Our view at Stack - Shopify has just about everything you need if you're looking to sell online. It excels with unlimited products, user-friendly setup, and 24/7 support. It offers 6,000+ app integrations, abandoned cart recovery, and shipping discounts up to 88%. Plus, it allows selling both online and in-person, scaling as your business grows.
Building an online store may seem like a daunting task, but with the right tools, it can be rewarding and profitable.
A good website builder should simplify ecommerce, letting you launch a stunning online store quickly, so you can wow customers and make sales.
Below, find a list of the best ecommerce website builders on the market. Dive into their specific benefits, design tools, and popular sales features, to help you choose a platform that fits your business.
Ready? Explore these 10 top ecommerce builders of 2024, and consider kicking off with a free trial.
10 best ecommerce website builders
| Ecommerce builder | Price per month | G2 star rating |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify | $29 | 4.4/5 |
| Shift4Shop | $29 | 3.9/5 |
| Square Online | $29 | 4.2/5 |
| Squarespace | $28 | 4.4/5 |
| BigCommerce | $29 | 4.2/5 |
| Wix | $29 | 4.2/5 |
| GoDaddy | $20.99 | 3.9/5 |
| WooCommerce | Free | 4.4/5 |
| Volusion | $35 | 3.2/5 |
| Hostinger | $3.99 | 4.4/5 |
- Shopify: Best all-in-one ecommerce and retail platform
- Shift4Shop: Designed for existing brick-and-mortar retailers
- Square Online: Offers free and paid plans
- Squarespace: Features a simple drag-and-drop builder
- BigCommerce: Aimed at enterprise-level retailers
- Wix: A free builder with paid ecommerce features
- GoDaddy: Provides built-in email marketing tools
- WooCommerce: An ecommerce plug-in for WordPress
- Volusion: GMV-based pricing for large merchants
- Hostinger: Lightweight plans with unlimited storage
1. Shopify
With affordable plans, beautiful designs, and powerful selling tools, Shopify is the easiest, most reliable way to bring your business online. Its website builder has helped millions of sellers create online stores without the need for coding skills or big budgets.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
Each Shopify store comes with everything you need to get up and running: SSL certificates, domain hosting, more than 200 professionally designed themes, plus essential ecommerce features like a checkout, simple order management, and abandoned cart recovery emails.
Sell unlimited products through your store and all major marketplaces and social platforms, thanks to easy integrations.
Accept payments smoothly with Shopify Payments or select from more than 100 payment gateways including PayPal and Bitcoin. Boost conversions with the internet’s best accelerated checkout.
After you’ve made a sale, use Shopify Shipping to print shipping labels in one click and save up to 88% with major carriers.
Need more tools? Explore over 8,000 Shopify apps to extend your store’s marketing, sales, and customer support capabilities.
Plans and pricing
Start your Shopify free trial, no credit card required. Paid plans begin at $29 per month when paid annually.
Features
- Mobile-friendly designs let customers shop easily from any device
- Full control over HTML and CSS for those who like to tweak every detail
- SEO-optimized to help customers find you
- Simple inventory and order management
- Unlimited bandwidth means no extra fees, no matter your traffic
- Detailed analytics to guide your business decisions
- Shopify POS integration for selling in person and online
- Manage on the move with the Shopify mobile app
- Round-the-clock support via email, live chat, and phone
G2 rating ⭐: 4.4/5
2. Shift4Shop
Shift4Shop is designed for retailers looking to quickly establish an online presence. It offers a range of ecommerce tools and mobile-responsive themes, making it a practical choice for store owners.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
Shift4Shop focuses on providing essential ecommerce features with limited customization options. This makes it straightforward for those who prefer a structured approach to setting up their online store.
Plans and pricing
Paid plans start at $29 per month.
Features
- Supports multiple payment processors
- Over 90 free templates to launch your website
- Built-in SEO tools to enhance your site’s visibility
- Abandoned cart notifications to recover potential sales
Pros and cons
- Quick setup process
- Supports various payment methods
- Less customization flexibility compared to platforms like Shopify
G2 rating ⭐: 3.9/5
3. Square Online
Square Online, formerly known as Weebly, offers a user-friendly platform that lets anyone start building an ecommerce website for free. However, to use your own domain or remove ads, you’ll need to purchase a paid plan.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
If you’re looking for a free ecommerce builder, Square Online’s basic plan includes features like real-time shipping updates and coupon capabilities. For more advanced features, however, upgrading is necessary. Square Online also integrates with Square POS for streamlined in-store payment processing.
