It’s not a secret that digital sales are growing yearly. But only the largest companies can afford to build their online store from scratch. Small businesses need cost-effective alternatives. Enter eCommerce platforms.
One of the main benefits of going with eCommerce software is that it’s easy to get started. The best eCommerce platform for small businesses has many customization options and templates. Another benefit is integrating your online store with most popular marketing software. To promote your store on more channels.
And do all the above without any coding whatsoever. It’s a perfect way for small business owners to get on the Internet. And as for the budget, they won’t break the bank either.
Here’s what we have in store for you:
- What is an eCommerce platform?
- The best eCommerce platforms for small businesses
- How to choose the best platform for your small business?
10 Best eCommerce Platforms for Small Businesses Overview
eCommerce software offers an out-of-the-box toolset for building an online shop. You don’t need to know how to write code and still have plenty of customization options. Even on a limited budget.
These platforms are perfect for small businesses. You’ll get cost-effective, simple means to sell online.
There are also loads of integrations. Most platforms have payment options, security features, and third-party apps to connect. Some also have built-in marketing tools or options for add-ons, like abandoned cart recovery. Give a personal touch through eCommerce personalization. Or get recurring customers through email marketing.
But, not all platforms are designed for SMBs. Some are too expensive, others geared towards larger enterprises.
Here’s a quick overview of the best eCommerce website builders for small businesses:
What is an eCommerce Platform?
An eCommerce platform for small business is an out-of-the-box software for building and running online stores. The main component is an eCommerce store builder. These platforms mostly come with payment and inventory management systems. Some providers also offer customer support and marketing tools.
You can build a fully-functioning online shop with eCommerce software. It’s cheaper than building your own online store from scratch. But it also comes with some restrictions.
While there are many customization and design options, you can’t change everything. And you have to pay a subscription fee. In some cases, additional features cost extra.
Still, it’s cost-effective and easy to build an eCommerce store or take your brick-and-mortar store online.
10 Best eCommerce Platforms for Small Businesses
Choosing the right eCommerce software for your small business is crucial. There are differences in features, pricing, and design options. Let’s take a closer look and figure out which is the best for you.
1. Sellfy – Best for small stores
Sellfy is an eCommerce platform mainly for creators. It also works well for other kinds of small businesses. They also have a 14-day free trial for paid plans and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Getting started with Sellfy is quick. The store builder’s interface is simple. There are only 5 themes but enough design and customization options to create a unique storefront.
You can use Sellfy to sell physical and digital products or subscriptions. There are built-in marketing apps, website embedding, and upselling options.
Sellfy has 7 integration options, like Google Analytics, Zapier, and Facebook Live Chat. And you can accept payments through PayPal and Stripe. Customer service is available 24/7 but only over email.
Here’s what’s unique about Sellfy:
- Print on demand: a built-in feature designed for custom-designed products.
- Freebies category: generate leads by offering free promotional products.
Sellfy Pros and Cons
Sellfy offers everything you need to get your business online. And they encourage you to try them out with a free plan and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Sellfy has a few downsides too. There are only 5 themes and 7 integrations available. Also, customer support is only reachable over email.
Sellfy Pricing
Sellfy has a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee with the paid plans. Pricing starts from $19/month with a 2-year plan.
Try Sellfy for free or read our full Sellfy review
2. Shopify – Best for Non-Technical Users
Shopify is a household name and one of the most popular eCommerce software. They’ve put a lot of effort into making their software easy to use. Setting up shop (clever pun, right) is intuitive. You also have many guides available.
Shopify Theme Store offers over 100 template designs. Applying a template and tweaking it is easy with modern drag-and-drop tools.
There are 7000+ integration options in Shopify App Store. Most of them are either free or offer a free plan. You can set up the eCommerce platform for dropshipping. Or integrate a shipping service for fulfillment. Choose from 100+ payment gateways to make your customers feel safe.
If you ever get stuck, contact the support 24/7 over email and live chat.
Here’s what’s unique about Shopify:
- User-friendly interface: every inch of their tool is easy to use. It’s intuitive, clean, and easy to navigate.
- Shopify App Store with 7000+ apps: find an integration for everything you need.
- Over 100 payment providers: accept payments from customers worldwide.
Shopify Pros and Cons
Shopify’s interface is a delight. You can build your store and get online in minutes. It’s also one of the most popular eCommerce platforms for beginners and advanced users.
