In today’s market, every business, whether it’s a single person operation, brick-and-mortar or agency needs to have a website. With several options around you don’t have any excuse for not having a website.
However, creating one alone can be a challenge. This is because you must have a good back end structure and create one that takes your brand aesthetics into consideration.
Fortunately, with modern website builders, you don’t have to spend any money on website developers or know how to code.
Most eCommerce website builders will help with aspects such as design, UX, and interface. The amazing thing about these builders is that with just a few clicks you can create any design from scratch.
But which one is the best eCommerce website builder? Well, this generally depends on your tastes, preferences and specific needs of your website.
Continue reading to find out which eCommerce website builder is right for your business.
1. Wix
If you are looking for a powerful and simple to use eCommerce website builder then Wix is perhaps the right choice.
Apart from giving you the flexibility that you need, you can also use it to create a website for your online business within hours.
Wix will also help you create brand awareness and keep things simple for you. With its drag and drop functionality, it means you don’t need any technical skills to create a good small business website.
It will also allow you to customize anything the way you want. This is why when it comes to design, usability, and customizability it emerges top.
Since it has more than enough for small businesses, it can help you get started.
Featuring an impressive creative control and template design you just need to drag and drop the features that you want to include. This will allow you to create and design your store the way you want.
How Much Does Wix Cost
- Connect Domain most basic plan is $4.50 per month
- Combo for personal use plan is $8.50 per month
- Unlimited for freelancers and entrepreneurs cost $12.50 per month
- VIP First priority support plan cost $24.50
Pros
- Easy to use hence no tech skills needed
- Lots of creative control
- Limitless customization options
- Extensive app market
Cons
- Once it goes live you can’t change the templates
- No 24/7 customer support
2. Squarespace
Squarespace is another eCommerce website builder that has all the features that small businesses need. With its built-in functionality, you can create gift cards, receive payments and track your clients.
Although you don’t need any plug-ins to do all these, if you get some you can do even more. So whether you have a small business or you have big plans it’s the right tool for you.
While it might not be as easy to use as other sites, it comes with one of the best image qualities.
As a matter of fact, when it comes to an eye-catching design it outperforms all the other eCommerce website builders for small businesses.
If you are looking for something modern and sleek its online store templates have you covered
In addition to its amazing plans, if you are looking for a nice looking storefront then it’s a superb choice. With all its simplicity it will still give you a professionally designed website
How Much Does Squarespace Cost
- Personal plan is $12 per month
- Business plan is$18 per month
- Basic commerce plan is $26 per month
- Advanced commerce is$40 per month
Pros
- Has string features
- Excellent social media integration
- Best designed templates
- Great functionality
- Easy to use
Cons
- Functionality is sometimes hidden by tabs or sidebar menu
- Requires a bit of learning
3. Weebly
As a well-known eCommerce website builder, Weebly is a site worth trying out. Boasting a range of features, it’s one of the best website builders.
While a free plan does not come with eCommerce features, you can easily upgrade.
Whether you want to expand your eCommerce business or establish yourself, Weebly has everything that you need. So if you have a small business that you want to establish online you can use Weebly.
Powered by Square, this website builder will allow you to manage all your inventory and products with relative ease. With its drag and drop features, you can create your site and launch it with very little effort.
From email tools to SEO tools, inventory to shipping, Weebly will never disappoint you. You can also assist your customers by adding a product search feature for your online store.
If you don’t need any complex features you can start with a Pro plan. But if you want to get the most from the site you need to try out a Business plan.
How Much Does Weebly Cost
- Connect a domain plan is $5.00 per month
- Pro plan for groups and organizations is $12.00 per month
- Business plan for small businesses and stores plan cost $12.00 per month
Pros
- Drag and drop features
- You can build your website right away
- Ability to see your site’s stats
- Predesigned layouts to customize your website
- Easy to use dashboard
Cons
- Does not have a free domain
- Fewer customer service options
4. Big Cartel
Designed for photographers, painters, and other small businesses, Big Cartel is among the best website builders that you’ll find in the market today.
Founded in 2005, the best thing about Big Cartel is that you can use it to build, publish and even sell your products without spending even a cent.
This is quite different from other eCommerce website builders where you have to be on a paid plan. However, since you only get what you pay for you’ll realize that its free plan is really basic.
