Close-up of a woman holding a smartphone and credit card for online shopping. Modern e-commerce concept.

5 of the Best eCommerce Platforms

Digital commerce is a vital avenue for businesses looking to improve their client base and push key products and services. Online platforms provide you with the means to not only build a website but an online store, improving product visibility and brand awareness.

These platforms have strong mobile and social outreach that leverage evolving technology and communication channels. To take advantage of ecommerce, the platforms you use must match your business model’s needs. There are so many available, but the five platforms listed here are ideal solutions for companies looking to boost digital marketing activities and sales. 

1. Shopify

Of all the eCommerce platforms available, Shopify might be the most popular and effective one out there, and you’re probably already familiar with it.

Shopify is the most complete and feature-rich platform available, with millions of merchants across 170 countries. It also represents 10 percent of total U.S ecommerce and sees a spend of $444 billion in global economic activity. 

There are lots of tools to support your store on Shopify. For example, you can:

  • Sell goods and services physically and digitally
  • Sync to several social platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, and online stores like Amazon
  • Use over 100 payment gateways including Shopify Payments and Google Pay
  • Complete unfinished sales with its built-in abandoned cart recovery
  • Offer discount codes to customers
  • Get SEO support
  • Use Shopify’s online invoice generator and track payments

Running an online store with Shopify isn’t just simple, it’s actually fun too. You get customizable features such as logos, brand colors, and fonts for your checkout. You can do drop-shipping, offer downloads and sell whatever your heart desires. Shopify offers various pricing tiers, with basic pricing plans starting at $34. For companies or any digital marketing executives who want to get into eCommerce, Shopify might be the best place for you to start.

2. Wix

Originally a website builder with drag-and-drop features, Wix has become a reliable hub for creating online stores. It’s not as flexible as Shopify as you can’t sell across multiple channels without using apps, and it has no abandoned cart recovery. As a website with ecommerce functionality, as opposed to being specialized for this purpose, it doesn’t have the same range of options.

However, due to its drag-and-drop setup, you can see how your storefront will look. Plus, your online store is set up to be mobile-friendly, which is easier for potential buyers to navigate and make purchases. Pricing is also manageable, as its ecommerce plan is around $27 a month.

You get phone, email and social media support, plus a forum and an in-depth knowledge base. In addition, you get on-page support while creating your store, making it ideal for small businesses or self-starting entrepreneurs.

With its highly customized features that show you how your storefront will look to customers as you’re editing, you have full control over what features are most visible. You can add product videos, use lead capture forms, and secure your website using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates. This certification allows you to reassure your customers that their data is handled safely as they submit their details when purchasing a product.

You can add other apps such as Wix Stores and Ecwid to give your eCommerce website the best possible features. Ecwid allows you to sell products across Instagram and Facebook, and Wix Stores will enable you to send automatic confirmation emails to customers and create discounts. You can manage your website while on the go and get good value for your money as you learn how to construct a site and run a business at the same time. 

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