10 Best eCommerce Website Building Platforms of 2022

What is the best platform to start an eCommerce website? It is a rather difficult question to answer when there are tons of options available!

Further, choosing a platform to start an online store depends on a number of factors, for instance, your budget, the number of products you are looking to sell, your customer size, business goals, and much more.

Additionally, if you are new to the world of eCommerce and don’t have experience in website development, then you must be looking for a tool that lets you design your website with menial efforts.

Keeping all these factors aside, you will require a platform that can, at the least, let you build a website that can perform the basic functionality of selling products and managing a few necessities. But the question is, what eCommerce platform should you choose when there is an exhausting list of them?

Well, to narrow down the endless list of such platforms, I have hand-picked 10 of the most widely used and trusted ones, when it comes to opening an online store. These platforms are suitable for newbies as well as those who are looking to extend their business.

One of the most well-known eCommerce site builders in the world, Shopify provides a great balance of simplicity and flexibility. With Shopify, you can quickly create your whole website utilizing a variety of high-quality, professional layouts and cutting-edge features.

A huge variety of eCommerce capabilities are included with Shopify, including in-person point-of-sale, gift cards, discount coupons, infinite items, unlimited storage, and just about everything else you can think of. 

Further, with a variety of payment choices and the chance to market both real and digital goods, there is also plenty of room to appeal to a broad spectrum of clients. Therefore, Shopify can help you with whatever type of business you wish to start as a beginner. With this platform for building an online store, you may run a normal store, access drop-shipping plugins, or create membership websites. 

Additionally, there is a sizable app market where you can have access to a range of features designed to enhance the functionality of your online store.

Besides, Shopify offers a sizable knowledge base, so you can get a ton of advice for the business you want to create, thereby making it one of the best online store-building platforms.

However, Shopify provides limited tools for blogging or creating content and is primarily concerned with the sale of goods. Additionally, supplemental plugins are fairly pricey in comparison to other rivals.

Pricing Structure

• Starting at $9 a month, Shopify’s ‘Lite’ plan allows you to add product purchases to a blog or pre-existing website. 

• You’ll need at least the ‘Basic’ plan, which costs $29 per month if you wish to create your store with Shopify. 

• For $79 per month, the core ‘Shopify’ plan includes sophisticated features including reporting and various inventory locations. 

• For $299 per month, ‘Advanced’ offers worldwide pricing and shipping rate calculation. 

• A quotation for an enterprise option is also offered.

Pros:

• Not sure if you should go with Shopify? Don’t worry, the platform provides you with a 14-day free trial, in which you can get to know and thoroughly experience its services and then can make your decision, whether it’s suitable for your business or not.

• You can install a number of add-ons and plug-ins to enhance your eCommerce store functionality on this platform.

• You can list an unlimited number of products, no matter what plan you purchase.

• If you are a beginner, then this is one of the best platforms for you to start your eCommerce store. It provides ample guidance and support to all and to those who are new in the area.

• Additionally, a large number of payment options are available.

• Affordable pricing for small enterprises.

Cons:

• Starting your eCommerce website may get a little expensive by downloading and using additional plug-ins and themes of premium ranges.

• The platform uses its own coding language ‘Liquid’, thereby, making it difficult to understand the code. Because of the same reason, it is difficult to find developers that do not come cheap.

• You can come across some transactional issues if you are not using Shopify Payments.

Anyone with a WordPress website who wants to add an online store, WooCommerce is their go-to place. It simply functions as a plugin that makes it simple to build an online store with a polished appearance.

This implies that it is a good option for bloggers who want to go into eCommerce, or for anyone who is new to the field. It is adaptable, configurable, and simple to scale up when you want to boost sales or add additional goods or services because it is built on open-source WordPress. This implies that you can go from a blog to a sizable store quite rapidly if you so want.

WooCommerce can be downloaded without any startup expenses and is totally free. Additionally, installation is carried out using a step-by-step wizard.

Furthermore, customization is one of WooCommerce’s best qualities. Almost every feature of your website may be changed to fit your brand or the specific needs of your business. It works nicely with other WordPress plugins as well.

One very striking feature of this platform for building online stores is that it offers over 100 alternatives for payment gateways, including well-known ones like PayPal, Stripe, and Apple Pay.

Though the platform provides great features and functionality to start your online store, it could be more challenging for those who are new to WordPress and website development.

