There’s a ton of online store builders out there and I don’t think there’s a single answer for everyone.
Selling online isn’t one-trick pony.
If you are comfortable using WordPress, WooCommerce can work just fine. If you are geared to dropshipping, Shopify is good for that.
In terms of SEO, Shopify is in the middle of the pack. BigCommerce or WooCommerce is much better. BigCommerce is best for larger sites as WooCommerce can be a bit sluggish.
Shopify is hands down the easiest to use, though.
If you don’t plan to do a lot of marketing automation or really grow a store lower-priced versions like Wix, Weebly or Squarespace – could work. For example, if you are mainly a physical bakery and aren’t going to put a lot of resources into online marketing – these simple website builders could work.
Ecommerce is one of the fastest-growing business models in the world today, and everyone wants a piece of the action.
Owning and operating an online store is a viable career, but you can’t go it alone.
In order to thrive in this game, you are going to need an online store builder. There are hundreds of them on the market. Not all are created equal.
Combing through the hundreds of paid and free ecommerce website builders is counterproductive. You need a starting point.
Start here.
I’ve compared the best ecommerce website builders on the planet.
If none of those work for you, I’ve also listed out below each and every platform out there.
Software Options For Building an Ecommerce Website
When you are just starting out, simply understanding the options you have to build an ecommerce site can be confusing and overwhelming. That’s why I’ve put together this list of the most popular ecommerce website builders on the market today.
Most platforms handle basic things like:
- accepting credit cards
- processing orders
- payment gateway integration
- processing shipping information
- automatically updating customer
The differences lie in what they excel at.
Looking for free options? Maybe you want something non-techy? Don’t want to worry about paying for hosting too? You’ll need a SaaS platform. Want to host it yourself? Go with the self-hosted options. Every ecommerce website builder has to have a payment gateway. And every payment gateway charges transaction fees.
BigCommerce
Since emerging in 2009, BigCommerce has become a go-to online store builder that offers a high-end shopping cart, payment gateway, and website building features. Another Saas platform, BigCommerce handles all the backend security issues that could cause a site to crash. BigCommerce’s strong SEO, robust search function and mobile-friendly designs set it apart.
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
Is A BigCommerce Online Store Right For You?
For anywhere from $39 to $399+ per month, you’ll get access to a limited number of free themes (but there are tons of paid options to choose from) to use as your site’s web design. If you use multiple sales channels, selling for instance on Facebook and Amazon, too, then BigCommerce makes it easy to handle all your sales data in a single place.
If you have the budget, give the free trial a run. Overall, BigCommerce is the best ecommerce website builder. For in-depth info on BigCommerce, read this review.
Shopify
Launched in 2004, Shopify is one of the most well-known ecommerce builders on the market. Using Shopify is simple and intuitive. The Basic Shopify plan is $39 a month. That price tag includes hosting. Shopify is integrated with almost every app you’d need. I love that they have abandoned cart emails on the $29 plan.
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technical so no coding experience is required.
What Shopify Offers Users
If you want to capitalize on the Amazon audience, then Shopify is a good option for you. You can easily sell directly on Amazon from your Shopify store. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of dealing with an SSL certificate, Shopify’s plans include this for you as part of its web hosting.
All you have to do is buy the domain name you want to use with your store and follow some simple instructions to attach it to your store. For shoppers that want to pay with a credit card, Shopify works with more than 70 payment gateways and processors, as long as you’re willing to take the time to set it all up. If you need customization, there are plenty of Shopify developers that can help you.
Email marketing is an important part of customer acquisition and customer retention. Shopify’s platform has email marketing features built right in so you can create, send, and track your messages from within your Shopify dashboard.
There is no free version, but users do get a free trial. See my post, What Shopify Pricing Plans WIll Really Cost You. For an in-depth rundown of the platform, check my review here.
You might be interested in: Shopify Vs Wix Review
Nexcess StoreBuilder
Nexcess StoreBuilder is an ecommerce website builder from the Managed WordPress and WooCommerce host, Nexcess. With this platform, you can take advantage of WooCommerce, without needing to have a ton of technical knowledge to use it. It includes everything you need to build and maintain a successful ecommerce website, and uses AI to build and customize your store based on your niche.
