12 Best eCommerce Platforms
From the small sized to large sized businesses, everyone is trying too hard to compete and be ahead of each other. With so many potential customers online, bringing a business online and working on improving their online presence is the must need to do thing today. If you are a business owner who wants to improve his/her business then, without any further delay you should work on establishing an online presence of your business and start selling your products online. To do that, an eCommerce platform plays a vital role. All you need to have is a great eCommerce platform that will beautifully showcase your products to your potential customers.
Which is the best eCommerce platform?
This is probably the first question that strikes every business owners mind who are thinking to build an eCommerce website to bring their product and services online. There are so many different best eCommerce website builders available today and each eCommerce platforms suggest they are the best. And going through all those platforms
and choosing any one eCommerce platform that perfectly suits your business concept is pretty confusing and daunting task especially if you are from non-technical background.
To help you find the best eCommerce platform to build your online store, we have listed few eCommerce platforms, which are not only popular in today’s market but, also are well matched to your business. Without wasting any more time, let’s go through all the lists mentioned below.
12 Best eCommerce platforms in 2016
Shopify(Free + Premium)
Shopify is your one stop solution to any eCommerce problem of your business. This leading online shop builder is easy to use and helps you save time so that you can focus on improving other aspects of your business. Shopify has become one of the most powerful eCommerce platforms powering 325,000+ online stores. If you want to have a beautiful and professional storefront then, Shopify is the right platform for you.
Features ● ● ● ● ●
Offers over 100 beautiful and professional templates Offers extensive numbers of apps Comprehensive and flexible Mobile eCommerce ready Web based
● SEO friendly ● Hosting, security and backup options ● 24/7 anytime support
WooCommerce (Free)
WooCommerce is a powerful and cusomisable eCommerce platform which helps you build your online business. Along with 18,014,891 downloads, WooCommerce powers 40% of all online stores. Hence, the popularity of WoCommerce is increasing day by day. WooCommerce comes with in-built features such as better CRM, store managemanet, seo friendly, built in tax features, flexible shipping options, wide variety and capacity in product, intelligent shopping UX, geo location support and many more. Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Open sourceplatform Modern and clean interface Improved experience for user and store owners Expandable and adaptable Highly scalable Secure code Mobile friendly SEO optimised
● Built in analytics and reporting OpenCart (Free)
Opencart is an easy to use open source eCommerce platform which you might want to consider using to build your online store. OpenCart has everything that is needed to create a simple and scalable professional looking website for small sized businesses. It powers over 342,000 local businesses all over the world. OpenCart comes with inbuilt affiliate system, easily expandable functionality and it too allows you to set up your own backups and restorations which you might need in case of emergency.
Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Open source platform Powerful store management Multi store functionality Extension and themes functionality Mobile friendly SEO optimised Free community support
Magento (Free + Premium)
Magento is one of the leading eCommerce solutions today used by more than 30,000 merchants all over the world. It is generally aimed for larger retailers who need more flexible and scalable system. Basically Magento is free platform, but there is also a paid tier available for enterprise users. One of the challenges of Magento is, it requires high level programming skills to build eCommerce website which is comparatively hard and bothersome. Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
User friendly Easy to integrate third party apps Intuitive navigation 5000+ extensions available Modular and customisable Multi store functionality API for web services Built in multilingual support Mobile friendly SEO features
Big Commerce (Premium)
If you are looking for an eCommerce platform that not only help you build an attractive yet professional website but also help you in generating more traffic and higher conversion then, Big Commerce is the one for you. Big Commerce and Shopify are pretty much similar, except the fact that Big Commerce has more built-in features. Big Commerce is easy to set up, so people with no web designing skills can also easily work on this platform. It comes with great store management features along with good designs and unlimited customization options. Big Commerce is used by more than 95,000 online stores world wide. Features ● ● ● ● ● ●
100+ stunning eCommerce themes Mobile optimised Secure shopping cart Unlimited bandwidth and storage Built in SEO 24/7 phone support
PrestaShop (Free)
PrestaShop is another great open source eCommerce platform, which can be easily used by beginners. Users can easily find plenty of online resources to learn PrestaShop and there’s also an online PrestaShop community which they can join. It is used by more than 2,50,000 stores all over the world. This wonderful eCommerce platform can easily customise the PrestShop theme by simply changing fonts and colors with its live configurator. Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
