Best E-Commerce Software

While COVID-19 storefront closures might be over, the age of e-commerce has just begun. It's never been easier to open a digital retail presence. For those who are just getting into the e-commerce game or are looking to upgrade, finding the right software to take your business to the next level is a huge part of the process.

Below, you'll find the best e-commerce software on the market today. We've listed their unique strengths and weaknesses, standout features and other tidbits of must-know information.

Our Top Picks For Best E-Commerce Software

• BigCommerce – Best SEO Tools
• Weebly – Best Plan Options
• Square Online – Best For Multichannel Integrations
• Shopify – Best For Advanced Features
• Wix – Best Design Templates

Best E-Commerce Software Reviews

Why we chose it: BigCommerce offers its users a full suite of search engine optimization tools to help drive organic search traffic. You can take advantage of technical SEO tools, keyword miners, advanced analytics and a number of third-party applications.

BigCommerce can help boost your website to that coveted front-page position on Google's search results. It offers various technical features that Google looks for when ranking websites. With BigCommerce, you can utilize canonical URLs, sitemap generation, mobile optimization and more. You can also take advantage of its competitor analysis tool to find out what keywords your top rivals are ranking for.

In addition to its SEO features, BigCommerce offers a full range of plugins and integrations, including payment processors, shipping providers, accounting software, marketing integrations, analytic tools and supply chain services.

BigCommerce offers a comprehensive array of support features, including:

• A library full of video tutorials and detailed guides
• A web forum for BigCommerce website users
• 24/7 phone support
• Live chat support from Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm CST
• Email support

User-friendliness is one area in which BigCommerce could stand to improve. Some aspects of the setup process are difficult to navigate, and the software could benefit from a more intuitive UI. However, BigCommerce lets you try it before you buy it with a 15-day free trial.

Why we chose it: Weebly offers four separate plan options, including a completely free plan for basic use. Each pricing tier offers additional resources, letting each user tailor their plan to their unique needs.

Weebly is affordably priced. Its most expensive plan is just $26 a month when billed annually. However, it lacks some of the more sophisticated features offered by its higher-priced counterparts. You won't get access to multi-channel integration or customizable checkout features, for example.

Still, its intuitive UI design and easy drag-and-drop setup make it a solid small business e-commerce software option. All plans offer SSL security, a basic cybersecurity measure, and third-party embed code. Its free e-commerce option comes with surprisingly robust features, including a shopping cart, unlimited item listing capacity, inventory management, in-store pickup, an automatic tax calculator, coupons, gift cards and more.

Weebly lets you use plugins, and it has its own app store filled with various integrations that you can use to customize your website. These include helpful third-party apps like PayPal and Mailchimp. Weebly offers a robust set of customer support features, including 24/7 phone support and live chat between 8 am and 6 pm PST from Monday through Friday. In addition, it hosts a help center filled with free resources and a community forum.

Why we chose it: Best known for its point of sale system, Square Online makes selling easy across online platforms. With Square Online, you can integrate seamlessly with major sales platforms, including Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Instagram and Google Shopping.

Square Online offers three plan choices as well as a free plan that comes with a website builder, SEO tools, shipping features, social media sales integrations and the ability to accept multiple forms of payment. The Plus plan costs $29 monthly and nets you expanded customizations, customer accounts, QR code ordering, advanced item settings, a domain and more.

The Premium plan costs $79 a month and comes with a slightly lower payment processing rate. Instead of paying 2.9% plus 30 cents on each transaction, you'll pay 2.6% plus 30 cents. You should do some simple back-of-the-envelope math to determine the type of sales volume you'd need to break even on this plan option. The Premium plan also gives you access to real-time shipping rates.

Square Online comes with a range of standard e-commerce features, such as:

• Website templates
• Drag and drop tools
• Inventory management
• Automatic tax calculators
• Shipping tools
• Access to plugins for appointments and customer loyalty programs

You can get in touch with a customer service representative over the phone or by chat from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday. Square also hosts a community web forum and a support center filled with helpful guides and resources.

Square scores points for its intuitive UI design. However, it lacks certain capabilities offered by several of its rivals, including the ability to make wholesale purchases and advanced customer segmentation tools. In addition, free plan users are limited to Square payment processing.

Why we chose it: With more than four million shops under its belt, Shopify has emerged as one of the most popular e-commerce software companies out there. It should come as no surprise that it offers a full range of advanced features for the serious business owner.

Currently, Shopify offers three standard plans ranging from $39 to $399 a month. You can also choose from several alternative plans, such as a Starter plan that lets you sell through social media channels and messaging apps for $1 a month, and a Shopify Plus plan for high-volume sellers starting at $2,000 a month.