Want something easy to use like Shopify, built with WordPress? You can’t go wrong with Nexcess Storebuilder. Read our in-depth review to help you decide.
Wix Ecommerce
Wix ecommerce is great for small businesses looking to expand. It offers strong phone support, amazing theme design, and an easy to use platform. This all comes at a reasonable price. If you are looking for something simple and easy to use, Wix could work. You won’t need a designer with Wix. The themes are top notch and there’s lots of free options included. Wix Ecommerce Review: Can You Succeed With A Wix Store?
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Techy
Why Wix is a Good Option
Wix is a good option for people who want lots of features and options, but don’t want to deal with all the technical aspects. There’s a free plan to help you get started and evaluate the platform before deciding whether they really want to stick with it.
WooCommerce
Woocommerce offers an excellent free plugin to turn your WordPress site into a store. If you are at all familiar with WordPress, Woocommerce will be an easy adoption for you. As your site grows, you will need to add some of the paid options. However, it is an accessible product offering quality ecommerce tools. The updates can break things if you are not careful. But the SEO features and performance of WordPress is undeniable.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Some Tech
Things to Keep in Mind with WooCommerce
Unless you already have a web hosting plan with domain name and SSL certificate with WordPress installed, you’ll have a bit of work cut out for you. Because this is just a plugin, it does not include the hosting and online store builder you’ll find with the Saas solutions in this list.
For the average business owner with little to no knowledge of web design, having a quality platform that features a drag-and-drop editor, easy to use SEO tools, and stellar customer support matters. If you are a more tech-savvy business owner, it may make sense to invest in something like WooCommerce to keep operating costs down.
Shift4Shop (Formerly 3dcart)
Shift4Shop has been in the game since 1997 for a reason. This SaaS platform excels in SEO optimization. They also have plenty of customization options; you get access to over one hundred of their themes.
If you sell $500/month, you can get the platform for free. If you don’t, you’ll pay $29/month. This is not a tech-heavy site (think drag and drop), but offers all the tools you need to build a successful online store.
- Free option available with $500/month in sales
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
What You’ll Get With Shift4Shop
3dCart includes SEO tools and prompts to help you, even if you don’t have a formal background in digital marketing and search engine optimization. It supports nearly 200 payment methods, and has decent customer support. It lacks a mobile app for selling on the go, and compared to other platforms, is far from the best website builder. Customers say it’s easy to add products, but the lack of an undo button or keyboard shortcuts make the overall customization process more difficult.
Want to know more about Shift4Shop? Check out this review.
Sellfy
Sellfy is an ecommerce platform dedicated to selling digital products. Within just a few minutes, you can get your store up and running – no technical knowledge required. It includes everything you need to run your ecommerce business. Once you get all your products added, you can automate payments and product delivery.
It works with two payment processors – Stripe and PayPal. It’s limited in terms of customization since you can really only change the colors and the logo.
Price-wise, it’s similar to Shopify and other options on the market. Pricing starts at $29/month or $19/month with biannual plans. Considering what it offers, you can find platforms with similar feature sets at a lower price point.
Adobe Commerce, Formerly Magento
Adobe Commerce is a self-hosted ecommerce product. Right of the bat: Adobe Commerce is not for entry-level ecommerce. Adobe Commerce offers solutions for businesses of all sizes. You’ll need some serious development resources to launch a Adobe Commerce site.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
Who Adobe Commerce Works Best For
Adobe Commerce is the best online store builder for people who do not want limitations on how you design your store, as long as you know someone who can code, if you lack coding experience.
This approach allows you to create a truly unique appearance and brand so you stand out from the crowd and it makes it easier for people to remember. Though you won’t be able to start selling right away, once you get everything set up the way you want it, it’s easy to scale up as you grow.
However, as you grow, you’ll need a better (read: more expensive) hosting plan to accommodate the store.
Learning Adobe Commerce is time-consuming, and you’ll need hours to make adjustments to code if you don’t want to hire an expert to handle it for you.
There are lots of apps you can use to extend the functionality, much how you can install more WordPress plugins to make your WordPress site do other stuff, but not all of these apps are free. Therefore, it’s best to use Adobe Commerce if you have a fairly large budget for the installation and yearly licensing fees associated with apps and the hosting fees.
