Finding the best e-commerce platform has been our current goal at e-commerce platforms since the site's inception. Every week, we invest real hours to test and validate each platform to determine its viability among the major e-commerce platforms in the marketplace.
We do all these tests so you do not have to.
The resource you are reading is a summary of our results. So choose the ideal e-commerce solution for your individual needs!
It's hard to believe that there are more than 120 different shopping cart software platforms all on the market. We should know that our job is to test them all. And we did that very often.
So far, we've looked at the key platforms in individual journals and created a comprehensive comparison chart that analyzes the key features of each platform. We have also classified all platforms according to their SEO effectiveness.
What you are reading here is a full summary of the best e-commerce platform, in addition to what distinguishes each competitor. After reading this guide, you'll know exactly how to choose the right e-commerce solution for your business.
6 Of The Best E-commerce Platform Review 2019: Shopify Vs Volusion Vs Bigcommerce VC Ecwid Vs Big Cartel Vs 3dcart
Here are the best e-commerce platforms we test:
Shopify vs Volusion vs BigCommerce vs Big Cartel vs 3dcart vs Ecwid:
(Comparison 2019)
#1-Shopify E-commerce Platform Review
Shopify is an amazing online platform for all forms of e-commerce. You can set up your online store and sell what you want (products and services). You can organize your products, customize the look of your store, accept payments (online and credit card), track and answer orders, and do everything in the Shopify interface.
Shopify is a fully integrated e-commerce solution that offers online stores that are modified and customizable. Shopify offers a variety of out-of-the-box features but does not take the load and trick of a Shopify site.
Payment plans are based on monthly billing, but those with a profitable business should quickly become insignificant costs.
Using Shopify is very intuitive and easy to understand right from the start. All you have to do is register and go through the process.
To get started, you can choose from more than 100 optimized designs in online stores, so you do not need design skills or hire a designer. The designs offered by Shopify are really high quality and optimized to generate good conversion rates for your visitors.
Main features of Shopify
As mentioned earlier, the features that you get with Shopify vary slightly depending on the price plan you choose.
All Shopify packages start at $ 29 ("Shopify basic") and even offer the following:
the ability to sell physical or digital products in the categories of your choice and with the shipping prices/methods of your choice a wide range of topics (free and paid) to choose from Credit card processing through Shopify Payments or a third-party payment gateway
Integration with Paypal
- Blog feature
- The functionality of the abandoned car
- Import/export of customer data
- Content Management Functionality (CMS)
- Search engine optimization function (SEO)
- discount codes
The ability to edit CSS and HTML from within your store.
A Buy Now button that lets you sell products on a different blog or site
Access to an application for outlets.
Possibility to Create Multiple Personnel Accounts (As explained above, the amount you can invest depends on the plan in which you are located).
The ability to integrate your shop with over 100 payment gateways.
The ability to print labels for shipping the product.
Courier discount on shipping costs (depending on the country)
If you choose the most expensive Shopify plan, you will also get:
If you are in the "Advanced Shopify" plan, you will receive the following additional features in addition to the above features:
- Advanced reporting
- Shipping via freight forwarding in real time
Finally, you should consider Shopify Plus: This is a commercial version of Shopify that includes features such as:
Let's look at some important aspects of Shopify that deserve special attention.
Shopify Price
You have the choice between five Shopify price plans:
- "Shopify Lite" - $ 9 per month
- "Shopify Basic" - $ 29 per month
- "Shopify" - $ 79 a month
- "Advanced Shopify" - $ 299 per month
- "Shopify Plus": $ 2,000 per month.
Shopify is one of the cheapest ways to sell online with the Shopify Lite startup plan, which costs $ 9 a month and can sell an unlimited number of products.
#2-Volusion Review
Volusion is one of the leading hosted e-commerce platforms. They focus on providing a complete set of tools for e-commerce owners who want hosted solutions. Its functions apply to the operational side of an e-commerce store (eg inventory management, customer administration, etc.) for marketing-oriented functions.
There are many reviews of Volusion Online, usually user reviews based on anecdotes and personal experiences. That's fine, but I'm different. As with all options, they have pros and cons and you will be reduced if this is a good option for your business.
