If you’re a small business owner looking for an online store, you may want to start exploring some of the options available. Here’s a look at Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Ecwid, and others. Each has its own unique features and pricing, so it is important to weigh your options carefully.
Shopify
If you’re looking for a simple eCommerce solution for your small business, Shopify is a good choice. The platform offers eCommerce capabilities as well as functionality for other business areas. For example, Shopify allows its customers to take advantage of discounted shipping rates offered by carriers. Additionally, it provides businesses with unlimited bandwidth and online storage.
The interface is easy to use, and there is no steep learning curve. There are three plans to choose from: Starter, Basic, and Plus. Starter plans cost only five dollars per month. Shopify Plus, on the other hand, is tailored to enterprise-level businesses.
Security is a key feature of hosted eCommerce solutions. Shopify automatically takes care of security tasks such as encryption and data storage. It includes SSL Certificates, which encrypt data between your site and the customer. This increases the trustworthiness of your site. Plus, Shopify is PCI-compliant, so it follows security standards when processing credit card information. Shopify also offers a cookies policy generator, which allows you to customize the cookie settings for your online store.
One of the best features of Shopify is its ease of use. It is ideal for both complete beginners and seasoned entrepreneurs. It is designed to make building a website easy and quick. It does not require any coding knowledge and is incredibly intuitive. It also has a wealth of help options and 24/7 support.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an online store platform that offers a variety of options for selling products. This includes selling products on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram as well as traditional ecommerce websites. BigCommerce allows you to sync your inventory and product listings across all of these platforms. In addition, you can edit titles in the dashboard and sell direct to consumers using payment gateways such as PayPal.
BigCommerce is also one of the most feature-rich ecommerce solutions available. Even the basic plan offers SEO features, image optimization, and the ability to setup hundreds of product variations. If you’re looking to create a high-revenue, multi-platform store, BigCommerce is a great choice.
BigCommerce also offers a variety of marketing tools and analytics tools, as well as plenty of industry support. It is the most comprehensive eCommerce platform in the market, and many small businesses can benefit from it. Additionally, it offers an open source approach, which means that you can customize it to meet your business needs.
BigCommerce also offers professional reporting for all of its plans. Unlike many ecommerce solutions, BigCommerce doesn’t charge transaction fees. Instead, it only charges a small fee to the payment provider. It is worth noting that all plans offer free trial periods. Alternatively, you can choose to pay for an annual plan.
Squarespace
One of the major benefits of Squarespace is its ease of use. The platform has a 4.2 out of 5 ease of use rating. If you are interested in making money online, Squarespace has features that are perfect for small business owners. For instance, it has the ability to calculate shipping rates, and it has an app for printing shipping labels. Furthermore, it also has many more tools for displaying your products.
Squarespace is also popular with small businesses in the creative industry, and it offers plenty of award-winning templates for those who want to showcase their work. In addition, it allows you to sell digital content, subscriptions, and other products. Its features include automatic inventory management, impressive product displays, shipping calculator tools, and integrations with popular online selling tools.
Squarespace also has good server systems and AMP (accelerated mobile pages), which makes your web pages load faster on mobile devices. Another great feature of this platform is its ability to integrate with Google Analytics and Google Console. This feature allows you to track your sales and improve your site’s performance. Additionally, you can customize the design of your site to match your brand image.
Ecwid
Ecwid is a cloud-based solution that offers an easy-to-use interface. The system offers several options for customization, including a free trial version. There are also paid packages, including Business, Unlimited, and Enterprise, which each come with unique features and pricing. The paid packages can be paid monthly or yearly, and annual subscriptions often include a discount. The free version of Ecwid comes with some limitations, including the inability to expand your business into multiple sales channels, or store more than 10 products. Furthermore, the free version does not include advanced SEO tools or inventory notifications.
The free version of Ecwid is a useful tool for sellers who are unsure about the software. The program can automatically translate 51 languages, and store owners can choose additional languages. Ecwid also offers a lifetime free trial. However, a free version of Shopify and BigCommerce only offer 15-day trials.
Ecwid also includes a mobile app for users to manage their online store. It has an easy-to-use interface that enables users to manage their online store on the go. Users can customize their store by editing product preview images, product titles, and product pages. Users can also customize their site’s appearance with Ecwid’s built-in editor.
Sellfy
Sellfy offers an easy-to-use platform for small businesses to sell products and services. Its starter plan allows users to sell as many products as they’d like and earn up to $10K a year. They can also sell subscription products and charge customers on a monthly or weekly basis. The platform also lets users integrate a domain with Sellfy, and offers 2,000 email credits, email contact migration, and more.
If you’re new to ecommerce and want a platform that allows you to sell everything from physical products to subscriptions, Sellfy is a great option. It is easy to use and comes with built-in marketing tools to help you get your products noticed and increase sales. The software also allows you to customize your store to make it uniquely your own.
Sellfy’s advanced analytics and marketing tools make it easy to track your store’s performance. With an analytics dashboard, you can track your top products, revenue, and traffic sources. In addition, Sellfy lets you create Facebook and Twitter ads.
Volusion
Volusion is a well-known eCommerce platform for small businesses. Its features are pretty standard, but the company has some cool extras. These features include advanced search filters and client reviews. Using Volusion to create your online store is easy. The company also hosts your store on its own optimized servers.
Volusion offers a host of help and support options, including 24/7 email support and online chat support. It also has a website knowledge center and comprehensive video tutorials to get you up and running. Moreover, higher-level plans offer a dedicated account manager and in-house design team.
Despite these features, Volusion is not the only online e-commerce solution available. Established players such as BigCommerce and Shopify are also hot on its heels. While these two solutions offer a range of features, Volusion is still a great option if you want to get started quickly and affordably. The software also offers many free marketing tools.
Volusion is compatible with numerous payment gateways. This allows you to cater to a wide range of customers. For example, you can integrate Square through a Zapier integration, which is easy and quick. In addition, Volusion offers an API for integration with third-party solutions such as Xero and QuickBooks Online.
Yotpo
If you’re looking for a subscription-based ecommerce platform, you’ll want to check out Yotpo. This service offers powerful analytics that can help you analyze your product and customer behavior and design programs to improve your business. It also features a user-generated-content feature that can help your brand establish trust and loyalty from customers, thereby increasing sales. Another great feature of Yotpo is its ability to integrate with popular ecommerce platforms and social networks.
Yotpo also provides a tier-based loyalty program that allows you to offer exclusive discounts and coupons to loyal customers. Your customers can then graduate to higher tiers as they accumulate enough loyalty points. There are also features for setting up custom programs, such as time-limited discounts.
Yotpo’s user-generated content feature encourages your customers to share their experiences on your website, which can lead to more sales. Moreover, it offers a detailed analytics dashboard with useful insights into purchasing habits and behavior. It also integrates with most of the major eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce. It also provides an SEO ranking for your site, which can help your business in the long run.