The easiest way to create an online store is to use an e-commerce platform. That's why we've compiled seven of the best e-commerce platforms in one place to help you out.
Our analysis indicates that Wix is the best option for small stores because of its user-friendly editor and superior e-commerce options. We advise Shopify if you have a sizable and varied product catalogue. Although Squarespace provides the most value for the money.
You may learn about the seven top ecommerce platforms on this list, which was the result of hundreds of hours of testing and research. Additionally, we'll list the top platforms by industry to offer you the lowdown and assist you in choosing the finest platform for your needs.
So let's talk about the 7 best eCommerce platforms and website builders to use in 2022!
Wix Ecommerce
With more than 110 million users globally, Wix is an extremely popular drag-and-drop website builder and e-commerce platform. Wix's e-commerce range has dramatically increased in recent years. Its performance has improved as a result, and altogether, we rank it as the finest e-commerce website builder.
Since our last review, Wix's sales feature has much improved. This indicates that, after Shopify and BigCommerce, it is the third-largest platform in this category. Additionally, Wix was the finest website builder we tried out of all the ones.
As a result, clients don't need to look very far to find the resources they require for an online store to succeed—they are only a button away!
We would still limit the use of Wix to little internet shops. Although its capabilities and features are outstanding, they are unable to manage a substantial or intricate inventory. For this, we'd suggest Shopify or BigCommerce.
In terms of value for money, Wix is the best, according to our research. Its three e-commerce options are really reasonable when you consider the incredible capabilities they provide. The most affordable plan begins at $27 per month, which is $2 less than Shopify.
Users of all technical levels should utilize Wix. It is renowned for being simple to use. This means that you can launch your online store without worrying!
Shopify
Shopify is the finest e-commerce platform for large stores with more than 10 items to sell. More than 1 million people use it currently and it is used in more than 600,000 online retailers. Shopify has facilitated purchases of more than $100 billion. which, undoubtedly, is doing a fantastic job!
Our findings validated this. In terms of selling features, Shopify comes in second. It has a 4.5 out of 5 rating in this category due to the superior tools it provides to help your store. Its inventory management system is unique. It also offers a wide variety of multichannel selling alternatives.
Shopify is not simple to use, despite its great features. In our test of ease of use, we ranked it fifth. Its front-end and back-end user interfaces were more challenging for many people to use than Wix and Squarespace.
Still somehow, this did not diminish its popularity to customers. Of all the builders we tested, it offers the most customer support. Additionally, 93% of Shopify users said that they were happy with the e-commerce platform when surveyed by our researchers.
It is not affordable despite having three pricing options. But it wouldn't be wrong to say that when you purchase Shopify, you get what you expect. It indicates that it lives up to your hopes. It is a platform that will expand together with your company and help it gain momentum.
Shopify is unfortunately not available for free. But if you want to determine if it's the ideal builder for you, you can benefit from its 14-day free trial.
Squarespace
Squarespace is renowned for its innovation and is ideal for small businesses or those wishing to sell digital products online. This could be a terrific option for you if you want to maximize the effectiveness of your online store.
Squarespace is an appealing option due to its excellent templates, effective inventory management system, and abundance of basic features. Due to this, it receives a 4.5 out of 5 overall rating, placing it third in our list.
The simplicity of usage is one of Squarespace's strongest features. In our test of usability, it ranked first. This indicates that mastering it is simple.
That's quite impressive, but even more so is the fact that Squarespace's score in this category increased from 3.4 to 4.2 since our last testing. Which demonstrates the extraordinary work that has been done to improve the user experience on this platform.
Though it can be a little challenging to learn at first, starting a store with Squarespace is simple once you grasp the fundamentals.
What about the business aspect, though? Squarespace is a fantastic option for fusing a fashionable storefront with traditional e-commerce functionalities. Creating pop-up ads for sales and promotions, for instance.
Squarespace's professional layouts will help you showcase your products and update the appearance of your storefront. It is a fantastic option for your online store, provided you don't wish to increase the number of e-commerce capabilities it offers.
Square Online
Square, a major player in payment processing, bought Weebly in 2018. Square Online was established as a result. It is a platform for creating websites that is reasonably straightforward and has a reliable payment system. It is hardly surprising that Square Online's user interface resembles Weebly's in many ways. This implies that you will take advantage of Square Online's new features. Additionally, you can benefit from its free e-commerce plan to determine if it's a good fit.
Square Online's quick and easy editing process immediately impressed us when we tested it out for ourselves. With only a few clicks on your user dashboard, you can quickly set up a working e-commerce site.
Additionally, its commerce features are pretty strong. Square Online has a wonderful set of tools to help you get online and start selling, including several channel integrations and fast access to revenue and traffic statistics.
Square Online receives a rating of 4.5 out of 5, which is very good in this area. This honour is partly because of Square Online being one of just two builders on this list that is available for free use. This implies that you can begin without investing even a single dollar.
