift4Shop may not be as well-known as the other ecommerce site builders on our list, but it is still very popular. However, it is not for everyone.
Although Shift4Shop offers drag-and-drop tools for beginners, the software can also be used to meet the needs of designers and experts. It can be made as simple or as complex as you wish.
Shift4Shop also offers other top features and notable highlights, such as:
- 200+ built-in features
- There are 200+ options to accept payments
- 50+ Free Themes
- Shipping setups that are simple and flexible
- Solid security
- Supports dropshipping
- Supports subscriptions and tickets for events, as well as print-on-demand.
- A powerful CMS
- SEO optimized
All plans include secure hosting, unlimited orders and 24/7 support. There are no transaction fees.
The entire platform can be used for free if you use Shift4Shop to process your payments. While some ecommerce website builders can cost hundreds of dollars per month, Shift4Shop is free. Only transaction fees are charged, which you would still have to pay on a platform that costs money.
Shift4Shop is another reason why I recommend it. All subscriptions come with a 30-day money back guarantee. You can try it for free for 15 days.
What I Did to Look for the Best Ecommerce Website Builder
It is important to learn how to evaluate different ecommerce website builders before you begin searching.
It all depends on where you're starting from and where your goals are.
A person looking to add ecommerce functionality on an existing site, for instance, will face different challenges than someone who is still planning to launch their website.
These are the main factors to keep in mind when shopping for and narrowing down your top choices.
Technical Skill Level
What are your technical backgrounds?
There are a few ecommerce website builders that are for beginners. Others are for more advanced users or developers. Your technical skills will be a major factor in selecting the right platform if you are a DIY person.
Platforms that do not require programming should be a priority for beginners. These website builders allow you to put everything together using simple drag-and drop functionality.
Developers and advanced users may wish to be able to access the backend code of the site for more customizations. Before making a final decision, businesses should consult their tech team and the person who will be responsible for maintaining the site.
Business Stages and Size
Ecommerce website builders will not be needed by new businesses or rapidly growing startups. You might be interested in selling a few products online as a side-project or part-time gig.
You may not need a site builder if you have an existing website. You can also add shopping cart functionality on your existing site using other tools (more details to follow).
Are you still required to register your domain? Are you yet to choose a web hosting plan?
Website builders are available that offer all these features in one platform. You will need to purchase your domain and hosting plan separately in other cases.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping allows you to manage an ecommerce site without the need to purchase, store, or ship inventory. The supplier fulfills the order and ships the product to the customer when someone buys something from your website.
Dropshipping is a viable option if you are interested in creating an ecommerce website that follows this model.
Although not all website builders will offer dropshipping functionality, the best ones will integrate seamlessly with third-party dropshipping software.
Templates and Design
Think about how your ecommerce website looks. You can create beautiful websites without hiring a designer with the best ecommerce website builders.
This is easiest to do by using a pre-built template, and then customizing it with your own content. It should be possible to pick a template or theme that matches your brand and industry.
You'll soon realize that not all platforms offer the same templates and design tools. Some are better than others.
Built in Functionality
Some ecommerce website builders come with many functions, but not all. You might need to modify the functionality of your website by adding features from an app store or marketplace. You might need to integrate your site or platform with third-party tools, depending on what functionality you are looking for.
This being said, you can expect other site builders to provide all the functions that you need (with some limitations).
There is no right or wrong answer. It's all personal preference. Do you prefer to have all the features available as soon as your account is created? Or would you rather add functionality as and when needed?
These questions will help you narrow your options.
Limitations
The ecommerce website designer might limit the number of products that you can sell. Some platforms may charge extra fees depending on how much traffic you receive.
Although this is not usually a problem for new websites it can become an issue as your site grows.
You need to look beyond the low prices and affordable plans offered by various platforms. Consider how much it would cost if your product listing doubles, triples or quadruples. Will you incur extra fees?
A few ecommerce website builders can sell a handful of products, while others are more adept at managing large product catalogues that number in the hundreds or even thousands.
Conclusion
Finding an ecommerce website builder is the first step in selling online.
Which is the best? It all depends on your needs. These are my top picks:
- Wix — Best drag-and-drop ecommerce builder
- BigCommerce — Best for large ecommerce sites
- Squarespace — Best for beautiful ecommerce designs
- Square Online — Ideal for small businesses that have physical retail space
- Bluehost — The best WooCommerce store builders with turnkey capabilities
- WooCommerce — The best ecommerce WordPress plugin
- Shopify — Best out-of-the-box ecommerce functions
- Shift4Shop — The best ecommerce software for developers
Wix will be the easiest option for many. Wix is the safest option if you aren't confident with your technical skills.
WooCommerce will be easier if you already own a WordPress website. Bluehost is the best choice for new WordPress sites. They offer so many great features at an affordable price.
Refer to this article for a buying guide, reviews and recommendations to help you choose the right option for your site. These will help you narrow your choices.
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By: Neil Patel
Title: The Best Ecommerce Website Builder
Sourced From: neilpatel.com/blog/best-ecommerce-website-builders/
Published Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2021 01:00:00 +0000
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