I Tried 7 Best eCommerce Site Builders. Here’s My Favorite
When setting up an online store, it is essential to explore the best ecommerce site builders available. Each platform offers unique features, pricing models, and levels of customization, so choosing the right one can significantly impact your business’s success.
If you don’t have time to review all the options, based on our experience, we believe that Shopify ranks among the best ecommerce website builders today. Its ease of use, app store, and eCommerce features make it an excellent choice for entrepreneurs of all sizes.
WooCommerce
Set up your store and accept payments in WordPress.
Wix eCommerce
Versatile solution for companies with high volume of sales.
In this comparison, I will outline the primary features, pricing, and target audiences of each ecommerce site builder, drawing on my personal experience.
Ultimately, I selected the 7 Best eCommerce Website Builders by considering the key factors most important to all audiences.
Comparison of the Best Ecommerce Website Builders
Below, you will find a comparison table of the prices for each ecommerce site builder, including whether they offer a free trial period and/or a free plan to help you start building your online store.
| Builder | Plans from | Free trial |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify | $39/mes | 3 días |
| WooCommerce | Depend on Hosting | Free |
| Wix eCommerce | $29/month | 14 days |
| Zopping | $70/month | 14 days |
| Sellfy | $29/month | 14 days |
| BigCommerce | $39/month | 15 days |
| Ecwid | $25/month | Free plan |
That said, let’s take a look at our list of the best ecommerce site builders.
1. Shopify
After testing each of the e-commerce site builders on this list, in our opinion, Shopify is the most comprehensive e-commerce platform for creating an online store from scratch, suitable for businesses of all sizes, including beginners and large companies.
According to BuiltWith.com, Shopify’s market share in the United States is 28%, hosting nearly 15 million active users among all ecommerce categories.
With a monthly subscription, you forget about maintenance and hosting costs. Additionally, Shopify enables you to create an online store with professionally designed templates that are responsive and adaptable to any industry or product type.
Shopify Features
- Sell your products on social media, at the point of sale (POS), and on marketplaces.
- All-in-one e-commerce solution, cloud-hosted solution with no maintenance costs.
- Over 16,000 apps for Shopify are available to help you set up an online store.
- The best ecommerce platform for dropshipping and print-on-demand.
- AI creation tools (Shopify Magic).
- Easy to manage every aspect of the online store.
- Customer support is available 24/7 in English.
Shopify Pricing
Shopify’s plans and pricing start at $29/month (paid annually), with all the features you need to manage your online store, plus a $1 offer for the first three months.
2. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform for WordPress that allows you to create an online store from scratch.
Therefore It is more than just an e-commerce plugin: it provides a fully customizable e-commerce solution with hundreds of trusted extensions and themes.
In the United States, WooCommerce is one of the most widely used platforms for businesses to sell products and services online, with a market share of approximately 14% and powering over 1.5 million online stores, according to recent industry data.
WooCommerce features
- Professional WooCommerce themes for any purpose.
- Sell subscriptions, bookings, or memberships.
- WooCommerce extensions to manage your business (Woo Payments, WooCommerce Tax, WooCommerce shipping, etc).
- Endless ways to customize an online store.
- Shipping and tax calculation.
- Best ecommerce site builder for SEO.
- Huge community, documentation, and tutorials.
WooCommerce Pricing
WooCommerce is a free plugin available in the WordPress plugin repository.
Running a WooCommerce online store costs as little as $12-$ 15 per year for your domain name, plus $15-$30 per month for reliable web hosting, depending on the number of products and resources you need to set up the online store.
Additional costs include choosing a WooCommerce theme and plugins for your online store (Email Marketing, SEO, payment gateways, backups, caching, etc.).
Get up to 73% off on Hostinger Managed WooCommerce hosting for your eCommerce store with a FREE domain for 1 year on annual and higher plans.
3. Wix eCommerce
There is no doubt that Wix is one of the best website builders for small businesses, but… How does Wix Stores work for creating an online store?
After trying out Wix Stores, we liked the drag-and-drop theme editing, which makes designing your online store a breeze. Wix also provides access to hundreds of e-commerce website templates, built-in AI features, and customized product pages for your brand.
Plus, you can optimize your storefront with native and third-party ecommerce add-ons (product reviews, loyalty programs, and dropshipping), sell on social media platforms and marketplaces such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon, or Etsy.
Wix eCommerce features
- All-in-one eCommerce platform.
