Discover the Definition of E-Commerce Websites and the Benefits of Using One
E-Commerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods and services through the internet with the exchange of money. This type of online business has become increasingly popular since the first online sale in 1994.
To start an online business and sell products online, you need a website. An e-commerce website builder can simplify the process by providing tools to build product pages, shopping carts, payment methods, and customer service features. With these website builders, you can quickly set up your online store and start selling.
Explore the Best E-Commerce Website Builders to Enhance Your Online Sales
Choosing the right e-commerce website builder is crucial for the success of your online business. In this guide, we will help you find the top-ranked e-commerce website builders that offer the best features and support to boost your online sales.
Discover the best Comprehensive E-Commerce Website Builder for Optimal Online Sales
Wix: The Beginner-Friendly E-Commerce Website Builder
Wix is a popular choice for those who are new to building an e-commerce website. With its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, you can easily create your entire online store without any prior experience.
This website builder also comes with free web hosting and a commission-free service, eliminating the need to search for a separate domain or hosting provider. However, it’s important to choose the right template from the start, as it cannot be changed once the site is live.
Benefits of using Wix:
- Easy to use
- Attractive and interactive design templates
- Convenient drag-and-drop builder
- Includes hosting services
- Wide selection of templates
- Built-in SEO features to boost visibility
Drawbacks of using Wix:
- Cannot switch templates once the site is live
- Overwhelming options for beginners
Pricing:
- Basic plan: $15/month
- Unlimited Plan: $27/month
- VIP plan: $40/month
- Enterprise plan: Custom pricing available
Shopify: The Customizable E-Commerce Website Builder
Shopify is a top choice for businesses of all sizes looking to create an online store with customizable templates, product offerings, and more. The platform offers one-stop solutions for hosting your site, providing marketing and advertising tools, and optimizing your website with SEO-friendly features.
One of the key benefits of Shopify is the ability to see page visitor insights and make informed decisions based on the data. However, it may be a more expensive option compared to other website builders.
Pros of Shopify:
- Comprehensive all-in-one service
- Customizable templates available
- Wide selection of templates
Cons of Shopify:
- More expensive than some other options
- Limited free templates (9)
Pricing:
- Shopify Lite plan: $7/month
- Basic plan: $19/month
- Enterprise plan: $95/month
- Advanced plan: $359/month
Squarespace: A One-Stop Solution for Online Selling
Squarespace is a complete solution for those who want to sell their products online. With its integration with popular social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, you can sell products directly within photos. Additionally, Squarespace offers a mobile app with 150+ pre-made social media templates, professional filters, customizable layouts, and fonts.
Squarespace provides full control over the establishment of your site, from start to finish. However, its selling features are slightly limited compared to other e-commerce website builders, as it only supports payment methods like Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, and credit/debit cards. This may not be ideal for customers who prefer different payment options.
Despite this, Squarespace is a great option for scheduling paid meetings and selling digital goods, subscriptions, and services directly from your website. It also offers great social media integration, allowing you to publish your products with pre-made templates.
Advantages of Squarespace:
- Optimized web templates for good performance.
- Attractive templates for page building.
- Flexibility during page building.
- Decent monthly price for hosting.
- Easy integration with social media platforms.
Disadvantages of Squarespace:
- Limited design options.
- Limited resources.
- Limited templates.
- Restricted payment methods.
Pricing:
- Basic plan: $8 to $10 per month.
- VIP plan: $12 to $21 per month.
- Basic commerce plan: $29 to $45 per month.
- Advanced commerce plan: $56 to $66 per month.
BigCommerce: The Ultimate Solution for Expanding Your Business
When you’re ready to grow your business, BigCommerce is the perfect choice. It offers the scalability you need to deliver new strategies and attract new customers. With advanced features like conversation audits and SEO optimization, BigCommerce will help boost your sales.
Sell on Multiple Channels with Ease
BigCommerce makes it easy for you to sell on multiple channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. The software scales with you, allowing you to grow as your business grows. Plus, you can create your own payment gateway and avoid additional charges, so you can keep more of what you sell.
Establish Your Business with Confidence
Building a landing page on BigCommerce can be a bit of a challenge, but once you’ve established your business, you’ll have the technical support you need to operate your online store with confidence. With BigCommerce, your software will work with you, giving you peace of mind.
