Best Ecommerce Software | The 5 Best Solutions

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Looking to start selling online? The most popular route to take is to use an ecommerce website builder, such as Shopify, to build your brand online. That said, we’ve curated a list of the best ecommerce software on the market – but, be warned! Ecommerce software, especially if it’s self-hosted, generally requires a certain level of technical confidence.

We’ve split this article into two key sections: the best hosted ecommerce software and the best self-hosted ecommerce software. We recommend Shopify or BigCommerce if you’re looking for hosted solutions, whereas WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost) is our preferred option for self-hosted software.

This way, you can find the right fit for you, whether you’re a total beginner or an experienced coder.

Best Ecommerce Software

  1. Shopify Best hosted ecommerce software for growing businesses
  2. BigCommerce Best hosted ecommerce software for purely online businesses
  3. Volusion Best hosted ecommerce software for analytics
  4. WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost) Best overall self-hosted ecommerce software
  5. Magento (powered by SiteGround) Best self-hosted ecommerce for larger businesses

Compare the 5 Best Ecommerce Software

Below you can compare the best ecommerce software side by side – use the arrows to scroll through the different software. You can compare key features to help you decide which software is best for you, and continue reading for detailed reviews of each one.

Swipe right to see more
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Shopify

BigCommerce

Volusion

WooCommerce

Magento

Hosted or self-hosted

Hosted

Hosted or self-hosted

Hosted

Hosted or self-hosted

Hosted

Hosted or self-hosted

Self-hosted

Hosted or self-hosted

Self-hosted

Transaction fees

0% – 2%

Transaction fees

0%

Transaction fees

0%

Transaction fees

0%

Transaction fees

0%

No. of products on cheapest plan

Unlimited

No. of products on cheapest plan

Unlimited

No. of products on cheapest plan

100

No. of products on cheapest plan

Unlimited

No. of products on cheapest plan

Unlimited

Payment processors (built-in)

100+

Payment processors (built-in)

250+

Payment processors (built-in)

Authorize.net

Payment processors (built-in)
Payment processors (built-in)

PayPal, Braintree, Authrorize.net

App store

Excellent

App store

Good

App store

Good

App store

Excellent

App store

Good

Abandoned cart recovery (built-in)
Abandoned cart recovery (built-in)
Abandoned cart recovery (built-in)
Abandoned cart recovery (built-in)
Abandoned cart recovery (built-in)
Mobile app
Mobile app
Mobile app
Mobile app
Mobile app
Visit Site Visit Site Visit Site Visit Site Visit Site

In an online world filled with stylish shops and stores, your business needs the best ecommerce software it can get. Choosing the right software for you will help make a real impression – and lots of money too. So, it’s time to find the right ecommerce solution for your business.

What are ecommerce solutions? An ecommerce solution is specialized software which helps you sell online. You don’t need any tech skills because it’s designed to give you all the tools you need. There are hosted and self-hosted versions depending on your store’s needs.

There’s just one tiny problem, though – how do you pick the best ecommerce software for you?

There are lots of ecommerce solutions out there, and all of them promise to make building an online store a walk in the park. Even less helpfully, they also seem to offer similar tools and features.

That’s why our experts carry out research into every ecommerce platform and builder we review. We take an in-depth look at features, pricing, design, customer support, and more. We get regular people to test out each and every one to give real insight into ease of use and customer satisfaction.

We’ve done the research, and we’ve got the results – so if you’re thinking of creating your own online store and are looking for the best ecommerce software to use, this article is for you.

You can see how our top three hosted ecommerce software solutions are rated below. If you’re ready to go, follow the links to sign up for a free trial:

Best for larger businesses

4.5

out of 5
Top Choice
Ease Of Use

4 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4.8 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

3.5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3 out of 5 stars

Website Features

4.1 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

4.7 out of 5 stars

Best for a purely online business

4.2

out of 5
Ease Of Use

3.3 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

3.1 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

3.9 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3 out of 5 stars

Website Features

3.7 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

4.6 out of 5 stars

Great analytics

3.3

out of 5
Ease Of Use

3.1 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

3.6 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

1.9 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

1.7 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

2.5 out of 5 stars

Website Features

2.5 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

3.7 out of 5 stars

What’s the difference between ecommerce software and an ecommerce solution?