But, if you’re more into getting your hands dirty, Shopify can be a bit limiting. It’s a self-hosted platform. This means you build an entire site within Shopify. And their free trial could be longer.
Shopify Pricing
Shopify offers a 3-day free trial, with no credit card required. Pricing plans start from $32/month for 2 staff accounts, 1000 inventory locations, abandoned cart recovery, marketing automation, and segmentation.
Try Shopify for freeor read the Woocommerce vs Shopify comparison here
3. Squarespace – Best for Creators
Squarespace offers some of the best-looking designs in the eCommerce space. This works great for building a brand and showcasing your products.
There are over 140 eCommerce templates. And you can edit them using drag-and-drop tools. Every design is also mobile-optimized by default.
Squarespace has product reviews, customer accounts, and single-page checkout. But, some are only available with higher-tier plans.
There are 30+ integrations available in the Squarespace Extensions store. You can connect apps for shipping automation, accounting, and marketing.
Squarespace’s customer support is available 24/7 over email, Twitter, and Facebook Messenger. Live chat is only available during business days.
Here’s what’s unique about Squarespace:
- Professionally designed templates: it’s what Squarespace is known and loved for.
- Video Studio app: create and edit marketing videos on the platform. It automatically fills in your branding too.
Squarespace Pros and Cons
Squarespace lets you build a beautiful store without having any design skills. And it’s easy too. There are all the necessary features for running an online shop. You can even manage your store on the go with the mobile app.
The cheapest plan charges 3% transaction fees with every sale. Also, marketing features and integrations are limited.
Squarespace Pricing
Squarespace offers a free trial for 14 days. The cheapest eCommerce plan starts at $23/month with drag and drop editor, audience management, SSL, video maker, unlimited bandwidth, 2 contributors, and 24/7 support.
Try Squarespace for free
4. Wix eCommerce – Best for Beginners
You’ve probably heard about Wix as a website-building tool. But there’s also an online store creator. Wix is easy to use, and its eCommerce platform is designed for beginners. You can create your store quickly with drag-and-drop tools and 120+ templates. There’s also the Wix App Market with 250+ free and paid integrations.
As for the features, it comes packing. There are marketing features, built-in product zoom, ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence), and encryption. Wix has its own payment gateway – Wix Payments – but you can also choose from 50+ other options.
Wix has 24/7 technical help over chat and callback requests.
Here’s what’s unique about Wix eCommerce:
- Wix App Market: over 250 apps designed to work effortlessly with Wix.
- $75 in ad vouchers: jumpstart your marketing and get leads right off the gate. And it’s available in the cheapest plan.
- Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI): it uses AI to help you design a store. It offers suggestions for layouts, images, text, and contact forms, among others.
Wix eCommerce Pros and Cons
Wix eCommerce is excellent for beginners. You can get started fast and build a beautiful eCommerce website. There are hundreds of templates and over 250 integrations. And Wix also throws in $75 worth of ad money for free.
There are some downsides, though. The cheapest plan comes with a 20GB storage limit. And you have too much control over design options.
Wix eCommerce Pricing
Wix pricing starts from $27/month with a free domain for 1 year, unlimited products and bandwidth, abandoned cart emails, and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Sign up for Wix here
5. Ecwid – Best for Existing Websites
Ecwid is an eCommerce widget to embed on your website. But it also offers a website builder for a single-page, simple eCommerce website with 70+ themes.
There’s also an app market with 200+ integration options. You can find shipping automation, payment, and other third-party apps.
Ecwid has some basic marketing tools. You can share products on social channels and popular marketplaces. It also comes with a PCI DSS-validated Level 1 Service Provider payment system tier.
Customer support features are plan-based. There’s no support service available with the free option. You only get help docs. Chat becomes available with the cheapest plan, which starts from $19/month. And phone support comes with a mid-tier price, starting from $39/month.
Here’s what’s unique about Ecwid:
- Designed as an add-on: embed Ecwid to an existing site.
- Ecwid Mobile: create and manage your online business on the go.
Ecwid Pros and Cons
Ecwid is a great eCommerce platform to add to WordPress sites. It lets you create a functioning store using just a mobile device. There are over 200 integrations and 80+ payment gateways. And it’s free with 5 products.
It only has a basic one-page eCommerce website builder. The free plan is missing inventory management and only has self-service support.