But if you only want a few features, it’s a good way to start.
Unlike others, its pricing structure is based on the number of products you have. For instance, if you only have five products you can choose the free plan. The only drawback of this plan is that you cannot upload your products in bulk.
But one thing that you’ll love about it is that it’s quite affordable. It’s not only budget-friendly but it will also give you value for your money. It’s, therefore, a good plan for makers, artists, and creatives who want to sell their products online
How Much Does Big Cartel Cost
- Gold plan is free
- The platinum plan is $9.99 per month
- The diamond plan is $19.99 per month
- Titanium plan is $29.99 per month
Pros
- Easy to use
- Its great alternative to Etsy
- Quite affordable
- Perfect for small scale selling
- Comes with a free plan
Cons
- You need some coding skills to use it
- Poor designs
5. Sitey
Although Sitey is simple, it’s a very powerful eCommerce website builder. From an easy to use to functional website, 24 hour hosting to mobile development it has everything that any small business need.
Unlike other website builders, you get to enjoy a lot of features with their free subscriptions. Some of the features that you’ll enjoy include 5MB for file uploads, 50 MB for storage, and 1 GB for bandwidth.
So if you are looking for one of the best eCommerce website builders it’s worth your consideration. Apart from its free plan, it also comes with quite affordable paid options.
With its user-friendly interface and drag and drop editor it will definitely give you a helping hand.
The best part is that it has several templates that you can choose from. This means there is nothing that’s stopping you from creating your online store with this builder.
Overall, as a new addition to the market, it’s quite good for new to be developers.
How Much Does Sitey Cost
- Free plan costs nothing
- Pro plan is $ 8.49 per month
- Ecommerce plan is $15.1 per month
Pros
- Quite easy to use
- Drag and drop features
- Solid eCommerce and solid blogging
- Several templates to use
Cons
- Poor billing practices
- Sketchy business plans
6. GoDaddy
If you want to get an eCommerce website pretty fast then GoDaddy is the right choice. Simply presented, it has everything that you need. This makes it’s the most convenient product to use.
Coming from one of the most popular hosting service providers, Go Daddy is a very good bet if you are only looking for a simple website that doesn’t require a lot of features.
Just like other builders, it has a drag and drop features. Plus, it has an artificial design intelligence that can help you come up with a good design pretty fast. You just need to answer a few questions and you are good to go.
With the new improvements in management and eCommerce tools you can now upload up to 5000 products. You can also use payment options such as PayPal and Credit card among others.
However, it’s important to know that not all plans come with selling features. You, therefore, need to go with a plan that suits your needs. The good thing about GoDaddy is that you’ll get everything in one place.
Whether you are looking for web registration, web hosting or website building it will provide you with all these.
How Much Does GoDaddy Cost
- The basic plan is $10 per month
- The standard plan is $15 per month
- The premium plan is $20 per month
- Ecommerce plan is $25 per month
Pros
- Superb if you want to build a website quickly
- Offers advanced eCommerce features
- You can everything on their site
Cons
Some plans do not allow you to sell
7. Duda
Although Duda is an eCommerce builder for web designers this does not mean that small businesses cannot use it. Featuring some of the best templates, if you want to create a nice looking website then this website builder is good.
As a DIY eCommerce website builder, you can use it without the help of a developer. Besides looking great on mobile it also allows you to choose the templates that you need.
As one of the best builders, it will also personalize your visitors’ experience. What makes it amazing is its ability to help you create a website that meets all your eCommerce needs.
Further, it comes with an SEO tool that you can use to add other languages so as to cater to all your customers regardless of where they are.
As compared to other tools it also scores impressively when it comes to the ease of use. As a matter of fact, you can sign up for a free trial with seconds. Once you’ve provided your password and email you are just good to go.
Above all, it has a drag and drop feature that you can use to design your website without using any coding knowledge. If the ease of use and more functionality is your thing, Duda is will never fail you.
How Much Does Duda Cost
- Duda basic plan is $19 per month
- Duda team plan is $29 per month
- Duda agency plan is $99 per month
Pros
- Fantastic range of widgets and apps that you can add
- Good level of creative control
- It excels in simplicity
- Has a drag and drop feature
- Allows for team integration
Cons
- Does not have powerful website features
- It can be a bit difficult and confusing
8. Shopify
If you want to create an eCommerce store then Shopify is probably the right choice. Apart from integrating well with platforms such as Facebook, Amazon and other platforms it also allows you to sell your products in different ways.
