Best 9 E-commerce Platforms of 2024 – A Detailed Guide

Owning a website or running an online store is becoming very common these days. This increasing shift towards e-commerce is attributed to changing customer preferences and the wide intrusion of mobile technologies.

Best 9 E-commerce Platforms

The recent global data has indicated that retail e-commerce sales have enhanced by 27% in 2020 and these sales make up 18% of total global sales.

However, setting up a website or online store needs support, and this support is usually provided by e-commerce platforms. Now another problem is to select the one that suits you and is reliable too.

Considering the popularity of e-commerce and the rising significance of e-commerce platforms, this article is focused on enlisting the best 9 e-commerce platforms of 2024.

What is an e-commerce platform?

It refers to software that enables the commercial buying and selling of products via the internet. It allows all online retailers to manage their businesses easily.

No matter whether your business is small or large, B2B or B2C, offering remote services, or selling tangible products, customers want a well-organized online store where they can shop easily.

The e-commerce platforms act as a lifesaver for many entrepreneurs and enable them to focus on other important things to expand their business at a faster pace.

Do you want to know where you can get the best services for your e-commerce store? If yes, then this article is for you. The article has enlisted the best 9 e-commerce platforms that promise to revolutionize your business miraculously.

Let’s get started

What Features to Look For in the Best E-commerce Platform

Before reviewing different e-commerce platforms and finalizing the one that is capable of meeting your needs, it is necessary to know what features you should look for while finalizing an e-commerce platform for you.

Let’s have a look at some of the most important features that an e-commerce platform must offer

Ability to Search

Site search is often found across the majority of online stores.

This feature not only helps customers to find the relevant product easily but also gives you important information about what customers want, how they perceive your products, and how you can offer them a personalized shopping experience.

Therefore, the e-commerce platform you choose is a platform that enables your customer to get exactly what they want.

Generous Return Policy

Another important feature that the selected e-commerce platform must offer is a generous return policy.

You may place this provision somewhere near the add to cart button as it will enable your customers to make more confident purchases. Moreover, it will also help you to retain your customers.

Order Tracking

Whenever your customer places an order, the next question that comes to their mind is, has their parcel been dispatched or not, or when will they be receiving their parcel?

Order tracking is the most effective solution to these problems. You should allow your customers to track the status of their orders on your website.

Language Option

This option is especially needed if your online store operates in different geographic regions as it will help customers to feel at home and enjoy while shopping.

Your website or online store should be capable enough to integrate with Google translate which will translate your website into different languages.

Store Locator & Shipping Information

This feature is applicable if you also have a brick-and-mortar store apart from an online store.

By using the feature of a store locator, you can enhance your offline sales by mentioning the location of your nearest store in the header of the website

FAQs For Products

Another feature to consider adding to your website is FAQs about products.

This user-generated content will enable you to increase sales by answering the majority of customers’ pre-sale questions and decreasing the time the customer support unit to be spent on customer queries.

FAQs For Site

You should also consider adding FAQs about your website as well. This could include questions on the company’s privacy policy, shipping, returns, and quality concerns.

These questions will help customers to know more about your brand and do more confident purchases.

Ease of Navigation

The last but not the least thing to consider is the ease of navigation as your website or online store should be designed in a way that customers can easily navigate through it.

Since it places a positive impression on customers and inspires them to make purchases.

Best E-commerce Platforms – A Detailed Review

Disclosure: We may receive compensation at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase through the links provided.

The article has shortlisted the best 9 e-commerce platforms that can enable you to set up a well-organized online store.

The list has been prepared after meticulous research and hours of study. Moreover, the selection of platforms is dependent on either personal experiences or customer reviews on third-party websites.

Therefore, all platforms within this list are reliable and trustworthy options and you can pick any of them and enjoy the magic done by these platforms.

Let’s discuss these platforms one by one.

1. Shopify – Best for Beginners

Have you just started your online business or recently set up an online store in addition to brick and mortar store? If yes,  then Shopify is the best e-commerce platform for you.

Shopify is one of the best e-commerce platforms in the market especially if you are a beginner due to its ability to build a unique and scalable online store with hundreds of features and an extensive library of apps.

