Best Ecommerce Platform In 2021

Best ecommerce platform in 2021

by Daniel Abbott — 4 years ago in Top 10 9 min. read
3240

The world wide web has been working long enough to get a fantastic idea about what you would like from any eCommerce platform you might be considering. You may know how your physical shop functions, and in several ways, would enjoy your online shop to replicate this.

You wish to exhibit your goods in a transparent manner, which makes it effortless for prospective customers to look for and discover what they’re searching for.

Clients can not touch and feel your merchandise, however, which means you want your online shop to compensate for that. You want to earn a nice customer experience, or possible clients will click another website.

In years past you’d have needed to have paid substantial cash for a software programmer (or perhaps a complete development group ) to think of a bespoke site for you. But, technology has improved, and you could certainly assemble eCommerce sites, nearly in a kitset manner, employing an eCommerce platform.

Sometimes, these are constructed on top of an present content management system (CMS), such as WordPress. In other cases, developers have established standard-alone eCommerce platforms which are efficiently CMSs in themselves.

It is possible to use those eCommerce platforms to construct your online store from scratch. Most also operate program shops (or plug-in shops ), giving added capabilities over and above the center platforms.

What is a B2C eCommerce Platform?

B2C ecommerce apps (Also called shopping cart applications ) differ from regular website builders since they supply special features for internet vendors, such as things like payments program integrations, in depth product catalogues and in-platform vendor advertising.

Conventional web site platforms and CMS programs are constructed for a larger selection of requirements but lack the technical performance ecommerce platforms supply.

ECommerce apps from WooCommerce, Magento, Wix, Shopify and many others are radically simplifying online selling internationally for retailers and making it simple to launch shops on the internet. Many programs are also giving business retailers the ability to personalize their ecommerce piles in ways that best suit their requirements.

How to Choose the Best Ecommerce Platform for You

The best ecommerce system to the company is dependent upon several factors such as your expertise level, your personalization requirements, and also the sort of merchandise that you need to market.

But picking the correct platform may feel overwhelming as there are an infinite number of choices to pick from.

It could help to begin with a listing of prerequisites and the qualities that you want. From that point, you can restrict your decisions based on these criteria.

  • Physical vs Digital Products
  • Deployment Options
  • Day-to-day Management
  • Design Capabilities
  • Advanced Ecommerce Features

Other advanced ecommerce features include:

  • Email marketing integrations
  • Memberships and recurring payments
  • Gift cards and discount codes
  • Partial payments or payment plans
  • Shipping and fulfillment management
  • Product variations
  • Product categories

Top 10 Options for the Best Ecommerce Platforms:

1. Wix – Best for flexibility and customization

2. Squarespace – Best ecommerce platform for creatives

3. BigCommerce – Best for medium to large stores

4. Shopify – Best all-in-one ecommerce platform

5. WooCommerce – Best for WordPress websites

6. OpenCart – Best for selling digital products

7. Ecwid – Best for integrating with your current platform

8. Magento – It’s generally used on medium to large eCommerce sites

9. Square online – Square has been facilitating credit card payments since 2009

10. FastSpring – the leading eCommerce platform for Apple Mac software publishers

1. Wix

wix

Wix is a good alternative if you’re searching for an economical and flexible ecommerce system. It is famed for it is drag-and-drop interface using total design freedom to create anything you can imagine.

Together with Wix, you also receive access to over 500+ prebuilt site templates and a good deal of customization options (without any programming required). Or you could create pages from scratch using total design control.

What’s more, they possess a strong mobile program so it is possible to make adjustments and manage your store from anywhere on earth.

Wix also comprises a huge array of marketing attributes, like mails, Facebook advertisements, and societal networking posts directly from the account dashboard. You may also sell directly through social networking.

Their ecommerce plans include powerful features, like:

  • Support of 90+ languages and local currencies
  • 250+ apps to add extra functionality to your site
  • No additional transaction fees
  • Custom product pages
  • Worldwide shipping and taxes
  • Coupons and discounts
  • Advanced sorting and filtering
  • Product collections
  • Customizable checkout
  • Recurring payments
  • Easy to use
  • Many templates
  • Simple pricing

Pricing

  • Basic ($23/mo)
  • Business Unlimited ($27/mo)
  • Business VIP ($49/mo)

2. Squarespace

Squarespace

Squarespace is a New York-based Software-as-a-Service firm that offers website and e commerce store construction and hosting to clients. Clients utilize drag-and-drop performance and pre-built site templates to make their web pages.

Squarespace is most suitable for entrepreneurs and small business owners using fundamental ecommerce requirements. The ecommerce platform is successful, but just as a companion to the primary site builder. Firms with more innovative online retail demands or who manage a huge quantity of inventory will be better off using more committed platforms.