Shopify also has a number of tools that you can use to sell your products wherever you one. In addition to other features, it features a good POS system.
This means whether you want to boost your business or establish your online shop it’s the right tool.
The good thing about it is that it’s the only website builder that’s meant for building eCommerce websites. This is because it has more advanced features and tools than other websites out there.
Powering over 800,000 people all over the world, whether you are just starting out or you’ve been in business for long it’s the right tool to use. It also has several features and over 1200 apps to make your work easy.
Overall, this eCommerce website builder does best in aspects such as ease of use, customer satisfaction, and sales features.
How Much Does Shopify Cost
- Shopify Lite plan is $9 per month
- Basic Shopify plan is $29 per month
- Shopify plan is $79 per month
- Advanced Shopify plan is $299 per month
- Shopify plus plan is custom pricing
Pros
- Best sales features in the market
- The best inventory system
- Sell across different platforms
- Flexible templates and systems
- Several apps that you can use
Cons
- Content does not format automatically
- Apps can quickly add up
9. WordPress
This is perhaps the best eCommerce website for beginners. With over 34% of all websites built on WordPress, WordPress’s reach goes further than all the other websites.
As compared to others, it provides you with the easiest platform to use.
Although it’s blog based, it has a number of features that can help you with your eCommerce website. In case you are just starting your online business this website builder is a safe bet.
Featuring over 350 applicable templates you can customize each one according to your needs.
What’s good about WordPress is that once you create an account you can proceed to build a website with a very simplified interface. What sets it apart from others is that it has almost everything that you need.
If you want to learn more about other website features and SEO, it has strong SEO features and analytics tools to help you. While it has a free plan if you are in business you are better off with a paid plan.
How Much Does WordPress Cost
- Personal plan is $4 per month
- The premium plan is $8 per month
- The business plan is $25 per month
- Ecommerce plan is $45 per month
Pros
- Access to thousands of plug-ins and themes
- All maintenance, support and server work are done by WordPress team
- You get the full power of WordPress website
- It’s quite easy to use
Cons
- A bit expensive as compared to other tools
10. Square
Featuring competitive rates, no fees, and other awesome services, Square is also a very good eCommerce website builder. As a point of sale application, it’s designed to provide you with an effective and easy to use POS system.
With this platform, you can take payments using your Android and iOS devices. With its simple to use and easy to set up POS, it’s a website builder that you can use to get your website up and running fast.
With this system, your clients can either choose printed or digital receipts
The best thing about it is that making payments with a credit card is quite easy. Although it has different rates there is a flat rate that you can use to determine how much you’ll pay each month
As a simple and powerful tool, you only need to download its free app. Its drag and drop feature will also enable you to move different services, products and other features where you need them.
When it comes to its ease of you use you can always start using it within no time.
How Much Does Square Cost
- Square retail is $60
- Square restaurants is $60
- Square loyalty is $45 per month
- Square marketing is $15 per month
- Square eCommerce is $8 per month
Pros
- Simple and powerful
- Paperless transaction
- Intelligent reports
- Easy email marketing
- Manage all your inventories from anywhere
Cons
- Larger businesses may outgrow its features
- Have several limitations
11. BigCommerce
If you are looking for eCommerce website built with the most built-in features then BigCmmerce is the right option. Unlike other sites, it does not rely so much on other apps.
This will not only help you reduce the cost but also provide you with the most scalable builder out there.
When it comes to usability, you’ll find it quite easy to use. Once you’ve created an account you’ll get an email that will direct you to your online store. As a cloud-based tool, it’s designed for retail businesses of all sizes.
Since it’s quite effective if you are dreaming big for your business it’s a tool that you cannot ignore
By allowing you to sell across multiple channels such as Square, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram you’ll not only maintain your costs but also manage you reach several customers. The only drawback is that it’s meant for businesses that want to grow fast.
With this in mind, if your business is growing slowly you may be paying for services that you don’t even need. But even with all these it has several add ons that you can use.
Some of its most popular add ons include quick books, Google analytics, SKUlabs and Salesforce among others.