In this guide, we’ve used ‘ecommerce software’ and ‘ecommerce solution’ in the same way. They both describe dedicated ecommerce tools that help you create an online store.

Ecommerce platforms, on the other hand, can include website builders that let you add ecommerce functionality. We haven’t included these builders, such as Wix and Squarespace, in this article. If you want to know more about these and ecommerce platforms on the whole, read our review of the best ecommerce platforms.

Here’s a full comparison table including Wix and other ecommerce website builders.

Do you wish there was a quicker way to find out which ecommerce software you should use? You’re in luck! Our quick and easy quiz gives you a personalized recommendation, so you’ll know exactly which one is best for your needs. Click below to get started…

What type of website do you want to create?

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Best 3 Hosted Ecommerce Solutions

Our top three choices of ecommerce software for building an online store are:

  1. Shopify: best ecommerce solution for larger businesses (Try For Free)
  2. BigCommerce: best ecommerce solution for purely online businesses (Try For Free)
  3. Volusion: best for analytics features (Try For Free)

These are all-in-one ecommerce solutions dedicated to helping you build an online store.

Here’s what the features listed mean, and why they’re so important.

Chart features explained:

  1. Premium Support

Getting premium support from your ecommerce software is like employing a full-time business mentor. While some packages offer fantastic assistance, others – such as Volusion – don’t offer phone support on their most basic plans.

  1. Abandoned Cart Recovery

This feature can have a huge impact on your bottom line. If a customer gives up on a purchase at the checkout, Abandoned Cart Recovery allows you to send them an email reminder so as not to forget their shopping. They’ll then be able to complete their order without filling out all the details again.

  1. SSL Certificate

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) allows your customers to view your site in HTTPS. An SSL certificate will verify that  data passing through your store is secure. Unlike Shopify and BigCommerce, Volusion doesn’t offer an SSL certificate as standard.

With all three ecommerce solutions listed, you can:

  • Build a functional online store very quickly (usually in a couple of days)
  • Get help from teams of support staff through various support channels

You also won’t need to:

  • Know how to code (though it can help, it’s not a necessity)
  • Hire expensive developers
  • Manage the technical parts of operating a store (hosting, security, coding, etc)

Let’s take a closer look at the best ecommerce software available in the market today.

More Information

#1. Shopify

Best ecommerce solution for larger businesses

Start selling from $29 a month

Best for large stores selling 10+ products

4.8

out of 5
Top Choice
Ease Of Use

4 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4.4 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

4.8 out of 5 stars

Website Features

4.6 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

4.4 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

3.9 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3.6 out of 5 stars

Shopify Pros Shopify Cons
Easy to create a powerful online store – no coding needed! Poor for international growth
Powerful sales features help large stores continue to grow Transaction fees are applied to sales unless you use Shopify’s inhouse payment gateway, Shopify Payments
Great server response time Design is more restricted than other platforms

Shopify is one of the best ecommerce software providers in the market today.

It’s suitable for small businesses who are just starting out, but we recommend it most for larger stores that sell a range of products and manage large inventories. Shopify customers include Tesla and Penguin Books Store. This is a solution with the scalability to grow with your store as your business expands.

Here are some key Shopify highlights:

Shopify is a one-stop-shop for ecommerce solutions. Its drag-and-drop functionality eliminates the usual challenges of building an online store, with no coding required whatsoever.

In our research testing, Shopify scored an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars for its range and quality of sales tools. Some of these tools include:

To put it simply: Shopify is one of the very best ecommerce solutions. It’s used by brands like Red Bull and Tesla, so it must really be doing something right! It’s perfect for starting and scaling your business.

Shopify has three main price plans: Basic Shopify ($29/month), Shopify ($79/month), and Advanced Shopify ($299/month), unlocking a wider range of brilliant sales tools the more you pay.

shopify

Is Shopify the Best Choice For You?

Shopify is perfect for large stores! It can support stores of all sizes with its awesome sales tools and huge app market.

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#2. BigCommerce

Best ecommerce solution for purely online businesses

Start selling from $29 a month

Bestfor purely online businesses

4.1

out of 5
Ease of Use

3.3 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

4 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

4.6 out of 5 stars

Website Features

3.9 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

2.6 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

3.4 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3.4 out of 5 stars

BigCommerce Pros BigCommerce Cons
Has the most amount of built-in features out of all its competitors – makes it extremely scalable Prices aren’t suitable for very small-scale sellers
Fantastic SEO and multi-channel integrations Terminology can make it tricky to get to grips with
No transaction fees Could do with more tooltips to help users find their way around

BigCommerce is another reputable ecommerce software option that allows you to build your store without getting tangled up in technology.

