6 best e-commerce platforms in 2023
“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.
BLUEPRINT
Updated 1:32 p.m. UTC Nov. 27, 2023
Editorial Note: Blueprint may earn a commission from affiliate partner links featured here on our site. This commission does not influence our editors' opinions or evaluations. Please view our full advertiser disclosure policy.
Online storefronts give everyone the opportunity and ability to sell digital and physical goods or services to consumers. The best e-commerce platform delivers a seamless shopping experience, allowing retailers to customize nearly every aspect, from exclusive discounts to marketing emails.
For our guide to the best e-commerce platforms, we compared 37 subscriptions from 14 online vendors. We based our rating on over 50 data points and spent dozens of hours speaking with customer service reps and business software users. Our assessment considered monthly fees and transaction costs, online store functionality, inventory and customer management features.
-
Shopify
: Best for solopreneurs looking to scale
-
Wix
: Best for e-commerce site customization
-
Ecwid
: Best for upgrading an existing site
-
Shift4Shop
: Best for businesses processing $500 or more monthly
-
Weebly
: Best for quick setup and ease of use
-
Squarespace
: Best for selling custom merchandise
Why trust our small business experts
Our team of experts evaluates hundreds of business products and analyzes thousands of data points to help you find the best product for your situation. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content. You can read more about our methodology below.
- 15 companies reviewed.
- 39 products reviewed.
- 2,028 data points analyzed.
Best e-commerce platform in 2023
Shopify
Wix
Ecwid
Shift4Shop
Weebly
Squarespace
Best e-commerce platforms comparison
Methodology
We extensively research the key competitors within an industry to determine the best products and services for your business. Our experts identify the factors that matter most to business owners, including pricing, features and customer support, to ensure that our recommendations offer well-rounded products that will meet the needs of various small businesses.
We collect extensive data to narrow our best list to reputable, easy-to-use products with stand-out features at a reasonable price point. And we look at user reviews to ensure that business owners like you are satisfied with our top picks’ services. We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the best e-commerce platform of 2023.
The best e-commerce platform has positive user reviews on customer review sites. E-commerce platforms should provide customers with fast and reliable support. Using a combination of phone support, live chat and knowledge bases, customers should be able to quickly resolve issues 24/7.
E-commerce platforms should provide businesses with the necessary tools to effectively run an online business. Platforms should be affordable compared to competitors. Expanding on easy-to-use website building tools, e-commerce platforms should combine payment processing capabilities with a robust set of online sales features.
All e-commerce platforms should allow online businesses to manage inventory, sell physical and digital products and offer services to customers. A network of integrations should be offered to integrate accounting, client relationship management (CRM), dropshipping services and omnichannel selling tools. Built-in tax and shipping calculators should be provided along with abandoned cart recovery tools to ensure a smooth checkout experience for customers. And mobile apps should make it easy for business owners to view transactions, reports and analytics. Finally, email marketing tools and social media integrations should be provided to help businesses capture prospects and turn them into sales.
What is an e-commerce platform?
An e-commerce platform is an online software program that enables online sales. It’s a digital storefront controlled by a business owner or individual and differs from a marketplace, which is run by a third party. Most e-commerce solutions provide inventory management, online payment and shipping tools.
How to choose the best e-commerce platform for your business
Online website builders are all different, and when picking an e-commerce solution, it should meet your specific needs and goals. Decide what you want and how an exemplary service will help you succeed.
Follow these steps to find the best e-commerce platform for your business.
1. Assess your business needs
Start your buying journey by learning what your company needs from an e-commerce platform. Doing this will help you set a budget and pick out your must-have features.
Consider the following questions before beginning your search:
- Do you want an out-of-the-box solution or prefer to add e-commerce capabilities to an existing website?
- Do you want to choose a payment processor with interchange-plus pricing or use an integrated service with flat rates, like Square or Stripe?
- What sales volume do you expect to do over the next one to three years?
- Do you need special features for selling digital content, members-only spaces or recurring subscriptions?