Pricing Structure

• Its pricing is pretty simple, if you are not using any premium themes and haven’t downloaded any paid plugins, then the platform is completely free to use. 

• However, you will be required to purchase the hosting which can be around $25 a month, but it greatly varies. 

• Furthermore, if you have decided to download a premium theme, it can cost you around $100.

Pros:

• The platform can be effortless for you to use if you have already worked with WordPress. Provides effortless features to make your online store build-up all the more easy.

• WooCommerce has a significantly large community, enabling you to exchange your ideas with others and get help from others’ experiences.

• WordPress’s plug-ins, themes, and extensions are easily extensible to this platform, which can make your work more effortless.

• One other great thing about the platform is that it is open source.

• The platform is very flexible to use. Therefore, if you are a complete beginner, you can easily experiment with your online store design and its capabilities.

Cons:

• If you don’t already have a WordPress website or any experience with it, the platform might be annoying because it’s not as simple to use.

• The platform poses some security risks, therefore, it will be wise always to keep a check of security on your own side.

• Further, the regular maintenance of the online store is the store owner’s responsibility.

• It doesn’t come with hosting, which means you need to purchase it.

• Additionally, customer support is not that reliable.

BigCommerce is a great e-commerce platform for scaling, but it doesn’t imply that beginners can’t benefit from it too. Everything you need for your business is already integrated into the ecosystem, which is one of the factors that makes BigCommerce such a tempting option to build an eCommerce website for many newcomers. Therefore, you won’t need to go for plugins to add more features.

This online store building platform has a user-friendly design, useful drag-and-drop construction capabilities, and a ton of customization choices. You can also use it to improve the checkout process, apply coupons, connect to APIs, and adjust themes with HTML, CSS, and JS.

You may establish a one-page checkout for customers and sell through a variety of platforms, including Facebook, Amazon, and eBay.

BigCommerce also has the benefit of having zero transaction fees, which means your only expenditures will be your monthly membership price and any fees your payment provider may charge for payment processing. Additionally, you have access to limitless staff accounts for your colleague and round-the-clock help from the BigCommerce customer support team.

Pricing Structure

• To assist you in beginning your adventure, BigCommerce is offering a 15-day free trial. 

• Yearly plans with the ‘Standard’ bundle start at $29.95 per month. You may sell up to $50,000 yearly with the Standard plan while still making use of a number of fantastic BigCommerce features.

• Further, sales of up to $180k per year are supported by the ‘Plus’ plan, which costs $79.95 per month.

• Additionally, sales of up to $400k per year are supported by the ‘Pro’ plan, which costs $299.95 per month. 

• There are other enterprise packages available.

Pros:

• The platform provides a large number of built-in tools that are required to manage an eCommerce website.

• Furthermore, beginners get a visual merchandising tool with this platform.

• Any transactional fee is not imposed with any of the plans of BigCommerce, which also comes with over 40 payment processing tools.

• The biggest advantage of BigCommerce is that it provides unlimited storage and bandwidth with all of its plans.

• The platform made multi-channel sales easy as it came integrated with various other sales platforms like Amazon.

• Additionally, customer support is available round the clock.

Cons:

• The platforms provide numerous useful tools, but the number of themes to choose from remains limited.

• Customization of themes is not flexible if not difficult to carry out.

• The platform is a bit complicated to understand and use, therefore, it may take some time for you to master all the functionality and features.

• Due to the lack of a mobile app, store owners cannot check on their business while on the go.

There aren’t many options with a higher reputation when it comes to website construction simplicity than Wix. With a wide selection of fantastic themes and a simple drag-and-drop builder for website building and customization, this eCommerce platform is one of the best options available on the market for newbies. If you don’t want to create your own website, don’t worry, the platform comes with an AI system to do it for you.

With Wix, there are several possibilities for building an eCommerce site. You can provide dropshipping, in-person sales, services and subscriptions, an online store, and other options. Additionally, there are templates designed specifically for hospitality, photography, events, and other industries.

Wix offers a wide range of tools, like a specific app store and editable templates, that allow you a ton of creative power over your website. You’ll be able to create beautiful product galleries and provide your customers with a variety of payment choices.

This eCommerce website building platform offers a ton of beginner-friendly advice and support, so you can receive extra assistance at every stage of website development. Everything has been thoughtfully created to be as intuitive as possible, so you won’t need to consult a professional. However, there are a few minor restrictions on the effectiveness of eCommerce.

