No one likes waiting in line to make a purchase. That’s why E-commerce platforms are gaining in popularity and rapidly displacing traditional stores. E-commerce websites give you endless freedom to create any user shopping experience you can dream of.
Have you considered creating an E-commerce website for your business? Then take a look at the list of the best E-commerce platforms our website development team has prepared for you.
Best Ecommerce Platforms: Which Should You Use?
- Shopify
- Magento
- WooCommerce
- BigCommerce
- OpenCart
We’ll cover them in more detail, looking at all the advantages and downsides.
List of the best E-commerce platforms for Website Development
Shopify
Shopify is probably the most popular platform for ecommerce website development. It is flexible, easy to use and is feature-rich for online branding. Shopify is suitable for any kind of online marketing, including digital products, physical products, services, downloads or even drop-shipping. The price ranges from $299/month to $9/month.
Shopify Advantages
Shopify lets you customize and add different feature extensions. Merchants also get an opportunity to sell their products via social media sources. For example, Shopify can be integrated into a Facebook account, instantly transforming it into an E-commerce store.
Shopify Disadvantages
Although there are huge advantages, there are still some drawbacks with this service. You’ll have to pay the additional transaction fee if you don’t use Shopify Payment. Moreover, some features or extensions require additional investments.
So? If you are new to the e-commerce sphere, you’ll definitely benefit from the easy-to-use Shopify. You can choose any service plan according to your specific needs and budget.
Magento
Magento is an open source E-commerce platform suitable for both big and small enterprises. This platform is highly reliable and scalable. Many recognizable brands, such as Burger King, Pepe Jeans and Liverpool F. C. have their websites built on Magento. The basic version is free, but you have to pay at least $20k/year for an enterprise one.
Magento Advantages
One of the main advantages of Magneto is its customizability. This feature is useful for unique products that have to be broken into categories which are not available on other websites.
Magento Disadvantages
Magneto is pricey and requires technical management skills. Implementation and use may be difficult for the store owner who is not a programmer, or doesn’t have one on his team.
So? Magento is a perfect solution for Enterprise level E-commerce stores with a large amount of product. Be sure you have a team member who is able to deal with the technical part of the solution.
Big Commerce
Big Commerce is frequently compared with Spotify as a dedicated E-commerce solution. However, its tool variety for larger platforms lends itself to larger business. Pricing ranges from $30 - $250/month with enterprise custom pricing options.
Big Commerce Advantages
Big Commerce outcompetes with more out-of-the-box tools, enabling you to build a highly functional online platform. Unlike in Magento, these tools do not require technical skills. Easy online-payment facilities are another benefit for those who don’t want to dive deep into the technical side.
Big Commerce Disadvantages
Big Commerce offers only a limited number of pre-designed templates and themes. Seven pre-themes to be exact, compared to other E-commerce platforms which offer more than 20.
So? Big Commerce is a good candidate for store owners who lack coding skills and don’t want to deal with integrating plugins and other technical hurdles. If you are okay with the lack of free themes or ready to pay for the premium ones, Big Commerce is a solution.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source solution specifically developed to add E-commerce options to an existing WordPress website. The WooCommerce plugin itself is available as a free download, but there are fees associated with adding certain features.
WooCommerce Advantages
Unlike other services, WooCommerce easily integrates with WordPress themes. Users already familiar with WordPress will find no difficulties managing this plugin. It comes with five payments options, and additional payment gateways are available as extensions.
WooCommerce Disadvantages
WooCommerce doesn’t have central support and doesn’t offer free hosting. Another downside is that it lacks scalability. WooCommerce has less out-of-the-box tools than Shopify and goes without the customizability of Magento.
So? For WordPress websites and tech experts who can work with WordPress, WooCommerce is a solution. It’s a good choice for smaller organizations, start-ups and those who want to transform their existing WordPress web page into an E-commerce platform.
OpenCart
OpenCart is an open-source shopping cart that is free to download, use and upgrade. Additional costs arise elsewhere. OpenCart can manage a few online stores from a single back-end.
Opencart Advantages
OpenCart is user-friendly and features an equally straightforward interface. Adding your own customizations and developing extensions is also possible. OpenCart also easily connects with API’s. There are ample themes available, both free and paid.
Opencart Disadvantages
OpenCart is not SEO-ready. This means that the platform will not automatically perform in Google like other E-commerce services. The script can run slow, especially on large websites, and third-party extensions might become faulty.
So? OpenCart is a solution for small and medium-sized e-stores which offer a limited number of products. It delivers customized solutions, designs, extensions and maintenance.
Final Step
No doubt, you can not just choose one of these platforms and use it for every website. E-commerce platforms are very specific for each certain case. The list above is just an overview of the opportunities you may get with a pre-launched digital solution. As always, the team at WishDesk is here to help you with the choice of the best E-commerce platform for website development.
When it comes to full customer satisfaction and business, is your E-commerce platform experiencing common e-commerce site problems that impact sales? Don’t let unforeseen issues take away from your business. Pre-launch and troubleshoot your website and E-commerce platforms ahead of time.
If you are unfamiliar with QA, the team of web experts at WishDesk are available to make sure platform for ecommerce website development is always working for you and your clients. What is more, we have experience in building E-commerce websites from scratch or supporting existing platforms, including PayPal website integration. Contact us 24/7 for advice, support, or website development.