As one of the best ecommerce solutions, BigCommerce is suitable for businesses of any size. It has more in-built features than any of its competitors, so you’ll have everything you need to succeed right at your fingertips. It’s especially great for online businesses thanks to its multichannel features and SEO tools!

Heads Up: Special BigCommerce Savings

Get one month free when you sign up to a BigCommerce plan! You can claim this offer by simply starting a free trial with BigCommerce today.

BigCommerce has the best sales features on the market; it scored 4.6 stars out of 5 in our research! With BigCommerce, you get:

The BigCommerce mobile app is a new addition that allows you to view performance metrics, update orders, and more while on the go. Another exciting recent update allows you to integrate your BigCommerce store with your WordPress site. This is a great option for combining the specialist ecommerce features of BigCommerce with the flexibility and customization of WordPress.

We like BigCommerce because it focuses on growing with your store. As you grow, you get access to more features and functionality to take your store to the next level. There are no  limitations on whether you sell one or 100 products through your store. Plus BigCommerce gives you great analytics tools and reports to track the success of your business.

You can integrate your store with multiple social channels including Facebook, Instagram, eBay and Amazon. You can manage all your integrations from one place with the BigCommerce Channel Manager. This makes it super easy to sell across these different platforms and expand your business.

Because of the number of features and tools, BigCommerce is awesome for anyone looking to scale their business. You get the top-notch features you pay for.

BigCommerce Named a “Strong Performer” in the Ecommerce Space

In two recent reports from Forrester Researchone on B2B commerce suites and one on B2C commerce suites – BigCommerce earned the highest possible score in five total criteria: Expanded Sales Channels (B2C Wave), A/B and Multivariate Testing, Platform Architecture, Platform Integration, Delivery Model, and Technology Partners and Marketplace (B2B Wave).

The reports evaluate the most significant software providers, to help digital businesses select the right technology for their needs. The reports also use feedback from BigCommerce customers, who said that they “like the culture and responsiveness of the support experience” when using the platform.

If you’re a large store with a physical presence, you’re better off with Shopify – but if you’re an online business, BigCommerce is truly worth every cent. While it’s not quite as polished as Shopify, it’s still an excellent ecommerce solution.

bigcommerce logo

Do You Have Big Plans For Your Store?

BigCommerce is perfect for fast-growing online stores, thanks to its built-in features and multichannel integrations. You can try it free for 15 days!

More Information

  • Read our BigCommerce Review to see our detailed pros and cons discussion about BigCommerce
  • Read our BigCommerce vs Shopify comparison to see the major differences between Shopify and BigCommerce, and how they affect you
  • Check out our review of BigCommerce Pricing Plans to find out about BigCommerce’s unique pricing strategy
  • Using WordPress? Read about BigCommerce’s WordPress plugin in our BigCommerce Review to find out how you can combine these two market leaders

#3. Volusion

Best for tracking your store’s progress with analytics features

Start selling from $29 a month

3.3

out of 5
Ease Of Use

3.2 out of 5 stars

Design Flexibility

3.6 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

3.7 out of 5 stars

Website Features

2.5 out of 5 stars

Customer Score

1.9 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

1.7 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

2.5 out of 5 stars

Volusion Pros Volusion Cons
Great analytics features No blogging tools, which can limit your marketing strategy
Multi-channel selling is easily managed from your dashboard Limited bandwidth can result in unexpected fees down the line
Strong site speed performance Knowledge center lacking

Like BigCommerce and Shopify, Volusion is a comprehensive ecommerce solution.

Key features include:

  • 24/7 customer support – impressively thorough support pages and video tutorials.
  • Broad range of mobile-responsive themes – whatever you want to sell online, Volusion has you covered. Its themes cover fashion, beauty, food & beverages, electronics – pretty much anything you can imagine! These themes are also mobile-optimized, meaning your customer’s experience will be smooth no matter what device they’re using. However, for sheer number of designs, Volusion can’t match Shopify (offering 45 compared to Shopify’s 100+).
  • App market – you can choose from over 20 apps to bolt onto your store from Volusion’s App Marketplace.
  • Ecommerce tools – add products, offer subscription billing, get automatic tax rates, and integrate with Amazon and eBay – all without touching any code.

