4 of the Best eCommerce Platforms for Your Next Website
Nearly every website builder nowadays claims it allows you to build an eCommerce website. However, not all platforms are made the same and some are more suitable for eCommerce businesses than others. This article will compare the pros and cons of the 4 of the best eCommerce platforms:
We will compare these platforms by cost, design, functionality, SEO potential, maintenance, and security.
Why Your Business Needs an eCommerce Website
Listing on eBay or Amazon might have worked at the beginning. However, you need a business website if you’re serious about plunging into the eCommerce world. Building a robust eCommerce website have a few core advantages that will set you apart from your competition:
Authority: An eCommerce website is your digital storefront. It helps establish your credibility among audiences shopping online.
Visibility: A good website with properly optimized product pages allows you to reach more audiences and eventually generate more sales.
Information: Your website also provides you insights into your audience’s demographic, behavior, and interest.
Cost: When it comes down to it, having an eCommerce website is way cheaper than owning a physical shop.
eCommerce Platforms vs. Online Marketplaces
Many smaller makers choose to create a profile and “shop” on an online marketplace instead of building a standalone eCommerce website. I’m not saying this entirely puts you at disadvantage. Quite the contrary, there are plenty of reasons why someone would opt to a marketplace shop instead of one that’s completely independent.
The pros of using a marketplace such as Amazon, Etsy, StoreEnvy, or Society 6 are:
You’ll only need to optimize product pages but won’t have to worry about full website SEO and maintenance.
You can gain more visibility by leveraging the marketplace’s recommended product spotlights. You can also reach a larger audience initially.
You have the marketplace to handle all technical issues, which allows many smaller makers to focus on building their businesses.
Some marketplaces, like Society 6, help with supply issues so the maker can create more customized products without having to pay a higher production cost.
The cons of using a marketplace platform to build your shop are:
You’re usually paying the marketplace a fairly high commission/listing fee.
You have very limited design, branding, and marketing capabilities.
Your audience is limited to the audience your marketplace tailors to.
Long story short, no matter where you start, eventually, your brand will outgrow the marketplace and require a standalone eCommerce website. You can keep your marketplace storefront, but only as a complimentary revenue source.
Shopify
As one of the best eCommerce platforms, Shopify offers a wide variety of features, plugins, and integrations. It is a platform known for growth potential and easy configurations, and is perfect for small-to-mid-sized businesses looking to grow rapidly.Pros
Shopify is one of the most robust eCommerce platforms available. Its wide integration and API options means you can tie all your tools into one place. Shopify also has a great analytics and marketing system built into the backend.
Additionally, Shopify has many templates you can choose from. You'll also find plenty of pre-built Shopify templates from most major creative marketplaces, such as Evanto Market. Finally, Shopify also updates their system deligently to ensure smooth synching with Google Merchant Center so your products can reach more audience.
Cons
Shopify is not the most newbie-friendly platform even though they may tell you how easy it is to build a store without any coding knowledge. Therefore, if you plan on building a Shopify site, it is best to have a professional developer on your team. Otherwise, you will find technical optimization and certain integrations challenging.
Additionally, you may also find SEO tricky with Shopify, especially if you've added a lot of customization on top of your default template. You may notice a slower sitespeed performance compared to similar webites built on other platforms.
Pricing
A basic Shopify site costs $29/month. But if you want to utilize Shopify's robust analytics and abandoned cart recovery workflow, you'll want to at least be paying for the advanced package, starting at $79/month. Keep in mind that Shopify also charges a fee on each transaction.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a popular ecommerce plugin for WordPress, and probably one of the best. WooCommerce itself is free but you need to pay for hosting, domain name, and any additional features you want.Pros
Since WooCommerce isn't technically an eCommerce platform, you don't need to worry about any transaction fee issues. Instead, you might have to pay a fee to whoever processes your online store payment (known as your gateway).
Cons
WordPress has a really sharp learning curve, especially for non-developers. Basic configurations may be easy, but long term update, optimization, and more complicated functionalities would turn out to be quite challenging.
Also, since WooCommerce is open-source, it is more vulnerable to cyber threats compared to closed-source platforms like Shopify. You will also need an independent secure payment gateway to run your eCommerce business using the WooCommerce plugin.
Pricing
The basic WooCommerce plugin is free. Therefore, your cost of running a WooCommerce website comes down to:
- Server and hosting cost
- Payment gateway cost
- Cost for website development or purchasing customized template
Magento
Magento is an open-source ecommerce platform that offers a high level of customization and scalability. It's a great choice for larger businesses with more complex needs and a full-scale development team.Pros
Magento's growth potential and multi-brand management capacity is what sets this eCommerce platform apart from its competitors. Acquired by Adobe in 2018, Magento has since been known as Adobe Commerce and also stands out of competition with its unique integrated B2B functionality, expanding eCommerce from the traditional B2C realm into the B2B world.
Cons
Magento's learning curve is sharp. It is also one of the most complicated eCommerce platforms available. With the robust growth potential comes with high maintenance. Even if you're a dropshipper with multiple brands, you may still find Magento intimidating and an overkill for your business needs.
Pricing
If you're going with prebuilt Adobe Commerce packages, you can no longer see a pricing upfront. That should be the tell tale sign that Adobe Commerce begins at enterprise pricing level. If you're hoping to benefit from the secure Adobe managed service, which is offered as a higher-tier package, the cost will be even higher.
Meanwhile, Magento itself is a free open-source plugin. However, any businesses going with the non-Adobe-commerce route must factor in other expenses, such as:
- Domain and web hosting
- SSL certificate
- Transaction fees and gateway cost
- Development cost
- Premium themes and design
- Extension and add-ons
Squarespace
Squarespace is a popular website builder that also offers ecommerce functionality. It's easy to use and has a range of templates to choose from, making it a good choice for small businesses with a limited budget. After the recent update to the Squarepace website builder, it's safe to say that it is one of the most robust and dynamic click-and-drag website builders for small business available.Pros
The biggest perk Squarespace offers small eCommerce businesses is its built-in point-of-sale system that also works on the mobile end with the Squarespace app, compared to other eCommerce platforms and plugins expecting businesses to find a separate payment system.
Squarespace is also one of the most robust small business website platforms when it comes to visual design after their recent site builder update. It allows small businesses to create first-class-looking storefronts without ever diving into coding.
Cons
Squarespace is slightly more limited when it comes to eCommerce SEO. For example, it doesn't have a built-in rich schema dashboard for businesses to properly configure how their products show up on the SERP. Compared to platforms like WordPress and Magento, Squarespace's on-page SEO capabilities are also more restricted.
Pricing
To build an eCommerce business on Squarespace, you'll need to start with the Commerce Basic plan, which is $27/mo without scheduling or email marketing included. For larger businesses, the Commerce Advance plan is $49/mo, which also gives you the option to sell subscription, opening up possibilities for B2B eCommerce.
How to Find the Right eCommerce Platform for Your Brand
The best eCommerce platform for your brand is one that’s affordable, provides all core functionalities, allows you to gain clear insights into your site’s performance, and offers enough growth space so you won’t need to migrate your website in a short time. When choosing the best eCommerce platform, factor in your budget, business goals, growth forecast, and size of business/inventory.
Nowadays, an eCommerce brand’s success largely comes down to optimizing product pages. If you’re unsure about how to approach developing a new eCommerce website, or need to revamp your existing website to follow SEO best practices, why not reach out for a free info session?