Why Consider Shopify – Key Features

Some of the amazing features that make it the best platform for beginners include

• If you have newly set up online stores, then do not worry about managing different aspects as its POS system is one of the best systems ever. It allows you to get payments against your products in-store, manage the store, and add inventory from the dashboard in a hassle-free manner.
• It offers the best SEO tools that allow you to optimize your online store on search engines like Google or Bing. The tools guide you to add title tags and meta descriptions that will make your product information more visible
• The platform has one of the most powerful analytical tools which even allows beginners to understand how their online store is performing. For your convenience, the analytics is categorized into two categories i.e., product insights and sales & customers.
• You even do not have to worry about payment options as Shopify has partnered with many payment gateways and you can choose the one according to your needs
• The dropshipping services of this platform are also very amazing and simple. There are no upfront inventory costs or shipping logistics as this feature allows you to send the product to the customer’s doorstep the right way.

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• Useful for both small and large businesses
• Enables you to sell across multiple channels
• Possesses an amazing library of third-party extensions and apps
• Extensive payment options
• Fast loading speed
• 24/7 customer support

Cons

• The higher-tier plans are very expensive
• Offers a limited number of free customizable themes

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

Shopify allows you to even explore the platform for free for up to 3 days and after that, you can either start using Shopify for only $1 per month or subscribe to any of the packages mentioned below.

There are three pricing plans and the basic plan is good for those who have just started their business whereas the Shopify package is suitable for those who are interested in scaling up their business. On the other hand, individuals preferring customer reporting should go for the advanced package.

• Basic: 25$ per month
• Shopify: 65$ per month
• Advanced: 399$ per month

The features that differentiate these packages are the number of staff accounts, reports to analyze the business performance, e-commerce automation(not present in the basic plan), shipping discounts and insurance, and third-party transaction fee.

In addition to these pricing plans, some other alternative options are also given to businesses that are indicated below

• Starter: $5 per month
• Retail: $89 per month
• Shopify plus: Starting at $2000 per month

To further understand how Shopify works, check out this short video Shopify Overview and to start with Shopify log on to  Shopify

2. Wix e-commerce – Best For Small Stores or Individual Sellers

No matter whether you are an individual seller or possess a small store, Wix e-commerce is one of the most suitable platforms for you.

The platform is equally effective if you want to build a website, get a domain name, host your website, or sell across multiple channels.

Why Consider Wix e-commerce – Best Features

The most powerful features of this platform are discussed below

• With its store upfront and e-commerce website, you can customize your online store and ensure a memorable shopping experience through a custom domain name, blogging, attractive images, more than 500 professional templates, open APIs, multiple sales channels, and multi-linguistic support.
• There is a cart and checkout feature that enables you to transform all shoppers into customers by offering secure and streamlined checkouts. This has become possible due to free SSL certificates, secure patent gateways, currency converters, automated sales tax, and abandoned cart recovery.
• The platform also allows you to build a product portfolio according to your target audience so that your customers see your product easily and purchase from your store
• Managing your store is also not a difficult task with this platform as it enables smooth inventory management, streamlined shipping, drop shipping, custom business automation, and hassle-free fulfillment.
• Moreover, marketing your online store is also not an issue with the help of its advanced marketing tools.

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• It is one of the best website builder tools
• Ensures the security of your website and customers’ data through its PCA DSS Level 1 compliance for ultra protection.
• promises to provide you with a resilient and scalable website to handle high-volume sales, increased traffic, and 750 transactions per second
• The drag-and-drop features simplify the process of website building even for beginners
• A large number of premium features are free

Cons

• Offers a wide range of features which is at times confusing or overwhelming for beginners
• It takes a lot of time to sync the updates made within the website

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

Wix enables you to try any of the packages below for 14 days, however, if you are not satisfied with the performance, then you will get 100% of your money back.

Wix offers you three plans among which the website plan is great for those individuals who want professional websites whereas, business, and e-commerce plans including business VIP and business unlimited are for growing businesses. And the enterprise plan is for large-scale businesses.

The features which differentiate these plans are storage space, video hours, customer care, drop shipping, automated sales tax, and product reviews by KudoBuzz.

To further know about Wix, watch a brief video on Wix Overview

To start with Wix, log on to Wix e-commerce

3. Big e-commerce – Best for Both Big & Small Businesses

Are you interested in converting your business into a big success story? If yes, then no other platform can be better for you than Big e-commerce.

Big e-commerce is one of the most trusted service providers in the e-commerce industry that offers SaaS solutions and all prominent leaders of the industry have considered it one of the most acclaimed platforms.

