The 6 best eCommerce website building platforms in 2024
As the world moves into a digital era, we’ve witnessed a lot of changes in our daily lives. From smartphones and
smartwatches that can track your vitals to modern houses that are integrated with smart technology, we’ve seen it
all.
As technology advances, so does the demand for products and services. Consumers are buying more and more products
and services every day. Almost all of these purchases are made online because it is now easier than ever to just
place an order and have the products or services delivered to your doorstep.
Just to give you an overview, India was ranked second in the top ten countries that saw retail e-commerce sales
growth in 2022. In 2023, the worldwide e-commerce sales amounted to $6151 US dollars! By the end of 2024, India’s
ecommerce revenue is expected to hit 4,416.68 billion rupees. So, if you own a small, mid-sized, or large-scale
business and have not already started selling products online – you’re missing out on big opportunities. There are
many ecommerce platforms that can
help you build an online store, but If you’re wondering how to choose from the
various platforms, we’ve already made it easier for you. Keep reading to find out:
What is an ecommerce store
What makes the best eCommerce website builder?
How to properly choose an e-commerce website builder platform
The overview of the best ecommerce store builders
Review of the 6 best ecommerce store building platforms
How can small businesses and large enterprises build online stores
What is an e-commerce store?
E-commerce stores are websites or platforms that are specifically designed for buying and selling goods or services
online. Businesses list their products or services and customers visit these online stores to search and make
purchases, exactly like in a physical store. This process makes the shopping experience much easier since people can
place an order anytime, anywhere. Business owners can now build digital stores in no time and these stores have all
the features and functionalities that make selling online a seamless process.
What makes the best eCommerce website builder?
There are several factors that you need to consider before choosing an e-commerce website-building platform. You
need to have features like a user-friendly interface, integration capabilities, strong security, effective customer
support, performance and reliability, scalability features, and more. It must allow businesses to create and manage
their e-commerce site efficiently.
How to properly choose an ecommerce website builder platform for your business
Technically responsive: Choosing an e-commerce store builder that is fully responsive is important because it can
determine your store’s functionality. Platforms that have advanced technology for building online stores improve the
overall user experience. Good navigation, quick loading time, and other factors must be considered for your website
to work properly on all devices.
Sell what you want without high fees or taxes: Before selecting a platform to build your online store, you need to
look into the various fees and taxes that might affect your total sales revenue. E-commerce store building platforms
must list their prices and any fees that are applicable to the sales you make. It should also allow you to sell your
products without any hidden charges or restrictive policies.
E-commerce platforms with full service: If you’re building your store with online selling platforms, make sure it
comes with full service for everything, from creating the store to analytics of your sales and other data that can
help your marketing efforts. Look for tools like inventory management, CRM, and social media integration. This can
save you time and effort because you can manage everything in one place.
Easy integration with other apps: The ecommerce builder you choose must be able to easily integrate with other apps
or platforms like payment gateways, marketing tools, accounting software, and also shipping. By integrating with
other apps, you can automate your processes and keep track of everything.
Affordable price of the platform: Various ecommerce building platforms offer various prices but you need to check if
it aligns with your budget. There are platforms that are very affordable and at the same time offer all the features
to build a functional online store.
List of the 6 best e-commerce store building platforms
Shopify - if you’re looking to build an online store very quickly
Square - choose this platform for selling offline and online
Ecwid by Lightspeed - this platform offers a free plan that you can upgrade as your business grows.
BigCommerce - This is the best option if your business sells a bulk products
WooCommerce - suitable for building e commerce sites for WordPress websites
Wix - You can build a complete website and an ecommerce store for your business
The overview of the best e-commerce website building platforms
Platform
Why to choose
Price
Transaction fees
Shopify
To build stores quickly and it has a built-in payment gateway
Basic plan for unlimited products is $39 per month
2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction
Square
To sell offline and online e commerce service and product
Free for unlimited products but from $29 per month to remove the Square brand
2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction
Ecwid
Free plan when starting out
Standard version is free but starters from $19 each month for pro features
Depends on the payment gateway you choose
BigCommerce
For selling bulk quantity
Starts from $39 each month for selling unlimited products
Depends on the payment gateway you choose
WooCommerce
Suitable for WordPress sites
Standard features are free if the website is built on WordPress
Depends on the payment gateway you choose
Wix
Build a website and online store. It has a built-in payment gateway
Starts from $28 for each month
2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction
Review of the best e-commerce website building platforms
Shopify -
This platform has been around since 2006 and as of today, more than 4.4 million ecommerce websites are built on
Shopify. It has a user-friendly interface which makes it easy for beginners to build their stores. It offers many
themes and customization options but for additional customization, you need developers’ help.
Features: Multi-channel selling, reporting and analytics, built-in payment gateway
Square: This platform hosts thousands of ecommerce stores and has a drag and drop interface that makes it easy to
build the store.
Features: This can be integrated with Instagram and Facebook for selling and also with Square’s point of sale (POS)
system.
Ecwid by Lightspeed: Ecwid hosts over 1 million online stores worldwide. It has an easy setup and integration
process. It offers a free plan for small stores so it is the best to start an e commerce website project.
Features: You can add the online store to any existing website, integration with various CMS platforms,
multi-channel selling, and automatic tax calculations.
BigCommerce: This ecommerce building platform powers over 1,50,000 online stores and it has a simple user interface
that is a little complex compared to Shopify. The monthly fee for this platform can be high for some small
businesses and it has limited themes in the free plan. You need technical knowledge for some customizations and
features.
Features: It has built-in SEO tools, It has good B2B functionality, and it supports multi-currency transactions
WooCommerce: WooCommerce was launched in 2011, and today, it hosts more than 5 million active online stores. It is a
WordPress plugin so if you want to build your ecommerce store with this platform, you need to understand and become
familiar with some WordPress features as well. You can customize your store as much as you want with the available
themes and it can be integrated with other payment gateways.
Features: It is free to use but you need to pay for additional extensions, seamless integration with WordPress, can
become expensive if you’re using paid extensions.
Wix: This platform hosts over 200,000 ecommerce websites and it is very easy to use because it includes a
drag-and-drop building feature, which is suitable for beginners. It might lack some advanced e-commerce features and
not much customizable when compared to some platforms.
Features: Drag-and-drop website builder, built-in SEO tools, a wide range of themes and templates, and it has a Wix
app market for extra functionality.
How can small businesses and large enterprises build E-commerce websites?
If you are a small business, you can use user-friendly platforms like Shopify or Wix to quickly set up e-commerce
websites with less technical knowledge. Large enterprises can choose BigCommerce or
WooCommerce for its scalability
and customizable solutions that allow advanced features and integration. These platforms provide ecommerce companies
with a range of tools depending on the size of the business to make sure their online stores are efficient and fully
functional.
