4 Best Ecommerce Platforms to Sell in 2023

What is the best e-commerce platform to use in 2023?

Like many questions in life, the answer depends on who you ask. But don’t worry, because we’ve done the research for you! We have compiled a list of the top four ecommerce platforms for businesses in 2023.

We’ll walk you through the pros and cons of each platform and how to choose the one that’s right for you. There is a handy FAQ guide at the end of this article. You will walk away knowing which platform is the best for getting your online store up and running.

So, if you are just starting out or want to switch platforms, we can help. Read on to find out which ecommerce platform is best for you.

Best Ecommerce Platforms to Sell in 2023

With so many ecommerce platforms on the market, choosing the right one can seem like a daunting task. The entire success of your online store may depend on this. But don’t be afraid! In no particular order, here are our top four picks for 2023.

1. Square space

Squarespace allows you to create an online store with everything you need in minutes. Their selection of ecommerce templates is a useful tool for beginners.

Source: Squarespace

What it’s best for: Beautiful online store templates and drag and drop designs.

Starting Price: Free 14-day trial with new sites, then Squarespace Business Package starts at $23/month. Squarespace’s $16/month personal package doesn’t include e-commerce integration.

Pros: Access to marketing, inventory, social selling, SEO, and analytics features. Laconic templates. Drag and drop website builder.

Cons: Fewer features compared to competitors. 3% rate per transaction (with starter business package).

2. Shopping

Shopify is a powerful and user-friendly eCommerce platform. It offers a solid foundation for you to start selling online as soon as possible.

Source: Shopify

What it’s best for: E-commerce businesses of all sizes, creators, and businesses selling directly on Instagram or TikTok.

Starting Price: Free 14-day trial or you can get Basic Shopify for $29/month.

Pros: Shopify can handle just about every eCommerce related task. They offer support with everything from marketing tools and payments to secure checkout and delivery. Selling on Shopify is easy. Shopify integrates with most other platforms, websites, and online marketplaces. It is one of the best multi-channel e-commerce platforms.

Bonus Tip: If you use Shopify to sell your products, you can get Heyday’s chatbot integration from Hootsuite. A chatbot can help you save time on customer service and sell more products by answering frequently asked questions, providing customer support, recommending products, taking care of inventory management, and suggesting store appointments.

Cons: Add-ons can add cost. Limited blog post experience without app add-ons. Cashier is not configured.

3. Woocommerce

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that can turn your WordPress site into an eCommerce store. This is the best free e-commerce platform.

Source: WooCommerce

What it’s best for: Building and managing a custom one-stop online store.

Starting price: Free! But there are hidden costs that you should be aware of.

Pros: All powerful WordPress plugins and integrations are available to you. Flexibility and ease of use. It’s free.

Cons: Almost zero customer service. Additional costs such as domain hosting and plugins.

4. Big commerce

BigCommerce is an eCommerce SaaS provider that powers online stores.

Source: BigCommerce

What it’s best for: Online stores with large stocks.

Starting Price: Free 15-day trial, then $29.95/month.

Pros: Unlimited items. There is no transaction fee. It has a wide range of features. Sleek themes, although many of them cost money.

Cons: Sometimes poor download speed. If your store has a higher sales volume, you will pay more. There is no 1-click sale function.

How to choose an ecommerce platform that works for you

There are many factors to consider when choosing an ecommerce platform. The best ecommerce platforms offer what you need to run your business. To choose the best platform for you, start with the specific needs and challenges of your business.

Do you sell on Etsy and need to connect to another store of yours? Do you want to have a business blog on your site? Want a Shopify chatbot to help with customer inquiries?

Once you’ve identified your must-have features, you can start narrowing down your options. Here are some ideas to help you decide which eCommerce features you need on the platform.

Do you have a physical address?

If you have a fixed location, you must ensure that your eCommerce store has a cohesive brand and gives the consumer an experience that matches your physical store. This may mean that you need a more customizable website to create an optimal customer journey.

Consider the size of your inventory

If you’re planning to sell a large number of products, it’s important to choose a platform that can accommodate your inventory. With large inventory, you will need a platform capable of performing complex product categorization and inventory management.

