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What Features to Consider in an eCommerce Platform
- Pricing: How much are you willing to invest in your platform? If you’re on a tight budget, a more affordable option might suit you, but bear in mind you may need to compromise on features that premium platforms offer. It’s all about balancing costs with your priorities.
- Tools: Some platforms come packed with tools and plugins for email automation, analytics, and customisable checkout experiences. If you value having a wide range of options, choose a platform with robust functionality. However, be cautious—too many plugins can slow down your site, so often less is more.
- Customisation: If branding and design are a top priority, you’ll want a platform that offers extensive customisation. Creative, design-focused businesses will appreciate the ability to control every element of their site, ensuring it reflects their unique style and identity.
- Useability: Is getting the website built quickly and easily important to you? Some platforms are designed to be beginner-friendly, making them easy to set up with minimal effort. However, this simplicity often comes at the cost of advanced customisation options and more sophisticated tools, so it’s essential to weigh up your priorities.
- Scalability: Some platforms are specifically built to handle higher levels of traffic and transactions. If you’re planning significant growth for your business, it could be wise to start with an eCommerce platform designed for larger operations right from the outset. This ensures your website can scale smoothly as your business expands.
The Best eCommerce Platform for High-Volume Businesses
If you run a large business with a healthy budget and significant growth plans, BigCommerce is a top choice. It’s built to handle high traffic and transaction volumes, making it perfect for businesses expecting rapid expansion. With features designed for scalability, your website will stay smooth and reliable even during busy periods. BigCommerce also supports selling across multiple channels, integrates with enterprise-level tools, and offers robust security to keep your business safe. Its flexibility and performance make it an ideal platform for ambitious, high-volume businesses.
The Best Free eCommerce Platform
For businesses already using WordPress, WooCommerce is a powerful and free way to add eCommerce functionality. Highly customisable with a range of plugins, WooCommerce allows you to create a professional online store without extra costs. If you have a WordPress blog, using WooCommerce is a simple and effective way to start selling.
Alternatively, Ecwid offers a free basic plan, ideal for small-scale sellers or those testing eCommerce. While the free version has limits, it’s an affordable way to begin. As your business grows, you can upgrade for more tools and features.
The Best eCommerce Platform for Beginners
If you're new to building websites or selling online, Wix is the perfect starting point. With its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, Wix makes it easy for beginners to create stunning, professional-looking websites without any technical skills. The platform offers a wide range of customisable templates, ensuring your online store looks exactly how you want. Wix also includes built-in eCommerce tools for managing products, processing payments, and tracking sales—all in one place. Its simplicity, affordability, and excellent support make Wix the best platform for those starting their eCommerce business.
The Most Customisable eCommerce Platform
For creative detail-focused businesses, Webflow is the ultimate platform. Known for its focus on design, Webflow gives you complete control over your website’s appearance. Its advanced customisation options are perfect for brands that prioritise unique, high-quality branding. However, it does require some web design experience or a willingness to learn, making it better suited for those ready to invest time in perfecting their site.
The Best eCommerce Platform for Stunning Design
Squarespace is the ideal platform for creatives and businesses prioritising beautiful, high-quality design. With its sleek and visually striking templates, Squarespace makes it easy to create a website that stands out. Perfect for showcasing products or services, the platform blends elegance with functionality, offering built-in eCommerce tools for managing inventory, processing payments, and analysing sales.
Its intuitive interface allows you to customise your site without technical skills, while features like integrated marketing tools and mobile optimisation ensure a seamless experience for both you and your customers. Squarespace is the top choice for those who want style and substance in their online store.
The Best All-in-On eCommerce Platform
Shopify is the go-to platform for anyone looking for an all-in-one eCommerce solution. Perfect for businesses of all sizes, Shopify combines ease of use with powerful features to help you build, manage, and grow your online store effortlessly. Its extensive app store allows you to add functionalities like advanced marketing tools, inventory management, and shipping integrations.
Shopify also supports multi-channel selling, letting you reach customers on social media, marketplaces, and beyond. With reliable hosting, robust security, and 24/7 customer support, Shopify ensures your store runs smoothly, making it a top choice for hassle-free eCommerce.
The Best eCommerce Platform for Multichannel Businesses
For businesses selling across multiple channels, Linnworks is an exceptional choice. It centralises all your operations, syncing inventory and orders across multiple marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and your online store to prevent overselling and stockouts. With robust inventory management and automation tools, Linnworks saves you time and eliminates mistakes. Its advanced analytics also help you track performance and optimise your strategy across all sales channels. If multichannel selling is at the heart of your business, Linnworks is the perfect solution.
The Best eCommerce Marketplace
If you’d rather skip the hassle of building and marketing your own online store, Amazon is the perfect platform. By setting up a store on Amazon, you gain access to millions of active shoppers who are already searching for products like yours, making it much easier to get started and generate sales.
The trade-off, however, is reduced control. Amazon handles much of the infrastructure, but you’ll have limited customisation options for your store. Additionally, you’re subject to their rules, meaning there’s always a risk of your store being banned. Competition on the platform is fierce, and Amazon’s fees can be high, cutting into your profits.
That said, for sellers who value simplicity and access to a vast customer base, Amazon is a powerful option. It’s ideal if you have an innovative product that stands out from the competition and want to start selling quickly without the hassle of building and marketing your own site.
The Best eCommerce Platform for Second-Hand and Handmade Goods Businesses
If you’re just starting out and making handmade products from home, or selling second-hand vintage pieces, Etsy is the perfect platform. It’s designed for small-scale creators, making it easy to set up a store and start selling with minimal technical skills.
Etsy’s built-in audience of shoppers searching for unique handmade and vintage items means you can reach potential customers without extensive marketing. It’s an ideal springboard for early-stage businesses, helping you gain visibility, build your brand, and generate sales before scaling to larger platforms or your own website. For makers in the early stages of their journey, Etsy is an excellent stepping stone to greater success.
Partnering with a Fulfilment Service
The best eCommerce platform for your business will depend on your unique needs and priorities. Whether you’re just starting out on Etsy, scaling with BigCommerce, or managing multichannel sales through Linnworks, the key is to choose a platform that aligns with your goals.
Once you’ve built your store and are ready to sell, you’ll be ready to consider partnering with a fulfilment service, such as Speedy Fulfil.
Speedy Fulfil is a comprehensive eCommerce fuliflment platform that takes the hassle out of managing your stock and shipping orders, ensuring fast, punctual deliveries that keep your customers happy and your business growing. With our extensive experience working with businesses of all sizes, there are so many benefits to partnering with us, and the sky is truly the limit when it comes to how much growth we can support, as we can scale with you. With our Speedy Parcels service, we can take care of all your fulfilment needs from pick and packing orders to last mile delivery.
Centralise Your Fulfilment Operations with Speedy Fulfil
Speedy Fulfil can integrate with all the platforms mentioned in this article—and many more. No matter which platform you choose, even those not listed above, we’ll integrate free of charge with your chosen platform, allowing you to manage your deliveries from one platform.
Let us handle the logistics, while you focus on what you do best—growing your business.
For more information, get in touch with us now.