Specifications
Volusion includes all the features small businesses need to open their store. A V2 Volusion does not yet have advanced features, and we hope to add these features in the future. Here is a brief overview of some of the currently available features:
For the customer
- Instant Search: Helps customers find the products they want.
- Show your products: Create detailed product pages with pictures and videos.
- Payment in your domain: Allow customers to verify their domain name and not one of the Volodium subdomains. This is available to merchants both on a professional and a commercial level.
- Discounts: Create and promote discount codes. Allow customers to use multiple discounts and create discounts that do not require coupon codes.
For the merchant
Pricing Plan
It can be very difficult to compare all the price considerations for a new online store, regardless of the solution you choose. But even with inclusive e-commerce platforms like Volusion, it can be annoying to know what the price is compared to what nobody votes for. So I downgrade the prices to compare apples to apples.
First, it's the monthly price. This is the price paid for certain features. You can see that on the price pages. Volatility plans start at $ 15 / month and go up to $ 135 / month.
Second, the transaction fees of your platform. Some plans on all platforms charge a transaction fee for each purchase (in addition to the credit card processing fee). Volusion does not charge a transaction fee.
Third, the fees of your credit card. These used to be fairly standardized, but more and more platforms like Volusion, Shopify, and BigCommerce set up their own credit card processing. However, these rates go to credit card companies. Therefore, a reduction or flexibility would be beneficial, but it would still be a budget.
Fourth, the additional costs and exclusions. You must be careful in this area. Regardless of whether they are additional applications, bandwidth rates or the exclusion of important features, these fees can actually affect your "exit price".
So Volusion accumulates in comparison to direct competitors in all.
Price per month: Volusion is very competitive in the upper and lower ranges. In the intermediate stages, they restrict the products and do not contain any specific characteristics in relation to the competitors. Intermediates may be competitive depending on whether you have many products or are considering using these features (including Amazon / eBay).
Transaction Rate: Volusion does not charge transaction fees at any level. A great plus to consider.
Credit Card Rates: Volusion offers a service called Volatile Payments with low processing fees (Shopify competitors), in addition to integration with other processors. It is good to go here.
Additional add-ons - and here Volusion really stands out. They do things that are not really great. For starters, they limit the bandwidth (even at higher levels). Bandwidth with the amount of data that can be transferred between the Volusion server and your client's browser. As soon as he passes on his bandwidth ... he begins to calculate the surpluses.
For most sites, this would not be a problem, but for e-commerce sites (including many pictures, product lists, etc.), this can be very worrisome. In addition, avoiding excessive bandwidth typically means integrating into more complex solutions such as CDNs that cost money and experience.
Other competitors offer unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth.
In addition, Volusion requires that you purchase an SSL certificate for processing credit cards on the website, which typically costs $ 100 per year.
This is an advantage because your full payment is made in your domain, not at Shopify.com (which provides shared and free SSL certificates), but at your monthly installment and your "exit price."
Quick Link
#3-Bigcommerce Review
Bigcommerce is a paid "hosted" e-commerce solution that allows business owners to create an online store and sell their products online. This is Software as a Service (Saas), which means that you do not own the software but pay a monthly fee.
Bigcommerce comes with a set of customizable templates to help you design your store. You can use it to sell physical or digital products. Tools are also provided to help you market your store.
The product is aimed primarily at people who are not familiar with web design, but also tech-savvy users and developers can change the HTML and CSS of their online stores.
As with all website creation services and online stores (Shopify, Volusion, Squarespace, Jimdo, etc.), Bigcommerce may close or drastically change the feature set. You must migrate your store to another platform (Magento Go users can Tell you more about it).
However, if you can not develop your own online store (a costly and tedious affair), you will likely use a hosted solution like Bigcommerce to run your shop's most established products. of the existing genre, with a list of clients including Toyota, Gibson Guitars and Travelpro.
Bigcommerce Price:
- Bigcommerce offers four monthly tariff plans:
- Bigcommerce Standard: 29.95 USD per month
- Bigcommerce Plus: $ 79.95 a month
- Bigcommerce Pro: $ 249.95 per month *
- Bigcommerce Enterprise: Prices vary according to the needs of your business
- If you pay each year, you will receive a 10% discount on "Plus" and "Pro" packages.
