Its available tools make it possible for any niche or industry to be successful. The interface allows you to customize your online shop without having to know how to code by using any of the customizable templates to design your store, sell and market your products. I love BigCommerce themes ; you will see advanced and buyer-centric templates in the store, however only very few are free. Two to be exact with variations on both making a total of seven free themes.
The partner directory helps you find experts for an extra hand. As for pricing, the lowest plan costs Some goodies like checkout codes, gift cards, unlimited bandwidth, and professional reporting come along.
As the plan goes higher, so does the sales limit. Shopify is the best platform at selling. If you plan to dropship , rely on Facebook Ads or Instagram marketing — this is the best choice. Shopify is slightly better in several areas over BigCommerce such as post-purchase 1-click upsells — but far behind in terms of performance. Most beginners to website development can get the hang of it in a few minutes. Their apps are far too many to list.
They also have the Shopify POS for simple brick and mortar stores looking to take payments via the mobile app. Complex stores can use it as well. Like everything else, they have downsides. The not-too-bad one is that they have just 10 free themes right now.
The big disadvantage they have is SEO. Weak ranking performance highlights one of my concerns with their SEO. Also, they have a rigid URL structure; you cannot change sections of it.
I also noticed during our research that websites using Shopify have weak ranking. In terms of SEO, Shopify is very middle of the pack at best. Finally, they charge transaction fees if you are not using Shopify Payments. And no one likes those. Then again, Shopify Payments is a solid option. Wix ecommerce has come a long way in a few years. Once they got added to my list, I gave them a really poor rating and would not recommend them. Now, Wix is a major force in the ecommerce space and they deliver amazing value for solorprenuers and small ecommerce businesses.
Few were resolved; some, like the short extra string to the URLs of blog posts and product pages still remain. As you grow, you might need to switch because aside from the limited features, the storage space is 20GB and if you are dealing with lots of heavy digital products or other materials, that space might not do.
You can drag and drop elements to add cool videos, functionality, and create the website you want. They have over themes of which 72 are free. Since its release to the public in , 3dcart now Shift4Shop has served over 22, online businesses with clientele including PCMag. They have some practical features like unlimited storage and no transaction fees. You can also use their POS, and they support multi-channel selling. In , the company rebranded as Shift4Shop. Although there is a nice onboarding video when you log into your dashboard, the whole operation is hard to figure out; the builder is not very visually appealing.
The templates they have are more industrial, but they feel outdated. I think one of their strongest points is in shipping; they provide advanced shipping solutions with no API required. Similar to BigCommerce, Shift4Shop restricts the volume of sales you bring in on each plan. The value overall is great.
Shopify made a move to make it included — really undercutting the competition. Nevertheless, it still has more features out of the box than Shopify. WooCommerce is the best single platform to run ecommerce and affiliate site under one roof. But the true ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify sell better, but not by much. It works with WordPress to turn any website into a functional ecommerce stor e. Also, there are extensions available for integrating payment gateways, social media, email marketing, 1-click selling, and shipping.
The biggest problem though is not the setup; that can be solved with YouTube tutorials. The problem is scalability. Most users have reported it slowing down as they get more products and customers. For cost, it is free. Few extensions have prices attached to them, and some WordPress themes are expensive. However, you might not need those extensions, and there are good free themes. If you are familiar with the WordPress platform, then WooCommerce is a breeze for you.
You only have to install it, add your own products and fix your settings. That includes buying hosting, installing WordPress, setting up your theme and plugins.
Volusion was founded in but launched in as an ecommerce solution provider. Volusion provides an easy to use website builder with drag and drop and in-page editing. There are 11 free themes and a good number of premium themes. That is a hefty extra cost that some other platforms provide for free.
The dashboard is nicely structured with all of the main action areas in the top navigation menu. You can also manage inventory and work marketing from there. Their prices have a limitation to the number of products you can sell. That may change at some point because they used to have a limitation on bandwidth, but that is no more. The constant improvements give us hope. Dropshipping is also good but not print on demand. I would rate it higher if the Amazon integration were better, but that might not matter to you at all.
Founded in , PrestaShop is an open-source and cloud-hosted ecommerce platform that gives the best overall value. Nevertheless, that open-code allows extensive integration with couriers, payment gateways, accounting , warehouses, ERP, and more. You have access to the 16 days trial or pay straight away. It comes with the SSL certificate. There are ten themes all free available in the admin.
The dashboard is straightforward and simple. However, you can achieve most needs through modules that you enable with one click. Sellfy was founded in as an ecommerce platform exclusively for digital products. Compared to other ecommerce platforms, Sellfy is one of the most affordable options. Considering the features and ecommerce functionality you get standard, you can save a lot of money compared to Shopify.
