The best ecommerce platform for most of our readers is Shopify. Because it’s easy to use, regardless of how you sell online. Take advantage of his 14-day free trial of Shopify and open your store today. There are multiple ways to start selling your products and services online. Each of them was conceived and developed as a one-stop-shop for creating online stores. Zyro, Squarespace, and Wix are website builders that also make creating an online store easy. Even if you’re not a developer, these platforms allow you to create a more unique website experience than dedicated e-commerce platforms. After reading our in-depth review, see our ecommerce platform buyer’s guide that walks you through the key factors to consider before making a final decision.
Shopify
Shopify is the world’s most popular choice for setting up an online store. Although it is for beginners, it can also handle mass sales. Shopify Starter ($5/month after a 3-day free trial) lets you add Buy Now links to your emails, blog posts, and social media profiles. Start selling to your audience and let Shopify handle the backend. A complete online store starts at $29/month and packs all your ecommerce essentials into one sleek platform. Manage inventory, shipping, marketing and online payments from the same dashboard.
Despite being a very powerful platform, it is very easy to use. Every user we spoke to appreciated Shopify’s ease of use, especially for beginners. A non-technical user who “hated computers” “just to try different things,” he was able to get her website online in just a week. Another user who worked for a national boutique furniture retailer explained how the platform teaches users how to be successful. He had never used such a welcoming and helpful platform before.
Shopify wins
- Over 6,700 apps and plugins:
- This is the largest e-commerce app store. Big eCommerce Platform, the closest competitor on my list, offers about 1,000 apps. Shopify users get a wide selection of pre-built tools to connect on social media, sell products, fulfill orders, and report sales. Best place? Over 3,000 apps are free.
Easy to scale:
- Shopify supports multiple user accounts, currencies, and employee storage locations on its entry-level plans. Bulk inventory management capabilities make tagging, tracking, and updating large numbers of items quick and very easy. Deep knowledge base:
- Shopify’s online resources have been extremely helpful to the users we spoke with. Despite Shopify offering 24/7 customer support, one user said, “I think you’ve provided enough information that you don’t need to contact me.” .
- The out-of-the-box Shopify platform isn’t as feature-rich as Big Commerce when it comes to managing highly complex inventory. However, new users will not notice this. Shopify’s extensive selection of plugins allows people to fill the gaps when they’re ready to grow.
- You can start with Shopify’s intuitive core platform and steer in the direction that’s most valuable to you. Sell directly on Walmart, eBay, Pinterest, Facebook, and more.
- And while you can link to your social media channels on the right platforms, Shopify actually lets your customers shop directly on his Instagram and his TikTok. Not only is it easy to create engaging ads that adhere to the norms of various platforms, these viewers are just a swipe away from your store.
