If you are planning to start a new ecommerce business then you need to carefully consider the top ecommerce platforms available in the market. In this post, I will compare the top 5 ecommerce platforms based on their features and prices.
BigCommerce
Bigcommerce is a US based company founded in 2009. The platform helps companies of all sizes to sell online. If you are a startup then this is probably the best platform for you. Have a look at the various features provided by BigCommerce:
- In as low as $29.95 a month, you have the option to store unlimited products. Moreover, you can also have unlimited staff accounts.
- Your website will be mobile friendly and responsive with option to integrate digital wallets like Apple Pay, PayPal One Touch and Amazon Pay.
- Option for single page checkout will be there for easing the conversion process.
- You can easily add custom coupon codes and discounts.
- All sites have HTTPS for enhanced security.
- US-based merchants can use any number of payment gateways with zero transaction fees, which is a nice touch if you’re bootstrapped.
- You can easily integrate your store with Facebook, eBay, Google shopping and many comparison sites.
- 24×7 live support is available.
- There is complete SEO friendly site structure with optimized category and product URLs.
- While other platforms are made either to host your store or for you to work with your own hosting, BigCommerce is platform agnostic, making it an especially attractive option for businesses that intend to grow quickly. You can start off with their SaaS solution, move on to build your own BigCommerce-integrated WordPress site, and eventually use their API with whatever custom infrastructure suits you best.
Shopify
Shopify is a Canadian ecommerce company that is quickly gaining popularity. Let’s have a look at the top features of Shopify:
- The basic plan is of $29 and it gives you the option to store unlimited products. However, you can only have upto 2 staff accounts.
- It offers a special payment gateway called Shopify payments which works on a fraud detection algorithm for enhanced security.
- Usage of payment gateways are charged at flat 2% commission.
- All sites have HTTPS for enhanced security.
- With the help of the Buy button, you can add ecommerce to any existing website.
- The platform has mobile friendly shopping cart and several advanced mobile friendly features.
- You can easily add custom coupon codes and discounts.
- 24×7 live support is available.
- There is complete SEO friendly site structure with optimized category and product URLs.
Magento
This is one of the oldest platforms for developing online store but it you need to be coder to use this. The features and customization are not easy as compared to BigCommerce and Shopify. Here are the top features of Magento:
- Magento is highly flexible and open source meaning you can literally add any custom feature of your own choice to your estore. However, you need to create and run codes for that yourself.
- The basic community version is free but it has limited capabilities.
- You can add custom website design and style.
- You can easily integrate with Amazon Payments, PayPal, Authorize.net, and Google Checkout.
- SSL support is provided for enhanced security.
Squarespace
The Squarespace online store builder offers a powerful platform for both startups and established brands. Here are the top features of this platform:
- Offers a large collection of templates that can be easily configured.
- Personal plan costs just $12 each month along with a free custom domain if you opt for an annual purchase.
- You can store unlimited number of products with multiple variants and SKUs.
- You can easily manage your products with drag and drop sorting tool.
- The platform offers mobile optimized single page checkout.
- With the help of abandon checkout recovery, you can send automatic emails to customers.
- Free SSL certificates is offered to all websites.
- Your e-store is equipped to accept Paypal and Apple Pay.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open source platform where you can customize each and every element of your site with full control. It is similar to Magento in many terms but the site is built on WordPress which is the world’s best CMS platform. Here are the top features of WooCommerce:
- You can choose any of the available WordPress theme to be used for your WooCommerce store. Moreover, you can customize it as per your own choice.
- Being an open source software, WooCommerce is free to use but you have to pay for SSL and hosting.
- You can add unlimited number of products and categories.
- Website structure is mobile friendly.
- You can accept payments via PayPal and other payment gateways.
- You can easily adjust shipping rates and other taxes.
BigCommerce – The Ultimate Winner
For a startup, BigCommerce should be your ultimate choice because of its powerful features and no hidden pricing. Moreover, BigCommerce gives you more choice of tools as compared to other platforms. The best part with BigCommerce is – they don’t charge any transaction fees and this is what a startup needs, cost savings at every stage. Hence, BigCommerce is the perfect platform for an ecommerce startup.
