The 8 Best Ecommerce Platforms for Small Business Owners

There are powerful ecommerce platforms best suited for enterprise and global companies. But small businesses typically do better when they use ecommerce platforms that are more affordable and tailored to their needs. 

Here are 8 of our favorites.

1. BigCommerce Essentials

About the platform (1)

Founded in 2009 by two Australians, Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper, BigCommerce has made a “big” footprint on the ecommerce software industry. It also has a solution tailored for small businesses, called BigCommerce Essentials.

Best for small businesses that sell large volumes online: 

BigCommerce Essentials is the clear-cut choice for small businesses that sell large amounts of products and services online.

It has features that are more attractive to businesses that are already well-versed in online sales. If that’s you, BigCommerce Essentials can offer powerful features that optimize your current ecommerce site.

Customer Support

• 24/7 support available through live chat, email, & on the phone

Design

• Easy-to-use page builder to customize your website
• Mobile responsive

Features

• Single-page checkout
• Professional reporting tools
• Abandoned cart saver
• Google customer reviews
• Product filtering

Payment

• Integrates with online payment processors, including Strip, PayPal, Amazon, & others
• Allows coupons, discounts, & gift cards
• Multicurrency

Pricing

Start with a free 15-day trial. Then subscribe to one of these monthly plans:

Standard

• $22.50/month – Best for starting your first online store & customizing its design
• Plus $79.95/month – Best for growing your online business
• Pro $299.95/month – Best for scaling your business & capitalizing on innovative features

2. Bluehost + WooCommerce

About the platform (2)

Bluehost is one of the largest web-hosting providers in the world. It’s also one of the only web-hosting companies that’s endorsed by WordPress, a wildly popular website builder.

To clarify, Bluehost is the hosting company, and WordPress is the tool to design and build your website. WooCommerce, however, is the plugin that makes ecommerce on a WordPress website possible.

Best for businesses that use WordPress to build its websites

If your business’s website is already hosted by Bluehost and built with WordPress, WooCommerce is practically a no-brainer. The plugin is easy to install, offers thousands of themes, and has powerful features that make online selling simple.

Customer Support

• 24/7 support available via live chat with a Bluehost
• Onboarding assistance
• Large database of instructions & other documentation to help

Design

• Access to thousands of WooCommerce themes, plus the ability to work with countless third-party themes

Features

• Automated tax calculations
• Live shipping rates from mainstream carriers
• Ability to print labels at home

Payment

• Integrates with online payment processors, including Stripe, PayPal, Square, & Amazon Pay
• Multicurrency

Pricing

WooCommerce is free. You just need to pay for Bluehost website hosting and a WordPress ecommerce site at $45/month, billed monthly or yearly. Bonus, you get a free domain for a year with your first sign-up.

3. CoreCommerce

About the platform (3)

The ecommerce platform allows business owners to enjoy a variety of features, regardless of which price plan they’re on.

Some of these features include theme designs, marketing, order processing, and more. Plus, unlimited product customization, blogging capabilities, and site hosting.

Instead, you’ll notice that pricing differs, based on the number of products sold, the number of email addresses acquired, and how much storage you may need. Business owners who subscribe to the most expensive plan will enjoy more customer support services.

Best for small business owners seeking simplicity and transparency

CoreCommerce markets a transparent solution — with no hidden fees or other costs. As long as you know how many products you’re selling and how much storage you may need, pricing is simple.

Customer Support

• Talk to a support person on the phone, or use a 24/7 knowledge base or support ticket system

Design

• Choose from a library of modern templates
• Request design support from CoreCommerce support
• No coding skills needed

Features

• Easy build with drag-and-drop features
• Customized settings for shipping, tax, products, & more

Payment

• All payment types accepted (credit, debit, ACH, e-check, & more)
• Highly secure from beginning to end

Pricing

You can get started using CoreCommerce’s Entrepreneur plan free for the first 30 days. Then sign up for:

• $29/month
• 10 products
• All features
• Unlimited number of users

Pro

• $79/month
• 300 products
• All features
• Unlimited number of users
• 30 minutes of onboarding support

Business

• $229/month
• Unlimited products
• All features
• Unlimited number of users
• 60 minutes of onboarding support
• Custom programming

4. Ecwid

About the platform (4)

Ecwid’s website showcases beautiful ecommerce examples, ranging from sunglasses to furniture to clothes and shoes. It’s easy for business owners to get drawn in by Ecwid’s marketing — not to mention, their free lifetime plan for up to 10 products.

Best for small business owners who are just starting out 

Did you just launch your business? If you have 10 products or fewer and want to keep costs down, Ecwid may be the right choice for you.