While there are limits on the number of and types of products you can sell on the Free plan, upgrading to a paid plan means you can sell unlimited products, digital products, and subscription products, too. Sellfy includes its own print-on-demand platform, so you can sell a variety of POD products without relying on a service like Printful or Printify. Squarespace is another one of those platforms that offers drag-and-drop.
Founded in , they have sleek templates and design capabilities. The prices are quite low. The top plan allows you to get abandoned cart auto recovery, sell subscriptions and gift cards, and give flexible discounts. The website design part is not that easy though. You might have to try your hands on it a few times before you get the hang of it. Squarespace integrates ShipStation and allows you to install Printul and ShipBob from the app section. The biggest downsides are payment processors and third-party applications.
They only support Stripe and Paypal. As for the apps, they only integrate with very few third-party tools. Coding is an integral part of the package. So, if you have a developer or the budget for one — and want something truly customizable and powerful — Magento is a solid choice. You can do and undo till you get the feature-rich online store you want.
A big part of Magento is the community. It is expensive; the annual licensing fee runs in tens of thousands of dollars. Things like discounts, recurring payments, ability to grind SEO, adjust content per user, membership subscriptions, unlimited products, and more. Asides the cost, the pricing structure of the platform is important — be it month to month or yearly payments and other fees.
In our testing, we also checked scalability. That looks at the features that help your website grow. That means going multi-channel, selling on other platforms and even countries. You might also need apps made just for your business as you scale. The e-commerce market is booming, and internet-savvy individuals want to have an online store to connect with customers. Starting an ecommerce business also means coming face to face with every new trend that seems a basic necessity and high expectations from e-commerce platforms.
Like small businesses, startups also need a platform that allows them to scale effortlessly and break through the already existing guys. Since you might be entering the market as a big store owner, your platform needs to be able to handle what you bring in initially while giving room for more growth. Our testing checked the functionalities that startups need. That includes SEO, good UX design, marketing inputs, and the ability to sell on multiple platforms like mobile apps and social networks.
First-time ecommerce entrepreneurs should be able to launch and run a store on their own without having to call a developer for every last thing. So we gave extra weight for the ability to set up and run your store code free.
From our analysis, BigCommerce and Shopify are at par in ease of use scores. SEO is crucial. Many platforms offer some SEO tools to boost your website. Nevertheless, some are better than others. In our testing, we based the best ecommerce platforms for SEO on page load time, mobile and desktop speed, SEO, and average organic traffic of top online stores using each platform. Excuse me while I rant, but you need to know your SEO.
Good SEO, on the other hand, is alive and well. SEO is a crucial part of site design and performance, and there are plenty of ranking criteria to consider for your ecommerce enterprise. Making it easy for humans and robots to navigate is a good first step — and that takes using the right URL structures.
Site promotion and honest, white hat backlinking are also smart. We looked at over three dozen brands to determine an initial list of the top researched and most used free ecommerce platforms. Then we compared them based on features, pricing, and integrations. At Business. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Disclaimer: The information featured in this article is based on our best estimates of pricing, package details, contract stipulations, and service available at the time of writing. All information is subject to change. For the most accurate information, please ask your customer service representative. Clarify all fees and contract details before signing a contract or finalizing your purchase. Our mission is to help consumers make informed purchase decisions.
While we strive to keep our reviews as unbiased as possible, we do receive affiliate compensation through some of our links. This can affect which services appear on our site and where we rank them.
Our affiliate compensation allows us to maintain an ad-free website and provide a free service to our readers. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy Page. We may earn money when you click on our links. Learn More. Best Free Ecommerce Platforms of We looked at free ecommerce website platforms from over three dozen brands to find the best ones for your business.
Best overall. Square Online. Completely free software to use! Integrates with Square for full-service retail. View Plans. Read Review. Best for building an online store. Comes with a free trial. Create ecommerce website in 6 easy steps. Best for all businesses. Works for retail, restaurants, and hotels.
Best for ecommerce. Lots of plan options for all businesses. Best for a WordPress site. Completely free to use with WordPres.
Works with a new or existing website. By Alex Kerai. Inventory Management and Ecommerce Staff Writer. Published on January 10, Share Article. Best Free Ecommerce Platforms. Honorable Mentions. Top free ecommerce platforms at a glance. Square Online: Best overall. Works with Square for payment processing, inventory management, selling, and shipping all in one place!
Full-service shopping and retail capabilities. Built-in website builder. Track sales and site stats. Designed for retail, restaurants, non-profits, and appointment businesses.
There are transaction fees with each purchase made on your site. Square branding is not removable on free sites. Custom domains and other add-ons cost extra or require a paid plan. View Square Online plans. Squarespace: Best for building an ecommerce store. Customer accounts and abandoned cart recovery. Connect social media and marketing tool accounts to build out brand.