Shopify Plus, its enterprise-level plan, offers a full range of advanced features, including customizable checkout pages, multiple currency acceptance, personal account management and more. You can add your company's branding, special promotional offers and a variety of payment and shipping offers through the customizable checkout page. Other advanced features include detailed sales analytics and customizable website themes. It also offers wholesale and business-to-business sales features.

Shopify offers a full range of third-party integrations and plug-ins. You can connect your website to popular tools like Zendesk and Mailchimp. Shopify also offers 24/7 customer support and an online resource hub. For those who prefer not to code, creating and managing a website is simple with its no-code drag-and-drop system.

Why we chose it: Wix lets you choose from more than 800 design templates and over 500 themes when building out your website.

Wix offers three e-commerce plan choices, including:

• Business Basic for $70 a month
• Business Unlimited for $100 a month
• Business VIP for $146 a month

Unlike some competitors, it doesn't offer a free plan or trial, although you will receive a full refund if you cancel your plan within 14 days of purchase. Wix offers a range of helpful features for its users, such as abandoned cart recovery, multiple currency support and multi-channel support. It also integrates with multiple third-party platforms and plugins. However, all plans suffer from limited storage space and a low ceiling on the number of automatic tax calculations, making it a poor choice for businesses with high annual turnovers.

Business Basic and Business Unlimited plan holders gain access to 24/7 customer support, while priority support is reserved for Business VIP plan holders.

Other E-Commerce Software We Considered

We evaluated each company by cost, features, integrations and plugins, customer support and user-friendliness. The following companies provide solid e-commerce services. However, they failed to make our list because they did not excel in one or more of our criteria.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce offers robust functionality and a deep bench of e-commerce features. However, this WordPress-hosted website-building tool has a steep learning curve. Unless you're already a WordPress pro, you'll probably have an easier time elsewhere.

Adobe Commerce

Formerly known as Magento, Adobe Commerce brings robust usability with its AI-powered e-commerce site builder. It failed to make our list due to its lack of pricing transparency and its few plans geared toward small and mid-sized businesses.

GoDaddy E-Commerce

GoDaddy e-commerce is affordable and easy to set up. However, its limited customization features and functionality makes it a poor choice for all but the smallest online retailers.

E-Commerce Software Guide

We put together this handy guide to help you understand all things e-commerce software related.

What Is E-Commerce Software?

E-commerce software platforms let businesses sell goods and accept payments online. Many companies in this sphere operate under a software-as-a-service model in which you pay an ongoing subscription fee in exchange for regular updates, access to customer support and other features.

The alternative is on-premise software which must be installed on a local server or computer. If you opt for this type of software, you won't have to pay an ongoing subscription fee. In exchange, you can expect a lower level of help and support. You also may not have access to future software upgrades.

In the past, e-commerce websites were largely the domain of coders and other tech-savvy individuals. However, the advent of low and no-code websites has allowed more people to build their own. Prebuilt templates and drag-and-drop elements make website design and creation simple. Some e-commerce websites allow for further customizations by adding plug-ins and third-party integrations.

Billing integrations let customers pay for their purchases through electronic payment methods, such as PayPal, Square POS or via credit or debit card. Sellers are generally responsible for paying the payment processing fee — usually 2.9% of the purchase price plus 30 cents. However, some e-commerce sites may tack on additional fees for certain third-party payment systems.

E-commerce software solutions typically have multiple parts. You should have access to:

• A digital storefront where you can list your goods
• A shopping cart tool
• A check-out feature that totals the customer's goods, applies all applicable taxes and accepts payments
• An automated shipping tool

In addition, many e-commerce websites come with marketing and SEO functionality. For example, Shopify lets you automatically sync your store catalog to your Facebook and Instagram ads. Some e-commerce platforms offer blogging features. Creating tailored content for your niche can help your digital storefront rise in Google's rankings, driving organic traffic to your website.

How Does E-Commerce Software Work?

E-commerce software comes with a lot of moving parts. However, most systems can be broken down into a few core components. First, you need to design your website and settle on a web hosting service (if you're opting for a SaaS model). You can expect to pay a monthly fee in exchange for space on an externally located server.

Creating your product catalog constitutes one of the most important and time-consuming elements of e-commerce website creation. Ensure that you have professional-looking photos of your products or services uploaded onto your website alongside concise product descriptions and persuasive sales copy.

Most e-commerce website builders come with a built-in shopping cart feature. You don't need any fancy bells and whistles here. However, the shopping cart should provide relevant information to your customers, such as pricing and stock levels. If customers have abandoned their cart, you might enable a push notification system to gently remind them to complete their purchase.

A merchant interface operates as an all-in-one dashboard that lets you track relevant information like inventory levels, payment processing, order management, shipping, fulfillment, analytics and reporting tools. Selecting an e-commerce platform with a robust merchant interface system will save you time and energy down the line.