Main features of the selling
As we'll see below, the exact features you get with Bigcommerce depend on the plan you choose.
The key features common to all plans include:
- an option of 7 free templates
- You can sell a wide range of physical or digital products in the categories of your choice and with the shipping prices of your choice
- Integration with Paypal and a variety of payment gateways.
- Full content management functionality (CMS)
- Excellent Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Options: It's very easy to add appropriate keywords to your products and site pages and create easy-to-use SEO URLs.
- Automated Image Optimization (with Akamai Image Manager): This can speed up the delivery of your web pages and improve the search rankings.
- Integration with multiple e-mail marketing services: Constant Contact, iContact, MailChimp and Interspire
- Vouchers and gift vouchers
Product Review Feature:
This is especially welcome: not all e-commerce platforms offer this feature as a standard and typically require the use of third-party applications or services to enable them.
the ability to customize CSS and HTML at will Professional reports.
Bigcommerce offers a significantly higher price than most of its rival products in its $ 29.95 monthly plan, thanks to these comprehensive features.
Some alternative e-commerce platforms require you to use a rather expensive plan to access some of the above features or pay for applications that provide the extra features you need.
For example, the $ 29.95 "starter" price offered by Bigcommerce is equivalent to $ 29 for Shopify because it offers 5 main features that Shopify does not have, namely the professional reports image and map optimization. The donation, an integrated system of classification and verification and real. delivery time (However, unlike the $ 29 Shopify plan, it does not provide auto-protection).
Likewise, all the features of the $ 29.95 big-commerce package are more generous than the equivalent basic Squarespace package, which includes professional reports, gift cards, and an integrated rating system, and real-time review and shipping offerings. the competitor is doing
That being said, the main benefit of Bigcommerce is that it is a generally good value for money and a good platform for "full" e-commerce.
The List Of Best E-Commerce Platforms In 2019
#4- 3dcart Review
3dcart is an e-commerce website designer founded in 1997 by Gonzalo Gill. Today, it is used by more than 17,000 people selling supernatants to supercars. In terms of features, it has a lot and it is good on the front of SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
As an entrepreneur, you are probably looking for the best e-commerce website builder for your online store. In short, 3dcart has:
- Over 200 built-in functions.
- 90 free templates
- More than 160 payment gateways are supported.
Now to the big question: Is 3dcart suitable for your online shop? Well, we'll put it to the test - literally. After creating an "easy to use" exercise, we invite people to create an online store using 3dcart.
In this test, we examine all important areas: functions, design, help, and support, value for money. He then compared himself with his competitors to adequately reflect his position in the market.
After the tests, they completed a results sheet and we interviewed them. This allowed us to find the most accurate and unbiased results.
3Dcart sales tools and features
With its features 3dcart proves. Even with the cheapest price plan, there are many decent tools to play. In addition, it has a powerful API (Application Programming Interface).
Partnering with Zapier, the simplest automated application-linking tool, 3dcart gives you access to more than 1,000 applications to streamline your business. These include Xero, Zendesk, Hubspot, and Infusionsoft as well as other fees.
Let's see what this website builder has in his cart.
Payments, expeditions, and transactions
3dcart is doing well here. It offers more than 160 payment options, more than any other e-commerce developer in the market. Better yet, they have built payment methods into their business so you do not need any code.
Shipping costs are customizable on the product inventory page. For the current methods, you can use suppliers such as UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc.
In addition, 3dcart offers a number of application integrations, including Address Checks and ShippingEasy. This simplifies the entire process by eliminating the additional burden of PayPal payments. Therefore, 3dcart delivers here.
There is no transaction fee in any 3Dcart plan. They commit to the success of every user and do not punish the customers who develop their activities. As usual, however, credit card charges will be charged to the payment gateway.
The 3dcart SEO guide is useful and original. Unlike all other manufacturers, they make SEO features visible throughout the site, such as when adding products. In addition, pop-ups remind you to perform some SEO operations to better position your page on search engines.
In general, they made a difficult question easy to handle.