We like the simplicity of Volusion’s design. The overall offering is not as comprehensive as Shopify or BigCommerce, but Volusion’s store editor is pretty accessible.

Volusion does not charge transaction fees on any of its plans. This means you can keep all your profits and reinvest them in your store.

Like Shopify and BigCommerce, Volusion also has a great range of analytics tools. This makes it easy to assess where your store is doing well and where it could be improved.

Volusion is especially helpful if you’re selling over multiple channels, such as Facebook and Instagram. It allows you to pull all your sales into one place, making it really easy to keep track of everything.

But beware: Volusion doesn’t have any in-house blogging tools, which is less than ideal for growing your store. Blogging can be central to your marketing efforts, so Volusion’s lack of blogging tools is a big drawback.

On the whole, though, Volusion is a more than decent ecommerce software that can get you online even if you’re not at all technical. It’s not quite up to the standard of Shopify or BigCommerce, and despite its more limited feature set, its entry plan is more expensive than that of its competitors. However, it’s still an ecommerce solution that lets you build a stylish store and sell online without coding.

volusion logo

Do You Love Analytics?

Volusion helps you grow your store by tracking performance using its top notch analytics tools. You can try it free for 14 days!

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Hang on, what about ecommerce platforms like Wix?

At this stage, it’s worth reiterating that this guide deals specifically with ecommerce solutions. If you’re starting your first online store, or getting your first business online, you may want to check out our piece on the best platforms for ecommerce. These intuitive tools are the quickest and easiest ways to begin selling online through your own website.

Best 3 Self-Hosted Ecommerce Solutions

Self-hosted ecommerce software is very flexible, but you need to be quite technical (or hire a capable developer) to help you build your store.

Before we go any further, make no mistake about it – self-hosted ecommerce software solutions will involve a far steeper learning curve than the hosted ecommerce solutions we’ve just looked at.

But if you are technologically savvy and want greater customization options, a self-hosted ecommerce solution might be of interest. The best ecommerce solutions that are open source (we’ll explain what this means in a moment) provide unrivaled customization.

In this section, we’ll introduce you to three leading self-hosted ecommerce software options:

  1. WordPress with WooCommerce: best overall self-hosted ecommerce software
  2. Magento: best self-hosted ecommerce software for large businesses

Self-hosted ecommerce software solutions are open source shopping carts. But what does that mean?

Open source shopping carts are effectively standalone programs you install into your own host (such as Bluehost). This means you’ll have to set up, configure and manage your own hosting service to power your online store.

Once you sign up to a hosting service, you’ll then need to install some shopping cart software into your hosting account.

See why we think these solutions are that much trickier than hosted ecommerce software?

Hosting services such as Bluehost usually have a one-click installation process. But there is still quite a bit of tinkering to do, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. When we tried it ourselves for the first time, it took a couple of hours and was a bit frustrating. But after you figure things out, the next installation is a lot smoother.

Once you have the shopping cart platform installed, you’ll need to install a design template. You should know that unless you are quite confident with codes, you’ll most likely need to hire a coder to help you make most design changes. The templates are not as user-friendly as drag-and-drop ecommerce software (such as the examples highlighted above).

The main benefit of using self-hosted open source software is that you can configure it to function exactly the way you want it to, meaning your store can be heavily customized.

The drawback is that it requires you to be technically experienced to install, set up and configure it to work properly. So if you’re not a techie, or if you don’t have time to learn more advanced coding functions, self-hosted shopping carts will not be the best approach for you.

That being said, open source shopping carts offer good flexibility, and have lots of advanced features that you can use and configure.

Which is why we’re going to tell you a bit more about three of the leading self-hosted ecommerce software providers…

Advice from the Experts

If hosted ecommerce software is like a finished house you can start decorating immediately, self-hosted software is like a building site. You get bricks, cement, wood and steel framing – all you need to build a beautiful property. But it’s up to you to put it together.

That being said, open source shopping carts offer good flexibility, and have lots of advanced features that you can use and configure.

