12 Best Ecommerce Platforms For Beginners (Easy to Use)

If you’re worried about starting an online business without previous experience or technical expertise, look into eCommerce platforms.

These platforms make creating an online store easy, so all you have to focus on is making products and keeping customers happy. 

The best ecommerce platforms for beginners offer ease of use, value for money, and helpful features. 

Best Ecommerce Platforms For Beginners

1. Shopify 

Shopify is the best ecommerce platform for beginners because it’s easy to use, fully-hosted, and comes with tons of features and integrations. This great starter ecommerce software powers many of the world’s biggest online store. 

Shopify has a store builder, allowing you to create your store from scratch even with no graphic design experience. The customizable templates give your shop a more professional, trustworthy look, which attracts customers. 

Shopify connects with social media platforms and other sales channels, making it easier to connect with customers across multiple channels. Plus, Shopify’s app store is full of apps and integrations to add extra functionality.

Pricing 

Prices for Shopify start at $29 per month for the basic plan, which is ideal for businesses just starting out. There are more expensive pricing plans with more features and Shopify Premium for large, enterprise-size businesses. 

Shopify offers good value for money because not only is it incredibly user-friendly, but you can select a pricing plan that suits your budget. 

What We Liked 

  • It’s the easiest ecommerce platform for beginners so you don’t require any previous experience. 
  • The 24/7 support team are helpful if you have issues. 
  • There are tons of themes available to customize your store. 
  • You can allow customers to pay using several third-party payment methods. 
  • Shopify is fully hosted and secure. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • There are cheaper eCommerce platforms than Shopify on the market. 
  • Shopify does not currently support email hosting. 
  • Shopify offers limited customization because it uses the Liquid setup for its themes, instead of PHP. This makes it hard to find a developer. 

2. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the easiest online store platform to use. WooCommerce is actually a WordPress plugin, so you’ll need to have an existing WordPress site to use it. 

WooCommerce allows you to customize your site, so it’s recognizable to your customers as part of your brand identity. The eCommerce giant also offers plenty of payment methods, removing friction for customers who like to use platforms like Apple Pay and PayPal. 

The WooCommerce dashboard allows store manages to easily update products and fulfill orders. Tax calculations are automated, and you’ll enjoy live shipping rates from some of the most popular carries, saving you time. 

Pricing 

What makes WooCommerce such as good ecommerce for beginners on a budget is that it’s completely free. This is because it’s an open-source platform, meaning developers can customize it to suit their needs. 

Many of the apps and integrations you’ll need for extra features and functionality do, however, cost money. 

What We Liked 

  • The site is 100% customizable, and even if you opt for one of their themes, you can customize every element. 
  • WooCommerce is flexible and suits all types of eCommerce stores, no matter which products it sells. 
  • There’s a large community with advice and hacks for the platform. 
  • There are many apps, integrations, and plugins available. 
  • The platform itself doesn’t cost anything. 

What Can Be Improved

  • The platform isn’t hosted, so you’ll have to host it yourself. 
  • The complex customization can require the help of a developer. 
  • Using too many plugins can negatively impact the platform’s performance. 

3. BigCommerce 

BigCommerce is one of the best ecommerce software for beginners. BigCommerce has more features included in the plans as standard than many of the other eCommerce platforms. 

BigCommerce helps users boost SEO strategies, which gets your shop seen by more potential customers. It also integrates with channels like Facebook and Instagram, so you can create an omnichannel marketing strategy that spans social media. 

In terms of customization, you can create your store using BigCommerce’s Page Builder and make quick changes to your site without any coding required. Avoid the friction caused by clunky checkouts with one-page checkout for minimal cart abandonment. 

Pricing 

You can try BigCommerce for free for 15 days before committing. If you decide to stick with the simple ecommerce platform, you can expect to pay $29.95 per month for the cheapest plan. The plans go up to $299.95 per month, then large enterprises must contact sales directly for a custom rate.