It's important to note that its free plan has many more restrictions than its pro plans. For instance, you won't be able to utilize a custom domain and will have to put up with adverts on the free plan.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a popular ecommerce plateform whichc has big names as its clients like Clarks and Ben & Jerry's. And it makes sense! BigCommerce-powered online stores have seen growth rates that are almost twice as fast as the industry standard.
According to our research, BigCommerce received a 4.6 out of 5 grade for its selling capabilities in this category. This has been made possible by features like the capability of accepting payments from abroad and multi-channel sales possibilities.
Additionally, it performed admirably when it came to website features. It is ranked fourth with a rating score of 3.6 out of 5. Numerous services are available, including email marketing, search filters, and customer reviews.
Our collection of themes includes all the components you'll need, ready to launch your online store. If you genuinely want to grow your online store into a significant and prosperous company, then this is the greatest option for you.
BigCommerce's primary flaw is that it is difficult to use. It employs numerous technical jargon in its explanations, making it difficult for someone who is unfamiliar with them to understand it. Due to its difficulty in use, it ranks low on our list.
On the other hand, BigCommerce is a fantastic option if you are self-assured and tech-savvy. You may automatically sell services, as well as physical and digital products. For this, you don't need an app; you can just start selling.
Anyone who wants to quickly and significantly expand their online store should use BigCommerce. If you're a beginner in business or technology, don't use it. It's not the most user-friendly, and the pricing are in line with the quantity of tools and features you receive.
Zyro
In the field of e-commerce, Zyro is a relatively new website builder that is intended to resemble rivals like Wix and Shopify. Although there is much about its e-commerce platform that customers will adore, it still needs some changes.
Zyro received a 3.6 out of 5 rating overall in our analysis and testing. Its design elements are its strongest component. It has a 4.6 out of 5 star rating in this area. This is due to large part to the fact that it offers users a tonne of customization possibilities for their store pages, in addition to its appealing themes.
Zyro is one of the simpler website builders overall, but we discovered that some aspects of its backend store manager were difficult to use when setting up an online store. It will be necessary for you to flip between two dashboards, which makes it challenging to see how everything will come together in the end.
Additionally, unlike Wix, Zyro does not provide any helpful advice to aid you in creating your website. This is very useful if you want to build more complex site components, such pop-up windows.
Use the chat box on the website if you run into trouble at any stage. Although their support team is incredibly helpful, it is occasionally challenging to obtain the precise information you require.
Since Zyro's eCommerce platform is still very new, it lacks many of the tools you might find on more established eCommerce builders. Even though the pricing of its business plan package is reasonable, we don't think it's fair. In contrast, its competitors' website builders provide you what you pay for.
However, this does not imply that Zyro is a poor eCommerce builder. In actuality, new things will develop in the upcoming years. At least that is the case considering how many advancements and breakthroughs we anticipate in the upcoming years.
Zyro is ideal right now for people who are interested in e-commerce as a hobby. People who run completely stable e-commerce websites don't support Zyro very much.
Big Cartel
Big Cartel is a straightforward e-commerce platform that lets you sell up to five items for no cost, 50 items for $9.99 per month, and 500 items for $19.99 per month. Big Cartel is not as scalable as BigCommerce or Shopify. However, this is a fantastic alternative if you only want to sell a few items online.
Both passionate beginners and technology professionals will enjoy Big Cartel. You can set up your store with the help of a fair amount of tips. However, Big Cartel's website is feature-bare. Selling in more than one language is not possible. Additionally, you cannot designate specific areas on your website for password-protected users or customer accounts. Small vendors who don't anticipate rapid expansion won't be overly affected by these qualities, though.
Big Cartel is a fantastic, cost-effective option due to its simplicity of use and free sales option. Just remember to save your work when you're finished because this platform doesn't have an automatic saving mechanism and the support staff can only be contacted by email.
Conclusion
We've introduced you to seven of the top ecommerce platforms in this article. There's no need for you to waste time on subpar platforms. Instead, you are now prepared to start selling online by setting up your online store on the top-notch platform.
The platforms we talked about are:
- Wix
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- Square Online
- BigCommerce
- Zyro
- Big Cartel
Yes, we made a ranking of the platforms, but which platform is the best for you? Well, depending on what you require, it will vary. We hope that we were able to clearly illustrate how e-commerce platforms can benefit you by automating your online store and freeing up your time to work on other elements of your company. Because of this, picking the best e-commerce platform that is adaptable and equipped with the necessary capabilities is crucial.
Keep in mind that each platform on this list offers a free trial or a free plan. So, before choosing, you can test out any of these platforms without any risk. So start immediately by utilizing the free trial!
Read More:
What Is ECommerce? Basic Information About ECommerce Platforms