Which is why we’re going to tell you a bit more about three of the leading self-hosted ecommerce software providers…

#1. WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost)

Best overall self-hosted ecommerce software

4.2

out of 5
Overall Rating

4.2 out of 5 stars

Ease Of Use

3.5 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

4.1 out of 5 stars

Website Features

3.9 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

4.4 out of 5 stars

WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost) Pros WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost) Cons
Easy to install Fewer multichannel integrations than other platforms
Excellent value for money No built-in abandoned cart recovery feature (requires an extension)
Our recommended hosting provider, Bluehost, offers a 30-day money back guarantee Extra plugins can add up over time

OK, we’re guessing you’ve heard of WordPress? After all, it’s one of the most popular platforms around.

To turn your WordPress site into an ecommerce store, you need to use extra ecommerce solutions. The best of these is WooCommerce.

How does it work? It couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is sign up to your chosen hosting provider’s WordPress-specific hosting plans, if it has them, (we strongly recommend Bluehost), and it will automatically install WooCommerce onto your computer for you. 

WooCommerce also offers an ‘setup wizard’ that guides you through the process of building your store, helping you set up payments, choose currencies, and decide on shipping and tax options. It’s no wonder that WooCommerce clocked a 3.5/5 score in our ease of use research.

Why do we recommend Bluehost to power your WooCommerce store? Well, we’ve carried out some serious research into all the important areas for building online stores using self-hosted software, such as value for money, ease of use, sales features, and more.

From our findings, we can confidently say that Bluehost is head and shoulders above the rest of the hosting competitors for powering WooCommerce stores.  With WooCommerce powered by Bluehost, you’ll get:

  • 49+ themes costing on average just $38 (compared to $100 on Magento)
  • Bluehost plans starting from just $13.99 per month (helping WooCommerce, combined with Bluehost, score a brilliant 4.4/5 in our value for money research category)
  • WooCommerce extensions costing on average just $79 per year 
  • Translate your site into 24 languages
  • Multichannel selling – sell on Amazon, eBay, and Instagram through a paid extension, and sell on Facebook for free.
  • Great SEO support (SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization – the practice of boosting your site’s rankings in search engines like Google. The higher you rank, the more traffic and sales you get)
  • The ability to add and customize products
  • Payment options like PayPal and Visa – WooCommerce scored an impressive 4.1/5 in our ‘sales features’ category.

The great benefit of ecommerce software like WordPress + WooCommerce is personalization. You aren’t tied down to any one way of doing things, instead having the freedom to play around in the backend. For instance, you can customize everything from your check-out cart through to your confirmation emails.

But, while WooCommerce may sound simple in principle, just like Magento, it requires technical skill to run.

In our experience, add-ons that are included in Shopify and BigCommerce plans can get quite pricey with WooCommerce. If you’re looking for an alternative, check out BigCommerce’s WordPress plugin. This allows you to make the most of BigCommerce’s features along with the freedom of WordPress.

BigCommerce has more multi-channel integrations than WooCommerce, so if you want to sell through numerous social media channels or marketplaces, it’s an option worth thinking about.

woocommerce logo

Do You Want Total Flexibility?

WooCommerce is a powerful, flexible ecommerce solution that’s extremely popular and pretty easy to get started with too!

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#2. Magento (powered by SiteGround)

Best self-hosted ecommerce software for large businesses

4

out of 5
Overall Rating

4 out of 5 stars

Ease Of Use

2.5 out of 5 stars

Sales Features

4 out of 5 stars

Website Features

4.2 out of 5 stars

Help and Support

5 out of 5 stars

Value For Money

3.5 out of 5 stars

Magento (powered by SiteGround) Pros Magento (powered by SiteGround) Cons
Ideal for medium to large- sized businesses Very technical, not beginner friendly
Back-end inventory has excellent built-in features e.g. multiple product variants and bulk product import Expensive extensions for multichannel e.g. $499 to sell on eBay

Magento is one of the most well-known ecommerce solutions on the market. It powers over 240,000 stores, so it must be doing something right!

If you know a bit of code (or are able to pay someone who does), then you have great freedom to build the store of your dreams.

But Magento’s editor just isn’t as easy to use as hosted ecommerce software. For an inexperienced store builder, there are far more potential pitfalls. For example, we found the Magento interface includes a lot of technical terms that will seem alien to a first-time user.

The more time you spend working out what they mean, the less time you spend perfecting your store.  This is why we scored Magento 2.5/5 in our ‘ease of use’ research category.

