Best platform for a simple online shop

[Haimen]

Shopify is the best eCommerce platform to build an online store.

 

[fisicx]

Shopify is the best eCommerce platform to build an online store.

No it’s not.

 

[Ecommerce-Help]

Is there a "best platform"? They've all got their pros and cons.

 

[Mansi Rana]

Go with Etsy

 

[finejewellerys]

I think wordpress is easiest way to use for online shop, but shopify has more great tools to promote online business

 

[Michael Beaumont]

Most business accounts have their own solutions now with card machine integration. Izettle is a simple solution for simple products.

 

[Kidz Gifts]

Wordpress CMS is not difficult to build and easy to maintain

 

[Haimen]

If you are launching an online shop, than Shopify is a best Shopping Cart for you to manage your whole store. It is best than Woocommerce (WordPress).

 

[itsnathanhere]

If you are launching an online shop, than Shopify is a best Shopping Cart for you to manage your whole store. It is best than Woocommerce (WordPress).

Strong disagree from me. Shopify is expensive and pretty limited out of the box. Woocommerce is far more flexible and can be expanded with free plugins. Even if you need to get something developed, it costs much more to get a Shopify app made than it does to hire a PHP dev for a Wordpress-based site.

Plus with Woocommerce your only site expense is hosting - no subscription fees to worry about.

 

[ukbf0001]

woocommerce requires wordpress - great if you use wordpress useless if you dont - and it's fiddly
shopify - too expensive
xcart super fast runs on php - but can be a devil to keep up to date and amend - you will come unstuck pretty quickly

ecwid - very easy and quick to setup - free fully working plan, 5 lines of code - copy and paste anywhere and it works. Is the biggest selling ecommerce app on fb (if i remember correctly) - and offers digital downloads so you can sell music, images as well physical goods etc etc - it auto updates so no security issues - also just remembered it auto designs itself based on your website colours etc

Magento - Dont bother - too long winded, too complex, too much hassle to keep up to date.
look at prestashop (you will be in charge of securing it etc) opencart also one to look at if you have 5 mins

 

[antropy]

Shopify is expensive and pretty limited out of the box

If you want a site that does what it says on the tin, then Shopify is the one for you. If you are looking for anything extra implemented to the website then Shopify is a no-go. Alex

 

[ukbf0001]

Come on Antropy - that is a nothing statement, it says nothing on the tin mate. Shopify is definitely not Ronseal when it comes to ecommerce - more like an out of date pritstick

 

[Aleksander_Gramm]

Why to clone https://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/threads/choosing-an-ecommerce-solution.319111/page-24 ?

There is no the only solution because it depends on many factors.

 

[Deleted member 329094]

I'm looking at this company, I like the look of the sites and the price per month isn't bad. I've not used them though so no personal experience!

Doh, I can't add the link but they're called create dot net.

 

[iTechnoLabs]

Hi,

I need some advice on the easiest platform/cms to use for a non techy for a very simple eshop selling watercolor paintings.

I have some experience with Wordpress but I've been advised to use Shopify. I know it's a very generic question but I'd just like some impartial input if possible.

Thank you!

I would recommend to use WooCommerce .
With the WooCommerce plugin, you have complete control over your data and are accessible. It also supports mobile devices; therefore, you can satisfy your mobile audience too with WooCommerce.
You can use WooCommerce without learning to code. It is effortless to use it as a beginner.

 

[Solly]

Using a marketplace is a great way to test the water and prove the concept.

I would avoid Go Daddy, not used it in a while but I hear nothing good about them still (take over of TSO host a case in point), Shopify is okay but expensive. I am looking to move to Bluepark.

 

[commadus]

Been there seen that with woocommerce and shopify and came off them pretty quickly.
I only use 2 ecommerce platforms these days - and the main is ecwid - there used to be the saying you cant be in 2 places at once - with ecwid - that is totally not the case. Set it is very easy , using wordpress is even easier.