You can use the free online store builder, as long as you keep 10 or fewer products to sell. When it’s time for your business to grow, Ecwid also offers affordable plans starting at just $12.50 a month.

Customer Support

• 24/7 support available through live chat, email, & on the phone

Design

• Customize your site with an easy-to-use page-builder
• Mobile responsive

Features

• Single-page checkout
• Professional reporting tools
• Abandoned cart saver
• Google customer reviews
• Product filtering

Payment

• Integrates with online payment processors, including Strip, PayPal, Amazon, & others
• Allows coupons, discounts, & gift cards
• Multicurrency

Pricing

Start with a free 15-day trial. Then subscribe to one of these monthly plans:

Free

• $0
• Get started free, as long as you have 10 or fewer products

Venture

• $12.50/month

Everything in the free plan, plus:

• Mobile point-of-sale
• Store management app
• E-goods: 25GB per file
• Abandoned cart saver
• Discount coupons

Business

• $29.17

Everything in the Venture plan, plus:

• Marketplaces
• E-goods: 25GB per file
• Wholesale pricing groups
• Google Shopping
• eBay U.S. integration
• Create orders
• Product dimensions

Unlimited

• $82.50/month

Everything in the Business plan, plus:

• Point-of-sale
• E-goods: 25GB per file
• Custom shopping app
• Square POS integration
• Priority support
• 12 hours of custom development

5. Magento

About the platform (5)

Magento’s user-friendly environment makes it simple to design and build online stores. Before making changes go live, even the most novice website designer can preview and publish without a hitch.

Plus, Magento offers all of the store fulfillment features, marketing, and analytics tools that you’d expect from a best-in-class ecommerce platform.

Best for experienced business owners who want to boost their sales online

Magento offers powerful ecommerce capabilities, which may be better suited for an experienced business owner who is selling large-scale online.

For established businesses that want to double or triple their growth online, Magento may pay off. 

Customer Support

• 24/7 online support offered via tickets, phone calls, & online documentation

Design

• Countless themes available via Adobe & third-party theme sites

Features

• Easy-to-use page builder
• Highly customizable
• SEO-friendly
• Fast load time
• Track inventory quantities across multiple locations

Payment

• Supports all major payment options
• Easily manage refunds, cancellations, and more

Pricing

Magento is a higher-cost solution, starting at a couple thousand dollars a month. It’s best to talk to a Magento sales professional directly to find the right pricing for your business. Keep in mind, Magento currently doesn’t offer a free version.

6. Shift4Shop

About the platform (6)

Shift4Shop has quite a bit to offer to the average business owner. Not only does it have mostly all of the “expected” ecommerce capabilities, but Shift4Shop has options to request gift wrapping, the ability to start a loyalty program, and recurring order features.

Best for small business owners seeking innovative features at an affordable price

Choose Shift4Shop if you’re a small business owner who’s looking for an ecommerce solution that’s anything but basic. Shift4Shop will give you all of the ecommerce features you expect — plus new bells and whistles.

Customer Support

• 24/7 support available through a ticketing system & knowledgebase
• Help with migrating your current ecommerce website

Design

• 100+ free design themes, plus more being added

Features

• Module to offer gift wrapping
• Quick edit bar to make easy design changes
• Auto-zoom feature on product images
• Tools for sending coupons, newsletters, & more

Payment

• Integration with PayPal
• Takes minutes to set up
• Supports 160 alternative payment providers worldwide, including Bitcoin, financing, & more

Pricing

Get their end-to-end ecommerce solution free with a trial version. Or try one of these plans:

Basic Store

• $29/month
• 2 users
• No additional transaction fees
• Unlimited products

Plus Store

• $79/month
• 5 users
• No additional transaction fees
• Unlimited products

Pro Store

• $229/month
• 15 users
• No additional transaction fees
• Unlimited products

7. Shopify

About the platform (7)

Shopify has made a big name in ecommerce with large brands, like Pepsi, Tesla, and Red Bull, using it to generate billions in revenue.

However, Shopify can be one of the best free online store builder solutions out there for a small business owner who wants to get an online shop up and running quickly.

Best for business owners who want to set up an online shop fast

It’s easy to start a 14-day free trial and build an online shop with Shopify in just minutes. Shopify has an onboarding wizard that quickly walks you through set-up and generates your store. It’s fast to set up payments, customize the site’s look and feel, and get your products on display.