Ecwid Pricing
Ecwid is available for free with 5 products. Their paid plans start from $19/month for 100 products, Instagram & Facebook integration, automated tax calculations, discount coupons, and live chat support.
6. BigCommerce – Best for Cross-Channel eCommerce
BigCommerce Essentials is an eCommerce platform for small business owners. It has everything you need to set up an online store, including over 300 templates.
Compared to Shopify, designing your shop isn’t as straightforward. You get lots of customization options, but it takes some time to get the hang of it.
You can create multiple storefronts and manage several brands at once. BigCommerce also helps you connect with popular marketplaces and social channels.
BigCommerce comes with over 1000 integrations. The platform has some neat built-in features, like mobile responsive sites and single-page checkout. You also get free SSL and HTTPS security features.
You can contact BigCommerce 24/7 over the phone, chat, or support tickets.
Here’s what’s unique about BigCommerce:
- Cross-channel selling: sell on popular marketplaces and social channels. Build multiple storefronts for different countries.
- BigCommerce mobile app: check up on your store on the go.
- Built-in promotion tools: including 70+ discount options by default.
BigCommerce Pros and Cons
BigCommerce has the full package for building an eCommerce site. You get loads of customization options and integrations.
But the cheapest plan is missing key features, like abandoned cart emails and product filtering.
BigCommerce Pricing
BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial. Pricing plans start from $29.95/month with 0% additional transaction fees, POS, blog, unlimited products, file storage, and staff accounts.
Try BigCommerce for free
7. Zyro – Cheapest Monthly Cost
Zyro is an affordable ecommerce platform for small business owners. It’s simplistic in design, and the tools are easy to use.
Building your store with Zyro is straightforward. It’s also fast because endless design options won’t impede you. And there are over 140 templates.
One of the most impressive features is their AI tool for content. It automatically creates page copy, but you may need to edit some bits here and there. Other features include mobile-optimized sites, a built-in image editor, and a grid layout editor.
Zyro has 5 integrations, including Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, and Hotjar. It’s also the cheapest eCommerce platform compared to other providers on this list.
Zyro’s customer support is available 24/7 over email or live chat if you’re logged in.
Here’s what’s unique about Zyro:
- AI content creation tool: automatically creates content for your site. This makes setting up a webshop quick and effortless.
- Built-in image editor: edit images after you’ve uploaded them. And optimized images work great for search engine optimization (SEO) and rankings.
- Best value: all the tools you need to create a store with the lowest monthly fee.
Zyro Pros and Cons
Zyro is a simple platform to get your store online fast. It doesn’t have many features but enough to do the trick. You get a starter package from web hosting to payment gateways.
It also comes with a cheap monthly fee. But, the total cost increases with a 1% transaction fee. And Zyro’s integrations are limited.
Zyro Pricing
Zyro offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with every plan. The cheapest tier starts from $3.99/month with a 2-year plan.
8. Square – Best for eCommerce Personalization
Square has everything you need to run a successful eCommerce site, like a store builder, shipping options, and payment gateways. And it has plans for almost every budget, from free to $69/month and custom plans.
The interface is easy to navigate. Square has over 10 templates, and the designs are good-looking. But there are limited editing options.
Square comes with built-in marketing features, from email marketing to paid ads. There are personalization tools for logged-in users, like 3-tap reordering, and item recommendations. You also get over 100 add-ons and third-party integrations.
Square’s customer service is only reachable over the phone during business hours. Also, you may find Square very similar to Weebly. And rightly so. Square owns both tools, with Weebly designed for more basic stores.
Here’s what’s unique about Square:
- Personalized ordering: 3-tap reordering, loyalty, reward status, item recommendations, offers, and discounts for logged-in customers. And it’s already included in the cheapest plan.
Square Pros and Cons
Square has over 10 templates and 100+ integrations for shipping, analytics, and marketing. It also has 3-tap reordering, automated emails, and a rewards program to help with personalization and marketing.
But, compared to other providers, Square has fewer customization options.
Square Pricing
Square offers a free version with basic features. The cheapest paid plan for retail starts at $60/month with a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee for every sale.
9. Shift4Shop – Best for Dropshipping
Shift4Shop is an eCommerce software for online retailers and dropshipping. It’s easy to use, and your store is mobile-optimized by default. This ecommerce platform is only available to US merchants.
