Which is the Best Ecommerce Platform for online businesses
- Thread starter echloe
- Start date
Around 90 of them are best.
Depends what you want. For my business I use a few and got my eye on several more. They suit my business and my plans.
Which could mean they are very bad for your business. We will be wanting different things.
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D
Deleted member 335660
Hi,
I think you cannot go wrong with Wordpress.
Firstly, if you have some computing knowledge you can creat a site yourself. I have built 5 over the years for membership clubs and now our own online shop.
Secondly I have it hosted with a company that are Wordpress programmers and if I need help or want a development I cannot achieve, they will do it.
Finally, there are lots of Wordpress plugin to elk, hosts and programmers around.
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I started my online store using oscommerce. It was free, open source and there were thousands of addons available so I could tune my store to how I wanted it to work for me. Sadly over the years interest in the project faded until it was pretty much abandoned. A small number of the community took it over and there is still a free open source solution based on the old original oscommerce code that is now being updated a bit too regularly, but it is still alive. There are not as many addons as there were that work with the new code, but its still a useable solution.
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That makes no sense. Wordpress and drupal are not an e-commerce platforms and Woo is a plugin.
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Depends on what you are selling to whom. There are plenty of people making a bit of cash on a homemade site. Not everyone needs a mega site. For some a few pounds a week is enough.
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- Original Poster
- #14
I know there are reasons to go with a big solution like Magento for a large company or something more like Shopify for medium business, or WooCommerce for small business, but I just want to hear from everyone on what platform do you prefer and why?
And if you have an opinion on whether or not to use Amazon, curious about your thoughts there.
And if you have an opinion on whether or not to use Amazon, curious about your thoughts there.
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So I would say, if you're planning on very much being an online store, Shopify is a good route to go down. Its strengths are very much in adding and maintaining lots of products, and in focusing on e-commerce processes. So, for instance, automating delivery costs based on weight or price; setting up dropshipping; even printing labels based on orders... it really does allow you to do a lot out of the box.
I have been building a new Shopify site recently and, as a designer, it does do my head in sometimes but that is because it's not meant for fancy content sites, it's meant for big stores. So if you just want a nice looking, templated shop with lots of potential growth, I'd suggest it.
The negatives to Shopify is, again, it has a steep learning curve for people who want to do a lot of front-end design so (if you don't just want a customisable template) you may need to get a 'Shopify Expert' in, and also plugins can be expensive (especially when compared to Wordpress).
Speaking of which, the reasons why I'm not suggesting Wordpress is because of the amount of things that can go wrong. I think, if you're figuring it all out yourself, constantly keeping on top of plugin updates and so on can be a lot. We discussed it a lot in regards to my company's new development project and WP just has too many moving parts, but I understand why a lot of people will recommend it.
I have been building a new Shopify site recently and, as a designer, it does do my head in sometimes but that is because it's not meant for fancy content sites, it's meant for big stores. So if you just want a nice looking, templated shop with lots of potential growth, I'd suggest it.
The negatives to Shopify is, again, it has a steep learning curve for people who want to do a lot of front-end design so (if you don't just want a customisable template) you may need to get a 'Shopify Expert' in, and also plugins can be expensive (especially when compared to Wordpress).
Speaking of which, the reasons why I'm not suggesting Wordpress is because of the amount of things that can go wrong. I think, if you're figuring it all out yourself, constantly keeping on top of plugin updates and so on can be a lot. We discussed it a lot in regards to my company's new development project and WP just has too many moving parts, but I understand why a lot of people will recommend it.
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We have a WooCommerce shop that is on the WordPress platform. The advantage of this is the amount of plugins available & developers available to code plugins to suit our needs.
Our POS system is also woo commerce which is working quite well for us.
If your looking to change over to woo/WordPress there's plenty of people out there to migrate your site/online store
Our POS system is also woo commerce which is working quite well for us.
If your looking to change over to woo/WordPress there's plenty of people out there to migrate your site/online store
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Quite a lot has been covered above.
I started off running my original store on OpenCart which is a similar deal to OS Commerce mentioned. I struggled with the limitations and the amount of fiddling I had to do to get certain things I wanted working. More recently I switched over to Shopify and never looked back.
I run stores for artists and currently run a variety including Big Cartel, WooCommerce (on Wordpress), Squarespace, Shopify, etc. Shopify beats them all for me. It does everything I want and more and if theres something lacking theres always a plugin for it. I don't use the shipping side of things on my Shopify store as, with multiple stores to run, I use a separate shipping software to keep track of everything. From what I've seen it does look very up to the job for a small/medium business. Shopify also has great social media interconnection and an excellent built in mail/newsletter function.
