Overview
When running your own business, choosing the best e-commerce platform is a challenging task. Looking at all the options is of utmost importance as there are different kinds of e-commerce platforms. Find the best e-commerce platform that suits your needs with our detailed comparison.
When it comes to business, finding the best e-commerce platform to fit all your needs should be at the top of your priorities. There are different kinds of E-commerce platforms to choose from which is why you must first look at all your options. Some platforms offer more customization than others, while others offer less coding experience. Read further below as we will get into deeper detail with the different types of e-commerce platforms. We will guide you with comprehensive comparisons in order for you to find the best e-commerce platform for your business.
What are the 2 types of e-commerce platforms?
1 – CMS ( Open Source)
Open Source content management systems will allow the average website owner to upload an open source script to their server. WordPress and Drupal are the two best open source systems that can be integrated to be used for e-commerce purposes. Open Source CMS systems require a bit of coding knowledge depending on the degree of customization required. Open source platforms are free to use.
What is the main benefit of using an Open Source CMS System?
Being that everything is not pre-installed for you, an open source content management system gives the average website designer or owner the ability to customize every small part and directory of a website. A developer may add an SSL certificate on selected pages, create multiple directories, and choose any payment method of their choice. An Open source CMS system enables the average web designer to customize a business store even further.
2 – Online E-Commerce Platforms
What is the main benefit of using an Online E-Commerce Platform ?
Online shops guarantee a business much more security and provide easier solutions for the average business owner. Security aspects of a business that would have been self-integrated in an open source e-commerce platform are all taken care of prior in an online shop. Online shops offer monthly plans that are affordable for different budget volumes. Most plans stretch from basic to advanced and have pre-installed all the components that a business owner will need for selling services online.
Online shops guarantee a business much more security and provide easier solutions for the average business owner. Security aspects of a business that would have been self-integrated in an open source e-commerce platform are all taken care of prior in an online shop. Online shops offer monthly plans that are affordable for different budget volumes. Most plans stretch from basic to advanced and have pre-installed all the components that a business owner will need for selling services online.
Find The Best E-commerce Platform For Your Business
We have grouped together 7 of the best e-commerce platforms. Read below as we will compare and contrast these different platforms.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the best e-commerce platforms that can be used for selling products online. Shopify is known for its customizable layouts, social media integrations, and sales tracking dashboard.
- Type of Platform: Online Shop
- Price Range: $29 to $299
- Best Features: Allows unlimited product uploads and has a great additional app store.
- Year Founded: 2004
Drupal
Commerce. Drupal Commerce is an open source e-commerce platform that provides business owners a variety of advanced payment modules and methods of customization.
- Type of Platform: Open Source
- Price Range: Free
- Best Features: Offers free payment and customer service modules.
- Year Founded: 2011
Bigcommerce
Bigcommerce offers solutions for small business to large enterprises. This platform has affordable price ranges, but also leaves an option open for custom pricing quotes for larger companies.
- Type of Platform: Online Shop
- Price Range: $29 to $200
- Best Features: Reliable Hosting and can be integrated to sell with the top Marketplaces like eBay and Amazon.
- Year Founded: 2009
WordPress
WOOCommerce. WooCommerce is a great open source e-commerce platform that can sell both digital items and physical items that require shipments. WooCommerce is known for its flexibility and variety of plugins that can build a custom e-commerce store for almost any type of business.
- Type of Platform: Open Source
- Price Range: Free
- Best Features: Offers a variety of themes and plugins to pick from. The most popular extensions include WooCommerce booking system, WooCommerce membership, and WooCommerce subscriptions.
- Year Founded: 2008
SquareSpace
SquareSpace is a great platform that provides pre-made templates for business owners to easily select from. SquareSpace allows the average business owner to sell unlimited products with no fee at all.
- Type of Platform: Online Shop
- Price Range: $26 to $40
- Best Features: Provides content protection for photographers and no transaction fee for business owners.
- Year Founded: 2004
Weebly
Weebly offers an easy solution for building custom e-commerce stores. The easy to use website builder will allow a business owner with no coding experience to create a store instantly.
- Type of Platform: Online Shop
- Price Range: $12 to $49
- Best Features: Custom product searches and can be used to from digital products or physical items.
- Year Founded: 2006
Wix
Wix is an affordable solution for small businesses to create an online store. Wix has pre-made templates. It also has a great drag and drop feature that makes it very easy for a business owner to change their website’s layout.
- Type of Platform: Online Shop
- Price Range: $7 to $25
- Best Features: Great ON page SEO optimization, free hosting.
- Year Founded: 2006
Use the guide above to discover what e-commerce platform is right for your business. With a variety of choices you have, take your time and make your best pick!
I hope this helped, if you’re reading this you’re likely either a new eCommerce entrepreneur looking to embark on your journey, or are a business owner looking to migrate your store to a more suitable platform. Remember, if you ever need any development help or want to boost your growth, you can always hire eCommerce developers from the team at CodeClouds.
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