How to Choose the Right Ecommerce Website Builder For You

A good ecommerce website builder gives you all the tools to help you build a professional and successful online store. You won’t need to worry about hosting, security, or template design – the best online store builders take care of everything, so you can focus on setting up your business.

But how do you pick the perfect ecommerce platform for your needs beyond the basics?

Think about whether you’ll be selling in high volume or not. If you expect a heavy flow of customers to your store, you’ll need a lot of bandwidth so that your site doesn’t crash. If you’re uploading a lot of images and videos, then you’ll need lots of storage space to display all your content.

Look for well-designed templates that follow design best practices – such as Squarespace’s award-winning designs – and think about how much creative freedom you want. If you’re after full customization, then an ecommerce platform such as Wix is perfect. If you’re more focused on data and powerful tools than design, then a more sales-focused, but creatively limited editor – such as AmeriCommerce – will be a better fit.

Of course, one of the most important parts of an ecommerce builder is its sales tools. Look for:

• Shipping settings – can you print shipping labels, partner with couriers, and select shipping zones for your store?
• Payment options – which payment gateways are available, and does the platform charge any transaction fees?
• Marketing tools – can you start a blog or newsletter to engage visitors? Can you create discount codes, or offer gift-wrap options for customers?

Always try out the online store builder before committing, as every online store platform is different and caters to businesses of different shapes, sorts, and sizes. Remember to check out the builder’s customer support and price plans too, to make sure it’s a perfect fit.

Why Use An Ecommerce Website Builder?

Ecommerce builders make selling online incredibly easy. Starting a business used to involve a lot of time, handshakes, and money, but nowadays you can sit on your sofa and start your very own online store in a matter of hours!

You can ship your own products, start a dropshipping business, or even sell digital products for customers to download instantly – ecommerce solutions have revolutionized how businesses and customers interact.

By choosing a top quality ecommerce builder, you set your store up for success from day one. They know the game, and they give you all the tools you need to win. If you’re a small store, you’ll have a helping hand getting started, and once you’re set up, you have scalable features at your fingertips to power your business’ growth long-term.

Many of the best ecommerce platforms have integrations already set up to make your life easier. These include discounts with couriers to make shipping easier and cheaper, or partnerships with payment gateways to remove transaction fees.

An ecommerce builder is a secure, safe, and scalable way to start and grow an online store, leaving you free to focus on keeping your customers happy!

What Extras Should You Look For In An Ecommerce Platform?

Picking the right ecommerce builder can be tricky, but there are some key things to look for to help you choose the right platform or premium plan:

1. Storage space and bandwidth. Some builders cap your storage and bandwidth on cheaper plans – this is okay when your store is still small and new, but it can start to limit your growth as you attract more visitors. If your ecommerce site starts crashing, bandwidth is often the culprit, so make sure you always have more than you need, just in case. Some builders also have product limits on cheaper plans, meaning you need to upgrade if you want to sell a higher number of items – so always check this too before committing to a plan!
2. Abandoned cart recovery. This is an important feature for any serious store – it sends an email to customers who have abandoned products in their basket. All the best ecommerce sites have abandoned cart recovery. The global average rate of cart abandonment is 79%, so look for abandoned cart recovery in the list of features if you’re serious about growing your store.
3. Design. Templates determine how your storefront looks, so take the time to choose the right one – think about your branding, industry, and product types, and choose a design that matches your business. Check if you can swap templates once you’ve built your store, as some builders won’t let you – meaning you’d better choose carefully! You want to avoid cluttered, overcrowded product pages or confusing homepage layouts – always look at designs from a customer’s point of view.
4. Apps and integrations. Apps are the perfect way to add extra functionality to your ecommerce store and fuel growth without upgrading to a more expensive plan. Some online store builders are more reliant on apps than others – for example, most of Squarespace’s features are in-built, while BigCommerce has a huge range of integrations to choose from.
5. Security. The security measures in place are important because you’re accepting payments from customers, so you need to keep their details safe. Key things to look out for are an SSL certificate and a PCI compliant checkout process. All ecommerce builders in this list have these security features built-in.