Advantages and Disadvantages of BigCommerce
Like any website builder, BigCommerce has its pros and cons. Here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of this platform:
Advantages:
- Attractive web templates
- Scalable for growing businesses
- Advanced theme customization options
- Zero transaction fee on all plans
- Ability to sell any kind of goods
- Hundreds of interactive templates
Disadvantages:
- Some features can be difficult for beginners to use
- Best suited for larger businesses
- Small businesses may face traffic issues
BigCommerce Pricing:
- Basic Plan: $31.49 per month
- Commerce Plus Plan: $80.79 per month
- Professional Plan: $399 per month
- Advanced Plan: Traditional package
Weebly: A Perfect Solution for Beginner-Level Sellers
Are you looking to start an e-commerce website, but not sure how to build an informative website for your business? Weebly is the solution you’ve been looking for. This website builder offers the tools you need to build both e-commerce and informational websites, making it a great option for beginner-level sellers.
With Weebly, you can optimize SEO, advertising, and marketing to boost your online store. However, it may not be suitable for advanced or big businesses. Instead, it is a great choice for start-ups and small businesses looking to expand their online presence.
Advantages of Weebly:
- User-friendly and easy to use.
- Attractive templates with customization options.
- Low starting prices.
- Ability to sell any product.
- Supports both e-commerce and informational websites.
- Helps in advertising products.
Disadvantages of Weebly:
- Too simple for some businesses.
- Limited capabilities for big businesses.
- Small business area.
- Average tech support.
Pricing:
- Personal package: $9 to $11 per month.
- Professional package: $15.6 to $17.96 per month.
- VIP Package: $31 to $42 per month.
3DCart: The Ultimate Solution for Experienced Website Builders
Are you an experienced website builder or a computer engineer? Then, 3DCart is the perfect website builder for you. This platform offers advanced optimization options and features aimed at businesses that already have a developer. With a strong understanding of coding and website building, you’ll find it easy to handle the platform and create professional-looking e-commerce sites.
3DCart offers several customizable templates, hundreds of theme templates, and advanced SEO tools to give your website a professional look and boost your online visibility. Moreover, its pricing is transparent, with no hidden fees, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.
However, 3DCart may not be the best option for beginners as it requires intermediate to advanced knowledge of website building. Tech support may also not be as strong as compared to other website builders. Additionally, some users have reported bugs, which may cause frustration for new users.
Advantages:
- Precise customization options.
- Transparent pricing with no hidden fees.
- Attractive templates and themes.
- Advanced customization options.
- Powerful SEO tools.
Disadvantages:
- Challenging for beginner-level sellers.
- May contain bugs.
- Works best for intermediate to advanced users.
- Tech support may not be as strong.
Pricing:
- Starting Package: $22 per month
- Basic Package: $35 per month
- E-commerce Package Plus: $82 per month
- Powerful Package: $162 per month
- Professional Package: $296 per month
WooCommerce: The Ultimate WordPress Plugin
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that is specifically designed for e-commerce businesses. It is one of the most popular and widely used plugins for WordPress, and is a great choice for those looking to add a shopping cart to their website. With its fully customizable features, WooCommerce offers unparalleled flexibility and scalability, making it a great choice for businesses of all sizes.
Advantages:
- Over 140 payment gateways and integrations.
- Fully customizable templates.
- Scalable to meet the needs of any business.
- Supports physical and digital products, as well as subscriptions.
- Wide range of free and paid extensions available.
- User-friendly API for developers.
- Customizable templates.
- Manage orders on the go with ease.
Disadvantages:
- Limited resources.
- Tech support could be improved.
Introducing Zyro – A New Website Builder for Affordable
Prices Zyro is a website builder that was founded in 2020, with a focus on offering the cheapest base plan for their customers. It is a fresh and innovative platform for building a simplistic online store with a drag-and-drop setup and advanced AI technology to assist in the design process. The platform comes with 11 free mobile-optimized themes to choose from, and users have the ability to add both physical and digital products.
With the cheapest plan, customers have access to features such as shipping and tax management, as well as the ability to link up with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon. The platform supports 70+ payment gateways, offers a live chat system with 24/7 customer service, and even provides a free domain for one year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Advantages of Zyro:
- Complete e-commerce plan included in pricing.
- 11 free customizable themes available.
- Fast live chat support system.
- Option to choose a multi-language store.
- Integration with popular social media platforms.
- 70+ payment gateway options.
- Free domain for one year.
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
Disadvantages of Zyro:
- Slow response time in support.
- Limited product offerings with the cheapest plan.
- Not suitable for large businesses.
- No free trial available.
- No abandoned cart recovery feature.
Pricing Options:
- Ecommerce Plan: Starts at $9.86 per month.
- Ecommerce “Plus” Plan: Starts at $14.68 per month.
Volusion: A Comprehensive eCommerce Solution for Online Retailers
Volusion is a top-notch eCommerce platform that offers a powerful shopping cart and online store building and management solution. Despite not providing website hosting, it provides 11 free and 34 paid themes for the base of your online store, which are designed with CSS3 (Cascading Style Sheet) to deliver a mobile-responsive and visually appealing user interface.
