13 Best Ecommerce Website Builders: Start your Online Store

Explore the best website builder for small business and middle size businesses.

1. Shopify

Shopify allows all sizes of businesses to create an online store. manage their inventory, process payments, and handle shipping and fulfilment. it is a Canadian-based company. With this tool, you can customize your website, marketing, and analytics.

Pros of Shopify:👍

• Shopify provides secured transactions with an SSL certificate and many more security features.
• It provides built-in payment options and accepts credit cards and other types of payments without any third-party dependency.

Cons of Shopify: 👎

• Shopify pricing is higher compared to competitors.
• The transaction fee is added on top of the monthly subscription fee for businesses that use third parties.

Also, read the comparison on Shopify vs Etsy, Shopify vs Woocommerce and Shopify vs WordPress

2. Wix.com

Wix is a cloud-based website builder. You don’t need any technical knowledge to use it. It offers drag and drop interface, Which makes it easy to use. And it provides various range of templates and design options. You can create a professional website efficiently with Wix. For more information about this website try reading our blog Wix – Everything you need to know.

	WIX
User Expectation	Ease of use for small website builders.
Preferences	One can prefer this for its easy drag-and-drop site-building features with 100+ inbuilt templates.
Features	SEO. Site statistics. Secured passwords. Customized widget availability of restoration and backups.
User’s Reviewed for	Ad-free features and it supports more than 16 languages.
Plans are available	Free for 1 year with the Ad-free feature. Combo plan for personal use. Unlimited plan for business persons and Freelancers. VIP plan with the utmost features like adding the professional logo, site booster, and visitor analytics app.

Pros of Wix:👍

• A large section of templates: Wix provides more than 500 templates. Which covers a wide range of industries and designs.
• It is an extensive app market, which contains over 250 apps. You can integrate them into your website to increase its functionality.
• It offers e-commerce support. You can sell the products directly from the websites.
• It automatically optimizes for mobile devices. so it is to access on mobile and tablets.
• It contains SEO tools and features which help to rank better in search engines.      

Cons of Wix:👎

• Lack of storage features and bandwidth issues for the unlimited plan and the premium plan users.
• When it comes to the SEO portion, the wizard has to be added and that too is a little bit outdated and difficult to match the updated one.
• Removing the Ads feature is not available in the free plan so one has to upgrade for removing the Ads.
• To change the template designs, one cannot change the entire features at the same time. It takes more time to change one by one.

3. Weebly

Weebly presents a flexible drag-and-drop interface, Which makes it super easy for users. People with a little bit of coding knowledge go for Weebly. It has exciting features like domain names, graphics, and customizable editing. It offers a mobile app facility to track website activities and functions. For more detailed information, read Weebly everything you need to know.

	Weebly
User Expectation	Well profound site builder with all the user-needed features
Preferences	With little coding knowledge, the website can be created in an attractive manner.
Features	Loading time is faster, with customizable drag and drops, and easy-to-track performances.
User Reviewed for	The user-friendly platform in an affordable range of plans for small business people.
Plans available	Pro plan:- $12/month Business plan:- $25/month Business plus plan:- $38/month

Pros of Weebly:👍

• It provides a free web hosting service which is very useful for small businesses.
• It offers cloud-based infrastructure. Which enables fast loading of sites.
• In Weebly, you can feel relaxed whether your work has been saved or not, It has auto-save options.

Cons of Weebly:👎

• Weebly has limited customization. Weebly offers good templates, However, it is difficult to create unique designs on Weebly.
• It has control over its code, User has limitations over HTML and CSS.
•  Weebly is not scalable. It can handle small websites easily. But It struggles with complex websites with high traffic.
• It makes charges for E-commerce transactions performed through the websites.
• Weebly is not the best choice for creating blogs. Its features are not that good when compared to other providers.

4. GoDaddy

Godaddy is one of the largest providers of domain registrations, web hosting, and other related services. also offers website-building tools, email hosting, and marketing services. For a detailed review, read the GoDaddy review.

	Godaddy
User Expectation	This ecommerce website builder is built within an hour with the preferred stages of professional web services.
Preferences	It is preferred for customized designs and secured backup services.
Feature	It has one month trial with the desired template which can be managed by adding and deleting the pages.
HTML (customized)	No HTML customization is available where the own HTML code can be added to the iframe.
Plans available	Free trial personal (basic plan). Business(email marketing). Business Plus Online store.

Pros of Godady:👍

• Godaddy delivers 24/7 customer support through phone, email, and live chat.
• GoDaddy provides various services like shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting, to accommodate a variety of website needs and budgets.

Cons of GoDaddy:👎

• The cost of domain registration and web hosting is costly in GoDaddy compared to other providers.
• Godaddy mostly does upsell. which means selling additional products and services which you don’t need.