Mobile AppMost customers are moving these days. 3dcart does not offer mobile apps. Then your cart stops just like the safety brakes as soon as it leaves the store.
This shows that 3dcart is lagging behind its competitors. Shopify, Wix, and Weebly offer a mobile app that shows that they are more technologically advanced to adapt to the latest trends in e-commerce.
A recent study found that 75.6% of customers forgot to pay online for e-commerce business. But do not worry, 3dcart knows. With notifications from your checked shopping cart, you can send emails to customers who have not yet completed their purchase (but have left an email address!).
Overall, 3dcart has some decent features. Especially with the integration of Zapier, which allows you to customize your online store with more than 1000 applications.
3dcart price: is it good value for money?
3dcart offers four monthly tariff plans and a 15-day free trial. These are:
The Plus Store plan is the most popular, but you can save money with a Basic Store plan. Our research has shown that there is not much to separate, although prices vary considerably. In addition, the supplements are expensive, which costs more than expected.
In addition, each plan contains generous features. You will not receive transaction fees, a Facebook shop, and unlimited orders. It is, therefore, better to choose a cheaper package.
On average, 3dcart is cheaper than Shopify and BigCommerce. This is a great option for those who want powerful management tools and lower costs. Ideal for small but ambitious online shops.
#5-Ecwid Review
Ecwid is a hosted solution To build an online store. Unlike competing products such as Shopify, Bigcommerce, and Volusion, which allow you to create a new website with e-commerce features, Ecwid is designed for users who already have a website and want to add an online store in a Simple way.
Like other e-commerce platforms, Ecwid lets you configure product catalogs and add photos, prices, weights, and more. for each. You can set shipping fees, accept credit card payments, etc., all you can do with an e-commerce solution.
However, it's very different from competing products like Shopify, Volusion, Squarespace, and Bigcommerce, as it's not really meant to be an independent e-commerce website with full functionality. Rather, it's designed to allow you to add an online store to an existing online presence.
(Against this background, Ecwid has recently added a new feature called "Start Site" that allows you to create an independent quote for a page.) We will discuss this in more detail later in the journal.
The product works by providing a widget that is placed on other websites, hence the name Ecwid: it is the acronym for "e-commerce widget". You'll receive a few lines of HTML code (the widget) that you can add to an existing social networking site or profile, and your business will appear where you've inserted that code.
Key Features
Ecwid offers a number of key features that are particularly interesting and worth highlighting:
receiving windowEcwid windows are recordable, meaning that they are displayed correctly on all devices: desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. In a time when you surf the Internet with a smartphone and outsmart the desktop navigation, it is important.
With Ecwid Point-of-Sale (POS), you can sell in your Ecwid store not only online but also in physical locations: stores, market stalls, concerts and more.
The Ecwid chip card and chip card reader for POS applications.
There are several ways to use this feature: The easiest way to use Paypal here is probably to use it. To do this, the Ecwid app for iOS is downloaded from the Apple App Store, connected to the Paypal Here service and then paid for using a mobile card reader (pictured above).
Ecwid mobile order management app.Here are two options for point of sale and PayPal hardware: you can buy a chip and drag reader ($ 24.99) or a chip and socket reader ($ 79.99). Both can be ordered directly from Ecwid.
There are a few things to keep in mind when integrating Paypal: First, it is only available to dealers in the US. UU and the United Kingdom. Second, it is not yet available on Android devices. (Ecwid status will soon be available on their website, but they have been saying it for some time).
If it's outside US UU If you want to work with another mobile device, the good news is that Ecwid also works with the Vend, Clover, NCR Silver, and Square systems. All this makes it easier to use a wider range of retail hardware (large format card readers, receipt printers, cash drawers, etc.) and can be used in multiple countries.
Although you can use the "POS Paypal Here" option in all paid packages, you must have the most expensive "unlimited" plan if you want integration with Vend, Clover, NCR Silver or Square.
Ecwid is at the forefront of the pack as its stores can be automatically translated into nearly 50 different languages: customers can view their store in their own language without having to worry about alternative versions. Ecwid provides this feature by automatically detecting the visitor language based on the configuration of your browser / IP address.
Free planUnlike many similar products, Ecwid offers a completely free package.
