eCommerce has become a vital part of modern-day business. With the advent of technology, eCommerce platforms have enabled businesses to connect easily with customers worldwide.
However, not every eCommerce platform was made equal, so whether you’re thinking about starting an eCommerce business in the UK or wanting to make yours better, it’s essential to choose the right platform.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms available in the market today and comes highly recommended.
First, it’s extremely user-friendly and easy to set up with a range of templates that allow businesses to create their own website to advertise their products. You can even integrate your website with over 8,000 apps to enhance your customers’ shopping experience. Your website will be your main hub, so Shopify’s intuitive web design features are highly valuable.
Furthermore, Shopify also offers a range of features, such as inventory management, order tracking and payment processing, that work well for businesses that send out a myriad of goods at a time.
Additionally, Shopify offers a range of third-party integrations, including social media, email marketing and accounting software.
Shopify is also a great platform for businesses of all sizes, offering a range of pricing plans that start from as low as £25 a month (£19 a month if you ask Shopify to bill you yearly). The best part is that platform is highly scalable, as you can easily upgrade your plan as your business grows.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a platform designed for WordPress websites. Given the popularity of WordPress among small businesses, it’s ideal for a lot of business owners that need a free tool to help them boost sales.
Let’s get to the best part of WooCommerce: you can use it completely for free — while some premium plug-ins and extensions cost a pretty penny, you can use WooCommerce without spending any money if you really want.
In terms of features, WooCommerce offers plenty of excellent extensions that are easy to integrate into your existing WordPress website, including mobile-optimised shopping, support for geolocation services and a handful of catalogue-management tools. You really get to customise your online store as suits your needs.
Product reviews come as default, along with some shipping options and calculators. The platform’s SEO tools are especially impressive, ensuring that it’s one of the best eCommerce platforms for generating organic leads.
BigCommerce
Designed for bigger companies with significant investment income, BigCommerce is a great way to create a sprawling and bustling online retail platform that allows hundreds or thousands of transactions per day.
There are plenty of features that you could benefit from, including custom domains, support for sales through multiple currencies, ratings and reviews, and even digital gift cards. There are also 12 free themes, though you’ll have to pay to access the additional 160+ others that can really make your site stand out.
However, BigCommerce’s multitude of powerful features are gated behind relatively high pricing points. Furthermore, BigCommerce gates the sales you can make every year, so if you’re unexpectedly successful, you’ll have to pay more for a higher plan.
CoreCommerce
CoreCommerce is a subscription-based and web-hosted platform that — like the other platforms we’ve looked at — has many features any online business would benefit from.
However, be warned: these features go into a lot more depth, so it’s suited to those who have the time or money to spend learning about all its bells and whistles.
Yet, CoreCommerce has reasonable pricing points, starting at £19 per month. They do have a profit cap, though — you can only earn under £24,000 annually for this plan before you are bumped up.
Want to learn more about our take on the top eCommerce platforms? Talk to us, and we’ll tell you everything there is to know.