BUT then you are given 5 or so lines of html code. Copy that into any website / webpage and your fully functioning shop will appear.
And the killer bit is - it integrates directly into facebook - so facebook users never have to leave their facebook session. Which is probably why ecwid is the top ecommerce app on facebook.

Absolute no brainer - and it's free for 10 products , it is then something like £10 a month.
That covers the hosting, the security, he upgrades, new features, new payment gateways - compare that to hosting it yourself, you look after the upgrades, the security patches. In one of my niches - facebook ads work extremely well.

So ecwid is the middleware? You still need to develop a website front end, integrate with ecwid and then also choose your own payment processor.

I would like to setup so that I can sell across FB, Instagram, online etc but I do like squarespace beautiful templates.

 

[Solly]

We have used Cubecart in the past but seems not to get updated so much so we moved to Shopify, it is very good, but I find it limited unless you pay a very high monthly fee.

What I have heard from friends is BluePark are quite good and may be worth looking at and seeing it that suits.

 

[Glen Wheeler]

We would recommend Shopify or WordPress, for non-coders especially, unless you were to work with a developer company. Good luck with the site!

 

[Simon-TP]

Shopify is extremely popular but as others have said it can be expensive and if you decide not to use their own payment processing then Shopify will insist on charging you their own fees on top of the 3rd party gateway fees even though they aren't doing the processing for you (we don't know why they feel they can do this but they do).

WooCommerce is probably just as popular and offers more flexibility in terms of being able to host where you want and has plugins for almost everything you could imagine with a huge support community. OpenCart is similar.

 

[marakana88]

i think shopify, wix and wordpress is the bes platforms for online shop

 

[fisicx]

i think shopify, wix and wordpress is the bes platforms for online shop

Wix is rubbish for everything so ignore that. Wordpress isn't an eCommerce platform. Shopify may be OK but as we know nothing about their business model you won't know if it's the right one.

 

[John Charles]

Definitely go with Shopify if I were you.

 

[Aspiroal]

If you ask me Woocommerce are best ecommerce platform. Try this once

 

[ExoPaul]

Anyone tried Squarespace and got an opinion?
What about FreeWebStore which offers a free ecommerce store but can pay for a Pro version to upgrade it to own branding/custom domain?

Facebook are going to bring their own ecommerce platform that allows you to sell through their facebook app using a new ecommerce "shop" page. They aim to take on Shopify, Amazon Shops and eBay Shops with it (although oddly, Shopify are helping with the development of it.). The shop feature will also be integrated with Instagram and Whatsapp so your Facebook products/stock levels will also automatically synch with Instagram and can be bought directly through that application too, and any customer enquiries (customer support) can be accessed through all three platforms.
It could be a good platform as you can directly sell via Facebook and Facebook Ads as an all in one solution while also capturing the Instagram audience and using Whatsapp for additional customer service. That is a much bigger audience across FB/Instagram than eBay has.
The downside is that it is rolling out slowly over 2020 and may not be available in the UK for a few weeks.

 

[Deepika_Chauhan]

BigCommerce MultiVendor MarketPlace allows you to make your single admin store into a marketplace where multiple vendors can sell their products from your single and simple online store.
It is thus a great way for add on revenues for your single admin store.

 

[pcourtney]

ShopWired in the UK is very good, many of my clients use it - but it is not cheap, but you get what you pay for in this world

 

[ukbf0001]

I dont think the OP ever clarified what she was selling , neither did she clarify what niche. Therefor no one knows 'what the best' platform is. she may have products that contain lots of variants, she maybe selling digital products. As someone who has used (and discarded lots of ecommerce apps)
Magento (too cumbersome)
Wix (no no no on every level)
Shopify - you can get better for less elsewhere.
WooCommerce - no again - unless you are selling a few products and want to faff around wioth WP problems all day
Prestashop - not a bad call - good with product combinations - as long as there arent lots of variations
I only use 2 for any projects these days and that's xcart and ecwid

xcart all in php - very stable product and lots of support , xcart also made ecwid. This is a no brainer, cloud based (so security taken care of by the platform) allows for physical and digital sales. Integrates direct into facebook, insta and if you can copy/paste 5 lines of text it will pop up in any website.
xcart 5 is going this way to - but isnt free like ecwid as it offers a few extra bells / whistles. For most ecwid will be enough. ps ecwid was developed a long time before shopify (who you could argue tried to nick the idea - but failed IMO)

 

[antropy]

i think shopify, wix and wordpress is the bes platforms for online shop

No way Wix! It is cheap and terrible for an online buisness. I think you mean Woocommerce for online shops instead of Wordpress. Alex

 

[Noob Business Girl]

Whichever one you pick, you have to think of the monthly costs (if any) that you have to pay the platform.