- Will you be scheduling appointments or selling memberships?
- Do you need industry-specific tools, like restaurant reservation, coaching or event management options?
- Will you sell internationally?
2. Develop a budget and feature list
Decide how much you’re willing to spend monthly or if you can afford to pay a larger upfront fee to get a discount. Also, consider any costs associated with migrating an existing site or if you need help getting a new site configured. While several e-commerce platforms are user-friendly, others require a learning curve.
Next, think about your answers to the above questions and ask team members for their thoughts on what features are essential. Since pricing ranges from $16 to $105 monthly, retailers with smaller budgets may have to be more picky about their features.
Remember, if you’re the one uploading products and creating marketing emails, having dozens of fancy features won’t help if the process is time-consuming and challenging. Likewise, you don’t need to pay extra for unlimited features if your shop only sells a limited number of items, and you don’t need dozens of staff accounts if you own a small family business.
3. Check out e-commerce platforms
Along with reading guides like this one, check out user reviews and ask other business owners in your industry for their opinions. Many professionals are willing to share their experiences to help small business owners avoid mistakes. Reddit and Quora also have many threads about e-commerce sites and best practices.
Remember to look closely at individual subscriptions. Although the platforms may appear similar, the packages differ significantly around pricing and features.
4. Test drive before buying
Although free trials are hard to come by, some e-commerce solutions have free plans. We recommend opening an account and using the free services before buying a plan. Check out the templates. Try the drag-and-drop editing tools. Even request help and see how long it takes to get a response. All of these factors matter when you are busy running an online store.
If no free trial or free version is offered, ask for a demo. Many providers will set up a time with you to walk you through the product, offering a catered approach that focuses on the features and capabilities you need from the platform.
How much will an e-commerce platform cost you?
*Shift4Shop is free if you process $500 or more monthly.
E-commerce platform paid subscriptions range from $16.00 to $105.00 monthly or $12.00 to $82.50 monthly with annual billing. Weebly Professional offers the lowest-priced monthly and yearly plans. But Shift4Shop has a free version for online retailers who process $500 or more monthly. Those who fall under this amount pay $29.
Shopify provides the best deal for annual billing with its Shopify plan. Business owners who purchase the Shopify subscription and pay for one year upfront receive a $26 monthly discount, totaling $312 in yearly savings. Only Squarespace’s Commerce Advanced plan comes close with its $16 monthly discount for annual billing.
For vendors with integrated payment processing, Shopify’s Shopify subscription has the cheapest fees (2.6% plus 30¢ per transaction). Other e-commerce platforms use Stripe or Square, which charge 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction. However, some solutions like Ecwid or Shift4Shop let retailers choose from many payment gateways, which can result in lower processing fees.
Shopify Basic is Shopify’s entry-tier plan and the best e-commerce platform. It earned five stars in our rating of more than 50 data points. Shopify Basic allows two staff editors and unlimited products and storage. With built-in tax liability, fraud monitoring and automation tools, Shopify Basic is an exceptional out-of-the-box solution for new and established retailers.
Weebly Professional offers the lowest monthly subscription price, regardless of sales volume. It costs $16 monthly for unlimited storage and products. Weebly doesn’t charge transaction fees. Instead, retailers can use Stripe or Square for payment processing. Stripe and Square charge 2.9% plus 30¢ per online transaction.
However, companies processing $500 or more monthly can use Shift4Shop for free, making it cheaper than Weebly Professional. Credit card transaction fees may be less expensive since you can choose your payment processor with Shift4Shop.
Yes, you can transfer some or all of your online store (products, design elements and customer data) from one platform to another. The process and what you can migrate differ depending on the e-commerce site you currently use and the one that you are moving to.
For instance, Shopify provides an importer app to transfer items, order history and customers, whereas you’d have to pay a fee for the Cart2Cart app to migrate to Wix. Squarespace lets users import some content but not fonts, designs or a site’s layout.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
