The world of e-commerce is vast and constantly evolving, with new platforms and technologies emerging every day. As more and more businesses move online, choosing the right e-commerce platform has become a critical decision for entrepreneurs and small business owners alike. With so many options available, it can be difficult to know where to start.
One of the first things to consider when selecting an online store platform for small businesses is your level of experience. For beginners, it may be best to start with a service that is easy to use and requires minimal technical expertise. Some of the best e-commerce platforms for beginners include Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. These platforms offer user-friendly interfaces, pre-designed templates, and a range of plugins and integrations that make it easy to get started with online selling.
As you become more experienced and your business grows, you may want to consider more advanced e-commerce platforms that offer greater customization and flexibility. Examples of more advanced e-commerce platforms include Magento, OpenCart, and PrestaShop. These platforms offer a wider range of features and integrations, allowing you to tailor your online store to your specific business needs.
In addition to considering your own level of experience, it’s also important to think about the specific needs of your business. For example, if you sell digital products, you may need an e-commerce platform that supports secure file downloads. If you sell products internationally, you may need a platform that supports multiple currencies and languages.
Ultimately, the right website for small business to sell will depend on a range of factors, including your experience level, budget, and needs. By taking the time to research and compare different e-commerce frameworks, you can find the platform that best suits your unique requirements and helps you achieve your business goals.
What to take into account when choosing an e-commerce platform
There are many issues that you need to consider when selecting the right platform for your needs. They include the next points:
- SEO opportunities
While a good marketing strategy requires a great deal of effort, SEO is very important for any online business. No one can buy from anywhere if they cannot find the online store easily and quickly. In this respect, many e-commerce platforms provide all the necessary tools to assist you with SEO, which is a great benefit.
- Ability to integrate with other services
Another significant thing to consider is the opportunity to integrate with external services. Many platforms nowadays are added with many useful instruments that will help you to run the newly founded business.
- Affordability
Affordability of the platform is very critical, especially if you’re only a beginner. In this case, you may want to choose the least costly options. This factor is also essential if you’re the owner of a small business. It’s also important to remember that it’s often worth spending a bit more in order to ensure a smooth customer experience. In this situation, platforms like Shopify and Wix can become your next best choice.
- Mobile friendliness
Since about 60% of all searches are done on cell phones, it’s important that the e-commerce site you select is mobile-friendly. Customers usually need simplicity and ease of use, so they can buy something without any barriers. That’s why it’s significant that your online store be mobile-friendly.
Top 4 e-commerce websites
There are numerous platforms offering shopping services to businesses. Here is the best e-commerce platforms list:
- Shopify
This is yet another prominent e-commerce platform. By contrast to the previously discussed one, it offers greater functionality to users. Whereas other platforms allow running online stores, this one is best for selling online. Its main benefits include:
- It has quick loading speeds, which is great for client experience, and is known for the ease of use throughout the setup;
- It offers a POS system, which perfectly suits online businesses;
- It offers such function as quick checkout;
- It makes it easy to sell goods on different channels;
- Best-rated customer support services are also offered to all clients.
On the other hand, it still has certain restrictions. Although it’s quite easy to use this platform, it still has a limited number of customization options for your site. For instance, there are not so many free themes, and it’s not very suitable for adding a custom design.
- BigCommerce
This is yet another prominent example of a popular e-commerce platform. It’s intended for larger online stores and is not very difficult to use. It’s recommended for anyone who has just started a large online store. Moreover, it’s rather simple, being suitable for beginners. Likewise, it helps to easily personalize your website according to your wishes and needs. Furthermore, it also offers strong SEO functions and features.
- WooCommerce
This is a free platform that gives you the ability to turn a WordPress site into an online store. It has thousands of themes and many extensions that you can easily customize as you run your business. It allows you to connect not only a wide range of payment tools, but also social media, shipping options and more. That’s why it’s perfect if you’re selling through a variety of channels. With this e-commerce platform, your site will be very customizable and user-friendly.
- Wix
Wix is yet another example of an e-commerce platform for beginners. It’s widely known for the ease of use and has numerous prebuilt sites you can easily choose from. This is what makes it perfect for those who have no previous experience. This platform has grown considerably over the last few years. Therefore, it’s often ranked as one of the most reliable and trusted platforms on the market. It will assist your business in all possible respects until it starts to grow and develop.
No matter what platform you select, the chances are that you’ll be fully satisfied with what you get for a highly reasonable price.