Question 1

How much does it cost to build an ecommerce website?

Accepted Answer

Broadly speaking, Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly's cheapest ecommerce plans will cost you between $20-30 per month. Wix's ecommerce plans, for example, range from $23 per month for the Business Basic plan to $500 per month for the Enterprise plan. Meanwhile, Shopify's cheapest plan is $29 per month, and gives you access to a serious ecommerce experience. However, its other plans cost $79 per month and $299 per month. These are designed for established ecommerce stores, so there's no need to worry about the high prices if you're just starting out. Not all ecommerce website builders cost the same amount. In fact, platforms such as Shopify or BigCommerce cost significantly more than platforms such as Wix or Weebly. This is largely due to the complexity of each platform. While Wix and Weebly will let you create a really small, basic site with only a few products, Shopify and BigCommerce are designed for much larger operations.

Question 2

How do I create a free ecommerce website?

Accepted Answer

You'll have to pay actual money to sell online with any of these ecommerce platforms. But, there is a way of creating your online store for free, and that's by choosing Square Online as your website builder. Of all the ecommerce brands we've listed, this is the only one that offers a way to create your entire store for free – the catch? You'll need to pay transaction fees to Square on all of yours sales. That isn't unusual for an ecommerce site builder, but we recommend you check our pricing table, above, to be sure you're comfortable with the costs. All in all, we'd recommend Square Online to smaller ecommerce brands, or anyone building a personal online store or boutique store. For much bigger sites, the transaction fee will work out as poorer value. All the other website builders we've listed do offer some level of free functionality – Squarespace, Shopify, and BigCommerce, for example, have limited-time free trials. However, you'll need to pay to extend these trials into full sites. Don't let that put you off setting up an ecommerce site, though. As you start making money, you'll quickly recoup the cost of the ecommerce platform you choose.

Question 3

Is Wix good for online stores?

Accepted Answer

Wix is excellent for creating online stores. If you want to make a small store – perhaps as a side-hustle, a boutique website, or a site to sell products associated with another project you're working on (a podcast or band, for example) – then yes.

In fact, Wix is a great choice for an ecommerce site if you're looking to make an online store as part of a larger website.

However, if you're looking to create a large online store for a company that sells lots of products, we'd probably advise going with Shopify or BigCommerce.

Question 4

Which is the easiest ecommerce website builder to use?

Accepted Answer

Shopify and Wix are the two easiest ecommerce website builders we've tested, and both should prove simple and approachable when you're creating your own online store. Arguably, Wix just has the edge for first timers, thanks to its best-in-class Help & Support options. Both sites have excellent setup processes, where you're guided through creating a site with some simple questions and easy-to-follow templates to get you started – this can help any beginner feel confident with their first steps.

Question 5

Which ecommerce platform is best for small businesses?

Accepted Answer

If you're a small business owner, and want to create an ecommerce site, we'd recommend going with either Wix or Squarespace.

Wix makes creating a website incredibly easy, and you'll have loads of design tools at hand to make it fit your existing branding. Squarespace, on the other hand, has a laser focus on design, and has loads of built-in ecommerce tools.

Wix, however, does offer a more scalable platform that Squarespace for ecommerce sites. So, while both are good for starting out, Wix will likely be a better fit in the long run.

Question 6

What makes a good ecommerce website design?

Accepted Answer

The best ecommerce sites are super easy to use and look high-quality. Of course, building a site that can tick both of these boxes is easier said than done. However, there are some good ground rules to follow:

Make sure navigation is easy - No one likes clicking back-and-forth between different menus, trying to work out how to get home
Use high quality images and videos - Customers want to buy things that look nice, and if the stuff you're trying to sell doesn't look nice, no one will buy it
Mobile optimization - More than 40% of online purchases happen on mobiles, so its worth making sure your site looks good on a phone
User-generated reviews - These are a great way to build trust in an online store, so make sure your site can use them

This isn't just a matter of pretty visuals and smooth navigation for customers, either. A well designed ecommerce website can improve your revenue – indeed, research by Shopify has found a correlation between quality online store design and increased customer loyalty. In fact, Shopify is so confident in its research, it has produced a 39-point checklist for all online stores to use when deciding on a design.

Question 7

Are there ecommerce website templates?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. All of the ecommerce platforms we've recommended here offer online store templates. These make it super-easy to start creating an online store by giving you the bare bones of a site, right off the bat.

You might not like the idea of using a template, and would prefer a more free experience. However, all of Squarespace's templates, for example, are professionally-designed, which might give you the edge on your competition. We've added some of our favorite in the gallery.

A template will also ensure your site stays consistent, so it always looks clean and elegant.

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