- Abandoned card recovery.
- Real-time automated sales tax for every region.
- SEO suite to help you grow your business.
- Sell on social media and marketplaces.
- Offer subscriptions and recurring payments for your products.
- Multiple currencies and automated sales taxes.
- Native payment gateway (Wix Payments) and integration with more than 50 third-party payment methods.
- Detailed reports and analytics for your online store.
- Mobile App to manage your site on the go.
Wix eCommerce Pricing
Wix eCommerce pricing is divided into three business plans, each including a custom domain, web hosting, 24/7 customer care, and a range of features from basic to advanced, depending on the chosen plan.
- Core – $29/month.
- Business – $39/month.
- Business Elite – $159/month.
4. Zopping
Zopping is a no-code eCommerce website builder designed for businesses that want to launch and manage online stores without the complexity of technical setup. It is built for founders, retailers, and growing teams who prefer an all-in-one platform rather than relying on multiple plugins or developer support.
Unlike traditional eCommerce builders that depend heavily on third-party extensions, Zopping offers a Store Builder along with tools for product management, order processing, marketing, delivery, and analytics.
Its mobile-friendly, conversion-focused templates and built-in SEO tools help merchants get online quickly while keeping operations simple as the business scales.
Zopping features
- No-code store builder with customizable themes and branding options.
- Product and inventory management with real-time updates.
- Multi-store management from a single dashboard.
- Weight-based selling is suitable for groceries and fresh produce.
- Order and customer management for streamlined fulfillment.
- Delivery management system supporting multiple delivery models and pickup slots.
- Hyperlocal delivery apps for staff and admin operations.
- Marketing and SEO tools, including coupons and campaign management.
- Business mobile apps to manage orders and operations on the go.
- Analytics and reporting with Google and Facebook Analytics integration.
Zopping Pricing
Zopping is well-suited for businesses seeking a simplified, no-code eCommerce solution that combines essential commerce tools in a single platform.
Plans start at approximately $70 / month, with custom enterprise pricing available.
5. Sellfy
I recommend Sellfy for content creators looking to sell their digital products, subscriptions, or print-on-demand products without hassle.
Sellfy offers a free 14-day trial with no commitment or hidden costs. Its dashboard is divided into several sections, allowing you to set up your online store and start selling immediately.
One of Sellfy´s pros is the fact that you can sell almost anything. Some success stories involve selling digital products, such as Drum kits, DJ courses, Adobe Lightroom presets, and merchandise.
Sellfy features
- Easy to learn and easy to add products.
- Sells any digital product (music, ebooks, videos, presets).
- Native integration with print-on-demand (POD) products.
- Accepts PayPal and Stripe payments.
- Email marketing, product upselling, and cart abandonment features.
Sellfy Pricing
The Sellfy rates vary based on annual sales volume, ranging from $22 to $119 per month. You can benefit from a 30% discount on annual plans with the code IMPULSA.
6. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a cloud-based online store builder (SaaS) designed to meet the needs of large-volume sellers across markets, both B2B and B2C.
Among its clients are companies such as SkullCandy, Ted Baker, Ford, and Toyota. Additionally, it offers an Essentials version for startups seeking a secure and scalable platform as their businesses grow.
On the other hand, BigCommerce offers a headless architecture, which separates the frontend (what the user sees) from the backend (the part of website development). This allows for designing unique front-ends, connecting enterprise management systems such as ERP, PIM, and CMS, including WordPress, and adding functionality through APIs, which will help improve your customers’ shopping experience.
In addition to creating multiple online stores from the same account, BigCommerce also allows you to connect your catalog with the most popular marketplaces and social networks.
BigCommerce features
- One-Page Checkout.
- Intuitive and easy-to-customize editor.
- Over 55 payment gateways to choose from.
- POS systems integrations (Square, Vend, Clover, and more).
- Over 1,200 enterprise integrations and ecommerce apps to help you grow.
- Knowledge Base, BigCommerce community, and 24/7 support team.
- Marketing tools (coupons, discounts, gift cards, product reviews, corporate blog).
BigCommerce Pricing
BigCommerce offers flexible pricing to suit each business’s needs, with a 25% discount on annual plans and a free 15-day trial.
- Standard Plan – $29/month.
- Plus Plan – $79/month.
- Pro Plan – $299/month.
- Enterprise plan – Custom Prices.
