With Ecommerce Platforms, users can showcase their products and attract more sales. Small businesses should consider the ease of use and price of each platform. Although the products mentioned in this piece share the same purpose, they work best in different circumstances. This piece will give you an overview of the popular eCommerce platforms for small businesses.
Affordable Ecommerce Platforms for Small Businesses
Shopify – Web Hosting
Shopify is a popular and versatile platform for small businesses. It is extremely user-friendly and offers a wide spread of features. You can customize every aspect of your store with HTML and CSS. Users host their websites on Shopify and have access to a complete blogging platform.
Shopify integrates with over one hundred payment gateways, making it extremely convenient for merchants and customers. You have the option to set up free shipping and determine the price point at which it applies. Shopify is unique because it includes abandoned checkout recovery for all of its subscription levels. It also offers a free SSL certificate, which is designed to protect transaction and credit card information.
This platform is essential for conducting business online. Shopify is search engine optimized and can be used to generate SEO-friendly product reviews. It integrates with the top social media sites, and businesses can sell their products directly from Facebook. With customer profiles, you can achieve deeper insights into shopping habits. Shopify also offers advanced analytics that track sales, site visits, and referrals.
The Basic Shopify plan starts at $29 per month, which is well suited for new eCommerce businesses. The next tier is called Shopify, priced at $79 per month. It might be a good option for eCommerce businesses that are looking to expand their operations. The most expensive plan, Advanced Shopify, is best for larger businesses that want in-depth reporting.
Wix – Website Builder
Wix is a website builder that promises to improve your online store’s conversion rate. It allows users to customize everything from product pages to carts. It is extremely customizable and designed to optimize the customer experience. With Wix, you can sell up to 50,000 products. It is compatible with a large number of payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square.
Wix is ideal for multichannel sales. Businesses can feature their products on social media, Google Shopping, and eBay. It will monitor your inventory across all sales channels, ensuring that your customers are up-to-date on product availability.
For eCommerce businesses that are looking to expand their customer outreach, Wix offers automated email campaigns. These emails will attract attention with special offers or promotions. You can also improve customer engagement with Wix’s blogging platform, newsletters, or your own loyalty program.
Wix goes beyond the core eCommerce capabilities. You can use this platform for online bookings, event management, or accepting reservations. All of the plans include these features, starting at just $23 per month.
Magento Open Source – Flexible Ecommerce
Magento Open Source is a self-hosted eCommerce platform. This cost-free option is ideal for small businesses that are just getting started. Magento Open Source provides basic e-commerce capabilities, such as accepting payments and shipping. You can take advantage of global selling, which allows you to reach more potential customers.
Another benefit of Magento Open Source is instant purchase. This feature ensures a smoother and faster checkout process, greatly improving the customer experience. Magento Open Source is mobile optimized and offers a site search feature that promises to improve conversion rates. The basic SEO functionality is recommended for businesses that want to establish better rankings in the search results.
If you have a little more room in your budget, you can expand Magento Open Source with extensions. The Magento Marketplace offers solutions for enhanced customer support, marketing, and website optimization. The prices for these extensions range from completely free to over a hundred dollars.
Potential users should be aware that Magento Open Source is not designed for advanced B2B capabilities. More established B2B companies should consider purchasing Magento Commerce, which includes quoting and custom catalogs.
