Ecommerce platforms ranking big - Top Ecommerce Platforms

What’s our mission ?

Offer a comparison tool, and in-depth reviews that will allow you to make the best choice when it comes to choosing which e-commerce platform to build your business on. Here you will save time, compare with ease the different solutions, and be sure to opt for the most advantageous offers that is tailored to your needs. The best shopping platforms we list are intuitive and will allow you to setup your store in no time.

Disclosure:  This website is supported uniquely  by referral commissions that we may receive from some of the companies whose products are listed in our website. However, our ranking is not influenced by any referral payment we may receive.  we are independent of any e-commerce platform we feature, and our ranking is our own based on various objective parameters

Marketing has gone beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Everyone wants to know how to build an ecommerce website so they can sell their products to a wider audience. Nowadays, it’s quite easy to do this: just look for an ecommerce website builder, sign up, and tweak your way through it.

It’s easy to get sold to the idea of having an online store. But there are some bits and bobs that you should think about before investing your time, money, and effort.

Decisions you need to make

 Creating an online store is as challenging as running an actual store. You need to make decisions to ensure that it will run smoothly and orders will be fulfilled on time. For starters, here are some of the fundamentals of how to make online shopping websites:

Ecommerce website design and user interface

How your online store look is the defining factor whether your customer will stay or opt out of your platform. The rule of thumb is ease of use. Remember, internet users have a very short attention span and they want everything to be done in an instant. If you can give this to them, you’re likely to enjoy high conversion rates.

If you’re lost on what to place on your store, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What would you look for if you’re shopping? What do you hate about product search? Work from there and you’ll never go wrong.

Payment gateways

The more payment gateways available on your store, the bigger your sales will be. Convenience translates to sales. If you have dozens of supported payment modes, your customers will think of it as a big plus. Don’t get this wrong, not all stores need tons of payment gateways. Just get the basics covered: PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, Venmo, WorldPay, and credit card processors.

It would help to know what mode of payment your potential customers are using. Besides, there’s no use to integrating the aforementioned payment methods if your customers aren’t using it.

Level of customization

Most newbies will resort to choosing a sleek template and settle with that. There’s nothing wrong about this as long as it serves its purpose on your store. Still, it won’t hurt to look on ecommerce website examples for added inspiration.

Many store owners like a high level of customization including API-open platforms, HTML/CSS/PHP editing, and so on. But if you’re not a coder, you can look for a platform that offers a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor.

Building from scratch vs. using open-source solutions

One thing that sparked the rise of online stores is the emergence of many open-source ecommerce solutions. With this, you can access a website builder, integrations, payment gateways, and more in just one platform. However, a store owner would have to pay for monthly costs, not to mention the cost of necessary add-ons.

Still, open-source ecommerce solutions save you from the hassle of coding every line and feature of your store. Always consider the scalability and sustainability of the platform before creating an online store.

The issue about fraud and scams

Since everyone has access to your online store, they can purchase anything they want. This seems harmless, but for those offering a cash-on-delivery mode of payment, the risk is high. Store owners need to have a fraud detecting systems to prevent the proliferation of fake orders. Also, establishing an online store includes creating a firewall so no hackers can get through your customers’ data.

This leads us to the three S’ of the ecommerce industry:

Security protocols. Can you set up a dedicated SSL certificate? Are your payment gateways PCI compliant? The answer to these questions will speak a lot about the security of your store. If not, customers will look for another place to buy the same product

Site design. Although indirectly, site design is one of the selling factors of your store. If it’s easy for the eyes, fully functional, and easy to navigate, you can keep your customers on your store. Otherwise, they will close the tab and look for another store.

Storage space. Always choose an ecommerce platform that provides the bandwidth and storage space that you need. Otherwise, you will be restricted to the limited resources of your online store.

Aside from the fact that ecommerce website builders have product limits, knowing how much you want to sell is a matter of management. Can you handle 1,000 products? How about 2,000 items? You should always scale this up before setting up an online store.

These are just a few of the concerns that you should address. If you have a solid solution, then you can confidently start building your online empire.

Conclusion

Unlike managing a brick-and-mortar store, online shops require additional effort. Owners and managers have to take the extra mile of understanding the technicality of selling, inventory, and sales management on the internet.

Always outline a plan before investing your money in an ecommerce platform. Aside from the creation of the online store, there are further tasks that you need to fulfill to start selling. You need to dip your hands on digital marketing and SEO to get noticed.

Knowing how to build an ecommerce website is one thing but knowing how to sell is another. Make sure that you see the bigger picture and future consequences of setting up an online shop. It could be turbulent at first, but the learning curve shouldn’t be steep.