One area Magento is pretty strong in is the sales features category, scoring a brilliant 4/5. With Magento, you can:

  • Sell physical, downloadable, and service products
  • Accept payments for WorldPay as a built-in feature (though this payment processor is only suitable for large businesses)
  • Add multiple product variants
  • Generate total revenue reports
  • View total visitor count

The Magento community is very helpful, too, and there are lots of quality guides available. This is why, combined with SiteGround’s customer support, we scored Magento 5/5 for help and support.

As with Shopify and BigCommerce, you can purchase themes externally via Magento, while you can also access a large selection of apps and plugins. The key difference with Magento is that you need to pay for your own hosting.

How much does hosting cost? Well, we recommend using SiteGround to power your Magento store, which comes with three main price plans costing $9.95/month, $17.95/month, and $29.95/month. Overall, considering the cost of extensions and SiteGround price plans, we scored Magento 3.5/5 in our value for money testing.

siteground logo

Do You Want to Get the Best Out Of Magento?

We recommend using SiteGround hosting to power your Magento store. Check out SiteGround to see what it’s got to offer.

More Information

  • Torn between hosted and self-hosted? Read our comparison on Magento vs Shopify to find out which is the right platform for you
  • Just getting started with hosting? Read our review of the Best Web Hosting Providers to choose the best option for your store

What Is Ecommerce Software?

So just how does ecommerce software work?

Ecommerce software is what we call an all-in-one solution that gives you everything you need to build and run an online store. It makes it possible for you to add and sell products, manage your inventory, accept payments, deliver orders, and sort out taxes – pretty much anything you need to sell products through your online store without switching between different services.

Imagine you’re the driver and the ecommerce software is the car. The software provides the engine, lights, steering wheel and gears. You can then pick the car’s color, number plate, and where you want to go!

There are two main types of ecommerce software you can use to build an online store:

  1. Hosted ecommerce software (more user-friendly). Hosted ecommerce shopping carts enable you to build an ecommerce store without learning to code. The top three are Shopify, BigCommerce and Volusion.
  1. Self-hosted open source ecommerce software (more advanced). Our recommendations include Magento and WordPress with WooCommerce.

Self-hosted ecommerce software like WordPress powers millions of online stores, while ecommerce solutions like Shopify and BigCommerce are used by some of America’s biggest brands.

Just check out this Shopify-powered online store from bookstore Penguin Books…

shopify store example penguin books
Penguin's stylish online store was built using Shopify

Using the best ecommerce software, you can build a stylish online store without any technical knowledge. There’s no need to worry, either – both hosted and self-hosted software will enable you to build the online store of your dreams.

How Do You Pick the Best Ecommerce Software for You?

“You’ll be surprised to hear that finding the best ecommerce software is not what you should be aiming for. Instead, focus on finding the best ecommerce software for YOU.”

Think of it as like picking clothes for your wardrobe. You don’t only pick the nicest or the most expensive clothes, do you? You want clothes that fit your body shape and are suitable for the weather outside. It’s the same with ecommerce software: you need a solution that’s the right fit for you.

So how do you pick the best ecommerce solution for your store?

There are four key questions you need to ask yourself before you pick your ecommerce software. Your answers will tell you which ecommerce solution is right for you.

Let’s dive in…

  1. How much time do you want to spend on technical maintenance?
  2. How budget-conscious are you?
  3. How technologically skilled are you?
  4. How much support do you want or need?

1. How much time do you want to spend on maintenance?

Are you not particularly technical? Do you not want to spend your time making sure your site doesn’t crash? Would you rather focus on marketing your store and making money?

In other words, do you want to worry about hosting (where your site lives on the internet), security, or any technical aspects of running your online store?

If your answer is a resounding no, you might want to consider using hosted ecommerce software.

Ecommerce solutions like Shopify, BigCommerce and Volusion take care of the essentials of building and running an online store.

Hosted ecommerce software will also make sure your site loads quickly. Load time is how long it takes for your store to appear when a customer tries to visit.

Online shoppers are impatient. The slower your site loads, the more chance your customers bail before buying. In our experience, ecommerce software that is self-hosted will load slower. Any work needed to speed up the site is up to you.

On the other hand, the best hosted ecommerce solutions will take care of all the technical upkeep for you.