If you don’t need to build the most complicated store possible for your consumers, Wix is among the greatest solutions available for beginners. You don’t have to sacrifice functionality to quickly get your company up and operating.

Wix is a well-liked and simple-to-use web store builder. For small businesses who are just starting out with web development and want a straightforward website, it could be a viable option, despite being fairly pricey and preventing you from exporting your site to another platform.

Pricing Structure

• The platform offers a free package, though, provides limited functionality, and it comes along with a wix.com extension, like theNameOfYourWebsite.wix.com.

• Use the ‘Business and eCommerce’ plans offered by Wix, which start at $17 per month, to have access to the e-commerce features. The smallest package offers 20GB of storage space and unlimited bandwidth.

• You may upgrade to VIP Package for $25 per month if you’d like greater storage space and added features like automatic sales tax. It also supports 500 transactions per month, advanced delivery, several currencies, and a number of additional capabilities.

Pros:

• Wix has made the website build-up all the more easy with its AI support that helps you make the website that best suits your business.

• All the websites developed here are automatically integrated with other useful tools like Google Analytics that helps you keep track of your customer data, conversion goals, and much more.

• Wix provides many payment options that also come with utmost security.

• If you have no experience in website development, no problem, this eCommerce website development platform provides numerous stunning themes and templates that are fully customizable to complement your business.

• As there are numerous templates, the platform is suitable for beginners to start from.

• It also provides a mobile app to manage your website from anywhere.

Cons:

• Though the platform is easy to use, and you can make your eCommerce website in no time, the eCommerce functionality spectrum is somewhat limited.

• The platform isn’t ideal for scaling the business, though it is a good choice for beginners.

• You cannot switch from one template to another. Therefore, before choosing one, you have to be fully confident in the one you have picked up.

• The platform puts its adverts on your online store if you have a free plan.

• Another great disadvantage of this eCommerce store building platform is that it does not provide any option to export your data.

Squarespace is frequently cited as the go-to option for creative professionals because of its gorgeous themes and striking layouts. It is a well-known eCommerce website design platform. Although Squarespace has a few challenging features, it is undoubtedly one of the most understandable tools available. Using this eCommerce website builder platform, designers and artists can promote their work, generate sales, and grow memberships.

You’ll be able to administer your website with ease once you’ve become acquainted with the variety of options, features, and tools available. When utilizing Squarespace, you have greater leeway to stray from the default layout selections because you can alter the CSS of your site if you do have some additional coding skills. 

Furthermore, there is no need to look for additional plugins because the platform already comes with everything you need to make your business successful. 

Specific use cases, such as subscriptions, digital content, or in-person purchases, were considered when designing the website builder. You can quickly sell physical and digital goods, subscriptions, and memberships using Squarespace. You can also easily offer appointments and take reservations. Even abandoned cart functionality for lead recovery is available.

Additionally, each plan includes 24/7 access to award-winning customer service, ensuring that you always have access to the assistance you require.

However, Squarespace could be challenging to utilize if you require a highly particular website because it is fairly tough to adapt outside the common use cases.

Pricing Structure

• Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial so you may try the features before making a purchase, like the majority of top eCommerce platforms. 

• Pricing for the ‘Basic’ plan domain starts at $26 per month.

• In order to sell things, you must have at least the ‘Advanced’ plan, which costs $50 per month. 

Pros:

• The greatest advantage of this platform is its customer service, which is world-class and award-winning. Customer series are accessible around the clock on all days.

• A number of themes to choose from that provide a great user experience and are very attractive.

• The platform provides you with free domain names along with its annual plans.

• One can build their online store effortlessly with this platform without even having absolutely no knowledge of coding.

• Last but not least, Squarespace gives a free SSL certificate with every plan.

Cons:

• The biggest drawback of this platform according to me is its escalated transaction fees that come with their cheapest plan.

• Furthermore, very few payment options are present on Squarespace.

• It is relatively more expensive when compared to other platforms for building an eCommerce website.

Nothing compares to Square Online for newcomers transitioning from offline retail to online sales. You can take payments online or offline with Square Online, which is one of the best digital payment providers. 

They are therefore a fantastic option for companies who wish to merge their online and physical operations. Additionally, with this online store building platform, you may provide appointment scheduling, pickup and delivery, and more.

Although Square is already well-known as a top payment processor, it can also assist you in creating a spectacular customized website.

