We've come a long way. If you want to have a website up and running by the end of the day, there are tons of tools to help you do that. (Of course, the quality you get is often matched by the time you put into it, but that's another article for another day.)
For those who don't have the skills and expertise in web development, building an ecommerce website can be daunting and even overwhelming. It can seem like there are an infinite amount of options to choose from.
That's why we're going to take a look at some of the best ecommerce website builders. You'll then be better equipped to craft your masterpiece store with minimum stress and maximum benefit.
10 Best Ecommerce Website Builders
1. Shopify
As the best ecommerce website builder, Shopify is designed to be a one-stop-shop for online store owners. It offers a native feature, customization, or integration for virtually any business function you could want, including:
- An intuitive drag-and-drop builder
- Thousands of third-party apps, via the Shopify App Store, for diversifying your store's functionality
- Multi-channel selling across social media, marketplaces, and in-store point of sale
- Built-in marketing tools to take your business growth to the next level
- Centralized business operations for inventory management, order fulfillment, logistics management, and other tasks, directly inside your dashboard
- AI-powered features to help you design your store, write product descriptions, and get expert guidance on shipping and analytics
- More than 800 professionally crafted themes to give your store a polished look
- Industry-leading checkout system that converts more visitors into customers
Plus, Shopify integrates with more than 100 payment gateways to ensure a smooth experience for you and your users. You can accept credit cards, digital wallets, and alternative payment methods to meet customer preferences worldwide.
When you make a sale, Shopify Shipping helps you print labels quickly and save up to 88% on shipping costs with major carriers.
Pricing: Plans start at $5 per month for the Starter plan, which is perfect for social selling. The Basic plan begins at $29 per month when billed annually, with a free trial available. All plans include SSL certificates, domain hosting, and 24/7 support.
2. Shift4Shop
Shift4Shop provides a straightforward solution for retailers who want to establish an online presence quickly. It comes with essential ecommerce features and mobile-responsive designs that work well for store owners looking for a structured approach.
This platform focuses on delivering core functionality without excessive complexity, making it suitable for those who prefer simplicity over extensive customization options.
Key features include:
- Compatibility with various payment processors
- More than 90 complimentary templates to launch your site
- SEO features built into the platform to improve visibility
- Cart recovery notifications to recapture lost sales
Pricing: Shift4Shop offers a free plan if you process at least $1,000 monthly through their payment system. Otherwise, paid plans start at $39 per month for those using alternative payment processors.
3. Squarespace
Squarespace is primarily designed to be an ecommerce website builder instead of an all-in-one business solution. So while you'll get great building features for a beautiful store, you won't necessarily find the same business features as on a platform like Shopify.
That said, you'll find tons of great features, like an easy to learn drag-and-drop builder and built-in marketing tools to help you sell online.
Squarespace also offers several themes, like many of the other ecommerce website builders, categorized by style, store type, and functionality. Once you choose, you can customize as you wish, with your brand's logo, imagery, colors, fonts, and more.
The platform handles various payment methods including Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Afterpay. Higher-tier plans unlock subscription selling and gift card capabilities.
Pricing: Plans start at $16 per month if you pay annually ($23 per month if you pay monthly), with a 14-day free trial.
4. BigCommerce
BigCommerce may be a great option for larger companies, as it's more equipped with the types of tools you'll need for more complex store management. These features also better equip larger businesses to scale as necessary, instead of scrambling to find new tools to meet their needs.
The ecommerce platform also boasts a robust partner ecosystem that includes top-notch tech providers, marketers, and ecommerce developers and designers. You can tap into these resources to fill any gaps you have within your own team.
BigCommerce offers enterprise options like:
- B2B features
- International selling
- Multi-storefront features
- Omnichannel selling
- Offline to online
- Wholesale
- Headless commerce capabilities
- Commerce-as-a-service
Pricing: Plans start at $29 per month if you pay annually ($39 per month if you pay monthly). BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial. Enterprise customers should contact the company directly to discuss your needs and get a quote.
5. Wix
Wix may be a great option if you're an individual seller or a small business. This is because it offers some great features and tools for building and growing an ecommerce store, but the functionality can be limiting if you're a larger-scale business.
Here are some of the things Wix's ecommerce builder offers:
- Building tools like 500+ templates, APIs, and inventory management
- Sales help from 80+ payment options, multichannel sales, and worldwide partners
- Growth tools like built-in SEO and analytics, social media advertising, and product subscriptions
Wix provides fundamental order tracking, payment acceptance, and multichannel distribution capabilities. However, entry-level plans lack sophisticated inventory features such as automated low-stock notifications and tax computation tools.
Pricing: Wix has a free version for building websites, but ecommerce functionality requires a Business plan. The Core plan starts at $29 per month, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
6. Volusion
Volusion delivers a collection of features that enable users to design homepages and product pages, with compatibility for numerous payment gateways to facilitate transactions.
The platform includes inventory tracking and performance analytics to help you monitor your store's operations. It has a native product recommendation feature to improve the shopping experience. Note that Volusion is built for physical merchandise only so it doesn't accommodate digital downloads.
Notable features include:
- Drag-and-drop content elements for straightforward page design
- Mobile-adaptive themes that display properly on smartphones
- CSS editing capabilities for detailed visual adjustments
- Subscription billing options for recurring revenue products
Pricing: Volusion plans start at $35 per month for the Personal tier. Pricing scales based on your gross merchandise volume (GMV), with higher-volume sellers paying more. A 14-day free trial is available.
7. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is best known for basic website building, but it does offer capabilities to help get an ecommerce business off the ground. Just keep in mind that ecommerce capabilities are limited in comparison to many of the other site builders we're touching on in this list. So we primarily recommend GoDaddy for beginners and those with light needs.
GoDaddy lets you add up to 5,000 products with 10 images per product, which is more than enough if you're a small or boutique store. You can collect payments from customers via credit card, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. The platform also lets you calculate shipping costs using a fixed rate or weight-based rate.
In terms of marketing, you'll be able to use tools that leverage email, social media, and SEO. The platform simplifies online store setup with more than 100 mobile-optimized templates and integrated promotional features.
Pricing: Ecommerce plans start at $16.99 per month when billed annually.
8. Hostinger
Hostinger delivers a simplified method for creating an online store through its drag-and-drop website builder. It's crafted for users seeking a lightweight yet capable ecommerce solution.
The platform connects with resources like Google Analytics and Facebook advertising, offering data to strengthen your promotional activities. While there's no free option, monthly costs remain low and come with a variety of fundamental ecommerce features.
Key features include:
- Drag-and-drop editor for simple customization
- Customer relationship tools to handle emails, discounts, and promotional codes
- Detailed reporting and marketing tool integration
- AI-assisted design and content features
Pricing: Hostinger's Business Website Builder plan costs $18.95 per month when billed annually. The plan includes cloud hosting and extensive WordPress tools.
9. WooCommerce
Are you a WordPress seller in need of ecommerce features? Look no further than WooCommerce, an open-source platform that adds these capabilities to your website as a plug-in. With this ecommerce website builder, you gain the flexibility to manage various website features, including payments, inventory and tax management, and shipping integrations.
Notable features of WooCommerce include:
- Exclusive to the WordPress ecosystem
- Responsive website themes
- No third-party software access (you have complete control over your business and customer data)
- A global community of 350+ contributors
- 100% open source code, giving you complete control over your website's functionality
Pricing: WooCommerce is a free WordPress plug-in, meaning you don't have to pay anything to access its core functionality. However, adding ecommerce features on top requires purchasing different extensions, which cost upward of $70, on average.
10. Square
Square, previously called Weebly, provides an accessible platform that allows anyone to begin constructing an ecommerce website at no cost. However, to utilize your own domain or eliminate advertisements, you'll need to buy a paid subscription.
If you're searching for a no-cost ecommerce builder, Square Online's basic tier includes capabilities like live shipping updates and discount code functionality. For more sophisticated features, however, upgrading becomes necessary. Square Online also connects with Square POS for efficient in-store payment handling.
Key features include:
- Batch catalog tools that let you upload and modify merchandise information
- Responsive storefronts designed to work seamlessly on smartphones and tablets
- Promotional code generator included in premium subscriptions
- Compatibility with Square's retail system for streamlined operations
Pricing: Square Online offers a free plan with transaction fees only. Paid plans start at $29 per month when billed annually, with lower processing rates on higher tiers.
How to Choose the Right Ecommerce Website Builder
Choosing the best platform for your online store means thinking seriously about a few key things:
Budget and Growth Plans
Think about what you can spend each year and how big you want to get. Some platforms crank up the fees as you sell more or add a bunch of products. Don't just plan for your launch, make sure the platform can handle your product catalog growing down the road.
Technical Expertise
A lot of platforms use simple "drag-and-drop" tools, but you'll still need some basic skills to list products, manage your catalog, and set up any extra apps or extensions. How comfortable are you with software and fiddling with the backend?
Design Flexibility
Do you just need a simple place to show off your products, or do you need fancy stuff like sizing guides, instant chat, or custom product filters? Picture how you want the website to look and what tools you'll need to make that vision happen.
Customer Support
If you're new to selling online, you're probably going to need a helping hand. See if the platform you like offers live support and good guides. Pick an option that can quickly help you fix problems so you can get your store open and start making sales.
Payment Processing
You need solid payment options so customers can pay safely and easily. Look for platforms that offer super-fast checkout and work with lots of different payment providers, so you can accept money from shoppers all over the world.
There's an Ecommerce Site Builder for Everyone
While you may feel a bit intimidated choosing the right ecommerce site builder, rest assured that the top tools all offer amazing features and functionality. This is especially true if you have no coding or development skills, as many are ready out-of-the-box with drag and drop capabilities.
Spend some time weighing the pros and cons of the apps you come across. You should also consider your own unique needs, goals, resources, and budget. But don't overthink it and launch your store so you can start selling online.
Ecommerce Website Builder FAQ
Is It Easy to Create an Online Store?
Yes. Website builders like Shopify allow you to launch a store within minutes. You just have to pick a template, customize your store, and add your products to start an ecommerce business. Start building with Shopify.
How Much Does It Cost to Build Your Own Ecommerce Website?
Not much if you use an ecommerce website builder to create one. Many platforms like Shopify cost less than $30/month, which gives you an affordable way to create a professional online store for your business.
What Are the Best Free Ecommerce Website Builders?
- Shopify
- Shift4Shop
- Squarespace
- BigCommerce
- Wix
- Volusion
- GoDaddy
- Hostinger
- WooCommerce
- Square Online
What Is the Best Ecommerce Website Builder for Beginners?
For those just starting out, Shopify stands out as an ideal choice due to its user-friendly interface and straightforward setup process. The platform requires no coding skills and provides step-by-step guidance throughout. New merchants benefit from built-in payment processing, extensive tutorials, and an active user community ready to help.