The eCommerce online shopping industry has been growing at a fast rate, and it’s only going upwards.
Companies like Amazon have created a whole new standard when it comes to shopping online, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the online shopping transition quicker than previously estimated.
According to Statista, eCommerce sales in 2021 in the U.S. were estimated at $768 billion, forecasted to exceed $1.3 trillion by 2025.
So no matter what you’re selling, having an eCommerce website is not only key to your success – but also to the survival of your business.
Thankfully, there are plenty of eCommerce platforms out there, website builders and plugins that can help you create an online store with all the basics from the comfort of your home or office.
There are solutions for all types of eCommerce businesses, from independent artists to multinational corporations.
Depending on your needs and goals, if you want a really personalised eCommerce web design, you might want to consider a custom design made just for your organisation.
But let’s have a look at the best eCommerce platforms in 2022, and which one is right for your business.
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5 Best Ecommerce Platforms in 2022
There are some core features that every eCommerce website builder needs to have, such as maps, forms, photo galleries, and check out.
For our list, we chose the top 5 eCommerce platforms that work particularly well for small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) and could be set up in-house.
The most important things we considered are pricing, features and ease of use.
Pricing – while it’s obvious, we’re going to name it: running your store shouldn’t cost you more than what you make.
Features – as we mentioned above, some features are essential to an eCommerce website. Depending on the platform and your own level of experience, you can get more features that enhance the user experience on your website.
Ease of use – not everyone can code (or wants to learn), and you should be able to make small changes yourself, without the need to call a developer every time.
Without further ado, here are the 5 best eCommerce platforms in 2022.
1. WooCommerce
Versatile & best for existing WordPress sites
WooCommerce is a plugin that transforms WordPress – which is a Content Management System or CMS – into an eCommerce site.
With WooCommerce you can build an eCommerce store from scratch or add the shopping cart functionality to an existing WordPress website.
WooCommerce has a wide range of extensions that are highly configurable and depending on what you need, the pricing starts at $0 and can go up to roughly $250 each.
To use WooCommerce you do need WordPress – which is also free – but you will need to buy a domain name, an SSL certificate and web hosting separately.
Some of WooCommerce’s most attractive features are:
- Seamless integration with WordPress
- Built-in payment
- Lots of extensions
- SEO
- Analytics
WooCommerce is best for establishing online stores that need a versatile, customisable and reliable solution.
2. Shopify
Easy-to-use and fairly automated
Shopify’s pricing starts at $29/month, with a 2-week free trial. It’s a popular solution because of its very easy, step-by-step set up, a wide range of themes and a fairly automated experience for business owners.
Some of Shopify’s most attractive features are:
- A lot of dropshipping integrations
- POS access
- Abandoned cart recovery
Shopify is a good option for small to medium sized businesses, and especially for those that want to build a dropshipping business.
3. Squarespace
Easy to set up and has a professional look
Squarespace’s pricing starts at $23/month for a Business Plan (if paid yearly). It has a wide range of modern, professional-looking templates, and a lot of them are free.
It’s very easy to use because of its drag and drop functionality that allows you to add elements in “content blocks.”
Some of Squarespace’s most attractive features are:
- Integration with G Suite, social accounts and other tools
- Mobile-optimised
- SSL security
- Follows SEO best practices
- 24/7 support
Overall, Squarespace is a great option for new stores because it’s an all-in-one solution that can work without coding and additional plugins.
4. BigCommerce
Best for large-volume sellers
BigCommerce’s pricing starts at $29.9/month and its main selling point is that it was created for selling online.
Building an online store with BigCommerce is not difficult, as most of it is quite intuitive (similar to Squarespace and Shopify).
Some of BigCommerce’s most attractive features are:
- Flexible selling with multiple currencies and payment options
- Built-in marketing tools
- Inventory management
BigCommerce is best for those businesses that handle large volumes of stock and need to foster leads.
5. Wix
Beginner-friendly and all-in-one
Wix’s pricing starts at $27/month and, at its core, it’s a good eCommerce platform because it’s a highly customisable all-in-all solution, with a very easy-to-use drag-and-drop feature.
The basic plan covers 50GB, so if you have a huge inventory or a large photo gallery, you will need to upgrade.
Some of Wix’s most attractive features are:
- Ability to sell unlimited products
- Recurring payments
- Abandoned cart recovery
Wix is great for businesses that want an easy-to-build online website on a budget.
Conclusion
These 5 eCommerce platforms all have the features to help you build the successful online business that you want.
Depending on your needs and goals, if you want a really personalized eCommerce web design, you might want to consider a custom design made just for your organization.
We hope we’ve made it easier for you to choose.
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