If you intend to use it for your site it also has several pricing plans to choose. Overall it’s the right website builder to use if you are looking for advanced tools to keep even as your business grows.
As a powerful eCommerce website builder, it’s something that you cannot just ignore
How Much Does BigCommerce Cost
- The standard plan is $29 per month
- Plus plan is $78.95 per month
- Pro Plan is $299.95 per month
- The enterprise plan is custom priced
Pros
- It has a very exciting blog feature
- Nice-looking templates
- Suitable for product variations
- It’s the best for eCommerce purposes
- Several multi-channel integrations
Cons
- Not user friendly
- Advances features that are hard to understand
12. Yola
Yola is an eCommerce website builder that provides you with the easiest experience. With this website creating a professional-looking small business website is quite possible with no tech or code skills.
As a matter of fact, if you want, you can make your website within minutes of creating an account.
Developed in 2007, Yola currently boasts of a customer base of up to 12 million users worldwide. Besides this, an additional 1.2 million people join the websites every year.
If you are looking for a website builder that’s clean and informational, this one will not disappoint you.
It also features sleek and modern templates that will make your website look just awesome. Since it provides a free website building option you’ll be tempted to build your site immediately you reach the site.
Plus, due to its integration to the Ecwid store builder widget, it will ensure that you get the best eCommerce solutions.
From selling physical and digital products to accepting different methods of payments there are quite a number of things that you can do.
To ensure that your website is mobile-friendly they have now come up with several responsive templates.
Although only silver and gold users could use these features before, nowadays you can use them to optimize your website for mobile.
The best part is that its editor is very easy to use. For instance, if you want to build a page you just need to drag what you want to include and then edit it.
But you must ensure that you add these elements to the designated locations.
How Much Does Yola Cost
- Bronze plan is $4.95 per month
- The silver plan is $11.95 per month
- Gold plan is $23.95 per month
Pros
- Fully customizable and professional templates
- Easy to use and a powerful website builder
- Search engine friendly design
- Simple one-click web publishing
- Several eCommerce features
Cons
- Nonflexible packages
- Editing limitations
13. Strikingly
When it comes to the market of website builders, Strikingly can be considered as the new kid on the block. Although it was launched in 2012 it has since become so popular that it has even surpassed a number of its competitors.
Since it’s suitable for developing single-page websites it’s the best eCommerce website builder for small businesses and marketers. For instance, you can use to create pages such as product landing pages, portfolios and other pages that show all your information on one page.
Apart from the page, you can also include your online store with up to 500 products. As one of the best eCommerce website builders, you can create a website with a modern and sleek design.
You can also boost your users’ experience by including features that enhance browsing.
Just like some of the best website builders, it boasts of attractive and clean aesthetics. Whether you are writing or editing the texts you’ll realize that doing this is very easy.
As compared to other website builders it has a simple store that you can add to your website.
Although it comes with several plans, whatever plan you choose, adding the eCommerce feature is pretty simple. The best part is that it will definitely give you value for your money.
So if you are looking for a website for a portfolio, events or a few products to display to your customers it’s the best option. The good thing is that it does not take you long to set it up. It’s, therefore, worth trying out.
How Much Does Strikingly Cost
- The limited plan is $8 per month
- Pro plan is $16 per month
- VIP plan is $ 49 per month
Pros
- Great value for money
- The best for blogging websites
- The best customer support
- One of the most affordable website builders
Cons
- Limited eCommerce features
- Can only create one-page sites
Frequently Asked Questions
Although choosing the best website builder for your small business can be a bit challenging, it should not be. For you to settle on the best one you need to consider your designated use and intent.
Therefore, it’s a good thing to read through the reviews and look at the features and pricing plans before you choose one that’s good for our business.
Apart from the facts presented, also need to try them out and see what works
The good thing is that a number of them come with free trial options that you can take advantage of. Whether you are just starting out your business or you are already established you’ll realize that the above options are quite good.
The amount of money that you’ll spend on an eCommerce website builder generally depends on the services you are looking for. For instance, there are several website builders that you can use free of charge.
Although they come with a few features some of them still give you an option to sell your services or products.
But, if you are looking for quality features you must be ready to spend something to the tune of $7 per month. This amount may also increase depending on the plan that you choose.