Are you going to use dropshipping?

Dropshipping is when you get orders from customers but don’t keep your stock on hand. You outsource order fulfillment and delivery to a third party. If you choose to use dropshipping, you need to choose a platform that can handle dropshipping, such as Shopify.

What products or services do you offer?

If you’re selling digital products, you’ll need a platform that supports file uploads. If you’re selling physical products, you’ll need a platform that can integrate with a shipping service. If you’re selling services that require an appointment, you’ll need a platform that can integrate scheduling.

You will also want to consider the number of products you will be offering. If the number is high, you might want to consider an ecommerce platform and web host that can handle it, like BigCommerce. If you have a smaller offering, then a platform like Shopify or Squarespace will absolutely suit you.

Website design and features

You also need to consider how much control you want to control the look of your store. If you want complete control, you need a platform that offers a lot of customization options.

If you don’t want to build it yourself, website builders are available for an additional fee.

Source: Minna

Does your profit depend on search results?

Then you can choose a platform with robust SEO features. For example, with WooCommerce, you can download SEO plugins like YOAST to improve your SEO game. This and other optimization plugins make it one of the best ecommerce platforms for SEO. BigCommerce is also a popular platform due to its SEO capabilities.

What is your budget?

Another factor to consider is price. Most platforms have tiered monthly pricing; often, the higher your monthly price, the lower your transaction fees. Don’t forget to calculate them before proceeding with the plan. Some platforms are free but come with additional fees, such as the cost of a domain and the cost of add-ons or plugins. Compare pricing plans to find the best option for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions About Ecommerce Platforms

Do you have any questions? Well, we’ve got you covered. Here are some popular and frequently asked questions about ecommerce platforms.

What is the biggest e-commerce platform?

Amazon is the largest global e-commerce platform in terms of traffic. However, WooCommerce has the largest market share of e-commerce software platforms.

According to Statista, WooCommerce is the world’s most popular e-commerce software platform with a 37% market share. Online stores Squarespace and Woo Themes came in second and third with 15% and 14% shares.

What is the best e-commerce platform for startups?

WooCommerce, Shopify, and Squarespace are great ecommerce platforms for startups.

The question you should be asking is not which ecommerce platform is best for startups. Rather ask yourself what is the best e-commerce platform for my startup? If you’re selling online courses, you’ll probably choose a platform other than a startup that sells vintage clothing.

What are the most popular e-commerce platforms?

The most popular e-commerce platforms are WooCommerce and Squarespace. They occupy the largest market share. But that’s a pretty broad generalization. While these platforms hold the largest market share, it might be worth taking the time to figure out which ecommerce platform is the most popular among your peers.

We would recommend conducting a preliminary study. If you know others in your field who have an online store, ask them if they like their platform or not. Or search popular review sites based on your industry. Reddit often gives you very honest results about selling items online.

What is the best e-commerce platform for small businesses?

The best ecommerce platform for a small business depends on what kind of small business you own. That being said, many small business owners gravitate towards e-commerce platforms that are easy to use. Typically, these platforms are hosted solutions rather than open source solutions.

Hosted solutions are the likes of Squarespace and Shopify. They generally require less upfront work than open source solutions like WooCommerce. That being said, in our humble opinion, WooCommerce is the best open source e-commerce platform out there. But every e-commerce solution has its own benefits for small businesses.

Squarespace eCommerce templates are a quick way for small businesses to get started online. Shopify’s ability to easily integrate with other platforms makes it a popular choice. The SEO capabilities of WooCommerce make it attractive to small businesses competing for access to the SERPs.

What is the best e-commerce platform for Instagram?

Shopify is the best ecommerce platform to sell on Instagram. Integrating with apps from the Shopify app store is quick and easy. You can find apps that help with shipping, abandoned cart recovery, customer support, and more.

Any decent e-commerce platform will allow you to link your social media accounts. But Shopify excels in making it easy for customers to make social media purchases right on Instagram (and TikTok, for that matter!), using apps like Heyday, an AI-powered conversational chatbot.

Here’s more on how to get the most out of your Instagram ecommerce strategy.