5. Woocommerce

Woocomerce is an open-source plugin for WordPress. With this, You can turn your WordPress website into an e-commerce site to sell physical products, digital products, or subscriptions. And It is highly customizable, you can easily enhance its appearance and functionality. It is featured with payment, shipping, tax calculation, and customer management.

	Woocommerce
User Expectation	It is easy to use and has user-friendly integration with a strong UX.
Preferences	you should know some coding knowledge and there are also a lot of plugins you should work on.
Feature	Effortless website creation and available in Android and iOs with limitless customizing options.
HTML (customized)	you can ultimately have your choice to change it as it is designed in your vision.
Plans available	Woocommerce starter: $6.95/month Woocommerce Plus: $8.95/month Woocommerce Pro: $12.95/month

Pros of Woocomerce:👍

• It is a free plugin, there is no need for any license fee.
• Large communities use it. So it is easy to find support, resource, and assistance when any problem arise. 

Cons of Woocomerce:👎

• Some technical knowledge is required to set up and maintain the website effectively.
• It has compatibility issues while using third-party themes and plugins. It may affect the functionality of Woocomerce.

6. Squarespace

Squarespace allows you to create professional websites without any technical knowledge. It is a software-as-a-service(SaaS). This means cloud-based service, and users can access it via a browser. It is well known for its modern, sleek design. Get to know more about Squarespace – everything you need to know in this blog.

	Squarespace
User Expectations	Unique home pages with neat and heartful designs that help to hold the 2 million plus websites.
Preferences	Preferred for what you see is what you get editing techniques. And it has the feature to manage the site from the mobile phone with the inbuilt autosave option for any network issues.
Features	version 7, which includes a cover page builder, Getty Images, and G Suite with the usability of the editor. Toggling between Site Manager and Preview modes is available.
Users reviewed for	Social media support 24/7. Easy communication and video tutorial with the one-on-one live sessions.
Plans available	Personal – for the website purpose with basic tools. Business – for the website Basic commerce – for online store with unlimited storage space. Advanced commerce – for online store with SSL security.

Pros of Squarespace:👍

• Known for the high-class-looking templates and the uniquely designed themes which fit perfectly to the site in spite of the image, font sizes, and designs.
• A podcasting facility is also available which gives access to own your podcasting site.
• Switching between the templates without missing content is a big yes for picking this.
• This enables access to edit and manage the same in the mobile applications also. Which is the user-friendly option.

Cons of Squarespace:👎

• Lack of speed in the page speed tool impacts directly the page ranking in google and also affects the effective usage in mobile phones and tablets.
• In spite of having the mobile application feature it ended in the built-in app features and that results in the lack of updates.
• Squarespace website editor needs improvement in which major advancement is needed in the autosave features.

Also Read: Squarespace review

7. Bluehost

Bluehost is one of the most popular and largest hosting providers. Bluehost offers a range of hosting options, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and WordPress hosting. They are considered to be one of the best platforms for ecommerce website builders. For a detailed review of this website, try reading the Bluehost review.

	Bluehost
User Expectation	Users can find this usage is
Preferences	One can prefer a professional domain name with unlimited email access.
Features	Analytics. Social media marketing. SEO. Social media management with 24/7 customer support.
The user Review	For choosing the template and selecting the required dome then finally launch the site effortlessly.
Plans available	Starter plan:- access to build 5 pages. Personal plan:- $8 a month for personal use. Pro plan:- $5 a month with free email access. Premium plan:- $7.79 a month with the SEO tools accessibility. ecommerce plan:- $11.99 a month with all the available access with the support assist.

Pros of Bluehost:👍

• Drag-and-drop facilities
• Social media marketing and email marketing.

Cons of Bluehost:👎

• Expensive when compared the other ecommerce website builders.
• The customer support is not up to a point as the user required.

8. Jimdo

Jimdo is one the best ecommerce website builders. Jimdo provides a scope of templates and tools for building websites, including drag-and-drop functionality, customizable templates, and a wide selection of design features. Users can add various types of content to their websites, including text, images, videos, and audio files.

For a detailed explanation about this, read Jimdo – Everything you need to know.

	Jimdo
User Expectation	It stands at the top in SEO and helps with customer satisfaction in designing.
Preferences	This can be preferred for personalized usage on both laptops and mobile phones.
Feature	Templates designing screen size adjustments are available. It has a user Interface.SEO and marketing strategies.
Plans available	Jimdo Free (500 Mb storage) Jimdo Pro(5Gb storage) Jimdo business(unlimited storage)

Pros of Jimdo:👍

• Access to design multilingual websites.
• Apps are available for both Android and iOS.

Cons of Jimdo:👎

• It stuck while editing the styles and building the site.
• The beginner’s guide is not available and it makes it a little tough to register.

9. Bigcommerce

Bigcommerce is an ecommerce platform that provides retail service with tools and features to create an online store. Bigcommerce is not only known for its scalability but also as an ecommerce website builder. For detailed information look at What is Bigcommerce – A complete tutorial.