Square Online is well known for being really simple to use, with a comfortable interface and a variety of excellent themes to select from, because it is built on top of the Weebly technology for website development. You won’t have any problem setting up your business and generating sales to people all over the world, even though there are a few old components here and there.

Thus, making a website that increases your sales potential is quick and easy with Square Online. You may enable features like offline and online inventory synchronization to keep track of the kinds of items you have on hand. Creating your own blog or linking your business to social media is also an option available here.

Any business wishing to expand online may benefit from the features provided by Square’s reasonably priced and user-friendly environment.

Pricing Structure

• Square enables consumers to create their websites for free, in contrast to the majority of eCommerce platforms available.

• For $12 per month, Square’s ‘Ecommerce’ subscription will get your website up and running online. 

• As an alternative, the ‘Performance’ plan, which costs $26 monthly, gives you access to statistics and more sophisticated sales tools. 

• There is also a premium plan available for $72 a month that has much-reduced transaction costs.

Pros:

• In terms of pricing, this platform comes handy. It provides some of the best plans for starting your eCommerce website, and that too at affordable prices.

• It has also provided features to sync offline and online selling.

• The interface is very easy to use and attractive.

• Square Online also provides various SEO and marketing tools that can help in enhancing your sales.

• On premium packages, the platform renders discounts on shipping charges.

Cons:

• The platform lags in providing some of the advanced eCommerce tools.

• With additional plug-ins and premium themes, the pricing of a plan can easily escalate.

BigCartel is an eCommerce site for creators like painters and designers. They make it simple to set up a free online store where you can sell your artwork and other goods. This platform specializes in helping creatives who want to grow their internet business. 

Big Cartel is perfect for a variety of online shop builders, since it enables business owners to start selling online as soon as possible while having access to a wide selection of customization. 

There are many different styles available to make your website appear amazing. You have the option of editing the website’s source code as you would with WordPress and WooCommerce, or you can use themes and templates that already exist on the platform.

Additionally, you’ll have access to a number of payment processors and worthwhile reporting tools for checking the performance of your website.

Further, small businesses can conduct special offers, discounts, and promotions based on their preferred price option. This online store-building platform also enables sales tax automation to keep track of the expenses related to each credit card payment.

You can quickly start up an e-commerce firm with the aid of Big Cartel and the right execution. Additionally, each plan will include services like shipment monitoring and inventory management.

Pricing Structure

• Big Cartel’s ‘Gold’ package permits the sale of up to 5 goods for free. You will receive a personalized domain that is exclusive to a free eCommerce plan. Additionally, a single picture per product is supported by this plan.

• Its premium plan costs $9.99 per month, which enables you to sell more items and access additional services.

• The most costly eCommerce subscription for this platform is $19.99 a month, which lets you sell up to 500 items. 

Pros:

• The platform is easy to use and can aid you in quickly building your online store.

• Big Cartel provides impressive shipment tracking and inventory management features.

• The plans of this platform are very affordable and come with web hosting as well.

• It provides you full access to the website code for enhanced customization and enables you to build your own website from scratch.

• Additionally, its free plan allows access to many enhanced functionalities.

Cons:

• The platform is not suitable for scaling businesses or larger enterprises.

Ecwid could be the best open-source eCommerce platform option for you if you’re wanting to add sales capability to a WordPress or BigCommerce website. Your existing eCommerce website can be easily linked to this add-on.

Further, this online store build-up platform doesn’t offer a ton of functionality; rather, it concentrates on various sales channels including social networking, Google Shopping,  Amazon, eBay, and comparable websites.

Although the setup is entirely free, just the online store is included in the free plan. You’ll need a premium subscription if you wish to smoothly connect your items to other marketplaces. The monthly price for them is $15.

Ecwid provides you with easy directions to get you started, which are quite simple to perform. You may start receiving payments as soon as you download your WordPress plugin or a simple add-on. Additionally, you will be able to easily integrate it with numerous pre-existing add-ons and plug-ins.

Your online store will be flexible and loaded with customization choices if you use Ecwid. This platform provides fantastic access to white labeling capabilities for businesses creating online storefronts. This makes creating a recognizable online identity much simpler.

Pricing Structure

• Ecwid offers a free, basic version that you can use. As your site gets bigger, though, you’ll need to access more sophisticated paid versions of the service. 

• For beginners, the initial pricing plan with access to services like Instagram and Facebook connectivity starts at roughly $15 per month.

