Online businesses have been the most prominent in last 5 years. Ecommerce was born way before that though. The concept of ecommerce can be explained in layman’s language as to be commercial transactions carried out electronically with the help of internet. How does one come by starting an online business might be the burning question? The first and foremost thing needed to start an online business apart from a good business idea is a website or an online presence. A website allows the users to browse through the catalog of products or services primarily offered by the business.
What is ecommerce website builder?
Now that we have established we need a website to make the virtual presence of our business felt, how does one do so? This is when the ecommerce website builders come into picture, and what exactly are those? Ecommerce website builders can be coined as an easy, fast and even a cheap medium which smoothes out the process of selling your products online.
Why Use ecommerce website builder?
They allow the company to function online which eventually has various benefits like reaching a wider range of customers etc. There are various ecommerce website builders in the market some being and open source ecommerce website builders which can help the business with the kick start it requires in the beginning.
How does one choose the best ecommerce website builder?
Choice is a luxury but only until you have limited options when it comes to selecting someone who would help you run your business you need someone efficient, smart and pocket friendly. Choosing one of the best ecommerce website builders can be a tedious task but also necessary. The factors to consider while making this choice are as follows:
- 1) What is the company looking for? : There are numerous website builders out there offering various services. What company needs to keep in mind are their requirements for the business and work out a service plan with the service provider accordingly.
- 2) User Friendliness: The ultimate use of website will be done by the customers of the business, hence the company has to make sure that the website is easy to browse through and should also showcase the catalog of products or services offered by the business.
- 3) Pricing and budget: The company has to stay true to their financial plan as well. A lot of website builders come up with combination or package plans to cater the needs of the business which could be a cheaper option than availing individual services. Usually these platforms have a monthly subscription plan. There are also initial processing fees to register with a particular the ecommerce website builders.
- 4) Security: Users are very particular about their banking information and would enter their details only on a legit looking website which makes security a very relevant factor. Ecommerce platform supporting HTTPS/SSL is must for a secured checkout of the customers.
- 5) Room for expansion: While choosing the service provider for your website taking into consideration the future growth and scalability is vital. The website builder should be able to cater the expansion needs of the company. Make sure that their scalability plans and policies are parallel to the increasing needs of the company as projected.
- 6) Marketability: If your business is relatively small or new then marketing your website and your business is going to be one of the most important initial tasks. Please make sure that platform you choose for your website helps you with the same. Search engine optimization, optimizations of your site, third party integrations like Facebook ads or Google ads are some of the key facilities to look for while making the decision. An ease of sharing your website on social media can be another factor into being marketable.
What are the advantages of using ecommerce website builder?
- 1) Design skills not required: We might have visited a million websites in our lifetime some of while look aesthetically pleasing so much so that we want to start shopping from there. That is the exact impact of a professionally designed website. The business does not require an in-house designer as the same is taken care of by the website builder.
- 2) Coding skills not required: Website is not only pretty pictures. It takes a lot to make the website user friendly. Coding is the core to a website without which there cannot be much to design. A lot of relatively newer and smaller businesses might not have the coding skills.
- 3) Cheap and easy: The subscription fees charged by the service provider are comparatively cheaper than hiring a website developer and designer in-house. These website builders have their templates ready which even make the process faster.
- 4) Can focus on the core business: When the company has their technical side taken care of it leaves a lot of room and time for the core business activities relating to developing the products or services, making them marketable, handling the day to day finances of the business etc.
List of Best Ecommerce Website Builder To Use In 2022
We have created a curetted a list of best ecommerce website builders in 2022 with their advantages and disadvantages along with their pricing policies and plans
1) Shopify:
Shopify if hands down one of the most popular ecommerce website builder with over 800,000 online stores. The services provided by Shopify ranges from website hosting, digital marketing, product and order management tools. It also provides in store POS and support which helps the business combine online and in-store sales.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by Shopify:
- POS solution for the business looking for in-store and online
- Effective Stock management tools
- Built-in payment services
- Various beautiful website designs with customization tools
- Social media accessibility
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by Shopify:
- Does not support the sale of products other than physical and or digital i.e. no sale of content like lectures or courses supported. The process is not as smooth as other service providers in the market
- Blogging is not one of the strong areas for shopify as well
The pricing policy is as follows
- No free version or trials available
- The most basic plan starts with $29 which provides with 2 accounts, unlimited access to sales channels and products along with various marketing tools
- There are also a few premium plans that run from $79 to $299 per month with a extra sales tools and advanced reporting tools
- Shopify provides with an enterprise version for lager organizations which leaves room for growth of the business
2) Wix:
Wix is best known for being beginner friendly ecommerce website builder. Wix has very skillfully captured the market with 110 million individual and small business users. They can be termed as the best ecommerce website builder for small businesses. A pretty website is your goal? Go for Wix. Ease of use is how we can describe Wix.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by Wix:
- Selling photographs, art, photograph filters etc.