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is an ecommerce service that offers both self-hosting and SaaS platforms. They provide both free and paid services, along with offering both techy and non-techy solutions. If budget is a big concern, Prestashop is a great option for you.
- No Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted/SaaS
- Some Tech/Non-Techy
What You’ll Get with PrestaShop
If you want to build a shop right now, with little to no tech knowledge required, you can do it with PrestaShop. If you’re looking for something more technical, you’ll want PrestaShop Download, which provides access to the open source code so you can build and self-host your shop. The SaaS version doesn’t charge any fees or commissions on your sales.
The PrestaShop Marketplace includes a variety of free and paid modules to help you add features to your store. For instance, you can add live chat and customer support, share buttons, SEO tools, and more. Some modules are free, while others require payment. The good news is though, modules are often one-time fees rather than recurring.
Squarespace Commerce
Squarespace has been providing one-stop website building services since 2004. They are about as non-techy as it gets, providing users with easily accessible templates and design options. The platform can put out some really sleek looking websites.
Squarespace is a Saas platform that includes hosting in their monthly payment options. They are budget-friendly but do not include a free trial. If you are considering
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Techy
What to Expect with Squarespace
Squarespace is positioned to be more than an ecommerce website builder, and promises that with their 100+ templates you can build any kind of website you want, starting at $12/month. If you want to use a basic store without transaction fees, you’ll pay at least $26/month, and if you want the advanced ecommerce features, you’ll pay at least $40/month.
Pricing information is based on a one year contract, but includes your domain name. It’s a good option for those who want to include a blog on their store, because they have some robust blogging features. If you’re an Android user, don’t expect to be able to use a Squarespace app to make changes to your website on the go.
Squarespace, check this review for more in-depth information.
Volusion
Volusion has been doing its thing since 1999, generating over $28 billion dollars in sales for its clients in the process. At $35 a month, Volusion offers all the services you need to get an ecommerce shop up and running.
They have a free trial version but do not offer any free versions of their SaaS product. Volusion is another non-techy site good for those who want their investment in online store builders to do the heavy-tech lifting.
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Techy
Interested? Check out this in-depth review.
Volusion’s Pros & Cons
While the free trial can help you see if you want to use this platform for an extended period of time, you cannot use it to sell digital products. There is no blogging function which is an important part of digital marketing. SSL certificates cost extra, and you need them to establish trust in the ecommerce space. There is a mobile app for designing on the go, with plenty of payment methods to choose from, along with a lot of analytics tools to use.
Weebly Ecommerce
Weebly is another strong ecommerce platform for the not-so-tech-savvy. Weebly is well known for its website building functions, but it also offers ecommerce services with some competitive features. As with most modern ecommerce store builders, Weebly offers a free trial before requiring a monthly fee, which includes hosting. Weebly Ecommerce Review: Pros and Cons of A Weebly Store
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Techy
Why Weebly?
In exchange for some control over the design and other elements of your store, you’ll get plenty of convenience. As an all-inclusive design platform, it competes with platforms like Wix, WordPress.com, and Squarespace. It’s a good choice if you want something that’s easy to use and you lack a background in web design or the budget to hire someone to handle it for you.
X-Cart
X-Cart has been providing ecommerce platforms for over 15 years. They have well over 30,000 online stores and over 2 billion in gross merchandise volume. They offer free options, but you will have to pay for hosting. If you do not want to go through the hoops of a technically demanding ecommerce store, you may want to look elsewhere.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted/SaaS
- Very technical
Is X-Cart Right for You?
Do you know PHP or use a PHP-based website? If the answer is no, do you plan on hiring someone who can handle the technical coding aspects of setup and implementation? If you can’t do that and you don’t know PHP, then X-Cart is not the solution for you. And, it’s super-expensive compared to other options on this list.
Ecwid
Ecwid is a small-business friendly ecommerce platform that offers a range of features. They have a free option, but that does not come with hosting options. Ecwid has a huge base, with hundreds of thousands of store owners. They also have some more technical features available for those who can use them. Overall, Ecwid should be considered by small businesses looking to break into the ecommerce game.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted/SaaS
- Some Technical
How is Ecwid Different from Other E-Commerce Platforms?