Pros:

• This platform comes in handy while optimizing your online store according to the different devices on which it can be used. Therefore, it will be very easy for you to run your online store on various platforms.

• Numerous payment options are present.

• For further customization of your eCommerce store, Ecwid provides an easy-to-use backend environment.

• For international/multilingual selling, auto-translation in more than 50 different languages is also made available here.

• A number of free themes are available to choose from, which comes along with considerably large bandwidth.

• It can be easily integrated with a website built on WordPress, therefore can serve as a strong alternative to WooCommerce.

Cons:

• The platform has limited tools and functions, therefore, you may require to add additional third-party tools, making it expensive.

• Though its free features come with a generous amount of features, it lacks the basic SEO tools.

• Very basic options are available if you want to make your store from the ground.

• The platform is not suitable for business scaling and also does not come in handy for larger businesses.

A fantastic platform to make an online store, Sellfy allows customers to sell both tangible goods and digital downloads. One of the most used eCommerce systems for artists is this one since it’s simple to set up a full gallery with a variety of items.

A business owner may connect to social media networks and make a limitless number of sales in a year. This eCommerce platform has a ton of features that are beneficial for new businesses and store owners, such as SEO tools, real-time reports, customizable shopping carts, and a variety of backend tools. Even built-in print-on-demand options are available.

Online company owners may employ print-on-demand to expand their product offerings in a user-friendly setting for rapid and easy expansion. Thus, Sellfy is a great eCommerce platform, catering to your business’s basic needs.

Pricing Structure

• Although Sellfy, like many other popular tools, offers a free package, you must at least subscribe to the basic plan in order to sell more than 10 things online. 

• The entry-level premium plan costs $19 per month and gives you access to all the necessary sales tools.

• The more proficient you become, the more services like abandoned cart recovery and subscription product selling are available to you, with higher packages, costing $49 per month, and a premium package costs $99 per month.

Pros:

• The platform comes with an already built-in print-on-demand feature.

• Tax and VAT calculations are effortless with this platform.

• A lot of payment processing options are present, including PayPal and Stripe.

• Also, you can list an unlimited number of products, driving an unlimited number of sales.

• With the enhanced functionality of the platform that comes with a premium package, your online store can be easily optimized for mobile phones.

• Furthermore, the platform also provides timely reports and insights into your business.

Cons:

• Basic plans of this platform come with simple functionalities.

• Additionally, to remove the branding of the platform, a high-end package is required.

Beginners frequently seek out eCommerce website-building solutions that are both inexpensive and extremely easy to use. If that describes you, Branchbob could be the perfect solution to your needs. Branchbob was founded in Germany, but currently supports online sales for businesses in over 100 nations.

This simple eCommerce builder is free to use, which makes it ideal for newbies who want to test out online retailing without spending a lot of money upfront. You will be able to build a store using one of 10 themes and personalize it with your own content and brand logo.

You will be able to manage your orders, items, and inventory from your Branchbob dashboard. Additionally, it also provides you with basic business analytics, which you can use to evaluate your business performance and execute coupon-code campaigns.

Because of the tool’s simplicity, newcomers won’t feel overwhelmed. On the other hand, users will also quickly hit the platform’s boundaries. Because of this, Branchbob is excellent for getting started with your online store, before moving on to a more advanced platform with additional features.

Pricing Structure

• Both monthly fees and transaction fees for digital payments are waived by Branchbob. Using it is completely cost-free! 

• The only costs you can encounter are if you buy your own custom domain or decide to add paid applications from the app store to enhance the platform’s capabilities.

Pros:

• If you are a complete beginner to the eCommerce world, this platform might be your go-to place, since it’s completely free. It doesn’t charge any fee to use it.

• The platform is very easy to use and therefore, making the process all the more effortless for beginners.

• Furthermore, the platform provides numerous secure payment options.

• Branchbob also has its mobile app, which can also be used to build and manage your online store from anywhere.

• Advanced coupon-campaign functionality is an added weapon in its arsenal of features.

• With its effortlessly operated platform, Branchbob helps you to build your online store within no time.

Cons:

• Since the platform is free of cost, thereby, customization according to your business needs is limited.

• The platform makes it difficult to sell digital products.

• Further, the platform provides very few themes to choose from, namely only 10.

• Not many advanced features are present to enhance your sales and provide you with additional features,

• Additionally, the platform is not suitable if you are looking to scale your business.