Why Consider Big e-commerce – Best Features

Big e-commerce is an all-in-one e-commerce solution provider and is equally stable for both small and big businesses due to the following startling features

• You can drive more traffic to your online store with the help of its built-in features and easy-to-use marketing tools. With these tools, bringing in new customers across different channels and growing your revenue will be easier and simpler
• With this platform, you will be able to convert more leads through its simple and powerful conversion-boosting and abandoned cart features. The features are designed in a way that provides a seamless shopping experience to customers and converts a majority of customers into buyers
• It ensures SEO optimization of your store with innovative product filters that allow customers to view your products easily.
• It also enables you to retain your customers by incentivizing customers through built-in coupons and rewards
• In addition to this, it also allows you to simplify email marketing by connecting you with leading email marketing solutions like Constant Contact, Listrak, and MailChimp
• The most interesting feature is that it promises to give you security, stability, and scalability via its storefront design, conversion, API-driven, headless, B2B, cross-channel, and international commerce

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• Offers a wide variety of features in its standard package as compared to other platforms
• Allows you to enjoy lower TCO
• Adding product variants is very easy
• There is no transaction fee in any plan
• A good set of reporting tools is present in all plans
• The abandoned cart saver tool is more comprehensive and better than other platforms

Cons

• The abandoned cart function is very expensive compared to others
• Free themes have similarities and there are a limited number of typefaces in free themes

How Much It Costs – Pricing plans

You can try this platform for free for 15 days and once your trial ends, then you can choose any package from the following options.

The standard package is best for those who want to sell products through their stores.On the other hand, the plus package is for those who want to grow their business with proven marketing tools. However, if you either want to scale the growth of your business or power your teams by using the full potential of this platform, then pro and enterprise packages are for you.

All packages differ with reference to the number of multi-store fronts, price per storefront, inventory locations, and per year online sales.

To further see how you can benefit from this platform, check out the Big e-commerce overview

To start with Big e-commerce, log on to Big e-commerce

4. WooCommerce – Best For Businesses Using WordPress

Many of you must be using WordPress for building your website and publishing your content as WordPress sites usually rank high and are more mobile responsive.

However, if you want to convert your website into a fully functional web store, you will need support from an e-commerce platform. WooCommerce can be your best partner in that case.

Why Consider WooCommerce – Best Features

WooCommerce is the best choice for your WordPress site due to these features

• It is an open-source e-commerce platform that gives you full flexibility and control of your website
• Setting up your online store is only a matter of seconds if you already have a WordPress site as it will help you in all aspects like setting home page, menu, site structure, and shipment and payment options.
• Ensures secure and flexible payment options due to integration with more than 140 payment gateways in different regions
• Managing the orders also becomes the easiest task for you with the help of the WooCommerce dashboard. The dashboard not only enables you to perform different functions but also saves you time.
• You can also ensure customer security by using Jetpack, the most innovative way to have authenticated customer logins, avoid brute force attacks and spam, and enhance speed. Moreover, it also enables you to get downtime alerts, backups, and tax and shipping services.

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• It is one of the most customizable platforms to build an online business
• It is developer-friendly and affordable
• Support teams are present worldwide
• Possess one of the fastest-growing e-commerce community
• Offers scalability and virtually integrates with any services

Cons

• Many features are only useable on adding plugins
• A lot of effort is required to set up a nice store.

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

WooCommerce is free if you already have a WordPress website. However, if you want to customize your website then you have to bear two types of costs

The first one is mandatory costs which include the cost of hosting, domain, themes, shipment, and security and these costs may vary depending on your needs.

On the other hand, the second one is optional costs which include costs associated with hiring developers, customer experience, and marketing functions.

To further understand what is WooCommerce check out this video on WooCommerce Overview

To set up your store log on to WooCommerce

5. Squarespace – Best For Themes & Templates

Building web stores with themes and templates has become very popular these days. This is because the pre-designed templates enable you to ensure trendy designs, high conversions, and adequate SEO optimization

Squarespace is one of the leading platforms that offer you the best themes and templates to design your web store without locking you in one-size fits all services.