Basically, hosted ecommerce software is dedicated to selling online. These solutions take care of all the technical aspects of operating a website so you don’t have to be your own IT manager. This enables you to focus on your business instead.

In the other corner are self-hosted ecommerce software tools.

These ecommerce solutions give you great flexibility to customize your store, but are much more hands-on when it comes to technical maintenance.

They regularly update their system, and it’s your job to make sure your store is up-to-date and glitch-free.

To do this, it’s likely you’ll need to work with a developer. This can get very expensive very quickly.

Which leads us on to our second question…

2.How budget-conscious are you?

Using hosted ecommerce software enables you to create a store for a set monthly fee.

From $29 a month, you can set up your online store and start selling products.

With the best ecommerce solutions, you know what your bill will be each month, and any extra apps are clearly priced.

It’s trickier to work out your website costs with self-hosted software like WordPress. This is because you may have to work with a developer to keep your site running (if you’re not a techie yourself) and make any significant changes. Developers cost money– often hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

Furthermore, with self-hosted ecommerce software, you need to keep paying for plugins to add more functionality. This makes costing your online store with self-hosted ecommerce solutions a lot more difficult.

Cost-conscious? Worry not – some hosted ecommerce platforms offer discounts on their premium plans which make them far more affordable. For example, Shopify offers a 10% discount when you sign up for a year, and 20% if you sign up for two years!

Further Information

Now you’ve worked out how important a clearly defined budget is to you, it’s time to ask yourself…

3. How technologically skilled are you?

Hosted and self-hosted ecommerce solutions require different amounts of technical skill to help you create the store you want.

Self-hosted ecommerce software is terrific for customization. WordPress, for example, is an open source platform, meaning anyone can use its codes and create personalized templates, themes and plugins. It’s also extremely powerful, so you can build a really unique store.

However, as with technical maintenance, making changes using self-hosted ecommerce software like WordPress may require a developer (unless you’re a skilled coder yourself).

On the flip side, if you want to build your store using more accessible technology that requires no coding skills, hosted ecommerce solutions are the answer.

The idea is that hosted ecommerce solutions “hide” all the code, and instead provide you with a simple and non-technical user interface for you to create your own store. At the click of a button, you can insert your content (such as images and galleries), upload your products, and connect your website to a payment processor.

You can then start selling very quickly.

press london shopify homepage example
Using hosted ecommerce software, you can design a stylish homepage without needing to code. Here’s some inspiration from Shopify-powered Press

All the tools you need to run an online store, including product management and payment processors, are already built-in to hosted ecommerce solutions. You don’t need to spend time adding them yourself – they all work out-of-the-box, right away. If you do get stuck, dedicated support teams are on hand to help.

Which leads us to our fourth and final question…

4. How much support do you want or need?

When launching an online store, professional support is a big help.

Good support is like having a full-time business partner. They can answer your questions and point you in the right direction when things go wrong.

The best ecommerce solutions all come with at least a decent level of support.

Generally, self-hosted ecommerce solutions leave you on your own a bit more. There are communities, resources and tutorials to help, but you may find it hard to sift through the information to find the answer to your specific problem.

In our research, we found that hosted ecommerce software like Shopify and BigCommerce provided an excellent level of support. Agents are typically available over the phone, email and LiveChat.

shopify help center ecommerce software
Hosted ecommerce software like Shopify provides an excellent level of support. Click the image to visit Shopify's Help Center.

Now you’ve had an overview of the best hosted and self-hosted ecommerce solutions on the market, and know exactly what to look out for, you can choose the best solution for your online store.

Best Ecommerce Software: Conclusion

Let’s recap the five best hosted and self-hosted ecommerce solutions:

Best Hosted and Self-Hosted Ecommerce Software

  1. Shopify best for larger businesses.
  2. BigCommerce best ecommerce software for purely online businesses.
  3. Volusion best ecommerce software for analytics.
  4. WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost) best overall self-hosted ecommerce software.
  5. Magento (powered by SiteGround) best self-hosted ecommerce software for large businesses.

Finding the best ecommerce software is not an easy task when you’re trying to figure out how to sell online.

The first step is to think about how technically confident you are. If you’re a master coder, then self-hosted solutions like Magento will give you more flexibility and you can configure the cart as you wish.