What We Liked 

  • There are tons of features, which saves you money on third-party apps and integrations. 
  • Adding product variants is easy and quick. 
  • BigCommerce doesn’t charge transaction fees on any of its plans, making it best online ecommerce platform for complete beginners on a budget. 
  • The platform has excellent SEO capabilities. 
  • It’s easy to scale your business on BigCommerce. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • Each plan comes with an annual sales threshold. If you exceed it, you’ll be automatically upgraded to a more expensive plan. 
  • There are no email marketing tools. 
  • There are no options for multiple languages unless you use a third-party app. 

4. Wix 

Wix is an easy ecommerce platform because it doesn’t require any coding, making it suitable for beginners. Wix is built with growth in mind, so it’s easy to scale up the platform as your business scales up. 

There are more than 900 customizable templates completely for free, meaning you create make your website exactly to your taste with no extra costs. The editor is drag and drop, so you don’t need to be a graphic design whizz to use it. 

Another feature that makes Wix the easiest ecommerce website builder (or one of them) is that its advanced AI technology uses machine learning to create the perfect site for you. 

Pricing 

Compared to other eCommerce platforms, Wix is cheap. The eCommerce store website options start for free, and there are some plans for as little as $16 per month, and there are tons of options of different pricing plans to suit different budgets. 

For a custom service, which usually suits larger brands, you’ll receive a custom price from the sales team for your site. 

What We Liked 

  • The site’s speed is good, so users won’t be put off by slow loading speeds. 
  • There’s a huge template selection, making customization easy. 
  • The editor uses a drag and drop interface, making this the best ecommerce website builder and hosting for beginners. 
  • SEO management is in-built. 
  • You can extend your site or add features with apps. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • You can’t transfer content from one template to another if you change your mind. 
  • Premium plans only cover one eCommerce site. 
  • If you opt for the free plan, your site will have Wix branding. 

5. Squarespace

Squarespace is a simple ecommerce platform that’s known for making attractive websites. One of the best things about Squarespace is its templates, which are easy-to-customize and designed by some of the world’s top designers. 

Squarespace comes with all the types eCommerce features, such as the ability for customers to buy products easily at a simple checkout and leave reviews afterwards. The more reviews you have on your site, the easier it is to attract new customers. 

There are flexible shipping options, too, so you can customize your rates and offers easily depending on who’s checking out. The platform’s simple tax tools make legal compliance simple.

Pricing 

Squarespace is cheap compared to other platforms, with prices starting at $16 per month. There are more expensive price plans available for users wanting lower transaction fees, advanced eCommerce analytics, and advanced shipping and discount options. 

Considering the number of stylish templates and the features that the platform offers, the price offers good value for money. 

What We Liked

  • The templates are beautifully designed, making it the best online store platform for beginners with a strong visual identity. 
  • There are multilingual features. 
  • The more expensive plans offer 0 transaction fees. 
  • There’s an in-built email marketing tool, which is especially useful for email marketing beginners. 
  • There’s unlimited storage and bandwidth. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • There’s no support for the popular payment method, Google Pay. 
  • The pages and posts don’t autosave, meaning you have to manually save everything. 
  • There’s no customer support available by telephone – only live chat or email. 

6. Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) 

Adobe Commerce is a platform for the creation and management of online stores that’s currently used for more than 2% of all online businesses.

The platform is self-hosted and open-source, meaning you’ll have to find a way to host it yourself. The plus side of being open-source is that the architecture of Adobe Commerce is entirely customizable. 

Adobe Commerce allows you to personalize end-to-end shopping experiences with seamless omnichannel fulfilment options and self-service options for customers. These features result in higher conversion rates. 

This platform also offers reporting, so you can see what’s behind your success and how to recreate it. 

Pricing 

Adobe Commerce isn’t cheap. You’ll have to consider the costs of hosting, which can range from $10 to $100 per month. Plus, some of the customizations require a developer, so you’ll need to factor that into your budget. 

Pricing can be given directly to businesses on request when you fill out a form with Adobe Commerce to register an interest in its services.

