Shopping online has become the largest type of consumerism in recent years. The global effect of the COVID-19 pandemic directly influenced that shift. But, with all the top-notch e-commerce websites available, online shopping may continue to be the primary way consumers buy products.

From individuals to small businesses and even large corporations, what are the best e-commerce sites out there? Here are the 5 best e-commerce platforms (in no particular order):

  1. WooCommerce

This is an add-on in WordPress that allows owners to integrate purchasing options into their existing website. While WooCommerce is free, as well as open-source, it’s essentially a self-serve tool. Owners must be willing to learn how to use it through the available help guides and online forums. This tool is a great idea for people with small businesses looking to save costs.

WooCommerce has helpful features like:

  • Management for inventory & catalogs
  • Optimization for mobile devices
  • Reviews of products
  • Allows for gathering analytical data via Google
  • Calculator & options for shipping costs
  1. Magento

Like WooCommerce, Magento is open-sourced. However, its learning curve is a double-edged sword. The site requires people to put their sites together essentially on their own. It does have a big community and is very stable. Additionally, Magento has an open-source and commerce version. The open-source version is free for the platform only, meaning everything else needed to develop the site will cost money. Magento’s commerce version, on the other hand, charges annually in the thousands.

  1. BigCommerce

This platform has clear SEO features that can be edited easily. Contrary to most sites on this list, BigCommerce has a currency feature that is compatible with multiple different currencies when selling products. The fees for using BigCommerce are competitive and higher than most other sites. Also, its prices for the ‘tiers’ it offers depend on how many sales are made per month.

Some benefits of using BigCommerce are:

  • POS software capabilities
  • No limits on how many products can be listed
  • Large file storage space
  1. Shopify

Perfect for smaller businesses and easy for beginners to learn, Shopify doesn’t use code. Even the tools on the site are codeless, but the interfacing capabilities are extensive. People have access to numerous pre-designed templates as well as the ability to design one themselves. While Shopify does have a free 14-day trial, it’s a monthly subscription beyond that. Nonetheless, it has a lot of features such as:

  • Unlimited number of product listings
  • Personalized domain addresses
  • In-depth personalization
  • Analytics tracking
  1. Shopify Plus

This is the next step up for Shopify that’s geared toward larger companies. It contains the same foundation of Shopify but has even more features and customization capabilities. This upgraded version does require some specific knowledge of front-end frameworks to be able to fully utilize its tools. Pricing for Shopify Plus exceeds $2,000 a month and varies based on the desired options chosen.

Conclusion

Having an easy-to-navigate, appealing website is vital for any company or individual hoping to sell products online. The site also needs to have all the information a visitor might be looking for in order to turn them into a customer. E-commerce platforms like those listed here exist globally, contain different features, and vary significantly in terms of price. Determining which platform to use is best decided after extensive research is done.