After using and reviewing lots of online store builders in the past few years, I've selected the top 10 ecommerce platforms and shopping cart software that I think are the best fit for any needs. So before starting your online shop take a look at this comparison chart.
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Our pick:
Features 10/10 Ease of Use 9/10 Pricing 9/10 Templates & Design 9/10 Inventory 9/10 SEO & Marketing 8/10 Payments 9/10 Security 9/10 Customer Support 10/10 -
Runner up:
Features 9/10 Ease of Use 10/10 Pricing 8/10 Templates & Design 9/10 Inventory 8/10 SEO & Marketing 9/10 Payments 9/10 Security 9/10 Customer Support 9/10 -
For large businesses:
Features 8/10 Ease of Use 7/10 Pricing 8/10 Templates & Design 8/10 Inventory 7/10 SEO & Marketing 8/10 Payments 8/10 Security 9/10 Customer Support 8/10 -
Budget pick:
Features 8/10 Ease of Use 7/10 Pricing 7/10 Templates & Design 7/10 Inventory 6/10 SEO & Marketing 6/10 Payments 9/10 Security 9/10 Customer Support 7/10 -
Best for small business:
Features 8/10 Ease of Use 7/10 Pricing 8/10 Templates & Design 9/10 Inventory 6/10 SEO & Marketing 5/10 Payments 8/10 Security 7/10 Customer Support 8/10 -
Features 8/10 Ease of Use 7/10 Pricing 7/10 Templates & Design 5/10 Inventory 6/10 SEO & Marketing 6/10 Payments 5/10 Security 6/10 Customer Support 8/10 -
Features 6/10 Ease of Use 4/10 Pricing 6/10 Templates & Design 7/10 Inventory 6/10 SEO & Marketing 7/10 Payments 7/10 Security 6/10 Customer Support 5/10 -
Features 7/10 Ease of Use 6/10 Pricing 5/10 Templates & Design 5/10 Inventory 4/10 SEO & Marketing 5/10 Payments 8/10 Security 6/10 Customer Support 6/10 -
Features 5/10 Ease of Use 7/10 Pricing 6/10 Templates & Design 4/10 Inventory 6/10 SEO & Marketing 5/10 Payments 4/10 Security 5/10 Customer Support 6/10 -
Features 6/10 Ease of Use 6/10 Pricing 6/10 Templates & Design 8/10 Inventory 4/10 SEO & Marketing 6/10 Payments 5/10 Security 5/10 Customer Support 4/10
Still not sure which ecommerce platform is best for you?
Anything else I need to know before launching my shop?
Most of these platforms or shopping carts are extremely easy to use, that's why I've chose them in the first place! So your shop should be up and running in a couple of hours after you sign up for any of the ecommerce solutions above and for one of the recommended payment gateways. However, as it's the case with brick and mortar shops, the challenging part is to get the word out about your store, get people inside and convince them to separate from their money in order to get what you're selling. In case you want to kickstart your email marketing strategy, you might want to find useful this detailed comparison of email marketing software, and take a look at my current top of the best exit-intent plugins for ecommerce. Check out the blog and join our mailing list for fresh marketing ideas.
How do you rank the ecommerce site builders?
I thought you'd never ask! It's a pretty straightforward process really: I carefully review (and revisit every few months) each builder and grade its features on a scale from 1 to 10. The chart above is automatically updated with the latest grades for each platform and ranks them accordingly. There were quite a few changes in the last few months, but Shopify has been the #1 ecommerce platform from the very beginning of this blog, and it managed to stay there by constantly improving its structure and being at the forefront of the industry. A few months ago they've launched their enterprise level solution so if you're an established business with lots of products, clients and traffic, check out my Shopify Plus review.
Where can I find out more information about these shopping carts?
I did tons of detailed reviews, so please read my Shopify reviews, Shopify pricing guide, BigCommerce reviews, and Volusion reviews. Alternatively, I recommend these head-to-head comparisons as well: Shopify vs Magento, Shopify vs Bigcommerce, Bigcommerce vs Volusion and Volusion vs Shopify.
Can you help me to create a shop using Shopify / Magento / WooCommerce / etc?
Yes I do work with experts in each of these shopping carts. Please fill out this form to make sure I will be able recommend you the right people to work with.