Payment processing is, of course, essential. Ideally, you want a payment gateway system capable of accepting multiple forms of payment, such as credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, PayPal, Venmo and more. If much of your sales base comes from outside the US, you should make sure that you're able to accept multiple currencies.

Some e-commerce businesses take care of all fulfillment and shipping in-house. However, it's become increasingly common to outsource those functions to third-party vendors, especially for small businesses. Regardless, it's vital that your website connect directly to your fulfillment and shipping functions to ensure your customers receive their orders in a timely manner.

What To Consider When Choosing E-Commerce Software

Before you select your e-commerce software platform, it's important to assess your business along the following lines. Once you have a clear idea of how your business functions, picking the right software should be a cinch.

Business Size And Complexity

Different e-commerce platforms work best for small, medium and large business types. In addition, the complexity of your business factors into what sort of software will suit you best. If you're a professional service provider who requires customers to call in to get a specialized quote, you shouldn't shell out for advanced ordering and catalog features.

However, if you own a dropshipping company with a wide product catalog that you regularly update with new items then you may opt for a plan with more comprehensive features.

Customization Options

Many e-commerce software systems allow for extensive customization. You can choose from a variety of different templates, webpages, design features, third-party integrations and more. Before you make a purchasing decision, it's a good idea to do some comparison shopping first. Draw up a short list of software providers based on their listed features.

Payment Methods

Look for an e-commerce software solution that accepts multiple payment methods. The more payment types that you're able to accept, the broader your reach and the greater your income. At the very least, you want a website that accepts most major credit and debit cards. However, it's potentially beneficial to be accessible to customers using newer forms of payment such as digital wallets and other digital payment systems like PayPal and Venmo.

Be mindful of payment processing fees by channel. Some platforms can get unexpectedly pricey once you factor in surcharges for certain types of payment.

Product Localization

The internet has done a great deal to break down barriers between businesses and their customers. E-commerce software lets you sell to people across the world. While this represents a fantastic opportunity to expand your sales, it also comes with various obstacles as well. If you plan on selling to individuals outside of a constrained geographic location, it's important to find a platform that will enable you to:

• Accept multiple currency types
• Operate in multiple languages
• Ship products to geographic locations across the world
• Stay in compliance with different tax codes
• Provide accurate and up-to-date shipping and inventory information

Marketing

When shopping around for an e-commerce platform, it's important to look for the following features:

• SEO Tools: Content marketing gets your website in front of more eyes by helping it to rank higher on Google's search engine results page. Look for an e-commerce platform that gives you access to keyword mining tools, a blogging feature and detailed analytics.
• Email marketing: Newsletters and mailing lists remain a potent tool in any digital marketer's toolkit. You can collect site visitor emails through third-party integrations like Mailchimp or MailerLite. Alternatively, some e-commerce software platforms may come equipped with built-in mailing lists.
• Social media integrations: Connecting with your customers over social media lets you foster deeper levels of connection between you and your customer base. Some e-commerce platforms offer integrations that let you interact with multiple social media platforms at once.
• Pay-per-click integrations: PPC advertising is one of the most common forms of paid digital advertising. You can drive inorganic growth to your website through PPC campaigns conducted via Facebook, Instagram, Google AdSense and more.

Sales Channels

You may choose to sell your product across multiple channels. For example, you could sell your homemade jewelry on Etsy, Amazon and your personal website. But not all sellers want or need multiple-channel capabilities. For example, a dentist might want his patients to schedule all appointments over the phone or via a secure online web portal.

Customer Support

Even the best website builders encounter difficulties from time to time. Choosing a service that offers 24/7/365 customer support can be a lifesaver if your website goes down over a major holiday or in the middle of the night. Many e-commerce software providers offer multiple ways to get in touch with their customer support team, including live chat, phone and email support options.

Scalability

Transferring from one e-commerce software platform to another is doable but hardly a pleasant experience. Planning for growth early on can save you a headache down the road. If you're still in the beginning stages of your business, it's not a bad idea to select an e-commerce software platform with several pricing tiers, like Shopify or Wix. Get started with a basic, inexpensive plan option and upgrade your website as your revenue grows.

E-Commerce Software FAQ

How We Chose The Best E-Commerce Software

We assessed each company on our list according to the following criteria.

• Cost: We chose e-commerce software systems that gave users the best bang for their buck.
• Features: We looked at the total number and overall usefulness of the offered features.
• Integrations and plugins: We selected software systems with helpful integrations and plugins.
• Customer support: We evaluated each company on our list based on the level of customer support on offer.
• User-friendliness: We picked companies that offer an intuitive and easily navigable interface.

Summary Of Digg's Best E-Commerce Software

• BigCommerce – Best SEO Tools
• Weebly – Best Plan Options
• Square Online – Best For Multichannel Integrations
• Shopify – Best For Advanced Features
• Wix – Best Design Templates