With the Omicron variant of the infamous COVID-19 spreading all over, the physical world is all set to go under lockdown all over again.
And this is the time when people tend to rely more on the digital world, in order to survive, both emotionally and in their daily life.
This is why, today, the eCommerce business is rising like never before, as people are relying on the same to get their basic utilities as well as food, right at their doorsteps.
We have seen this before. People throughout the globe are referring to the online stores. And, that includes people who were unaware of the benefits of eCommerce even a couple of years ago. Today, they are relying for anything and everything on eCommerce.
Undoubtedly, this has happened due to the ease-of-use as well as the convenience factor that drives online shopping. It eliminates most physical efforts that you would need to make, in order to travel to the shopping malls in the early days.
As you can see, the abrupt downfall of physical sores has paved the way from numerous business owners who have been looking to step into the eCommerce business.
And, if you too are looking forward to the same, then you should be wondering what platform to opt for.
To help you with this, we have come up with a list of eCommerce platforms that can help you the best in the year of 2022.
The Top eCommerce Platforms To Opt In 2022
Let’s check out what are the platforms that you can utilise to get the maximum out of your eCommerce business.
1. Shopify
It has been 15 years since Shopify has been ruling the world of eCommerce platforms. And, that is why, today it has crossed over two million stores that have been built using this splendid platform.
In fact, Shopify is so great a platform that you would hardly find a better platform where you can set up a store and get it going so quickly.
Besides all these, what makes Shopify such a strong contender for this list is its extensibility as well as the app store that they offer.
Shopify comes with 10 free themes. However, there are also 50 paid themes that you can easily purchase at the lowest price of $140.
Now, there is another thing regarding the themes available. And that is, there are over 1300 themes that you can find at ThemeForest. Although, you can also get yourself an experienced professional designer who can help you with numerous custom themes.
And, all that because Shopify is so famous.
Also, if there is some feature that you wish to get added on your Shopify website, then do not need to worry. This is because, there are numerous plugins, extensions as well as services available which offer exactly the same function.
2. Magento
There is another such eCommerce platform that has been performing super splendid in the past few years. Yes, Magento has earned over $100 every passing year with no deflection.
Isn’t that amazing?
Of course, it is. And, all that because of the quality of service Magento provides as an eCommerce platform with numerous happy users.
There is numerous feature available and among all of them the best one is the one they call 1-click selling.
Now, you can use this 1-click selling feature for free if the eCommerce website that you are intending to build on this platform is a small one.
However, for a website that is a bit on the larger end, owners of such a website might face a tough time with this feature as Magento charges a massive amount for this feature.
In fact, the best feature that Magento offers is the way they delight your customers by integrating the experience of shopping on a digital platform as well as as physically purchasing a product from a store.
3. Weebly
Now, comes Weebly, a platform that has managed to earn the trust of people in the previous year, more than ever.
It has a great lot of fantastic templates, which when followed can turn your small business shop into anything you would never expect.
Yes, the tools and templates available with Weebly can also help you design or shape up your eCommerce website better than ever.
Moreover, you also get a great set of email marketing tools.
However, compared to other eCommerce platforms, Weebly does not focus much on SEO. So, it you are intending to do the same, then it is better to look for an alternative because Weebly is for people who wish to set up an online store, and set it up with amazing themes.
It is pretty easy to use and having the drag and drop feature present, keep your head safe.
4. Wix
Most of the platforms that you come across in this list have a feature of adding and removing items at will. However, only a few can help you do the same with a drag and drop feature.
Yes, you can simply add a contact us page, a contact page, an about us page, and you can also remove them easily.
This splendid eCommerce platform makes it happen. Here you see that your website does not come in a full here, however in pieces.
And, that makes Wix, stand out from its competitors.
While signing up, you tell Wix about the type of website you are intending to build. Learning about the same, Wix too comes up with certain suggestions.
After that you are asked to pick your favourite from over 500 templates available there and get started with creating your own website.
In fact, Wix also comes with a feature that allows you to answer a few questions and let Wix take care of the rest with its splendid “Artificial Design Intelligence” or ADI.
And, the best part is, the Artificial Design Intelligence or ADI of Wix is pretty quick as well as effective in what it does.
It can do wonders in a few short minutes.
5. BigCommerce
Now, if you deal in a large volume of products and have a high traffic round the clock on your eCommerce website, then the best option here in our list is BigCommerce.
And, that is why it is used all over the globe by several multinational companies.
On the other hand, BigCommerce Essentials is another eCommerce platform that offers an extremely powerful platform for smaller businesses who wish to sell online, offering lesser prices.
However, despite offering services to smaller companies, their primary target is to make sure that only certain companies can utilise their features if they are selling a lot. And, here a lot means by both units or dollars. So, if your smaller business is selling a bit lesser than $50,000 yearly, then your business would be considered to be still in the breakthrough period when you sign up at BigCommerce Essentials.
Now, when it is about payment configuration, you can either choose payment gateways like PayPal, Amazon, Stripe, Braintree, etc. or else, you can also opt for brand transfer, money order, cheque etc.
In fact, having listed your eCommerce business with BigCommerce, you also get a chance to enlist your products on platforms like eBay, Facebook, Amazon etc.
To get this done, all you need to do is select the preferable option from the Channel Manager. Once you have done this, BigCommerce will do the rest for you.
6. WooCommerce
It is best to use eCommerce platforms to create or set up your entire online store, rather than using it as a tool to just set up the payment gateway in your current eCommerce website.