Unlike competing products like Shopify, Ecwid isn’t meant to be a solution for your full online presence. You can’t add a blog or pages to your store to make it a full website, and instead need to use it to add a store to an existing online presence. You’ll get a widget (that’s where the name comes from – it’s short for e-commerce widget) to install on your website or social media profile with HTML code. That’s it.
AbanteCart
AbanteCart offers its ecommerce tools for free. They excel as a shopping cart app. While they are a free service, you will end up paying for hosting services. The biggest setback for AbanteCart is the accessibility; you will have to have some strong technical skills to get the most out of AbanteCart.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
Pros and Cons of AbanteCart
AbanteCart is a 100% mobile solution in that the storefront and admin are responsive, so they can be viewed well on both desktop and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. The storefront is optimized for SEO, and the mobile version is also optimized. Even though you don’t have any specific SEO tools, you don’t have to worry too much about it.
Even though the platform is free, the hosting you pay for can add up quickly as you scale your store. There are a number of extensions available to help you add functionality to your store and personalize it, but not all of these are free. Depending on the number of extensions you add, it can add up quickly.
Big Cartel
As the name suggests, Big Cartel is a major player in the ecommerce game. Why? They are a super accessible platform that puts out good looking themes, doesn’t take a cut of sales, and have a variety of pricing options. They even have a free, albeit limited, option for users. Big Cartel is definitely an online store builder to consider if you want a stress free ecommerce shop.
- Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
Who is BIgCartel Best For?
BigCartel is best for people who want to sell one of a kind items, because there are limited ecommerce features. It’s not ideal for bulk uploads, but it’s good for small businesses that aren’t looking to scale up. With the basic sales feature and a free plan, it’s a risk-free option for people who want to start small. There’s an extensive knowledge base for users who want a little help setting up their store.
There’s one more ecommerce solution, focused to cater artists and creators. You can check out our in-depth review for Pixpa here.
Demandware
Demandware is a technically demanding, but effective ecommerce solution. Their services are pricey and they are not ideal for startups or personal ecommerce stores. However, if you are planning on doing big business, Demandware is a platform to look into.
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Very Technical
Who is Demandware Best For?
Demandware is a good choice for large ecommerce brands. Some well-known brands like Ralph Lauren, L’Oreal, and Adidas use this to power their stores. If you don’t plan on some day reaching that level, skip this one.
Drupal Commerce
Drupal is a comprehensive self-hosted solution. It requires some technical savvy. However, if you have the skills, Drupal is free to use and has a ton of customizable options. The catch is simply having the time, skill, and dedication to make the platform work for you.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
What to Expect from Drupal Commerce
With Drupal Commerce, you get an open-source (free) product administration system, shopping cart, and checkout form. You’ll have complete design freedom, and support for multiple languages and currencies right out of the box. You can add other Drupal modules to further customize your site as needed, for usability enhancements or to add more features.
eCRATER
eCrater is a free and easy-to-use online store builder. It has a big appeal in its ability to import eBay products into its platform. While eCrater has its perks, it can be hard to upscale if your business starts to grow. Overall, eCrater is best suited for smaller businesses and personal sellers.
- Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
What to Know About eCrater
If you send the traffic to your store and make sales, you keep 100% of the earnings. However, if eCrater sends you the sale, you pay a 2.9% marketplace fee. You cannot completely opt out of this fee – it is how the company is able to offer free stores to their customers – but you can minimize the costs you incur by selecting “Send minimum buyers from the marketplace” to stop your products from showing up in searches as often.
FoxyCart
Foxycart is easy to use and allows you to integrate their shopping cart platform into your own website. This obviously allows for customization freedom. Their service is also competitively priced. The drawback comes with their $0.15 cut for every sale after the first 100. If you run a small business, this is a non-issue. However, this can really cut into profits if you start doing huge sales.
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
What is Foxycart Good For?
Many of the platforms on this list don’t make it easy for you to take donations, charge for recurring subscriptions, or sell digital or custom products. But with Foxycart, you can do all of these things – without having to have a complete shopping cart system on your website. All you need is a link or an HTML form to get started.
GoDaddy Ecommerce
GoDaddy rose to prominence selling domains, but they also have ecommerce options available. With an easy to use platform and free options available, they are worth a look for ecommerce sites. But I wouldn’t rely on their online store builder. GoDaddy is a respected brand that you can trust to remain in business.