- Marketing a food place, reservations, delivery orders
- Selling original music
- Integrated email and social median marketing tools
- Subscription for videos, audios or blogs
- Creating an online store with a fewer range of products
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by Wix:
- Cannot combine in store and online orders
- Design issues lie not being able to change the design after the launch, rebuilding is the only option.
- Website storage space is limited
- No room for the business to grow into.
The pricing policy is as follows
The plans ranges from $23 to $49 and 3 plans are provided within this price range
3) Weebly
Back in 2018 Weebly was acquired by square. It is mostly known for its drag and drop website building function which makes the process a lot easier and fun. Over 50 million websites have been built by them. It is also one of the larger free ecommerce website builders.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by Weebly:
- Free trail available.
- The drag and drop feature makes it easy to use
- Adding functionalities is easier whether created in-house or third party apps
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by Weebly:
- No possible to create custom layout
- Restoring the website is only possible if you contact the support team
- Sorting and filtering is not a very pretty process at Weebly
The pricing policy is as follows
Free version or trials available
Pro version costs $12 per month where as the business version costs $25 per month
4) 3DCart
3DCart is very similar to Shopify, it allows the user to experience the full ecommerce experience. The features provided by 3DCart are extensive ranging from single page checkout to product review. This range of features is regardless to the plan opted by the business.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by 3DCart:
- Online store experience with unlimited products.
- Extensive inventory management tools
- Numerous payment gateways
- 24/7 support and live chat
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by 3DCart:
- Not beginners friendly.
- Themes are difficult and tedious to edit
- To truly explore the benefits 3DCart has to offer the business needs to opt for an expensive plan.
The pricing policy is as follows
Subscription ranges from $19 per month to $229 per month.
The entry level plans are cheaper than Shopify and other huge service providers
5) Squarespace:
The only ecommerce platform used by a wide range of customers. It is very prominent for blooging but also provides with traditional ecommerce tools. Squarespace is currently on the rise. Alongside Wix, Squarespace is also best ecommerce website builder for small businesses.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by Squarespace:
- Customizable themes
- Flawless customer support
- Best for subscription box supplier
- Event promotions, sending invites and RSVPs
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by Squarespace:
- The platform often discontinues a feature or adds new which is difficult to keep track
- Offers limited shipping and payment solutions
- Not expandable
The pricing policy is as follows
2 pricing plans offered $30 or $46 per month and the payment if made annually can save money costing the subscriptions to be $26 or $40 per month respectively
6) BigCommerce:
Know best to help the business runners diversify their channels BigCommerce is one of the leading ecommerce website builders. Shopify happens to be the top competitor of BigCommerce. Launching an online store is an easy task with BigCommerce as well as marketing it and promoting the same.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by BigCommerce:
- Adaptive Site themes
- Single page checkout
- Coupon and discount offer
- 24/7 live support
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by BigCommerce:
- The plans offered by BigCommerce are based on the sales, if you exceed the amount of sales you need to upgrade the plan.
- Fewer free themes and the paid options are as expensive as $300.
- Themes are affordable with other big competitors
The pricing policy is as follows
Basic plan costs $29.95 per month whereas the other 2 plans costs $79.95 and $299.95 per month.
7) GoDaddy
GoDaddy is one of the oldest website builders. GoDaddy mainly provides domain name and host the website.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by GoDaddy:
- Domain maintenance and web hosting and transfer of domain
- Quality support
- High End security
- Website performance
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by GoDaddy:
- The restoration cost is higher
- Limited customizable website templates.
The pricing policy is as follows
Basic plan costs $19.99 per month whereas the other 2 plans costs $29.99 and $89.99 per month.
8) WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a part of Worpress and it run 28% of the ecommerce websites worldwide. WooCommerce is one of the ecommerce solutions for wordpress. They are the only wholly free ecommerce website builders.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by WooCommerce:
- It’s integration with wordpress has been its most important advantage over the year
- The customer service is reliable
- The sales tax calculations are known to be the best ecommerce website builder in the industry
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by WooCommerce:
- Users come across lags in live store
- The setup required is more than the others on the list
The pricing policy is as follows
Business plans are free but limited.
9) Volusion
Volusion is a part of Worpress and it run 28% of the ecommerce websites worldwide. WooCommerce is one of the ecommerce solutions for wordpress.
Following are some of the advantages of using services provided by Volusion:
- Inventory management tool allows you to track the flow of inventory
- Customer relationship tools help you built a bond with your customers eventually leading to customer retention in a way
- Expanding the ecommerce tools is no issue with Volusion. Third party integration makes it more efficient
Following are a few disadvantages of the services provided by Volusion:
- They maintain two ecommerce platforms which lead to burdened engineering resources.
The pricing policy is as follows
Business plans starts at $299.