There are also several builders that will require you to pay a one-off fee.Further, you also need to consider whether you are engaged in a corporate business of an individual business.
In a nutshell, when you consider the amount of money that you need to spend on a website builder there are a number of factors that you must consider.
Well, this generally depends on the purpose of your business and what you are looking for in a user friendly. But if you are just launching your website, Weebly is the best.
If you don’t have a lot of money to spend you can start with Strikingly.
Also, if you are starting an eCommerce website the best choices include BigCommerce and Shopify. But since Weebly has the best editors in the market it’s still considered as the most user-friendly website.
It has editable and adjustable templates thus it will help you to create professional-looking business website within a short time.
It also has several apps hence you can add any feature that you want to add to your website without any issue. So overall, you can start with Weebly.
Since most eCommerce website builders are user friendly you can now build your website even if you don’t have any programming knowledge. Unlike years back, nowadays there are several resources that you can use to build your website alone.
Although you can build one by simply looking at the user interface it’s important to learn some basic CSS and HTML. This will ensure that you know whether you are on the right track or not when building your website.
But in case you are not interested in learning most website builders still have simple and easy to use interfaces that you can use to build one.
While you can do this, installing WordPress involves a number of technical steps that you need to follow. With that said, this might be a bit challenging.
So, the best thing to do is to be online and have the best internet if you want to successfully install WordPress for your eCommerce business. Remember, you are doing this for your business.
Generally, the kind of extension that you choose for your website does not matter. But if you are looking for something that your customers can easily remember then .com is the best.
But in case these are already taken, you can choose .org or .net
If you are targeting the local people the best thing to do is to choose your country’s domain extensions. For instance, if you are targeting Australians it’s important to go for .com.au.
But if you are targeting the UK, you can use .uk
If you want to launch an online store then you need to choose a website builder that will boost your sales within no time. Before settling any website builder for your online store make sure you know the visitors you are expecting and features you are looking for.
It’s also important to look at the amount of support that you need to get. Once you’ve answered all these questions you’ll be better placed to choose the best one.
But generally, BigCmmerce and Shopify are still leading the pack.
It’s also important to look for website builders that are simple and easy to use such as Weebly and Wix. This is because they feature a number of plug-ins that you can use to customize your store the way you want.
Yes, once you’ve gotten domain you need to get hosting. Without a proper hosting provider, you cannot set up a professional eCommerce website. It’s therefore important to review different hosting providers and only choose the best.
Plus, ensure that you check features such as disk space and bandwidth of the hosting provider. Apart from this, you need to choose one that has the best customer support and is affordable.
The duration that it takes to build a website normally depends on whether you’ve built one before or not. For instance, if you don’t have any programming knowledge then setting up an eCommerce website should take you at least one day
But this also depends on whether you have the experience or not. The time that it takes, therefore, depends on whether you have the experience and whether the website builder has easy to use interface or not.
The good thing is that when you are using some of these website builders you’ll master the process pretty fast. Overall you need to know how to work smart when building your eCommerce website.
If you want to build a professional-looking website then choosing a free plan is not the best. This is because your website’s name will always appear on the subdomain.
In addition, you’ll have to deal with several advertisements that may not be relevant to your visitors.
The worst part of it all is that you don’t have any control over your website. Your website can be shut off without any prior notice. Due to poor security features, your website may also be prone to hacking.
So, unless you want all these things to happen to your business the best thing to do is to go for a paid plan.
Weebly is currently the cheapest website builder with a plan starting at $6 per month. If you are on a tight budget then this is the most suitable plan for you.
Although BigCartel is also good, Weebly is still better in terms of features and functionalities.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are launching a business or you already have one, you should not spend a lot of time trying to find the best eCommerce website builder. Although building a website in the past was difficult and expensive, with the right tools and you can now build one within minutes or hours.
With the above website builders, it means that you can now get your small business out there without spending a lot of money or committing a lot of time. Regardless of the builder that you choose you can create a professional and functional website within a very short time.
Although all these builders will provide you with a good eCommerce platform if you intend to take your small business to the best level you need to consider choosing Shopify or Bigcommerce. Plus before you commit to any platform make use of the free trial plans to find the right one for you.
Once you’ve settled on one, you need to take your time and create the best website for your online store.
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