What We Liked 

  • Because it’s an open-source platform, the customization potential is huge. 
  • You can optimize omnichannel sales with links to your physical shop, social media, and other marketplaces. 
  • The platform is scalable, so you can easily grow your shop as your business grows. 
  • The content management system has lots of features to help you manage your store. 
  • There are advanced SEO features. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • Adobe Commerce isn’t as affordable as other options. 
  • Adobe Commerce can be difficult to navigate, so it’s not the best ecommerce platform for novices. 
  • You may need to host Adobe Commerce by yourself, which can be difficult for people new to hosting. 

7. Weebly 

The simple ecommerce platform, Weebly, is best suited to smaller eCommerce sites. 

There are tons of tools on the platform which make it an easy ecommerce website builder. You can grow your business with the platform’s smart marketing tools, such as customizable email templates for things like new product launches or abandoned carts.

There are also customizable templates for the site itself, that you can easily use with the help of a drag and drop editor. This makes your site attractive to customers and doesn’t require graphic design experience. SEO and site stats help to get your online business seen by more customers. 

Pricing 

Weebly is cheaper than other eCommerce options. The platform even offers a free plan, although this plan is very basic with minimal features. The cheapest paid plan is $10 per month, which is still considerably cheaper than competitors. 

This is one of the best ecommerce website builder for beginners on a budget. 

What We Liked 

  • The site offers impressive speed, so customers won’t be put off by slow loading times. 
  • The templates are well-designed and customizable. 
  • The editor is really easy to use, even if you’re not a technical whizz. 
  • There’s a mobile app, so you can build and manage your store on the go. 
  • There’s an app centre with add-ons you can use to improve your store. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • The blogging section isn’t as easily customized as other sites. 
  • The photo editor offers few tools, so you may have to edit your photos elsewhere first. 
  • The amount of support you get depends on your pricing plan. 

8. Shift4Shop (formerly 3dcart) 

Shift4shop is the best simple ecommerce platform you can use entirely for free. There are dozens of industry-specific templates on the site for you to choose from, so you can build a website that looks like competitors, but better.

If you have development experience or a developer on your team, you can customize the website directly by editing the HTML or CSS. There is also an abundance of marketing tools to help grow your store, including email marketing, SEO, and social media marketing. 

Most of the features of this platform are already built-in, so you don’t need as many apps and integrations. 

Pricing 

The pricing is one of the aspects of this eCommerce platform that makes it the perfect ecommerce business for beginners who don’t have much capital. Shift4Shop is completely free for smaller stores, but as you start to make more money, you can qualify for paid plans which offer more features and work better for larger-scale stores. 

What We Liked 

  • An impressive number of features come completely free of charge. 
  • There are helpful marketing features to support beginners trying to grow their stores. 
  • There’s an in-built integration with PayPal to avoid customer friction at the checkout. 
  • You can get real-time shipping updates to help you stay on track. 
  • You can add bulk quantity discounts. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • The user interface isn’t as straightforward to use as other platforms. 
  • The customer support isn’t as reliable, which isn’t ideal when you have issues. 
  • The templates aren’t as stylish as platforms like Square space. 

9. Volusion 

Volusion is an online store builder that promises ease and customization for budding online entrepreneurs. This all in one ecommerce platform has a comprehensive site builder featuring attractive themes to set your business apart from others in a similar niche. 

In the online store builder, you’ll find useful features such as inventory management and payment collection, giving you full control over your eCommerce store. Plus, the eCommerce solution offers unlimited product options, so you can grow your store as much as you want by adding products. 

There’s also built-in SEO management to get you to that coveted spot on the top of search engines. 

Pricing 

Volusion does come with a free trial, but after that, the plans are quite expensive. The cheapest paid plan will cost you $35 per month, and the most expensive plan listed on the site will set you back $299 per month. Upwards of that, businesses must contact the sales team directly for a custom price. 

What We Liked 

  • The platform provides plenty of guidance and how-to guides to help you run your store. This can reduce the need to get in touch with customer support. 
  • The customer support and onboarding are excellent. 
  • The site offers good speed and great security. 
  • The dashboard is intuitive, making it a great all in one ecommerce solution for beginners. 
  • The marketing tools help grow your business. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • There are very few themes and design options, and they’re not very stylish. 
  • There are few apps and integrations available. 
  • The platform is more expensive than even some of the most famous alternatives. 