Squarespace offers a variety of ecommerce features, including:

  • Subscriptions, digital products, and in-person compatibility
  • Built-in tax tools for automatic tax calculations
  • Discount codes and gift cards
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Mobile-optimized checkout
  • Mobile store management
  • Rich product listings
  • Quick view capability
  • Inventory management
  • Real-time shipping estimates

Pricing

  • Personal ($16/mo)
  • Business ($26/mo)
  • Basic Commerce ($30/mo)
  • Advanced Commerce ($46/mo)

3. BigCommerce

BigCommerce

BigCommerce was Set in 2009 by 2 Australians, Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper. It is currently headquartered in Austin, Texas with 750+ employees dispersed across offices all around the world.

As a top receptive SaaS solution, BigCommerce provides retailers sophisticated enterprise-grade performance, customization, and functionality with ease and ease-of-use. More then 20,000 of B2B and B2C businesses across 150 countries and several businesses use BigCommerce to make amazing, engaging online shops.

Best for:

BigCommerce is ideal for both SMBs & MM that need a lot out of their e commerce platform with big or intricate catalogs. BigCommerce involves a whole lot of features from the box and just like other programs enables for the system to be prolonged with third party software. BigCommerce additionally supports both the B2C and B2B companies on precisely the exact same platform.

BigCommerce will have a different pricing structure compared to other platforms, and so you will notice earnings caps per grade on their retail strategies whereas Enterprise plans are habit dependent on the purchase quantity and GMV.

BigCommerce plans include access to powerful, industry-leading features, including:

  • Customer accounts for faster checkouts
  • Mobile-optimized checkout
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Google AMP and Akamai
  • Advanced product filters
  • Coupons and discount codes
  • Advanced inventory management
  • Customer groups for personalized shopping
  • 65+ payment gateways with no extra transaction fees
  • Built-in shipping management

Pricing

  • BigCommerce Standard ($29.95/mo)
  • BigCommerce Plus ($79.95/mo)
  • BigCommerce Pro ($299.95/mo)
  • BigCommerce Enterprise (available upon request)

4. Shopify

Shopify

Shopify is possibly the most well-known e-commerce platform accessible. It had been founded in 2006 by creators Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand and Scott Lake that, as the narrative goes, believed that there was not a simple-to-use e-commerce system accessible and so constructed their own. The business asserts that:”You do not have to have any design or technical expertise to easily make a gorgeous online shop.”

Shopify plans include access to an incredible suite of ecommerce features, including:

  • Point of Sale for brick and mortar shops
  • Real-time carrier shipping rates
  • Abandoned checkout recovery
  • 100 different payment gateways
  • Automatic tax calculations
  • Customer accounts and profiles
  • Fulfillment centers
  • Advanced inventory management
  • Unlimited products
  • In-depth analytics

Pricing

  • Basic Shopify ($29/mo)
  • Business Shopify ($79)
  • Advanced Shopify ($299).

5. WooCommerce

Woo commerce

WooCommerce is a free plugin that may turn your WordPress site to a fully functional ecommerce site.

The fundamental WooCommerce plugin is simple to install via WordPress, and much better is that the plugin is free to use and download.

But to find the maximum from WooCommerce you’ll have to put in quite a few third party plugins. This would be to include features like payment processing, stock management, and inventory control.

It includes powerful ecommerce features like:

  • Plugin extensions to increase the functionality
  • Rest APIs for developers to create custom platforms
  • Extensive tutorials and documentation
  • 140 region-specific payment gateways
  • Support of subscriptions and deposits
  • Automated tax calculations
  • Real-time shipping rates
  • iOS and Android mobile apps
  • Physical and digital product capability
  • Endless product variations
  • Public support forum

Pricing

WooCommerce has no setup charge or monthly fees

6. OpenCart

open chart

G2 describes Opencart as” a easy-to-usestrong strong, open online online shop management software”. OpenCart can support several stores from one interface when customizing and localizing each shop, which can be particularly helpful for retailers with numerous independent brands and merchants which sell cross-border.

OpenCart offers a powerful set of ecommerce features, including:

  • Simple and centralized admin dashboard
  • Advanced user roles and access controls
  • Manage multiple stores from a single dashboard
  • Limitless product variables and variations
  • Built-in affiliate management and rewards system
  • Discounts and coupons
  • Unlimited products
  • One-click digital downloads
  • Product reviews and ratings
  • 36 built-in payment methods
  • Recurring payments

Pricing

Dedicated support starts at $99 per site per month or $99 for a one-time fix

7. Ecwid

ecwid

Like OpenCart and WooCommerce, Ecwid is a ecommerce system you can use to integrate with your existing platform, whatever you are already using.

