The 8 Best Ecommerce Platforms in 2021 |
Posted: October 6, 2021 |
Creating an online store is a full-fledged and complex job. You need to process payments, deal with customers, and manage balances. However, the first hurdle you will face is the choice of the platform you intend to use. Choosing the best eCommerce platform makes inventory and payment processing much easier. Below are 8 best eCommerce platforms and their benefits. Keep in mind that all these eCommerce platforms are self-service, so you'll need to look for a hosting provider as well! 1. OpenCartOpenCart offers a lot more eCommerce options in its basic version. It also has a convenient and functional dashboard. It has an intuitive, modern look and gives you all the information you need to get a quick overview of your store's performance. What's more, customizing your OpenCart store will be easy thanks to the platform's modular system. It's not as intuitive as modern website builders, but it's easy enough to figure it out, even if you've never built an online store before. OpenCart is a great option if you are looking for an easy-to-use platform and a simple page creation process. It doesn't have as many features as other e-commerce platforms, but more than enough for small businesses. 2. MagentoMagento is mainly aimed at large-scale enterprises. When it comes to flexibility, Magento is far ahead of the competition in the eCommerce space. It is a powerful platform that allows you to create both small and large online stores. However, you will need to have web development experience if you want to use this platform. The platform isn’t the most user-friendly. However, this is offset by a multitude of features. For example, it has Search Engine Optimization (SEO) built in. It is safe and also allows you to use different themes and plugins. Magento is the best eCommerce platform for startups. It offers a lot of flexibility as well as all the eCommerce features you need and is ideal for companies that have their own developers. However, this isn’t a good option for newbies or for those who want to create a simple store. 3. osCommerceosCommerce is similar to the other eCommerce platforms listed above. It's easy to set up and you don't need any experience with eCommerce platforms to launch your first online store. When you first download osCommerce, you will notice that its control panel is a little outdated. Despite this, it has many standard and advanced features. osCommerce also scores more points for having a very active community, with thousands of free add-ons and themes. This gives you an edge when setting up your store. osCommerce works great for small businesses. However, it starts failing when you have an extensive catalog of products. In some cases, this could be due to poor hosting performance, but it seems to be a common platform issue. Other than that, osCommerce is one of the best eCommerce platforms if you are looking to create a small online store. 4. AbanteCartAbanteCart is a little-known eCommerce platform that offers many great features. This isn’t the best option when we are talking about interfaces, but it is very easy to use even for a beginner. One of the great aspects of AbanteCart is how easy it is to add new products to your store using its dashboard. It's a two-step process that only takes a few minutes, and the platform provides you with tooltips to guide you every step of the way. This open-source platform also supports themes and extensions. The collection of themes isn’t very big, but you will have plenty to choose from if the availability of modern themes is important for you. If you're looking for a user-friendly eCommerce platform, AbanteCart is a great option. Despite the lack of variety when it comes to topics, you have decent options to choose from that don't look out of place for a modern online store. 5. WooCommerceUnlike the rest of the platforms in this list, WooCommerce is not a standalone eCommerce platform. It is a plugin that runs on WordPress, the world's most popular Content Management System (CMS). WooCommerce does a fantastic job of adding eCommerce to the platform. This is one of the best eCommerce options because the WordPress dashboard is intuitive for beginners. Add that to the extensive and user-friendly functionality and you get an amazing eCommerce platform with great abilities. WooCommerce can handle everything from publishing products for sale to processing payments. In addition, you can extend the functionality of the plugin with hundreds of dedicated extensions. For example, there are options to integrate almost all available payment processors and other types of platforms. 6. PrestaShopUnlike WooCommerce, PrestaShop is a dedicated eCommerce platform. Its goal is to create the most convenient online store, and it succeeds in this aspect. Quite easy to use, PrestaShop has an astounding number of features. It includes powerful product management features, multiple payment options, customizable checks, etc. It even allows you to control the payment of taxes. This can significantly simplify the work of your small business accountant. Besides the built-in features, you can also extend the platform with plugins and themes. However, the platform usually has all necessary functions even without additional extensions. It even includes analytics and customer support without any additional modules. 7. CubeCartCubeCart proves that first impressions can be deceiving. When you first enter the platform's control panel, it looks pretty simple. However, you will have to learn a lot of new things. The platform offers all the features you need to run a successful eCommerce store, from product management to sales tracking. However, these aren’t all features. You can use CubeCart to send basic newsletters to your customers, which is a fantastic way to increase sales. These are the little details that make CubeCart a great platform. Another great tool is the basic image editing tools that you can use from the admin panel. It's not Photoshop, of course, but cropping and resizing your images can help you improve your product pages. CubeCart also supports plugins and themes. There aren't many options available, but the platform is good enough on its own for small to mid-sized stores. This eCommerce platform offers many life-making features that other similar software lacks. However, since it does not offer many extensions, it is primarily recommended for small businesses. 8. Open Real EstateThe last platform on this list of the best eCommerce platforms is a little different from the others. As the name suggests, Open Real Estate is the platform for building your real estate website. With Open Real Estate you can quote rental or sale prices in different currencies. What’s more, the platform includes powerful search functions that allow potential customers to sort your properties. As you would expect, you can extend the functionality of the platform using modules and themes. While most modules are premium, there are many free and professional theme options. Real estate eCommerce platforms are rare and it would cost a lot to get someone to build a website that has all the features available on this platform. Using this platform is a good choice if you want to try your hand at real estate. The final wordNowadays, opening an online store has become much easier than ever before. The best eCommerce platforms allow you to create an online store in a matter of hours. After all, because of many available features and functionality, WooCommerce is the best eCommerce platform for small businesses. But there are many other options and the choice depends on your requirements.
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