I'm currently in the process of setting up another store on Shopify for someone and this store will have a more website styled level of content and with a good paid theme from ThemeForest I'm finding that to be pretty easy as well. It needs a certain level of UI knowledge but a good web designer should be able to help you get things set up if its too much for you.
Ultimately its what you want from your website. For a good looking, quick and effective web store software Shopify gets my vote every time currently if you can afford the subscription. I can't talk for the other big competitors like Magento, etc having never used them though.
Edit -
Oh also, I don't do many events but when I do the Shopify POS system has been great and I've just received their new card reader to trial for free.
I started off running my original store on OpenCart which is a similar deal to OS Commerce mentioned. I struggled with the limitations and the amount of fiddling I had to do to get certain things I wanted working. More recently I switched over to Shopify and never looked back.
I run stores for artists and currently run a variety including Big Cartel, WooCommerce (on Wordpress), Squarespace, Shopify, etc. Shopify beats them all for me. It does everything I want and more and if theres something lacking theres always a plugin for it. I don't use the shipping side of things on my Shopify store as, with multiple stores to run, I use a separate shipping software to keep track of everything. From what I've seen it does look very up to the job for a small/medium business. Shopify also has great social media interconnection and an excellent built in mail/newsletter function.
I'm currently in the process of setting up another store on Shopify for someone and this store will have a more website styled level of content and with a good paid theme from ThemeForest I'm finding that to be pretty easy as well. It needs a certain level of UI knowledge but a good web designer should be able to help you get things set up if its too much for you.
Ultimately its what you want from your website. For a good looking, quick and effective web store software Shopify gets my vote every time currently if you can afford the subscription. I can't talk for the other big competitors like Magento, etc having never used them though.
Edit -
Oh also, I don't do many events but when I do the Shopify POS system has been great and I've just received their new card reader to trial for free.
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In my opinion WordPress using Woocommerce as the shopping cart is usually the best. The platform itself is highly adaptive and there are a lot of active developers and plugins to solve nearly every need. The code base is adaptable and can be hooked in to to override and extend functions, so even if what you needed wasn't available, it could be coded with relative ease. From a general day to day management perspective Woocommerce is easy to use and has a lot of features. It can be setup to manage your inventory, be awesome for SEO and to export orders easily to third party fulfilment.
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I use opencart and have looked at shopify also and woocommerce... I'm going to migrate to woocommerce as its so flexible and you have a lot of control of your sites actual look and features over the others..plus your not stuck with shopify fees and transaction costs..
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We use both Woocommerce and Shopify and Woocommerce has the benefit of the site around which it runs within has been styled exactly how we want it, it is Wordpress, and with the familiarity of Wordpress and designing with it, the site looks good and is functional too. Keeping up with updates to Wordpress, then the down the line updates to theme and plugins is constant, but really not a massive issue.
Shopify we use for a couple of websites, it is great for some of the extended functionality that we need on one of the websites, we have customisation apps for bespoke products that the customer can design etc, so it is perfect when there is a need such as that. Abandoned cart follow ups, and the slick process of purchase through the basket is great. Shopify is not as customisable as Wordpress / Woocommerce and I have found frustrations with it that seem ill-thought out, but I have found that most hurdles can be got over with a little bespoke coding and a 'Fivver' developer.
Shopify we use for a couple of websites, it is great for some of the extended functionality that we need on one of the websites, we have customisation apps for bespoke products that the customer can design etc, so it is perfect when there is a need such as that. Abandoned cart follow ups, and the slick process of purchase through the basket is great. Shopify is not as customisable as Wordpress / Woocommerce and I have found frustrations with it that seem ill-thought out, but I have found that most hurdles can be got over with a little bespoke coding and a 'Fivver' developer.
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If you are in the initial stage and want to start a business in a short time then you can start with Shopify and WordPress using Woocommerce. Actually, all the platforms are best and can give you money if and only if your Product has that QUALITY. If user loves your products then they will definitely come back and also refer them to others.
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I love these threads.
OP asks 'what is the best ecommerce platform'
The great and good of UKBF show up and say 'this is the best'. Which means nothing more than 'this is the one I use.
If you are seeking advice on choosing a platform the truth is you also need advice on how to set up a store and make it work. No platform does that for you. Most modern platforms are really rather excellent. Unless you don't know what you are doing.