10. Zyro 

Zyro is a powerful eCommerce business that promises users the ability to set up a store within one hour. It’s one of the easiest online store builders on the market. Zyro comes with its own hosting too, which benefits novice users with little prior knowledge of hosting. 

There are fewer features than some of the most established eCommerce platforms, but there are enough to get an online store off the ground and enjoy customizability of the store itself. You can use Zyro to sell anything, it’s not limited to physical products. You also have the option of selling services or digital products. 

Pricing 

Zyro is cheaper than other eCommerce solutions, but this makes sense because it has fewer features than other eCommerce platforms. There is a pricing plan for $11.99, but this is just for a basic website, such as a blog. An eCommerce website will set you back $14.99 per month, and you can add up to 500 products. 

What We Liked 

  • The site promises good performance in terms of speed and security. 
  • Zyro is easy to use for building a website, and you don’t need any special knowledge. 
  • The page builder has helpful grids, so you can make sure everything matches up. 
  • There are AI tools to help with content. 
  • The platform comes with free images that you can use as part of your store design. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • The customizability is limited and you can only drag and drop certain aspects of your site. Zyro is better suited to a basic ecommerce website. 
  • The customer support isn’t as extensive as it could be. 
  • The domain handling is more complicated than other eCommerce solutions. 

11. Ecwid 

Ecwid offers an easy way for budding eCommerce entrepreneurs to start selling completely free of charge, and it’s also one of the easiest online store to use.

One of Ecwid’s best features is that it allows you to use your eCommerce store with popular marketing tools such as Mailchimp and Facebook to grow it faster. The user interface is easy to use, with the ability to control everything from central dashboard and manage it on a mobile app. 

There’s a marketplace for tools and apps that can add further features and functionality to your store, plus live customer support when you need a helping hand. 

Pricing 

Ecwid has a plan which costs nothing, setting up apart from other competitors that only offer paid plans. If you want to add more features, you can move to a pricing plan, where you’ll pay upwards of $14 per month, going up to around $80 per month for their most advanced plan. 

What We Liked 

  • The free plan allows business owners with little startup cash to make a website. 
  • The platform is easy to use, so you don’t need any prior technical experience. 
  • Ecwid is a widget that can easily connect to existing websites, so it’s great for upgrading a site to an eCommerce store.
  • There are multilingual options. 
  • The platform offers integrations with marketing tools. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • The design options are limited for people without development experience. 
  • It’s only possible to built quite a simple site, especially with the free plan. 
  • You can only add up to 10 products with the free plan, so it’s not suitable for a large store. 

12. PrestaShop 

PrestaShop is the easiest ecommerce platform for beginners who want to sell their products globally because there’s the option of a multilanguage store and multicurrency options. 

As with all other eCommerce platforms, PrestaShop allows you to run everything about your online store in one dashboard, from your product catalog to your payments. 

You can customize your store by picking a theme and adding features specific to your store and your target audience. 

If you want to reach more customers, PrestaShop helps you launch marketing campaigns to grow your store. PrestaShop also have a thriving community to give tips, advice, and test the platform. 

Pricing 

PrestaShop is free to download, which is ideal for beginners on a budget. The catch is, you have to host it yourself. Hosting can cost anywhere from $10 upwards per month. Depending on the hosting provider you opt for, PrestaShop can be more or less expensive than other eCommerce platforms with similar functionality and features. 

What We Liked 

  • The platform is free of cost, which is great if you don’t have much capital to start with. 
  • PrestaShop is easy to install. It just involves a quick download. 
  • The platform is easy to use once installed, so you don’t need any experience. 
  • PrestaShop is great for international sellers, thanks to the multilanguage and multicurrency support. 
  • There are popular payment options like Google Pay and PayPal available. 

What Can Be Improved 

  • There’s no support team, simply an online community offering experience and advice. 
  • The designs for the stores aren’t as professional as other platforms. 
  • The scalability is limited, so PrestaShop is mostly only suitable for smaller stores. 

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