If you want to start your own online store, you need to find an e-commerce platform that will help simplify the job for you. There are various different options out there and many of them may actually help you create online store free. Then there are other options which may not be free but make for some very reasonable options. As such, instead of going for an e-commerce platform to create online store free, you should weigh-out different options, study their features and benefits and then make an informed decision.
Let’s now look at some of the e-commerce platforms in the market and understand their plans and features.
Shopify
This website is a great tool for creating an online store for your business. It boasts of having powered at least 600,000 stores through its online store building tool. It has generated close to $82 billion in the process, in terms of sales. It allows you to create an online store with ease. You can easily create an online store yourself on Shopify without a team of designers, developers or technical experts. It offers web hosting as a part of the package, which means you don’t have to purchase any separate web hosting service.
Starting at a very small amount of $9 a month, Shopify offers a variety of plans to opt from. The basic price comes at $29/month. With this plan, you can add unlimited products, have multi-channel integration, 24/7 customer support and more. The Plan comes at $79 per month. Under this plan, you can avail the reporting tool, gift cards, and you can have up to five staff accounts. You can also avail the point of sale facility if you opt for the Shopify Plan and those above it. The other two plans are Advanced at $299 a month and Plus at around $2000 a month. You can avail the advanced report builder with these two plans.
Shopify lets you accept credit cards safely and ensure quick and easy checkout for customers. It also helps you create a good customer experience on mobile as well. If you want to read reviews and other features about Shopify, check MyBestWebsiteBuilder.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free-to-install WordPress plugin that you can use to start your online store. While this is an open source software, you will have to make payments to third-party web hosting and domain providers to run your online store. WooCommerce is a good option if you’re well-versed with using WordPress. While your web-host may limit your file storage, WooCommerce allows you to have total control over your data. You may add unlimited products and categories but the process of setting up your online store can be very time-consuming. From picking a domain name to installing a WordPress theme, the entire process ends up taking a lot of your time.
Magento
Magento is another tool you can use to create online store free. It offers an open-source code with the help of which you can customize your store. But unless you have a developer on board or have the technical skills, the entire process of customizing your store can be quite complex. With Magento, you don’t have to pay any transaction fees and you can download the software for free. However, their customer support system is not available 24X7, which can put you in a tight spot in case of technical difficulties. In the process, it can affect the customer experience negatively.
Opencart
Opencart is a comprehensive, free-to-use tool that offers some really good themes for an online store. However, you will need to download various other add-ons to create an e-commerce store that gives you results. In the process, using Opencart may turn out to be expensive for your business. While Opencart is easy to use, it offers limited customization options. If you’re using any customized elements on your website, it can lead to the development of bugs which can be problematic for your business.
osCommerce
osCommerce is another tool you can use to create online store free. It’s known for its good online support system. It’s easy to start an online store with osCommerce and customize your store according to it. But osCommerce is a platform that demands more maintenance than other options. It requires more effort to update your online store, work out your search engine optimization, and ensure website security.
As compared to the free plans offered by other e-commerce platforms, Shopify’s Lite plan or the Basic plan is a much better option. While these free options may seem convenient in the beginning, you will find it difficult to scale your store with these plans. Shopify offers affordable plans that will work in your favor in the long run when you’re ready to scale your store!