7. Ecwid
Ecwid is one of the best free e-commerce website-building platforms that works in two ways: as an e-commerce shopping cart plugin, enabling you to create an online store on an existing website, or as a standalone storefront.
It is tailored specifically for small local businesses that need to sell a few products, with customizable themes and content blocks that let you personalize your store without advanced knowledge.
Ecwid features
- You can easily add an Ecwid online store to your WordPress site.
- Sell on social networks (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram) and marketplaces like Amazon.
- Free plan to publish up to 5 products.
- Best free ecommerce website builder.
- POS Systems integration, such as Square POS and Lightspeed.
- Mobile app for iOS and Android.
Ecwid Pricing
Ecwid plans are divided by the number of products you can sell. If you only need to sell a limited number of products (<5), you can use Ecwid for free forever.
Ecwid’s most affordable plan is Venture ($25/month), more than enough for small stores and businesses that sell up to 100 products.
What is an ecommerce site builder?
An online store creator is the perfect platform to showcase your products. They offer an all-in-one solution that integrates the e-commerce tools every online store needs to sell online (web design apps, payment gateways, web hosting, logistics, built-in reports, etc.).
They are usually cloud-based, which is known as Software as a Service (SaaS). That means the platform provides its infrastructure for designing an online store in exchange for a monthly or annual subscription to the service.
Other solutions, such as open-source platforms, offer greater control over your store but require expensive hosting and a specialized e-commerce website development team.
The quantity and type of product you can sell online will depend on each platform; for example, physical products, digital products, subscriptions, or online bookings.
What makes the best ecommerce site builder?
When evaluating the various e-commerce site builders, we assessed each tool based on six key criteria: ease of use, customization options, template variety, integrations, customer care, and customization.
Ease of use
If you’re creating your first online store, you might have little to no experience in building websites. And, without coding or web design knowledge, trust me, it can be frustrating.
That’s why it’s best to choose an e-commerce platform that makes it easy to create an online store, even if you have no idea about programming.
Ecommerce Templates
Each of the ecommerce site builders on this list offers different ecommerce templates to make your online store creation easier. We focused on two criteria:
- Quality: If you’re going to invest in a template, choose a developer who offers themes with a clean design, advanced selling features, and minimal unnecessary code.
- Variety: Having a variety of attractive templates is essential for future changes and for adapting your online store’s design to your brand and your customers’ demands.
Customization
Along with ease of use, it is essential to look for an online store builder that integrates additional in-house tools and features to customize your storefront as you like.
For example, Shopify integrates sales channels to promote your products out of the box, as well as native email marketing tools and live chat software, to help scale your online store.
Customer Support
What we look for most in an e-commerce platform is 24/7 customer support across multiple channels. Additionally, it’s even better if it provides a knowledge base and tutorials for creating your online store from scratch.
Ecommerce Integrations
Most online stores will need to utilize various Online Marketing tools to scale their business and brand. The chosen platform should offer integrations with various payment gateway methods and email marketing tools for ecommerce.
Pricing and plans
This factor is in this list because it depends on each person’s budget. Ultimately, creating an online store requires additional costs and a minimum budget. If a platform doesn’t offer a free trial or a free plan, don’t even consider starting with it.
FAQs
We have reviewed frequently asked questions from users and compiled them below.
What are the best ecommerce site builders?
The most popular ecommerce site builders are Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix eCommerce, Zopping, Sellfy, BigCommerce, and Ecwid.
What is the best ecommerce website builder for a small business?
Based on our experience, we believe that the best ecommerce site builders are Wix eCommerce and Shopify. Both platforms allow you to drag and drop sections in the theme editor and design your online store at your own pace without needing too much technical knowledge.
How to create a free online store?
To create a free online store, you first need to know which is the best free ecommerce website building platform. Ecwid offers a lifetime free plan that lets you sell up to 5 products online.
Choosing the Best eCommerce Site Partner
Based on our experience, these are the 7 best ecommerce site builders. As a personal recommendation, due to their overall features, I would choose Shopify.
On the other hand, if you want more control over your store, WooCommerce offers more design and setup flexibility, though this requires technical knowledge.
Alternatives to Shopify for small businesses and content creators include Wix Stores and Ecwid, which enable you to design a solid online store and manage customer requests, products, and orders on the go with mobile apps.
Finally, if you’re looking for a platform to sell digital products, Sellfy is the most comprehensive solution for content creators, offering a way to sell all kinds of digital products (ebooks, music, videos, merchandise).
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