Volusion has built-in SEO tools and integrates with various social media platforms to help you reach a wider audience. Its customer service is excellent, with a quick response time of within an hour, thanks to its 24/7 online chat support and chatbot. For professional businesses, Volusion offers custom VIP support with additional phone support.
The platform’s payment system is PCI verified and secure, and the transactions are processed on-domain with popular payment options like Amazon Pay, PayPal, and Stripe. This ensures a seamless and secure checkout experience for your customers.
Advantages:
- 24/7 support
- 14-day free trial
- 11 free templates
- In-house payment system
- Custom VIP support
- Built-in SEO
- Mobile-responsive based on CSS
- 34 paid themes
Disadvantages:
- Does not provide web hosting
- Limited resources
- Plans are expensive
- Only one account with the cheapest plan
- Product limitations with the cheapest plans
Pricing:
- Personal Package: $35 per month ($45k per year)
- Professional Plan Package: $125k per year
- Business Package: $650k per year.
The Ideal Time to Invest in E-Commerce Website Builders
Starting a new business often involves selling products online. However, an e-commerce website may not be necessary if you only have a small number of products or don’t expect to attract a large customer base. In such cases, using a platform like WordPress with a suitable plugin can help you set up an online store.
Starting a New Business with an E-Commerce Website Builder
Starting a new business means you need to establish an online presence to sell your products. Fortunately, investing in an eCommerce website builder can be a smart decision. Despite the challenges that a new business may face, having a well-designed and strong online presence can give you a competitive advantage in the market.
When choosing an eCommerce website builder, consider one that offers not just design options but also marketing and advertising tools to help you grow your business. While it’s true that businesses with only a few products can opt for a simple website builder, it’s important to keep in mind that as your business grows and your product offerings expand, you’ll want a builder that can keep pace. That’s why it’s essential to choose the right eCommerce website builder for your future business needs.
Classifying the Top E-commerce Website Builders
E-commerce website builders come in a variety of categories, and understanding these categories is key to finding the best fit for your business. In this article, we will provide a quick overview of the different types of e-commerce website builders, streamlining your search for the ideal solution for your company.
Easiest Option for Beginners: Traditional Website Builders
For those just starting out, there are plenty of great website builders available that allow you to create a website from scratch without writing any code. Just make sure to choose an eCommerce plan offered by the traditional website builder you choose, as it’s necessary to be able to sell items online. These website builders offer convenient drag-and-drop functionality and the ability to bundle domain registration and hosting into one package, making it simple to launch your online store.
Enhance Your E-Commerce Experience with Shopping Cart Extensions
Shopping cart extensions are an ideal solution for businesses that already have a website up and running. These tools seamlessly add e-commerce functionality to your existing site, making it easier to sell your products. While shopping cart extensions may not be the best choice for large-scale e-commerce operations, they are perfect for managing a small number of products.
For instance, if you’re a blogger who wants to start selling t-shirts, hats, or mugs, a shopping cart extension can be a quick and efficient way to do so. Simply add the extension to your existing blog and start selling your products with ease.
E-Commerce Platforms: The Perfect Solution for Online Business
E-commerce platforms are specifically designed to cater to the needs of online businesses. These platforms come with a wide range of features, including SEO-friendly themes and templates that help your website and products rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). By choosing an e-commerce platform, you can eliminate the need for upgrading or opting for an e-commerce-specific plan, making it the ideal solution for any online business.
Dropshipping for E-commerce Websites
Starting an e-commerce website without having to purchase inventory or manage physical storage can be made possible with dropshipping. If you’re interested in this business model for your online store, it’s important to ensure that your chosen website builder supports dropshipping. The best website builders offer seamless integration with dropshipping and third-party tools.
Functionality In-Built
When choosing an eCommerce website builder, it is important to consider the built-in functionality. Some builders may provide a limited list of features and require customization through adding tools from a marketplace or app store. On the other hand, some builders offer a comprehensive set of functions right out of the box. Ultimately, the best builder for you depends on your specific needs and preferences.
In conclusion, the key to a successful online store starts with choosing the right eCommerce website builder. This article offers insight and recommendations to help you narrow down your options and make an informed decision.
You have a variety of choices, ranging from free open-source platforms to paid versions with added features. Keep in mind that even though a platform may be free, certain extensions and integrations may come at an additional cost.
Ultimately, it’s important to choose the platform that best fits the growth of your business. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach out and leave a comment. We’d be happy to assist you. Thank you for reading.
You may like our articles about Top-notch WordPress Themes for Dropshipping: Your Ultimate Guide