- Free Options Available, But You Pay For Their Hosting
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
Why Consider GoDaddy
GoDaddy’s ecommerce platform is easy to use and has a ton of features, including PayPal integration, email marketing, abandoned cart recovery, social media integration, and more. You can integrate Google Analytics to get visitor data to make your store better. And, it all comes with a 30-day trial so you try it longer than most competitors before deciding to stick with it.
Kentico
Kentico is another powerful online store builder for those that can meet its technical demands. They charge extra for hosting. They do allow for maximum customization and have strong online shop marketing tools for those looking to take their ecommerce stores to the next level.
- No Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
What to Expect from Kentico
Kentico is a content management system that includes ecommerce and content marketing tools that integrates with nearly any back end. With it, you’ll get email marketing, content tracking, email marketing, web analytics, and social media marketing.There’s support for multiple languages and is mobile-ready.
Kibo
Kibo is a strong ecommerce tool for those with technical skills. They host some huge brands such as Sigma and Jelly Belly. Kibo uses a SaaS approach, so you don’t need to worry about hosting. If you are tech savvy, Kibo is a good option.
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Very Technical
Who is Kibo Best For?
Kibo is best for people who are looking for an omnichannel platform – that is one that can seamlessly handle ecommerce and traditional brick-and-mortar store orders. Those who are interested can also invest in Certona, which is a personalization solution that’s powered by AI, to make it easy to deliver personalized content and product recommendations to customers. This solution is best for people with a decent budget, and isn’t suitable for a small startup.
nopCommerce
nopCommerce offers a variety of ecommerce store building options. They have free options, but they are limited and do not include hosting. You must have technical prowess if you want to use nopCommerce. Big-name partners include Microsoft and HubSpot. With the right skill, nopCommerce can work in your favor.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
Is nopCommerce Online Shop Right for You?
If you’re familiar with ASP.NET technology, or plan on being able to afford a development who is, then this platform can work for you. The software itself is free, but as you scale up your online stores, you may find the hosting costs become increasingly more expensive. WIth more than 1,500 integrations – language packs, themes, and plugins, you can personalize your store to meet your needs.
OpenCart
OpenCart is one of the top free ecommerce platforms. However, you need some technical know-how and the ability to self-host. They charge for hosting if not. OpenCart offers demos to help ease the steep learning curve. Their design is straightforward and effective.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
OpenCart Features
Though it’s a technical option, it offers many features that make for a quality ecommerce experience, including unlimited categories, products, and manufacturers. It supports multiple currencies and languages, more than 20 payment gateways, more than eight payment methods, discounts and coupons, and more.
PinnacleCart
PinnacleCart focuses on boosting sales and traffic. They do not include hosting in their cost and do not offer a free option. You can, however, use a free trial. Do not consider PinnacleCart if you are lacking a strong budget and technical skills, as both are required to get the most out of the platform.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
Is PinnacleCart Right For You?
Beyond running an online store, you’ll have the option to create marketing campaigns, keep an eye on your web analytics, and more. It’s a good option for international brands because of its support for multiple currencies and languages. If you need to migrate your store from another platform, they offer free migration from more than 40 different shopping carts.
Selz
Selz is an easy to use ecommerce software option with a variety of plans and options. Hosting is included, and they even offer free packages. They have great design templates and put an emphasis on social media. If simplicity is your thing, Selz is an option to consider.
- Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
Who Selz is Best For
With their unique pay-what-you-want pricing, Selz is built on the honor system. It’s built for small business owners and startups who are running on a limited budget, but want and need features found in larger, more expensive platforms. If you’re already running a WordPress website, you can use the Selz plugin to sell your products there, whether they are digital, physical, or service-based.
Storenvy
Storenvy is a brand that focuses on independent businesses and creativity. They are an easy-to-use platform. They are SaaS based. Storenvy offers a free option as well. If you are looking to move lots of product, or want a more business professional option, Storenvy is not your best option.
- Paid/Free
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
What’s Different About Storenvy?
Storenvy is a network of stores – where people have their own personal storefronts, but there’s a marketplace where customers can search for items and purchase from any one of those stores. Their goal is to become the Amazon for independent store owners – where shoppers can easily search for products in any store on the platform. 50% of the sales come from the marketplace, rather than the individual store front. A word of warning, however – they have an F rating with the BBB.