And, why not? When you have the chance of monitoring your entire eCommerce business through a single dashboard, why not opt for it? In fact, if you build an eCommerce website all by yourself, it will require you to use the same tools that these eCommerce platforms use.
Now, if you are experiencing services from eCommerce platforms like Weebly or Square, it would be anyone’s primary option to use the built-in tools that these platforms offer.
However, if you have your website set up on WordPress, then it is better to go with a WooCommerce plugin, without a doubt.
Yes, as you have already made so much effort creating your eCommerce website on WordPress, it would be the best for you to utilise such an effective plugin that can help your WP website sell with ease.
Moreover, setting this plugin on your WP website is also extremely easy. All you need to do is starting with signing up on WooCommerce and following the further steps until you reach the final onboarding process. Here you just have one task to perform. And, that is selecting auto-install WooCommerce on your current website.
Just that and you are good to go. So, if you are pretty comfortable with WordPress, handling WooCommerce would not be a tough task for you.
And, WooCommerce too works perfectly fine with WordPress. Yes, you can have the liberty to manage your entire workflow and view reports directly from your WordPress backend and adding new products to your list is just like creating a post. As WP and WooCommerce have the same interface, learning the latter is easy.
7. Squarespace
And, here comes the eCommerce platform that perhaps has the easiest interface among all others. Also, it lets the user arrange their products just the way they want to. Isn’t that pretty cool?
And, if you are just starting up and do not want much fuss setting up your store, Squarespace will also provide you with stunning template designs.
It contains all the necessary add-ons, which include shipping as well as subscriptions too.
So, there is no doubt about the fact that for new ones in the industry, there is no better option compared to Squarespace. It can help you customers experience your website seamlessly. You can also get a quick setup done with Volusion.
And, the best part is that it comes with its own CRM system as well as numerous plugins, newsletter options alongside a built-in SEO feature for a better online visibility and sales.
8. Square
However, having a similar name, Square offers an easier way to sell which would deliver the feel of selling your products in a physical store.
This is because, Square lets you set up all you online as well as offline orders under one single dashboard. You can just forget the days of going from one app to another to keep track of everything going around your business.
In fact, Square’s onboarding process is also quite easy. All you need to do is filling up a questionnaire and mentioning all the preferences that you want. And, yes, they provide it all, you just name it. And, depending on your business category, Square will automatically pick a theme.
When it comes to customising your storefront, you might come across a bit of an issue with Square as they do not have much options, you might end up finding just a handful of them.
Here you have to set up your own design using their site builder. You can also hire one of their designers which would charge you around $99.
Now, when it is about getting started, that is pretty easy with Square. All you need to do is entering the Square Dashboard and clicking Online, followed by clicking Website > Edit Site.
You will be able to find several page elements on the sidebar which you would find on your left. However, you can also click on the three dots for same utility.
Square also offers its users to change the colours, fonts, as well as the layout of every element. Now, if you are wondering about images, yes you can use your own ones too.
Here, you also get the option to create several items. In Square’s dialect, these are called products services for sale. And, you can do the same just from the regular dashboard of Square as well as from Square Online Dashboard. Once you have done what’s required, all your changes will get synced into a common library.
This confirms that you will be having the same products for sale, no matter offline or online, listed in one single location. To find them visit Item Library under Items option and then click on Create an Item for the rest.
9. PrestaShop
PrestaShop offers a fantastic Demo feature that allows you to see how your new online store would look like once you sign up in PrestaShop.
In fact, you also get the options to surf through several items besides having the authority to customise the options as per your wish.
Also, PrestaShop offers you the liberty to use a good number of different languages as well as currencies, making it easier for you to sell your products throughout the globe.
You can easily pick a store which comes with a webhosting. These stores that they offer, are completely customisable. And, for further customisation, you can also seek help from an expert who would be helping you to create your fresh new eCommerce website.
Reminding you of it all, to initiate with PrestaShop, all you need to do is visualising and picking your preferable store from their Demo version. Next, you need to pick the theme that you like the most from the numerous themes available. And, the best part, customisation of these themes is also an option.
10. Ecwid
To dodge the initial outlay of building an online store and launch it in the global market, nothing can help you better than Ecwid. Yes, this is your best pick for such kind of a plan.
Moreover, this eCommerce platform is so efficient that you can get started with your eCommerce store on this platform by picking a free plan.
In this free plan, you will be allowed to sell 10 of your physical products. Now, if you are willing to upgrade your plan, you can do the same just by choosing some super affordable upgrade tiers which would charge you a mere $15 month. You should go for this option only if you have the requirement of extra features.
The best thing about Ecwid is that there no such hidden charges or any extra transaction fees, that usually other eCommerce platforms do charge.
In fact, Ecwid also offers you options that can help integrating your Ecwid store with your existing eCommerce website. So, this makes it pretty clear that you would be able to work on WP, Drupal, and similar other platforms. You can also get started with a custom domain just by upgrading to the Venture plan.
There is also a clean and clear to-do list present that guides you through the initial process. It is merely a thing of 15 minutes, and yes, we are talking about setting up your entire store.
With Ecwid, you have the option of making your heartfelt customisations, however, it also comes with some fantastic looking themes too.
And, when you go premium with Ecwid, you can also integrate your social channels such as Instagram as well as on other eCommerce platforms like eBay, Amazon, etc. to sell you products directly from them too.
Lastly, Ecwid also takes complete care of calculating your taxes, offering discounts, along with trackingyour inventory. What else do you want?
Bottom line
All in all, each of these eCommerce platforms are one of a kind and have some speciality which can help you something better than the other.
So, after going through what we have put up, you can simply pick the one you prefer and initiate your journey in 2022.