Plans and pricing
Free. Paid plans start at $29 per month when paid annually.
Features
- Bulk inventory management to import and edit product details
- Mobile-optimized websites for an accessible customer experience
- Coupon builder available with a paid plan
- Integration with Square point of sale for unified business management
Pros and cons
- Extensive features in the free version
- Mobile-first design approach
- Limited customization options compared to platforms like Shopify
G2 rating ⭐: 4.2
Learn more about how Shopify and Squares compare.
4. Squarespace
Squarespace is known for its contemporary templates and intuitive drag-and-drop builder. Upgrading to a paid plan unlocks access to the platform’s ecommerce features.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
Starting with a template, you can customize your site’s look by adjusting colors, text, and images to match your brand. Squarespace supports various payment methods including Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Afterpay. The Commerce Advanced plan also supports selling subscriptions and gift cards.
If you’re already using Squarespace for a non-ecommerce website, you can easily add ecommerce features with the Shopify Buy Button for $5 per month. This small piece of code lets you tap into Shopify’s extensive payment options and tracking tools.
Pricing and plans
Three-day free trial. Basic Commerce plan starts at $28 per month when paid annually.
Features
- Drag-and-drop builder with a variety of templates and starter layouts
- Responsive designs that adjust to screen size and device
- Custom WYSIWYG editing for various content types
- Unlimited product listings
- Automated post-purchase email sequences
Pros and cons
- Suitable for selling products and services
- Subscription selling on Advanced plan
- Fewer third-party extensions compared to Shopify
G2 rating ⭐: 4.4/5
Learn more about how Shopify and Squarespace compare.
5. BigCommerce
BigCommerce caters to large-scale businesses with its robust ecommerce tools and customizable platform, offering web hosting and extensive site customization.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
BigCommerce is equipped for international sales, SEO optimization, and multichannel selling across social platforms and online marketplaces.
Pricing and plans
15-day free trial. Paid plans start at $29 per month when paid annually.
Features
- Visual editor for drag-and-drop customization
- Themes that can be tailored using HTML, CSS, and Javascript
- Checkout customization through API and SDK
- Support for digital wallets like Amazon Pay and Apple Pay
- Multicurrency and multilingual support for global sales
Pros and cons
- Sell internationally through multiple sales channels
- Designed for large ecommerce businesses
- Plans have annual sales volume limits
G2 rating ⭐: 4.2/5
6. Wix
Wix offers a non-technical website builder to create online stores. Users can build an ecommerce website using the drag-and-drop builder for free, but need to upgrade to a paid plan to start selling.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
Wix provides essential tools for managing your ecommerce business, including order tracking, online payment acceptance, and multichannel selling. However, the basic plan lacks advanced inventory management features like low-stock alerts and tax calculators. Stores with large inventories may want an ecommerce software with more advanced inventory-tracking tools.
Pricing and plans
Business Basic plan starts at $29 per month when paid annually.
Features
- User-friendly interface for building online stores
- Wide range of templates to customize your site
- Integrations for selling on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and eBay
- Free SSL certificate to secure customer data and transactions
- SEO-optimized product pages to improve search visibility
- Ability to import product details via CSV files
Pros and cons
- Easy to use, with flexible design options
- Limited inventory management features such as low-stock alerts, which are available with Shopify
G2 rating ⭐: 4.2/5
7. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is widely recognized for its web hosting services but also offers a capable website builder for online stores. It’s a good fit for those looking to integrate ecommerce into a broader digital presence.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
GoDaddy simplifies online store creation with more than 100 mobile-friendly templates, plus built-in tools for SEO and email marketing campaigns.
Pricing and plans
Ecommerce plan starts at $20.99 per month when paid annually.
Features
- Extensive template selection to quickly start your online store
- Integration with social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook
- Automated management of sales and inventory across all channels
- Multiple payment options including Google Pay and Venom
- Point-of-sale integration to connect online and physical sales
Pros and cons
- Competitive pricing
- Limited to 1,000 orders per month for marketplace selling
G2 rating ⭐: 3.9/5
8. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a plug-in for WordPress users, transforming any WordPress site into a functional ecommerce store. It’s ideal for those already familiar with the WordPress environment.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
WooCommerce integrates deeply with WordPress, offering extensive features for inventory management, secure payments, and shipping. Its functionality can be expanded with numerous plug-ins and themes available for purchase.