Customer Support

• 24/7 support available through live chat, email, & on the phone
• Discussion forums for customers
• Online documentation & help forums

Design

• Customize your store’s site with 70+ themes
• Mobile-friendly
• Easy-to-edit HTML & CSS
• Work with a dedicated designer to customize your site

Features

• Easily offer free shipping
• Supports multiple languages
• Automatic taxes
• Abandoned checkout recovery
• Much more

Payment

• Accepts credit cards, plus 100 payment gateways (PayPal, Bitcoin, & more)

Pricing

Get started with Shopify’s free 14-day trial. Then subscribe to one of these monthly plans:

Basic

• $29/month
• Ideal for new ecommerce businesses that still have in-person sales

Shopify

• $79/month
• Best for growing ecommerce businesses

Advanced Shopify

• $299/month
• Best for scaling your ecommerce business and using advanced analytics

8. Square

About the platform (8)

Square’s biggest selling point is the chip reader that you’ve probably seen. It works hand-in-hand with the company’s ecommerce capabilities so you can offer purchases both in-person and online.

Best for businesses that rely on ecommerce and in-person sales

Own a restaurant and want to offer online ordering too? Have a retail clothing store or small boutique and want to generate sales in another part of the country? Check out Square. It’s the all-in-one solution for small businesses that do both — in-person sales and online stores.

Customer Support

• 24/7 support available in Square’s online support database, plus request a callback from a customer service representative

Design

• Customize your online storefront by choosing from beautiful, modern-looking designs geared toward restaurants & retail
• Mobile- responsive

Features

• Easy onboarding
• User-friendly site builder with customization features
• Streamline in-person purchases with online purchases

Payment

• Accepts all major credit cards plus PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Square, & Cash App Pay
• No fees for refunds or chargebacks
• Fraud protection
• Access funds with Square Checking or transfer to a bank account the next day

Pricing

Square’s free plan allows you to sell unlimited products online, as well as on Instagram and Facebook. You also can upgrade to one of these more powerful options:

Professional

• $12/month

Free features, plus:

• Custom domain
• No Square ads
• Free domain for 1 year
• Custom font uploads
• Password-protected pages

Performance

• $26/month

Professional features, plus:

• Accept PayPal
• Abandoned cart
• Advanced reporting
• Product reviews
• Gifting options

Premium

• $72/month
• Performance features, plus:
• Low processing rate
• Discounted shipping
• Real-time shipping

Protect Your Online Store with Ecommerce Insurance

Now that you’ve picked the best ecommerce platform for your business, it’s time to start selling. Or is it?

Actually, you may want to hold up sales until you purchase a solid business liability insurance policy.

Why do you need liability insurance coverage for your ecommerce business?

It’s easy to think that you may only need business insurance if you have a traditional brick-and-mortar or offline business. Unfortunately, there are a good number of risks even for online businesses.

Business liability insurance can help protect you from costly lawsuits that can put your business under water.

Plus, it’s relatively low-cost. And it takes just 10 minutes or less for you to get a business insurance quote for your ecommerce business.

Types of insurance ecommerce businesses may need:

General liability insurance

Also known as GL insurance, general liability coverage can help handle costs from third-party accidents, property damage, and bodily injury.

General liability insurance also works if you operate your ecommerce business out of an office, warehouse, or your home. 

Professional liability insurance

This coverage can help protect you from claims related to libel, slander, or copyright infringement. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to get caught in a mix-up related to one of these claims, even if you never intended to do harm.

This way, your business can keep operating normally, without facing disastrous financial consequences.

Cyber liability insurance

As an online business owner, you could be an attractive target for people trying to steal customer information or take down your website (which is the same as taking down your business).

Cyber business liability insurance can help claims associated with stolen customer data, cyberattacks, breaches, and fraud.

Even better, we can get you a quote for cyber coverage in 60 seconds right here.

An Ecommerce Website Builder Can Elevate Your Business

In today’s world, ecommerce is critical to the success of most businesses. Whether you’re a restaurant owner needing to implement a takeout solution, a retailer selling boutique-style clothing, a jewelry designer, or a toy manufacturer, you’ve probably noticed that people are buying more online than ever before.

To stay competitive in today’s market, it’s critical that you choose the right ecommerce platform to power your online store — and protect your online business along the way.

Looking for more information about starting and running an ecommerce business? Check out these helpful guides:

The Complete Guide for Building an Online E-commerce Business

How to Sell Products Online: Just Follow Our Easy Step-by-Step Guide

6 Biggest Benefits of Ecommerce Business Insurance

1. Learn more at bigcommerce.com
2. Learn more at bluehost.com and wordpress.com
3. Learn more at corecommerce.com
4. Learn more at ecwid.com
5. Learn more at magneto.com
6. Learn more at shif4shop.com
7. Learn more at shopify.com
8. Learn more at squareup.com