 

[antropy]

Whichever one you pick, you have to think of the monthly costs (if any) that you have to pay the platform.

|Some costs i.e. Shopify are more than others. The OP hasn't really highlighted what they are looking for out of a platform. That will help gauge which one would be best but I would never ever say Wix should be used! Alex

 

[MichelleB-UK]

Shopify is a great platform for small businesses launching online. The advantage of Shopify is that you don't need coding experience, so you can download a theme and customise it yourself. If you are not confident enough to do it yourself, have a look on Fiverr and find a search for Shopify Store Set up to find someone who can help, just check their reviews before you purchase a gig. Yo should be able to find someone who can do it for under £300 to get the store launched. Running an ecomerce is store can be rewarding if you put in the work but make sure you write good content pages, nice photos, product descriptions, set up a blog and post articles 1 or 2 times per month. Also important for SEO is to make sure you do local citations such as setting up a GMB listing (google my business), set up your business name, address, website etc - it's all free to do! (also do Bing Places) Other local citations good for free backlinks are local directories such as Yell, Yelp, Scoot, Thomson Local etc.

 

[Larry Fong]

Shopify is a very good platform for e-retailing.

 

[Jyothi Tulasi]

Etsy is the best as per my experience.

 

[fisicx]

Etsy is the best as per my experience.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

 

[Marbman]

Someone else mentioned Etsy.com, and I have to agree.

If you setup a Wordpress, or any other stand alone website, then you have just created a bunch of hassle you don't need at this stage. Etsy already attracts a lot of traffic of people wanting to buy arts and crafts. If you setup your own little website, you will then need to market it and try and get traffic to it, that's a lot of hassle and time which you're better spending creating art!

Depending on your current social outreach, Etsy is a very low cost 'toe in the water' to start selling your artwork. Once this gets traction then setting up a standalone website to support this makes more sense.

I am a massive Wordpress fan and I would always recommend it as a first option but I can't disagree too much with what LiquidShop has just said.

Something like Etsy will be a quicker option if you don't have the time to build a stand alone site such as with WordPress.

However if you do have the time and you are willing to learn some new skills then having your own store and website would be the best long term solution.

 

[japancool]

I'm surprised BigCommerce hasn't been mentioned more often. Decided to go with that instead of Shopify due to the transaction fees.

 

[Pish_Pash]

I've been Opencart -> Prestashop -> BigCommerce (currently about to launch)

What sealed it for me for BigCommerce was page load time ...as much as I liked Prestashop, BigCommerce is blindingly fast in comparison....the whole 'feel' is one of slickness (mainly because it's so zippy)....I'd have had to have thrown some severe hosting resources to get similar load times going solo with Prestashop

IMHO the folks at Shopify are spawn of Satan for their 'dipping hands into your profit' fee structure (outrageous...bearing in mind that they're merely a shopping cart host - not a marketplace like Ebay, Amazon, Etsy etc.) ...BigCommerce is much more agreeable in that aspect

 

[Cdcosta]

I don't have much experience in creating pages and I created mine with UENI. All you have to do is fill out a form and they will create your website for you for free. In addition, you can sell your products online and they do not charge any commission. I'm really happy with my page.

 

[japancool]

I don't have much experience in creating pages and I created mine with UENI. All you have to do is fill out a form and they will create your website for you for free. In addition, you can sell your products online and they do not charge any commission. I'm really happy with my page.

You wouldn't happen to work for UENI, would you?