Top 10 Ecommerce Platforms of 2016
Today, starting an online store is not that difficult but choosing an ecommerce platform among a list of platforms is a daunting task. Year-by-year, the advancement in the ecommerce technology & the rising competition among online stores have raised the expectations that people have around ecommerce platforms. Today, it's not enough just offering easy setup, some level of customization, and the inclusion of standard features. Mobile friendliness, social media integration, good user experience, search engine optimization, modules for content marketing and customer support have become a fundamental need of an online store today.So considering these factors I have created the list of top ecommerce platforms at per current ecommerce market trends and needs:
Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, that develops computer software for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Shopify, a popular hosted ecommerce platform and has most number of users. Here are some of features that made Shopify the most popular ecommerce platform:
Ease of Setup
Search Engine Friendly
Quick Loading Speed
Safe Payment Gateways
Great Customer Support
Only drawback that I noticed, Shopify checkout is not much customizable and also you can't switch to self-hosting in the near future
Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform written in PHP. The software was originally developed by Varien Inc., a US private company headquartered in Culver City, California, with assistance from volunteers. Another popular and I will say a veteran ecommerce platform that known for its unique features. Here are the some of exciting features Magento has:
High level of Security
Fully Customization Scope
Multi Language
Multi vendor
SEO Friendly
Primarily, Magento is a better fit for large-scale retailers and building high-end ecommerce websites. For small companies, Magento is not right option.
YoKart is a multi vendor solution, better known as a tough competitor to e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. It combines the advantages of hosted and open source platforms. It is customizable and features rich script with multi-layer security and intuitive interface. YoKart is a popular ecommerce platform to setup multi-vendor ecommerce marketplaces. YoKart takes the startup initiative seriously and here are some of its features that make its stand out among best platforms:
Multivendor Functionality
Multi-lingual & Multi-currency
Product catalog system
Multiple payment gateways
Advanced order management system
Real time shipping cost calculator
Has both the features of hosted and self hosted platforms
Fully Responsive Design Website
Mobile Apps for customers and sellers
Intuitive Interface and SEO Friendly
Multivendor Functionality
1 Year Free Technical Support
Prestashop is another popular and cost-effective open source ecommerce platform. Here are some of the impressive features Prestashop has to offer:
Available in 40 languages
Vast selection of customizable ecommerce themes
Quick install features
Intuitive interface
Powerful set of integration's
Prestashop does not support multi-store feature nor have any official customer support team.
WooCommerce is an open source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. It is designed for small to large-sized online merchants using WordPress. Shopify, a popular hosted ecommerce platform and has most number of users. Here are some of features that made Shopify the most popular ecommerce platform:
Ease of Setup
Search Engine Friendly
Quick Loading Speed
Safe Payment Gateways
Great Customer Support
Only drawback that I noticed, Shopify checkout is not much customizable and also you can't switch to self-hosting in the near future
I've been using Webx since last 6 months for my marble e-store. Recommended for all SMEs and even the new comers in ecommerce. They have been regularly updating the software with new features and improvements.
Very good looking themes and professional store fronts! That's what is usually missing in other cloud ecommerce platforms
Simple, easy and full of powerful features! Highly trusted and popular in ecommerce industry in Pakistan.
Good platform for small and mid sized businesses. Themes are good looking and easy to manage!
X-Cart comes with an easy installation method and after successful completion of the setup it can run a fully functional online store. Few important features of X-Cart are mentioned below:
Clean, responsive design
Multilingual catalog
Inventory tracking
Integration with eBay
Product comparison
An expert X-cart developer is needed in installing the shopping cart, as well as, including your website graphics and company logo.
Operating as an e-commerce platform, Volusion provides online retailers with a range of tools for building and managing online stores. Known for its user-friendly interface and robust features, the company targets both small businesses and larger enterprises looking to expand their e-commerce reach. Volusion is one of the earliest ecommerce builders, which is a hosted ecommerce solution like Shopify.
Here are features that make volusion stand among the best ecommerce platforms:
Quick and Cost-Effective Store Setup
More front-end features at relatively lower cost
Good loading speed even with large database
24/7 customer support
Volusion doesn’t have an App store, therefore, expanding capabilities of your online store is a bit of a challenge. Lacks custom pages and built-in blogging solution is also its drawback
Bigcommerce is a privately held technology company that develops e-commerce software for businesses. The company was founded in 2009 and has 370 employees with headquarters in Austin, Texas and additional offices in San Francisco, California and Sydney, Australia. BigCommerce is pretty much like Shopify, except that it has more built-in features. Here are the highlighted features of BigCommerce platform:
Easy to Setup
Fully Functional Ecommerce Website
Highly Secure
Good Loading Speed
Extensive Customer Support
Its plans are comparatively costlier to Shopify and others. Outdated themes were another downside of BigCommerce until very recently.
With AspxCommerce, you can create a storefront within minutes. A few important features that Aspxcommerce has:
Key Performance Indicator modules
A/B testing module
Responsive Design
Search engine friendly
From loading speed to customer support are much not impressive.
AmazingCart is a Unique Ready Native Mobile application for your Online Store. You only need to choose the theme, name and the logo. Install the plugin into your CMS (WooCommerce, Magento, Opencart and PrestaShop). No coding skills required! Our support team will help you every step of the way from setting up the application to uploading it to AppStore or Google Play. Quick installation in few clicks, modern design and interface, free updates, no monthly fee, regular content update!