Why Consider Squarespace – Best Features

You will fall in love with this platform due to these features

• The most loveable feature of this platform is that it offers templates for any kind of product. The templates are divided into different categories i.e., online store, portfolio, local business, restaurant, blog, services, personal, and CVs.
• Scheduling an appointment or booking a class was never as easy as it has become with this platform. This feature enables your clients to see your availability instantly and book an appointment or class according to it.
• Enables you to inspire your community with membership sites. Whether it is a matter of workshops, virtual classes, newsletters video series, or podcasts, the members of Squarespace can build, utilize, and monetize the power of online community instinctively
• Allows you to enhance your social media presence by generating professional content and managing links in bio with unfold app

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• Offer you a wide variety of templates
• Easy to use
• Retains customers through membership sites
• Increases social media presence via unfolding app

Cons

• The options are limited during editing
• Editing template is very difficult

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

You can try the services of this platform for 14 days, and after that, you can pick any of the following packages according to your needs

All four packages have been designed keeping in view different types of users ranging from individual entrepreneurs, growing businesses, and businesses having advanced sellers.

The feature of fully integrated e-commerce is not available in personal plans and the transaction fee has been waived completely in basic and advanced commerce packages.

To further understand Squarespace and to build your store, log on to Squarespace

6. Go Daddy – The Affordable E-commerce Solution

Have you just decided to build an online store of your products or do you want to convert your brick-and-mortar store into an online one? In that case, you must be looking for an affordable e-commerce solution

GoDaddy is one of the widely popular and reliable e-commerce solutions for you. It is many things as it is a domain registrar, web host, website builder, and website service provider. Thus, once you subscribe, you will get everything you want to start your online business.

Why Consider GoDaddy – Best Features

Some of the incredible features of Go Daddy Are

• This tool is specially built for beginners who do not have comprehensive ideas of website building. Therefore, ease of use is one of its most popular features. The platforms walk you through all things to build and publish a website in the easiest manner
• Another interesting feature is that you will free domain name on opening your account and it remains free for the first term.
• Moreover, you also get 1 SSL certificate to ensure the security of your website and provide you with daily backups
• In addition to this, you will also get some other tools like SEO optimization of your website and email marketing to expand your business further.

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• Perfect for first-time site builders
• Easy to use
• Free domain registration for the first time
• Guarantees 100% uptime
• 24/7 customer support

Cons

• There are separate pricing plans for web hosting and website building
• There is no free site transfer
• High renewal rates

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

The platform offers separate pricing plans for web hosting and website building.

The plans for web hosting are

Among these four pricing plans, the economy is best for those who want a free domain for their website. On the other hand, Deluxe is good to host multiple sites and if you want increased or maximized processing speed, then ultimate and maximum packages are for you.

The plans distinguish from each other regarding the number of websites, storage, and databases.

The website-building packages are

The three packages are named according to the features offered to them. For instance, in the basic plan, you get support for only one social media platform, whereas 3 and unlimited platforms are supported in the case of standard and premium packages. Similarly, social posts, email marketing sends, SEO optimization, and email automation are some other features that distinguish these plans.

To know about GoDaddy, watch this GoDaddy Overview

To start with GoDaddy, log on to GoDaddy

7. PrestaShop – Best for Flexibility & Customization

Another amazing e-commerce platform for both small and large businesses is PrestaShop. The most interesting aspect of this platform is its working principle as it allows you to set up your online store and build your brand according to your defined rules.

The platform is widely popular for its customizability and flexibility as it offers themes for any industry you could ever think of and allows you to design every aspect of the website according to your preferences.

Why Consider PrestaShop – Best Features

PrestaShop allows you to have everything that you need to start your online business. Some of its best features are

• The platform allows you to create your product page quickly and according to your needs. Moreover, you can also track the inventory of your product and create suppliers and manufacturers and associate them with products effectively
• Customizing your store is the most amazing feature of this platform. With this platform, you can customize nearly all aspects like payment and shipment options, content and navigation of product page, checkout page, pages indicating legal compliance, and taxes integration
• The platform also enables you to market your store by enticing your customers via special offers, getting traffic via SEO, enhancing engagement via reduced abandoned cart rate, and advertising your store via affiliate links.
• In addition to this, you will also get features to manage your orders, run your customers, and get useful insights about your company’s sales and revenue

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• It is an open-source platform, therefore, allows you to customize every aspect of your website
• It is free to download and you can even start using it without an extension
• It provides you with unlimited listings

Cons

• Customization of the store requires some coding knowledge
• Integrations are expensive
• Takes time to set up

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

PrestaShop is free to download and use, however, you will have to pay for web hosting which depends on the hosting service you choose. For instance, if you choose PrestaShop’s partner, then its cost will range from $4 to $14 per month.