It integrates with programs such as Weebly, Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, and much more. Consequently, in the event that you currently have a site setup and wish to add ecommerce functionality, Ecwid is a superb option.

This ecommerce platform includes a wide range of features, like:

  • Multi-channel selling (social media, marketplaces, in-person, etc.)
  • Integrated email marketing and advertising features
  • Centralized inventory and order management
  • No transaction fees
  • Fully responsive designs
  • Built-in POS integrations
  • Customer accounts for easy checkout
  • Real-time shipping rate calculator
  • Poduct variations
  • Digital product capabilities
  • 40 payment options

Pricing

  • Venture — $15/month (up to 100 products)
  • Business — $35/month (up to 2,500 products)
  • Unlimited — $99/month (unlimited products)

8. Magento

Magento

Adobe provides two ecommerce solutions, Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce. While Commerce will put you back over $20,000 annually, you can self-host the slimmed-down, open source platform at no cost. It will not include Magento Client support or lots of the characteristics which make Magento Commerce a powerhouse ecommerce platform, however it is fantastic for companies who wish to start small and upgrade down the street without changing platforms.

This ecommerce platform includes a wide range of features, like:

  • SEO
  • promotions and discounts,
  • shipping options
  • Large developer community
  • support forums
  • a large selection of extensions

Pricing

Visit to site for pricing

 9. Square Online

Square Online

Square has been easing credit card payments because 2009. From the start, anyone could use Square to take payments with credit cards with a smartphone program and also a device plugged into the headset. Although Square started as a way for peer reviewed transactions, over time it expanded into the online world.

You probably would not select Square in case you simply have an eCommerce website — other programs cater better for internet transactions.

You have fewer choices when constructing a Square site — there are not any topics or anything similar to that. Select a font, select the color closest to your current branding, then upload a banner picture, and you’ll have a site in about 30 minutes.

This ecommerce platform includes a wide range of features, like:

  • A free URL
  • Free unlimited hosting
  • Inventory management and tracking
  • Responsive web design
  • Inventory management and tracking
  • Integrated and advanced reporting
  • Seamless integration with Square’s other products
  • Support for in-store pickup

Pricing

  • Professional: $16 per month, or $12 per month annually
  • Performance: $26 per month, or $29 per month annually
  • Premium: $72 per month, or $79 per month annually.

10. FastSpring

FastSpring

FastSpring is a fully featured eCommerce system which mostly caters to electronic products sellers and SASS businesses. It was originally built in 2005 as an eCommerce solution for its software market. It’s nevertheless the leading eCommerce platform for Apple Mac applications publishers.

FastSpring provides numerous payment attributes built in. Specifically, it’s recurring obligations and subscription charging built. It’s very acceptable for SASS websites with monthly billing. It’s possible to set up paid or free trials, provide discounts, place promotional pricing, and make on-demand subscription services which bill clients as they use your product.

This ecommerce platform includes a wide range of features, like:

  • FastSpringSubscription models
  • In App purchases
  • Customizability
  • Mobile Optimization
  • Secured payment methods
  • Purchase fulfillment options
  • Usage Tracking
  • Developer Support
  • Customer Support for buyers
  • Android, iOS Compatible
  • Multi-store Management
  • CSS Control

Pricing

  • Standard: $16 per month, or $12 per month annually

11. tribe

Tribe

Tribe is another best e-commerce platform for serving the SMB community. Tribe is a free e-commerce solution and has an impeccable user-interface. It is a self-hosted software that is developed on the laravel framework. Drag and Drop editor allows users to design the front-end of an e-commerce store according to their business requirements.

If you want to build your e-commerce store at zero cost then you can go with Tribe. They charge only for additional services like design, support, and migration service.

Tribe delivers multiple e-commerce features, like:

  • Multilingual Ecommerce software
  • Shipping Management
  • Multiple Payment Gateways have been integrated with Tribe.
  • Dozens of APIs are pre-integrated into Tribe for effective eCommerce development.
  • Set up of product Taxes based upon location and tax structure.
  • Customize store with a powerful front-end store builder.

Pricing

  • Support Service:- $12 USD/hr.
  • Design Service:- $15 USD for non-exclusive rights and $20 USD for Exclusive rights.
  • Migration Service:- 15 USD/ Hr
Daniel Abbott

Daniel Abbott is editor in chief & research analyst at The Next Tech. He is deeply interested in the moral ramifications of new technologies and believes in leveraging the data scientist, research and content enhancement to help build a better world for everyone.

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