Starting an e-commerce website as a newbie in your own is really a challenging part. You have to make a lot of research. You must go for trial and error. Doing this really costs you a lot of time and effort.
The most critical question in building an e-commerce website is answering this question, “what platform should I choose?” Using a good platform is very important for an e-commerce website. Because this also dictates the success of your business.
There are lots of website builder that offers e-commerce platform. So, deciding on what platform to choose is really difficult.
If you have to choose what will be your basis?
In this article, you will going to learn the Top 3 Online Shopping Website Builders so you can easily decide what website builder should you use in building your e-commerce online store.
1. Shopify
I have no doubt that when it comes to building your e-commerce website Shopify might not be new to you because this is the most popular.
Shopify was introduced to the public in 2006. As of this time, the number of their active users have grown into 400,000.
Actually even Los Angeles Lakers also use Shopify as their e-commerce website builder.
Top traffic source of Shopify came from searches which is 21.30% not bad. But the majority of traffic comes from referrals which is 42.55%.
Shopify is rank as #4 among the most Business Services in the world.
In Social Media, their Facebook Page has more than 2 Million likes. More than 83 thousand subscribers and 115K followers in Instagram.
Why it’s #1?
Security
The very first thing you need to be aware when it comes to choosing your e-commerce website builder is security.
Some ecommerce website can provide that kind of securities, but Shopify still makes the edge.
Newbie Friendly
It has more than 100 website templates to choose from. Basically, this denotes that you won’t be inputting any kinds of codes. Since everything you need to have a quality e-commerce website is already on the platform.
In case you can’t find the features you need in the standard, you can use their apps to boost your sales. You can use Oberlo for drop-shipping, Tidio Live Chat to support your customer and convert them from window shopper to online buyer and much more. Some of the apps are subscription based but you can also find free shopify apps.
Pricing
It won’t charge you immediately. Before you decide to invest in their platform, it will give you 14 days trial to experience its entire feature. Once you are satisfied here are their plans:
Basic Shopify
This is $13.00 per month. It features all the basics for starting an e-commerce business.
Shopify
This plan costs you $54.00 per month. It features everything you need for a growing business.
Advanced Shopify
The monthly price of this plan is $107.00. It has advanced features for scaling your business.
As a newbie, I recommend you start with the Basic Plan. In case you have some questions, you can contact their 24 hours customer service via chat, phone or email.
2. Big Commerce
Three years after Shopify was founded Big Commerce enters the industry. Then it became the competitor of Shopify.
Big Commerce has 95,000 users around the world. It has 5.20 Million average monthly visitors.
When it comes to social media traffic, Big Commerce has its traffic more on Facebook. As their Facebook Page got more than 200,000 likes and with more than 7,000 YouTube subscribers
Why Big Commerce?
Big commerce is similar to Shopify, it also offers comprehensive tools which are newbie friendly. It offers more than 100 templates which you can use in setting up your online store. Like auto responders, promotion campaigns, shipping and tax configuration and much more.
When creating your website, you can create your shopping cart, you can set up email accounts, you can secure your customer’s payment account etc.
What highlights Big Commerce is you can customize their CSS and HTML if you wish to.
Big commerce can improve your website ranking using their SEO tools. This makes Big Commerce become Oklahoma Thunder’s e-commerce website builder.
However unlike Shopify, Big Commerce and Weebly, can’t integrate your physical store with your online store.
You can start using Big Commerce with their 15 days trial. Within this trial, you can only access 7 templates. But, once you signed up, the rest of the templates will already be accessible.
Here are the plans for Big Commerce:
Standard
This costs you $29.95 per month. This is the starting plan for newbies who are still familiarizing themselves about how e-commerce works website works.
Plus
This plan is $79.95 a month. This is the most popular among the plans of Big Commerce. If you have mentors in building your e-commerce website, I strongly recommend you choose this plan. Since, in this plan, it has proven marketing tools that really helps you to increase your conversion.
Pro
The monthly price of this plan is $249.95. This plan is best for you if you have a large team in your business. As it contains a comprehensive set of features.
Enterprise
This is a customized platform. Your e-commerce website will be designed based on your preferences. The price of this plan depends on your preference.
3. Weebly
One thing that really slows you down in building your business is the amount of money you can bring out from your pocket. Shopify and Big Commerce plays a big role in building a satisfying e-commerce website.
However, in order to get this quality, you need to invest some amount of money.
Having a tight budget is not a reason for you not to continue your e-commerce business. Because Weebly got your back.
Weebly offers you a totally free e-commerce website builder.
Presently, Weebly has 441,000 users. The platform of Weebly is really designed for newbies who are taking the route of e-commerce. It’s a platform where you can practice without spending any single penny.
However, in term of satisfaction, it’s far behind compared to Shopify and Big Commerce.
In the free version, you have a limited storage. There’s also an inclusion of Weebly Ads. At the same time your domain will carry the name of the platform provider.
If budget is really a concern, I strongly recommend Weebly’s platform in starting your e-commerce website. But, once you already have enough budget, it’s wise for you to transfer from either of the previously mentioned websites or upgrade your free plan into paid plan.
This is for your business security.
Once your earning is already enough to upgrade for paid platforms, here are Weebly plans which you could use as your basis for choosing what’s best for you. Availing the paid version of Weebly gives you a free domain in a year.
The monthly prices mentioned below are only applicable if the mode of payment is annual.
Starter
The monthly price of this plan is $8.00. This plan is recommended for entrepreneurs who manage their own e-commerce site.
Pro
This plan costs $12.00 a month. If you’re running your e-commerce website as a team this plan might meet your demands.
Business
This is $25.00 per month. This is the plan where all Weebly’s comprehensive tools in building you e-commerce website are offered.
I already showed the most important and the most ignored concepts in choosing an e-commerce website builder. But in the end, the final decision still remains on you. So, what e-commerce website builder will you choose?