The platform’s interface and functionality are what you’d expect from a modern store builder. It has over 100 customizable templates and a drag-and-drop page builder.
Shift4Shop has an essential package for running your store, including tools for inventory management, marketing, and analytics. Some notable features include a single-page checkout, built-in CRM, and fraud protection. There are also more than 100 integrations available.
It’s also a great eCommerce platform for dropshipping businesses. There are shipping rates, integrations with international carriers, pre-filled label printing, custom shipping types, and more. You can also set up automated tax calculations for any country.
The platform’s customer support is available 24/7 over the phone and chat.
Shift4Shop has a free plan, but you must use their payment processor, Shift4 Payments. This means an extra charge of 2.9% plus $0.30 for every transaction.
Here’s what’s unique about Shift4Shop:
- Payment model: it’s free when you use their payment processor, Shift4 Payments.
- AI-driven fraud protection: another layer of security on top of standard features.
- Loads of freebies: no fees for domain name and renewals. And they migrate an existing store for free.
Shift4Shop Pros and Cons
You can create your store easily with Shift4Shop. There are over 100 templates and 100+ integrations. It also features built-in marketing features, a CRM, and security features to help run your store.
On the flip side, their payment gateway is a bit expensive. And if you go with another payment processor, you must pick a paid plan.
Shift4Shop Pricing
Shift4Shop is free when you use the Shift4 Payments payment processor. The paid plans start from $29/month with PayPal.
10. Weebly – Best for Basic Online Stores
Square acquired Weebly in 2018. It’s more known as a simple website builder, but you can also create an eCommerce site.
Building your store is straightforward. The interface is simple with basic drag-and-drop tools and 15 online store templates.
Weebly has basic email marketing, SEO, and analytics tools. There’s also an app center with over 350 integrations. You can set up payments with Square or other payment processors.
Weebly’s customer support is accessible 24/7 over email and chat. Support over the phone is available during business hours.
Here’s what’s unique about Weebly:
- Custom templates: add custom templates on the platform. Tech-savvy users can go beyond what Weebly allows you to edit.
- Custom fonts: upload custom fonts to give your site a unique look.
Weebly Pros and Cons
Weebly offers a basic toolkit for building an online store. There are some nice built-in features and 350+ integrations.
Since it’s basic, it has limited customization possibilities. The cheapest plan is missing an inventory management system and a shipping calculator. Both are crucial even if you use dropshipping or have a fulfillment center.
Weebly Pricing
Unlike for websites, Weebly doesn’t offer a free trial for online stores. The paid plans start from $12/month with a yearly subscription. It has a free domain, $100 Google Ads credits, SSL, unlimited storage, site search, forms, and analytics.
How To Choose The Best Platform For Small Business
An eCommerce platform is a cost-effective way to take your brick-and-mortar store online. And build a successful online store for your small business. A dedicated eCommerce platform can help, but only if it’s a good fit.
Here’s what you should consider:
- Ease of use: you want to get your online business up and running fast. Getting bogged down with confusing tools doesn’t help.
- Budget: every dollar you spend eats away at the bottom line. Think about your budget and what fits into it. Most eCommerce tools are free for a limited time or with limited features.
- Customization possibilities: your eCommerce website has to stand out. Having the same look and feel as every other store isn’t great. Build something unique.
- Integration options: default shipping, marketing, analytics, and other tools are limiting. Third-party tools open opportunities for marketing on more channels.
- Payment processors: make sure the eCommerce provider offers your customer’s preferred payment gateways.
- Security: you wouldn’t want to spend your hard-earned money somewhere non-secure, right? It’s precisely how your customers feel. Choose a platform with great security features around transactions and personal data.
- Customer support: look for a service with reliable support if you need a hand to solve an issue.
You can also check out our in-depth reviews of eCommerce platforms. There, we went deeper and tested the best online store builders available.
Best eCommerce Platforms for Small Businesses Conclusion
There are many eCommerce platforms to choose from. Some are easy to use, and others are cheap. But you now have a decent idea of which software is the best.
And don’t forget to think about your potential customers. Shipping options, security features, and payment gateways can make or break your store. Give a personal touch through eCommerce personalization. Or get recurring customers through email marketing.
If you choose Shopify, check out our list of the best Shopify apps for marketing, sales, and service tools.
Before you go, here’s a quick refresher of the best eCommerce website builders we covered in this article: