The rapid development of technology greatly influenced consumerism in different sectors. Part of such progress is the rise of social media and online stores, which inevitably changed how people shop, buy and even eat.
Now, people are adapting to a modern lifestyle that is synonymous with online and instant. And for many entrepreneurs and business owners, offering their products and services online is vital to keep up with such a lifestyle.
The New Normal for Business
Selling products and services online has become a popular, cost-effective, and efficient way for small business owners to make a fortune in the digital landscape, and everyone just wants a piece of the pie.
As a result, many companies and agencies like Fortibus digital marketing want to be in the frontline, offering their best marketing services and e-commerce platforms for small businesses.
Given the current shopping trends, customers would expect quality and responsive e-commerce stores. Thus, having slow loading pages, a shoddy looking online storefront, hard-to-follow or confusing payments, lack of SSL, to name a few, are considered big turn-offs and might compromise potential sales.
The right online e-commerce platform can fix all of these issues, but with so many choices available, picking the right one can be somewhat overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a place to start.
To ease that burden, we’ve compiled a list of the best e-commerce platforms you can consider. Take your cue from the following:
Wix
Wix eCommerce is an easy to navigate and easy-to-use store builder that is sure to delight solo entrepreneurs and small business owners.
This platform throws its hat in the ring as a solidly built and user-friendly e-commerce site. It’s intuitively customizable, streamlined, and pretty much foolproof.
Apart from selling digital and physical products, Wix is also equipped with features that will appeal to different businesses.
For example, it has booking features that enable customers to sign up for classes or schedule appointments. There’s also Wix Music that allows you to create a personalized music player, sell digital downloads, and monitor performance and sales statistics. If you own a restaurant or cafe, you can make reservations, accept online takeouts and delivery, and send email reminders to guests.
In short, this platform is not just for online stores. There’s more to it than meets the eye.
Pricing and plans start at $0.00(FREE) per month. If you want to upgrade and avail more features and solutions, you can sign up for the $15.00 (venture), $35.00 (business), and $99.00(unlimited).
Shopify
It’s almost impossible to talk about e-commerce without including Shopify.
This superb site houses some of the best sales features available in the market such as drag-and-drop store builder, over 100 custom themes, unlimited products, order logistics, marketing features, mobile optimization. Shopify also comes with a comprehensive sales dashboard, discounted shipping rates, inventory management, 24/7 customer support, cloud-hosting, and integrations containing 2,200 applications, along with 100 different payment gateways.
It has a library of free stock photos you can use for your inventory. You can even use Shopify to buy an existing online store if you don’t want to start your business from scratch. Additionally, it has a 14-day free trial, and you can start, even without a credit card! You don’t need to select a plan, just sign up and build your store. It’s that easy!
Its Lite plan package starts at $9 only per month. If you wish to upgrade and add more features, some plans cost anywhere from $29.00 to $299.00 per month.
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BigCommerce
BigCommerce comes in second to Shopify as a top e-commerce platform. It has almost identical functionalities and features at a very similar cost.
You can’t go wrong in choosing either of the two. Still, if you’re going to choose BigCommerce over Shopify, you might find advantages from variations in designs, themes, and payment processing options.
As a whole, this platform makes it easy to set up and manage your store through its visual store builder. You can customize your site by editing the source code or using one of BigCommerce’s 80 different themes. Uploading products is unlimited. It has no cap!
Its other features include multi-layered security, 24/7 customer support, marketing tools, single-page checkout, cloud-hosting, shipping logistics, integrations with a wide array of third-party applications, including most major payment gateways (no additional cost), and conversion optimization tools.
Pricing and plans per month start at $29.95 (standard), $79.95 (plus), $299 (pro). They also have an enterprise package whose price is to be customized.
Squarespace
It’s an integrated platform that’s widely used by many businesses in different niches, but mainly by artists and creatives.
Squarespace is not only great for blogging and portfolio building, but it is also efficient when it comes to helping small businesses grow.
Its stunning function and site themes are fully customizable and don’t skimp on utility or design. The responsiveness doesn’t stop with imagery. The site’s graphics, general layout, charts, and even email are also optimized for mobile devices to make sure marketing campaigns will read well on tablets and smartphones.
Its award-winning customer support takes pride in its streamlined customer service options and knowledgeable community. Moreover, it has good subscription models, making it easy for entrepreneurs and business owners who run product lines or subscription-based services to manage sales all within one platform and simplify logistics.
Pricing and plans per month start at $29.00.
GoDaddy eCommerce
If you’re a solo seller or small business looking to sell a few items and have them listed fast, without worrying about greater brand synergy, GoDaddy is an excellent choice.
This platform offers quick setup, robust features, and easy navigation. Best of all, you don’t need to code a theme as it already comes with several templates for you to choose from. You just need to select one, then add your own touches by simply editing the copy and replacing images.
Pricing and plans per month start at $9.99.