Pricing and plans
Free, with additional costs for WordPress hosting and plug-ins.
Features
- Designed for WordPress, leveraging its extensive ecosystem
- Mobile-friendly design ensures a great shopping experience on all devices
- Full control over customer and business data with no third-party access
- Open-source for complete customization of your store
Pros and cons
- Ideal for adding ecommerce to an existing WordPress site
- Basic functionality without additional plug-ins
- For WordPress users only
G2 rating ⭐: 4.4/5
9. Volusion
Volusion provides a set of tools that allow users to craft a homepage and product pages, supporting a variety of payment gateways for smooth transactions.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
Volusion is equipped with inventory and analytics tools to help monitor your store’s performance. It features a native “suggested products” function to enhance customer experience. However, it’s designed primarily for selling physical products; digital goods aren’t supported.
Pricing and plans
Plans start at $35 per month when paid annually.
Features
- Drag-and-drop content blocks for easy customization of page layouts
- Responsive themes that adapt to mobile devices
- CSS editor for detailed customization of site elements
- Set recurring billing for subscription products
Pros and cons
- Limited features in the basic plan, which remains costly
- Sales volume and product listing limits
- No support for selling digital products, unlike Shopify
G2 rating ⭐: 3.2/5
10. Hostinger
Hostinger offers a streamlined approach to building an online store with its drag-and-drop website builder. It’s designed for users who want a lightweight yet functional ecommerce platform.
Why choose this ecommerce website builder?
Hostinger integrates with tools like Google Analytics and Facebook ads, providing insights to enhance your marketing efforts. While it doesn’t offer a free plan, monthly fees are low and include a range of basic ecommerce tools.
Pricing and plans
$3.99 per month when paid annually.
Features
- Drag-and-drop editor for easy customization
- CRM tools to manage emails, discounts, and coupon codes
- Comprehensive reporting and integration with marketing tools
Pros and cons
- Affordable plan with free cloud hosting
- Product listing limit of 500 items
- No free trial, but frequent promotional discounts
G2 rating ⭐: 4.4/5
How to choose an online store builder
Whether you’re launching your first startup or expanding your ecommerce empire, consider these factors when selecting a platform:
Budget, business plans, and pricing
How much are you willing to spend on your store each year? What are your plans for growth? Some site builders charge more as you add more product listings and process more orders. Think about what your business needs to launch today, but also consider how many products you’ll offer down the road.
Website-building skill level
How much technical skill do you have? Many builders use drag-and-drop technology to help you create the best ecommerce site possible. But you’ll still need basic skills to create product pages, add products to your store, and set up any apps or plug-ins. Consider how much experience you have working with software and back-end builders.
Customization
Do you want a simple website to showcase your products? Or do you need more advanced features like size charts for product pages or a live chat window? Think about how you want your website to look and feel and what extra features you need to make it happen.
Support
If you’re newer to building an ecommerce website, you’ll likely need some help. Does your desired site builder have live support and tutorials? Consider a platform that can help you solve problems quickly and easily so you can get your store live and start selling online.
Payment gateways
You need payment gateways to accept payments from customers securely and to make payments easy for shoppers. For example, Shop Pay’s express checkout feature can increase checkout speed by four times and help customers get what they want, faster. Shopify also offers integrations with over 100 payment gateways, so you can offer the best options for your shoppers, no matter where they are in the world.
Find the best website builder for your ecommerce business
Now that you’re equipped with the right information, it’s time to explore your options. Each builder has its strengths and weaknesses, but understanding your specific needs will help you choose the right one for your business.
Investing in a professional ecommerce website can elevate your brand and increase sales. With many platforms offering free trials, you have the opportunity to find the perfect fit for your business needs.
Illustration by Till Lauer
Ecommerce website builder FAQ
What are the best free ecommerce website builders?
- Shopify
- Wix
- Squarespace
- WooCommerce
- BigCommerce
- Square Online
- GoDaddy
- Volusion
How much does it cost to build your own ecommerce website?
If you want to build a free online store, use an ecommerce website builder to get started. Many platforms like Shopify offer a free trial, which gives you the time to create the best online store for your business and pay after the trial is up. Get started with Shopify.
Is it easy to create an online store?
Yes. With storefront builders like Shopify, you can access well-designed templates to launch your store in minutes. You can customize colors, text, images, layouts, and more to tailor your store to your brand. Get started with Shopify.
If Shopify is of interest and you'd like more information, please do make contact or take a look in more detail here.
Credit: Original article published here.