	Bigcommerce
User Expectation	This ecommerce website builder is built within an hour with the preferred stages of professional web services.
Preferences	It is preferred for customized designs and secured backup services.
Feature	It has one month trial with the desired template which can be managed by adding and deleting the pages.
HTML (customized)	No HTML customization is available where the own HTML code can be added to the iframe.
Plans available	Free trial personal (basic plan). Business(email marketing). Business Plus Online store.

Pros of Bigcommerce:👍

• Can change the theme easily
• User-friendly interface
• Mobile site with a modern look
• Excellent customer care.

Cons of Bigcommerce:👎

• The only negative is that no HTML is embedded or limited to some extent.

10. Format

The format is a well-known visual editor’s integration. This ecommerce website builder helps to build websites and offers SEO features to get a better ranking in search engines.

	Format
User Expectation	It is easy to use without any coding knowledge and helps build user-required portfolios.
Preferences	Very strong protection and the gallery copyright.
Feature	ecommerce engine, Proofreading, 23+ video theme presentations.
The user Review	is Only accessible for the simple portfolios
Plans available	Enthusiast:- 100 images+ 3 store products+ 15 images. Pro:- 1000 images + 20 store products + unlimited pages + 5000 proofing images. Unlimited:- unlimited (images+ store products+pages+proof reading images).

Pros of Format:👍

• Integrated online store and blog availability.
• Emphasis on user privacy
• Ability to edit the code of web pages.

Cons of Format:👎

• Complex dashboard design interface.
• Editing is made tough on mobile.
• Price is high when compared to the other ecommerce website builders.

11. Hostgator

Hostgator is a US-based hosting provider. Hostgator is one of the best ecommerce website builders. It offers various hosting services like shared hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting, and WordPress hosting. It is good to go for both beginners and Webmasters. For details on this website builder, read our blog Hostgator Review.

	Hostgator
User Expectation	Unlimited storage with 120+ templates in 29 languages.
Preferences	User-friendly interface in the affordable range. Have the visual editor tool with the toolbar for customization.
Feature	The domain name at a fair price video file integration from YouTube.Enabling the “call to action button” Supportive customer service responses.
The user Review	Not many big offers to the designers and bloggers.
Plans available	Free:-(limited bandwidth) Billed Monthly:-(weekly backups with 100GB bandwidth) Billed yearly:-(same as the monthly pay)

Pros of HostGator:👍

• Helps in generating creative theme responses.
• Social media integration in the video, and images.
• Easy to use the template and the configuration that the business person needs.

Cons of HostGator:👎

• No proper design templates or access to edit the codes.
• The major negative that makes us think twice is the lack of a live support system availability.

12. Duda

Duda is a cloud-based web design platform mainly for professionals who are seeking ecommerce website builders. It is user friendly, drag-and-drop editor. you can create a professional website without any technical knowledge.

	Duda
User Expectation	It stands at the top in SEO and helps with customer satisfaction in designing.
Preferences	This can be preferred for personalized usage on both laptops and mobile phones.
Feature	Templates designing screen size adjustments are available. It has a user Interface.SEO and marketing strategies.
Plans available	Free (500 Mb storage) Pro(5Gb storage) business(unlimited storage)

Pros of Duda:👍

• Access to design multilingual websites.
• Apps are available for both Android and iOS.

Cons of Duda:👎

• It stuck while editing the styles and building the site.
• The beginner’s guide is not available and it makes it a little tough to register.

13. Shift4shop

Shift4shop is a dedicated website for e-commerce platforms. You can create, manage, and grow the online store. Shift4Shop offers flexible pricing options, with plans starting at $29 per month for small businesses and scaling up to enterprise-level plans for larger businesses.

Pros of Shift4shop:👍

• Online store availability.
• Simple, unique, and unlimited web pages.
• Round-the-clock supportive services.

Cons of Shift4shop:👎

• The plan for the prices is high.
• Popping advertisements in the free plan.

How to find the best ecommerce website builder for your business or store?

To find the best ecommerce website builder, follow the below-given steps to choose the right one for you.

1. List out your needs and the way your website needs to be turned out like templates, plugins and other requires things for your virtual store.
2. Do the market research, there are tons of organizations that help in building your website but finding the right one to fulfil the needs you listed is the first task.
3. Once you choose your website builder that can give all the modifications you required then go for the next check which is mobile responsive design, check with this option as above 70% of people prefer shopping through their mobile phones.
4. Confirm the loading time for your website it is appropriate to have a loading speed within 7 sec, if it takes longer than that there are many chances that people won’t come back again to your website and they they don’t prefer to others.
5. You are good to go with the website launch and begin your business.

Conclusion

We believe this helps well in easy decision-making while choosing the best ecommerce website builder among all these. Choose your preference and build your unique website.

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