What if you are a beginner or intermediate user, not comfortable with code, or want to quickly and easily set up an online store and start selling? Hosted ecommerce solutions like Shopify are your best option.

shopify

We Recommend Shopify to Most Sellers

If you’re in doubt, jump on Shopify’s 14-day free trial to see if it suits your needs – it’s a risk-free way to start building your online store!

FAQs

For most people, we recommend hosted ecommerce solutions like Shopify and BigCommerce. This is because these options are more accessible to a wider range of people. They already have all the tools built in for you to create your online store, so you can start selling quickly and easily without knowing a line of code.

Self-hosted ecommerce solutions like Magento and WordPress (with WooCommerce) are more advanced. While this means they’re more flexible, it also means they’re more complicated to set up and manage. If you’re confident with code and technology, these are a great choice. If not, they can be overwhelming and expensive for you to run.

See our Ecommerce Comparison Chart for a full list of hosted ecommerce options. Or, check out our WordPress Review to find out more about self-hosted platforms.

There’s no perfect answer! The good news is there are tons of options, so you can find a price to suit your budget. If you want to sell online for $20 or less, check out our Best Ecommerce Platforms Review, which includes website builders like Wix and Weebly.

For dedicated hosted ecommerce solutions, Shopify starts from $29 a month, and BigCommerce starts from $29 a month. Self-hosted solutions are a lot harder to calculate because hosting plans vary so much.

You can get hosting for as low as $2.95 a month from Bluehost, up to as much as $119.99 a month on a different Bluehost plan. It really depends on the size and needs of your store. Remember to include the cost of add-ons in your budget too.

We recommend Shopify! It’s the best all-round ecommerce solution. It’s designed to help you get your online store up and running, whether you’re a small business or ecommerce empire. It’s got all the sales features you could need, from abandoned cart recovery to shipping labels. It has something for everyone and is our top choice for running your online store.

Want to find out more? Read our Shopify Review for a full look at this leading ecommerce solution.

There are tons of things that go into making an online store successful, but, there are some important features which benefit all businesses and which you should look out for when choosing your ecommerce solution.

The main one is getting an SSL certificate. This stands for Secure Sockets Layer and makes your site a safe place for customers to enter their payment details and information. This means it’s essential for any online store.

Shopify and BigCommerce both include an SSL certificate for free in all their payment plans.

Yes, definitely! These are dedicated ecommerce solutions, which means they have all the tools and features you need to create a successful online store and get selling. From printing shipping labels to creating discounts, you have the tools to build your store and make money right at your fingertips.

If you want to find out more about getting started, why not check out our guide on How to Build an Online Store.

Website Builder Expert aims to provide you with honest data. That’s why we conduct our own research and obtain direct, personal insight. Analyses and graphics in this article are based on authentic sources cross-validated by our in-house experts.

We take great care to ensure the information we publish is reliable and accurate. However, WBE takes no responsibility for any inaccuracy in information supplied to us by users, research participants, or other entities.

Please note the insight contained within this article is for general information purposes only. We’re glad to answer any questions you may have about this article and its supporting research. For further information, please contact Website Builder Expert directly via email at info@websitebuilderexpert.com.

Written by:
Lucy Carney is a Content Manager at Website Builder Expert, specializing in website building, ecommerce, and digital marketing. Previously working as a Writer and then Senior Writer on the brand, Lucy has 6 years of hands-on experience testing web building platforms including Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify. Lucy is passionate about using her knowledge to help small business owners build their online presence and achieve their goals. She’s reported on industry trends over the years, attended events such as the eCommerce Expo, and advised readers directly with over 400 comment replies on the site to date. Her work has also featured on other online publications such as the Shopify Partners Blog, Usability Geek, Serpstat, and Open Source, and has over 100 articles published on the Website Builder Expert blog.
Researched by:
natasha_willett
I love to understand human behavior and the cognitive biases that drive us to do what we do. For over nine years I have worked as a mixed method researcher – research using a mix of numerical data and personal experiences – across a range of sectors, from insurance and policy development to finally arriving at Website Builder Expert five years ago. Fascinated by consumer decision-making, I meticulously built our leading ranking methodology to explore where providers like Wix sit within a competitive industry and what value they truly bring to our audience.
As a member of the Market Research Society, I’m an advocate for high ethical, commercial, and methodological best practices. All of this combines to give you the most ethical recommendations based on real data.

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