Over the years, I love how the internet has slowly become an integral part of our lives. At first, we used it to stay in touch with our friends and family, but now we use the internet for other purposes, such as education, research, and a lot more.
However, what I found to be most intriguing is how people started using the internet to make a living for themselves. This also meant running online businesses where you didn’t have to run a physical store, which helps save costs. But what you do need to run an online store on is a platform.
So, before you plan on starting a store of your own, it is important to know about the platforms so you can decide which one suits your needs the most.
Here are the most popular ones.
Shopify
The most popular e-commerce platform is Shopify. It is used by online store owners worldwide due to its easy-to-use interface and brilliant functionality. The platform is an all-rounder as it lets you host your website entirely on your own.
You are free to handle aspects such as retail, website design, finances, product management, inventory, and shipping. Keeping in mind that you can find everything that you need under one umbrella, Shopify is a pretty good platform to opt for.
It is also a great platform for drop shipping. Keep in mind though, running a website successfully needs you to be connected to a reliable internet connection at all times. I believe that is where Xfinity steps in to save the day, as it has been doing for my business.
Make sure to look into Xfinity Internet offers and get access to superfast internet at a discounted price.
BigCommerce
This is a great platform for businesses that work under the idea of Software as a Service (SaaS). It offers impressive tools to business owners such as marketing insights, analytics, website design options, and so on.
Plus, you can take inspiration from other people as well so that you can show your best work.
If you’re running a small business then this platform is well-suited for you, since it doesn’t demand much from your pocket. It gives you the best of both worlds as a SaaS platform and is open source at the same time as well.
Wix
Another great website-building platform that you can use for your e-commerce business is Wix. Just like Shopify, it is among the most popular platforms all over the world. Though it has a limited free plan, it is still enough for you to get the job done. You can find a template for nearly every business type so that you can take a start from there.
Plus, I used the platform for a while too, and saw that it was easy to understand and use. The interface was straightforward and there was nothing technical about it. What I found a little off-putting was that they had a hefty price for the pro version of the website. Also, you can’t change a template once you’ve selected one, making you start from scratch if you want to change it.
When you get the cheapest plan, you only get 2GB of storage, which I feel isn’t enough. Plus, you don’t get email when you pay for the premium, and you have to pay extra to receive emails. Other than that, Wix is actually pretty simple to use and it’s a great choice for you to get!
Ecwid
If you’re looking for another budget-friendly option, then be sure to check out Ecwid too. One of the many reasons to opt for it is because it doesn’t charge you any transaction fee, which is a plus point. It also gives you instant site builders along with numerous design themes to choose from and free site hosting too.
Ecwid also gives you great security, which helps you in keeping your data safe. These security features include security updates, data backups, and even privacy protection for both the business owner and the customer.
Adobe Commerce
Adobe has always been great for more things than one, be it photo editing, video editing, graphic design, and so on. You would be surprised to know that Adobe has a platform for ecommerce too and it’s actually a great one. It’s great for developers and relatively larger online stores that want more customization.
While the platform gives you the utmost liberty when it comes to customization, you need to have a developer at hand who can make the most out of the benefits of using Adobe as a commerce platform. Plus, the developer will have to keep the site up and running at all times.
Now that you have a series of e-commerce platforms to choose from, just take a look at all the ones mentioned above in detail so that you can see which one suits you the most.