Of course, this is a pretty simple package where features like discount coupons and support are not available and you can only sell up to 10 products in 2 categories. However, this is possible enough for some users and their use is a good way to test the system.
However, it's important to keep in mind that the free plan is not very good from the point of view of SEO: it must be a paid plan to ensure this. Pages of your products are speaking correctly to the search engines. (See the listing below for more information).
Ecwid Price:
If you have a few products for sale (up to 10), Ecwid is free. And as mentioned above, this free plan offers only basic features.
Regarding paid plans, the pricing structure looks like this:With the "Ecwid Venture" plan, you can sell up to 100 products;
With the "Ecwid Business" package you can sell up to 2,500;
With the "Ecwid Unlimited" package you can sell an unlimited number of products
(With all of the above products, you can use up to 10,000 product categories.)
If you pay Ecwid every year, things are cheaper: The three packages cost $ 12.50, $ 29.17 and $ 82.50, respectively.
It's not surprising that the more you pay, the more additional features you get: discount coupons, the point of sale options, better support, and more.
The main differences between the paid systems have to be considered:The 'Venture' plan does not allow you to modify existing commands (or create commands manually). To do this, you need to plan a more expensive plan.
Automatic Restore of Discontinued Vehicles is only available in the Enterprise Packs and later versions.
With the packages "Business" and "Unlimited" you can get advice when setting up your business.
You can sell on eBay with "Business" and "Unlimited" packages directly in your Ecwid shop. This is not the case with "Venture".
If you sell digital products (software, music, etc.) larger than 100 MB, you must have a "Commercial" or "Unlimited" plan (with corresponding limits of 1 GB and 10 GB).
Fully customizable invoices are only available in the "Professional" and "Unlimited" plans.
#6-Big Cartel Review
Targeting painters, photographers, artisans, bakers, and writers, Big Cartel helps the self-employed produce and sell products that they believe in. And in an easily accessible format.
Big Cartel was founded in 2005 by Matt Wigham, who was looking for a way to sell his group's goods online. Since then, the group has served nearly one million artists, including AR Ceramics and The Good Twin. Big Cartel is fully hosted, web-based software with a simple design and ease of use without transaction fees.
The features are simple, and adding products, creating discounts, and managing orders and inventories are as easy as it is. Unfortunately, this ease of use only offers a limited number of functions.
If you sell large quantities, Big Cartel is unlikely to be able to meet your requirements. However, if you are just beginning or do not need any advanced features, Big Cartel may be right for you.
Although Big Cartel is not the right choice for all dealers, this software is one of the best options available to the independent artist. Continue reading for prices and features of Big Cartel.
Properties of Big Cartel
Big Cartel does not have a complete list of features to display. The platform is quite small and offers only the bare necessities. On the one hand, this can be seen as a disadvantage to the competition, on the other hand, it makes things easier for beginners who are simply looking for a simple e-commerce shop.
Some things you'll find in Big Cartel:
Pricing Plan
The pricing structure of Big Cartel is based on the number of products you list. If you have five or fewer products, you can use your free package (with limited functionality). This is the plan:
Gold:However, if you have more than five products, you will need to purchase a payment plan that will allow you to get more products and additional features. The price structure of the paid plan is shown below:
Although the free package is definitely an option for fans, you will need to request a free package to be able to sell. In this way, you can provide multiple images and create discount codes for each product (which is critical to online sales). Fortunately, these paid plans are not that expensive.
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Conclusion: Best E-commerce Platform Review 2019 Shopify Vs Volusion Vs Bigcommerce VC Ecwid Vs Big Cartel Vs 3dcart
No matter how many comparative articles you read, there is only one person who knows which platform provides exactly what you need, and that person is you. It all depends on the platform on which you can best sell the products you offer for you as a shopkeeper and for your customers.
So here are our top recommendations for Shopify Vs Volusion Vs Bigcommerce VC Ecwid Vs Big Cartel Vs 3dcart
Do not hesitate, according to the recommendations you read above, on any or all of the links below to find out what each platform proposes to you. I recommend that you start a free trial with at least two of the solutions so you can play with them and see which one is the easiest for you.
However, we have made our recommendation regarding the best e-commerce platform available.
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