2000+ professional eCommerce website templates Unlimited product listings Intuitive administration panel Quick install features Bulk import/export Inventory tracking and restocking alerts feature Powerful set of integrations Mobile responsive SEO optimised
osCommerce (Free)
osCommerce is one of the most trusted and popular eCommerce platforms for the last sixteen years. This wildly popular platform is being used by more than 260,000 stores all over the world. One of the great things about osCommerce is its excellent resource, whenever you go through some issues, it is virtually guaranteed that someone has already faced the same problem and has already solved it. So, you can easily get help. Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Easy to hack and modify Easy installation 7000 free add ons Unlimited product listings Supports additional plugin and add ons Currency and language setting Extension possibility through modules Tax handling SEO optimised
Yo!Kart (Premium)
Yo!Kart is a relatively new multivendor eCommerce system which offers entrepreneurs with an easy way to launch an eCommerce marketplace for their online business. This simple yet powerful eCommerce platform is feature rich and cost effective. It comes with lots of amazing built in features including great designs, best UX design, customizable multivendor eCommerce script, social media integration, reports and analytics insights, multiple payment gateways and many more. Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Fully customizable as per need Easy set up and management Cost effective Paypal and other major payment gateways adaptive Multilayer security Responsive design layout Mobile optimised Scalable script 12 months free the support
3d Cart (Premium)
3dCart has everything that you need to set up your online store and it works with over 100 payment gateways. 3dCart is complete eCommerce solution currently being used by more than 17k online stores all over the world. This easy to use and customise premier eCommerce platform comes with numerous pricing deals for its users. The pricing plans includes: nano plan ($9.99), mini plan ($19.99), starter plan ($35.99), professional plan ($65.99) and professional plus plan ($99.99).
Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
100+ conversion optimised themes Powerful restful API Mobile and social ready Updated constantly 100+ payment gateways SEO optimised Faster response time 24/7 expert support
Squarespace (Premium)
Squarespace is another simple yet powerful website builder in today’s eCommerce market. This design oriented eCommerce platform helps you to build visually stunning website for your store. It offers beautiful designer quality website templates, extensive styling options, drag and drop functionality, 24/7 1 hour email response support, advertisement free, your own domain name, blog and many more. Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Powerful and flexible styling editor Over 40 outstanding designer templates Drag and drop functionality Speed and secure Mobile responsive Advertisement free SEO optimised 24/7 support
Wix (Free + Premium)
Wix is a free eCommerce platform which has everything that you need to create a visually stunning website. Wix is just the right choice for those who don’t have lot of time or big budget. This easy to use and affordable eCommerce platform is used by more than 90 million people all over the world to build beautiful yet professional website for their online store. The great thing about Wix is it offers you support 24/7 through phone, email, support center and so on.
Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Easy drag and drop option Over 510 beautiful and professional website templates Beautiful gallaries Offers App market with more than 260 Apps Huge image collections Secure hosting Mobile special SEO friendly 24/7 tech support
Zen Cart (Free)
Zen Cart is another highly customisable free open source eCommerce platform which allows you a quick setup and customization. Separated from osCommerce shopping cart in 2003, this accessible platform is better suited for medium sized to larger businesses. Zen Cart has been providing its services for almost 10 years and has over 100,000 active users. Another great reason to choose Zen Cart is its great reputation and track record in the market. Features ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Freely customizable Advanced template system Add unlimited categories Easy to update Scalable platform Third party modules Easier payment gateway integration Ready immediately Multiple language and currencies
Conclusion, Each of the eCommerce platform mentioned above has its own beauty and features that differentiates them from each other. Choosing the best platform is surely a hard task as each mentioned eCommerce platform is best. So, the best thing to do is choose the platform with the features that you are looking for your online store. If your business is smaller then, a simpler eCommerce platform is just perfect for you as you don’t need any customisation feature. You need to keep your store in mind and choose the eCommerce platform for it wisely.
Which above mentioned eCommerce platform do you prefer? Are there any other eCommerce platforms that you want share? Please leave us a comment below. ☺
If you are still confused then, Nirmal Web Design Sydney also specialises in eCommerce development and design and is always one call away from you. For further details, contact us today!
Excerpt: Thinking to bring your business in web and sell your product from a website? Then, the first question that strikes your mind is which eCommerce platform to use. We are here with a list of top 12 best eCommerce platforms in 2016 that solves all your eCommerce needs.