I don't actually blame the questioner. I read the answers and chuckle.
Because this is a recurring thread.
OP asks 'what is the best ecommerce platform'
The great and good of UKBF show up and say 'this is the best'. Which means nothing more than 'this is the one I use.
If you are seeking advice on choosing a platform the truth is you also need advice on how to set up a store and make it work. No platform does that for you. Most modern platforms are really rather excellent. Unless you don't know what you are doing.
I don't actually blame the questioner. I read the answers and chuckle.
Because this is a recurring thread.
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Instead of recommending any platform without knowing your background. I would say look for the most popular ones. Well, they are popular for a reason. I'm assuming that you are looking to build n eCommerce store maybe for selling goods directly or through dropshipping. In either case, study Shopify and WooCommerce. Both the platforms are easy to use and are used by millions of users.
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Hi Trevor,
Having a web host where there are Wordpress programmers must be a real benefit.
I've built my own site up from scratch and have to resort to scanning various on-line resources to find a solution to issues so I really do envy you. My own web host is very pleasant but I guess it's not his day job and so never seems very willing to help out even when it's a hosting issue.
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Whats the name of this software please?
I use OpenCart, but may look to migrate to something that takes up a less time maintaining as OpenCart is very hands on. Shopify seems the obvious choice, but what's the fee situation? From memory when I looked in the past it wanted to take a percentage of my sale, which I don't agree with as it's simply a pre-built personal website, not a marketplace like Amazon or eBay. Happy to pay monthly fee, but not percentage of sale, so guessing Woocommerce would be next best option?
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Very few hosts will have wordpress developers on call. Hosting and site development are two totally different skills sets.
I suspect you have got a reseller hosting package which is why you aren't getting full support.
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I use Shipstation - https://www.shipstation.com/uk/
It works well for me but its worth looking at their competitors and seeing if they're a better fit. Read a lot of reviews, etc.
Shopify Pricing - Setup and Open Your Online Store Today – Free Trial
Set up your store, pick a plan later. Try Shopify free for 3 days, no credit card required.
www.shopify.co.uk
You can see the full breakdown on the plans there. They charge a percentage when you use shopify payments for card transactions, etc but its a lot lower than the PayPal pricing.
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You may start with the most budget plan of Shopify Lite, starting at $29.
In case you don't want to mess with purchasing a domain, host, and all the setting up at the beginning, consider the self-hosted platforms such as ZenCart, Magento, Shopify. WooCommerce is a great option but you will need to get familiar with WordPress first. The features on Woo are also abundant and supportive, but I really don't suggest it for beginners.
In case you don't want to mess with purchasing a domain, host, and all the setting up at the beginning, consider the self-hosted platforms such as ZenCart, Magento, Shopify. WooCommerce is a great option but you will need to get familiar with WordPress first. The features on Woo are also abundant and supportive, but I really don't suggest it for beginners.
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Have you even read the whole thread?Have you thought about WordPress + WooCommerce? It's a popular option, but of course, it should be appropriate for your business - go with what works best for you and your objectives.
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My preference to begin with is always Wordpress Elementor Pro as it gives you complete design control, and I find it easy to optimise for SEO, which is why I used it for my site www.veritemarketing.co.uk.
Of course you have the Woocommerce part for your transaction side of things, and other cool plugins as people have already mentioned. However it's not great once the number of product variations starts going into many thousands, so it really depends on what you sell and how. Generally speaking, for large E-commerce sites my next step from Wordpress is Magento 2, but again, its dangerous to make recommendations, without fully understanding the requirements.
As we all know, site speed is massively important for users and search engines, so its also worth factoring in your hosting package, as I've worked with people before that had an all-singing-all-dancing Magento2 site, but the standard shared hosting was letting it down, so if you think you'll have high traffic volume, then i'd recommend factoring in the cost of a dedicated server space.
Of course you have the Woocommerce part for your transaction side of things, and other cool plugins as people have already mentioned. However it's not great once the number of product variations starts going into many thousands, so it really depends on what you sell and how. Generally speaking, for large E-commerce sites my next step from Wordpress is Magento 2, but again, its dangerous to make recommendations, without fully understanding the requirements.
As we all know, site speed is massively important for users and search engines, so its also worth factoring in your hosting package, as I've worked with people before that had an all-singing-all-dancing Magento2 site, but the standard shared hosting was letting it down, so if you think you'll have high traffic volume, then i'd recommend factoring in the cost of a dedicated server space.
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