You must also keep in mind the cost of customization and using different add-ons as any kind of customization requires coding for which you will have to hire a developer. Similarly, some of the add-ons are free while others may range in price from $35 to $200 per add-on.

To start with PrestaShop, log in to PrestaShop

8. Volusion – Best For Analytics

The significance of analytics is even enhanced by many folds in the case of online business as it enables entrepreneurs to understand what is working and what is not and bring strategic changes accordingly.

Volusion is another e-commerce solution for all those entrepreneurs who prefer analytics and are keen to offer customized customer experiences.

Why Consider Volusion – Best Features

Volusion provides you with everything that guarantees your e-commerce success. Some of these features

• The most interesting feature of this platform is its firewall settings which allow you to enable or block the traffic to offer you reliable tracking data.
• Your customers will also get a comprehensive support and knowledge base, thus enabling you to become their go-to source of information.
• Tracking and maintaining the inventory is also very easy with the help of features like easy product displays with product status, tracking stock reorder quantity levels and quantity verification.
• Apart from analytics, the platform allows you to make your pages mobile-friendly through its mobile-friendly themes and customizable layouts and market your store through built-in marketing tools
• Moreover, it also facilitates your customers by enabling them to identify the products easily through advanced search functionalities
• There is also a provision of CSS and HTML editors which enables individuals with coding knowledge to further customize their online store and make it unique from others
• Apart from this, there is also a slide show feature that allows you to highlight new offerings or special discounts available in your store quite effectively
• If the design is not your field and you find it difficult, then the platform allows you to get help from in-house experts and enjoy a wonderfully designed website.

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• Great in analytics and reporting
• Offers mobile-friendly pages
• Incredible uptime
• It’s easy to add products, text, and images

Cons

• Some aspects are not editable and in case of customization beyond the norm, you have to pay a large amount to Volusion partners
• The blogging feature is not present

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

Volusion offers four pricing plans so that you have plenty of options to choose from according to your needs and budget. The name indicates that every plan satisfies the needs of a particular group.

The features which distinguish these features include products, staff accounts, GMV per year, and support.

Moreover, it is worth mentioning that personal plans only possess basic features as compared to other plans. And the newly introduced premium features are only available in Prime Package.

For more information watch the Volusion overview

To start with Volusion, visit Volusion.com

Weebly (owned by Squarespace) – Best for Ease of Use

Many of you must be new to e-commerce or have not built any website or online store before. Do not worry, Weebly has got you covered thoroughly in this regard.

Weebly is a drag-drop website builder that allows you to create professional websites and online stores even without having any programming or coding knowledge.

Why Consider Weebly – Best Features

Some of the core features of Weebly are discussed below

• To start with Weebly, first, you have to decide whether you want to build a website or an online store. If you choose to build a website then you will come across 38 themes. On the other hand, if you want to create an online store, you will have to select from 15 themes.
• Setting your website or themes is very easy even for the person that is new to e-commerce due to the option of swapping the images and adding personalized text. You can even add, move, or delete particular sections via dragging the mouse
• There is also an option of CSS and HTML Javascript for full customization and there is also a provision of video backgrounds, image editors, and site search to reflect yourself in your website or online store.
• Moreover, the built-in blogging feature enables you to add different blog articles very easily. You can even limit the access to some blog articles by adding a password

Is It Worth Spending – Pros & Cons

Pros

• Offers a forever free plan
• Free SSL security
• Easy to use
• No programming skills are required to use this platform

Cons

• Phone support is only available in professional and performance packages
• Limited options for customization
• There are so many on the free site unless you subscribe for a professional plan or above

How Much It Costs – Pricing Plans

Weebly offers four types of pricing plans among which the individuals looking for an e-commerce solution for their basic needs must go for a free plan.

On the other hand, if you want customization in your website or online store, then you must either go for a personal or professional package depending on your budget. However, if you are planning to expand your business then the performance package is the best for you.

Do not think that all premium features are present in the performance package as it is not the case. The personal and professional packages offer a wide range of e-commerce solutions. However, advanced e-commerce insights and advanced support are given in the performance package.

For further information watch Weebly Overview

To start with Weebly, visit Weebly

Final Words

In summary, the era of requiring programming or coding skills to establish a website or create an online store is a thing of the past. In today’s landscape, a plethora of e-commerce platforms exists, offering accessible and dependable solutions for your website and online store needs. All the platforms listed in this article are reliable and reputable choices, and implementing any of them for your business is likely to result in substantial growth for your online endeavors.