UberCart
Ubercart is a technically demanding ecommerce platform. If you don’t have a web developer, Ubercart will take a while to get used to. They also require self-hosting or separate hosting fees.
However, they are the top Drupal online store builder and can produce great ecommerce stores if used correctly.
- Free
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
Why Use Ubercart?
It’s easy to create a product catalog based on your business’ needs, and supports multiple product images out of the box. It integrates with UPS, FedEx, USPS, and more. It also supports single-page checkout, as well as anonymous checkout.
uCoz
uCoz offers strong options for a variety of needs. They offer both paid and free options. Their platform is super easy to navigate. They include hosting in pricing options.
uCoz offers a great, easy-to-use platform for small businesses and ecommerce giants alike.
- Paid/Free
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
What to Expect from UCoz
There are invasive ads, which is to be expected with free hosting services. As one of the few free hosting services that lets you connect your own domain. There are separate website builders for blogs, ecommerce shops, and landing pages, along with SEO modules, though many say customer support is lacking.
UltraCart
UltraCart is somewhat technical compared to options like Shopify. Hosting is not included in their ecommerce monthly options.
UltraCart is yet another good option for small businesses and solopreneurs.
- Paid
- Self-Hosted
- Some Technical
Is UltraCart a Good Option?
If you’re willing to learn the system, or have developer skills, this can be a good choice. It’s a scalable solution so you don’t have to worry about outgrowing the platform. As one of the older platforms available on the market today, it’s done well to keep up with the times.
Vendio
Vendio is an easy-to-use ecommerce platform focused on bringing your products to a large audience. They can help build brands with their multi-channel tool. This tool can bring your products to channels such as Etsy, eBay, and Amazon.
They do not offer a free option but do include hosting in their cost.
- Paid
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
Selling on Multiple Channels?
Vendio can be used to create a standalone store, but its real purpose is to combine your stores from websites such as eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Facebook, and MoreCommerce, to a single platform for easier management.
VirtueMart
VirtueMart appeals to customers by promoting free, open-source ecommerce platforms. They have been in the game for years, and focus on well-performing sites. A drawback is that they will not host for free. Also, you must be technically proficient in order to wield VirtueMart to its full power.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
Why Choose VirtueMart?
If you’re proficient in Joomla, this could be a good option for you. If not, you’ll have to be willing to hire a Joomla expert to help you with setup. You can use it as either a shopping cart or a product catalog. With the catalog mode, you can showcase your products, but users cannot make purchases.
Yahoo Store
Yahoo is one of the internet’s most well-known brands. It should come as no surprise that they have their hand in the ecommerce industry. For their ecommerce platform, they take an easy-to-use approach that focuses on small businesses.
- No Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technica
Features of Yahoo Store
You can customize the look of your store, get analytics to learn more about your traffic, engagement rates, and more. It includes inventory management, marketing, shipping integrations, apps, and risk-detection tools to help you.
Yola
Yola is a simple ecommerce platform that offers tiered services. They offer a free service, however, it is extremely limited, and does not include a custom domain. However, they are a great budget-friendly option and can offer a decent ecommerce experience on the cheap.
- Free Options Available
- SaaS
- Non-Technical
Yola Features
You cannot remove the branding on the bronze plan, even though you’re paying for it. There’s no blogging feature, and it’s hard to determine whether or not the online store builder is still actively updated. But, if you have multiple stores, the silver plan supports up to 25 sites so that’s a plus.
ZenCart
ZenCart offers ecommerce solutions that can be highly customizable. ZenCart is a free service, but you will have to pay for hosting. It is also a fairly technically demanding platform. If you have the skills to make it work, ZenCart can produce a budget-friendly, well-functioning ecommerce store.
- Free Options Available
- Self-Hosted
- Very Technical
ZenCart Features
If you can handle the set up and operations, there are a number of useful features, including sales tax and shipping cost calculators, multiple language and currency support, image optimization, plugins and add-ons and more.
So What’s the Best Online Store Builder?
Narrow down your choices to three or four top candidates that meet your needs.
After narrowing down, check out an in-depth review of each website builder to really educate yourself. Take the time, do the work, and start down the path to creating a booming ecommerce business for yourself. Make sure you double-check to see if they charge additional transaction fees before signing up.
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