Comes with inventory management, shipping, POS, and ecommerce. Works for all types of businesses. Only a free trial available. Payment gateway and POS options are limited. No phone customer support. View Squarespace Plans. Read our Squarespace review. Wix: Best for all businesses. Works for any business from retail and original content to hotels and restaurants.
Unlimited products and easy processing. Free custom domain. Sell on social media, or other sales channels, and manage with Wix. It has dashboards that are easy to navigate and a mainframe that's easy to set up. All you need to do is design into a premade theme there are both free and paid options available. Volusion also has SEO built right in, so you can start ranking in algorithms. Toolbars are easy to understand, and page editing is accomplished block by block.
Simply fill in text blocks to write your product description and upload media to showcase photos or videos of your merchandise. Volusion also provides optional guides for writing descriptions, if you need extra help in that area. Adding and editing products feels like filling out an intuitive Google form. Source: Volusion. But even so, the software is intuitive enough that problems are rare. Adobe entered the world of e-commerce with Magento, a site builder that works well for large organizations or growing businesses.
It comes with a loftier price tag, but it delivers a lot of quality and customization for the price. Setting up and editing pages is effortless, as Magento uses intuitive drag-and-drop tools and editing solutions. Some of these are seeing how your site will look after future changes; creating multiple site versions for B2C sales and B2B sales, individually; allowing B2B customers to negotiate prices and submit bids; creating multiple-user permissions with incredible details; and much more.
Source: Magento. There is no standard pricing. If you can afford it, Magento allows you to expertly tailor your site and can take your e-commerce needs to new heights. There are plenty of e-commerce store builders. Make sure you choose a builder that offers the essentials: security, ease of use, and integrations. Then select one that can also perform multiple additional functions, including email marketing, customer analysis, and inventory management.
Your new online store is only a few clicks away! Shopify offers an excellent e-commerce-focused content management system complete with many exciting features. The Motley Fool has a Disclosure Policy. Looking at ease of use, features and more, we break down the ups and downs of Weebly eCommerce.
From basic features to fantastic security and advanced capabilities, BigCommerce has a lot to offer to small business owners. With one flat rate, GoDaddy eCommerce is designed for quick store-building at the cost of some customization and detail. The right e-commerce platform can make or break your online business.
We've reviewed and ranked our top e-commerce tools so you can find one that works perfectly for your digital business. Check out the best reviews ». The Motley Fool. About The Blueprint. Review Methodology. Advertiser Disclosure We may receive compensation from some partners and advertisers whose products appear here. Enter your email address: Search.
Our Top Picks Accounting AccountEdge Pro AccountEdge Pro has all the accounting features a growing business needs, combining the reliability of a desktop application with the flexibility of a mobile app for those needing on-the-go access. Applicant Tracking Zoho Recruit Zoho Recruit combines a robust feature set with an intuitive user interface and affordable pricing to speed up and simplify the recruitment process. Appointment Scheduling 10to8 10to8 is a cloud-based appointment scheduling software that simplifies and automates the process of scheduling, managing, and following up with appointments.
CMS Weebly Weebly continues to attract and keep loyal users thanks to its user-friendly design and constant upgrades. Construction Management CoConstruct CoConstruct is easy-to-use yet feature-packed software for home builders and remodelers.
More Top Picks. Our pick for: Best value accounting software. Price when paid annually :. Zoho Books and its companion Zoho Inventory is a good value as many of its features — including invoicing, accounting reports and the ability to manage contractors — are available for free to the smallest businesses.
Like Xero, Zoho Books can generate a sales tax report and relies on Avalara for up-to-date sales tax rates. But users will need Zoho Inventory to manage their inventory levels and integrate with online marketplaces. Our pick for: Best accounting software for solopreneurs. GoDaddy Bookkeeping is designed for self-employed online sellers. By providing quarterly tax payment reminders and an auto-generated Schedule C worksheet at tax time, it can help you to manage personal as well as business finances.
But if your business grows and you need more advanced features, including inventory tracking, you may need to switch to different software. Direct integrations between these systems are best because data can flow seamlessly from one to another.
Also, if you work with a bookkeeper — which most business owners should at least consider — that person will need to access your books, ideally in real time. Depending on how big your e-commerce business is, you may not package and ship every item yourself. Inventory management software can help you keep track of stock levels.
It should also share data with your accounting software to help you understand how much capital is tied up in inventory and when you need to order more products. When customers pay sales taxes, they pay the seller, not the government directly. The seller then has to pass those funds on to the city or state collecting them. For an e-commerce business selling to customers all over the country or the world, it can get complicated.
E-commerce businesses need to keep track of how much sales tax they owe in each jurisdiction, then make tax payments. QuickBooks Online automatically calculates sales tax based on the location of the customer, and QuickBooks users can generate sales tax reports so they know how much they owe to each jurisdiction. Xero and Zoho Books both rely on Avalara, a third-party app, for tax calculations.
Both of these programs can also generate sales tax reports.
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