10 best eCommerce website builders to get your online business up and running

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With so many options on the market, choosing the best eCommerce website builder can be overwhelming. You need a tool that not only offers flexibility and scalability but also integrates with various payment gateways, provides robust security and delivers an impeccable user experience.

It may be tempting to pick the first option that comes up in your Google search. Yet, what works for one person might not be the most suitable website builder for your business. To save you time, money and headaches in your search, we've rounded up a list of the best eCommerce website builders that cover a range of budgets and use cases.

Ready to start selling online? Try Wix on for size.

Navigating the world of website builders requires more than just a quick glance, especially if you’re looking for a tool that can support your eCommerce business at all stages of its growth. Each option in our carefully curated list of the best eCommerce platforms brings reliable solutions to the table. From specialized features catering to specific industries to versatile builders that suit any type of business, we've got you covered. 

With Wix, learning how to make a website for eCommerce is straightforward. You can browse a library of free, professionally designed online store templates that match your brand's identity. You can then customize your site with the help of our drag-and-drop website builder and all of its built-in editing tools or AI—no coding required. If you do have coding experience, however, Wix’s open platform does allow you to create your own customized website with code.

Wix is designed as a comprehensive, end-to-end eCommerce platform with ecommerce tools and others, to help you market, manage and grow your business—from sourcing products to accepting payments, fulfilling orders and more. 

For example, from Wix, you can manage product listings across multiple sales channels, including native mobile apps, third-party eCommerce marketplaces and social media There’s even an integrated physical point-of-sale (POS) system for accepting in-person sales. 

“Wix is not only an eCommerce website builder,” explains Oren Inditzky, vice president and general manager of online stores at Wix. “It covers all types of business, and as such, it can allow you to further grow and expand your business. In addition to selling products, you can also offer services to book, events to attend, blogs to read and so on.” 

Once your site is live, you can refine your content to drive more sales, convert more customers and show up higher in search results. Wix’s SEO Assistant automatically recommends ways to improve your content, structure and SEO attributes across Wix Bookings pages, Wix Stores product pages and Wix Blog posts. And, Wix is at the forefront of AI in eCommerce: with built-in AI text creation tools, you can instantly refine FAQ pages, About sections and more. Most notably, the AI tool can create hundreds of optimized product descriptions for your store in minutes, saving you countless hours of work. 

Key Wix features

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See more: Read our handy guide on how to start an online store.

Squarespace can help all kinds of businesses get online. The website builder offers an assortment of visually appealing templates, making it a good choice for photographers, local stores, restaurants and more.

Squarespace combines good looks with versatility and ease of use. Its drag-and-drop site editor is fairly simple to use, allowing you to set up your site in a short amount of time. You don't need any coding know-how to make a great-looking and functional website.

Additionally, the platform has many helpful features that will help your online business scale. For example, it has built-in blogging features for SEO visibility as well as merchandising tools like low stock alerts, product waitlists and more. 

Key features of Squarespace

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Learn more: Wix vs Squarespace

BigCommerce is another popular platform for online stores of all sizes, especially enterprise businesses. As its name implies, this is largely thanks to the eCommerce-specific features available across all of its plans. 

You can start building your site from one of 12 free designs, or browse through the library of more than 200 paid templates. If you have technical experience, you can further customize your website down to the CSS and HTML code.

One of the nicest features of BigCommerce is that it offers unlimited products and staff accounts across all of its plan tiers. Each tier also offers multichannel sales features, built-in blogs, professional reporting tools, product ratings and more. More advanced features are available in higher-tier plans.

Key features of BigCommerce

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If you’re a creative professional, showcasing your work in the best light can be hard. Fortunately, Big Cartel offers a good solution if you're looking for an eCommerce website builder aimed at independent artists and creators. 

Big Cartel takes a simple approach to website creation, which is ideal for smaller stores or those just getting started with their business. It is not intended to handle robust eCommerce or enterprise needs like those offered by platforms like Wix, Shopify or BigCommerce. 

All of Big Cartel’s 15+ templates are stylish, unique and free across all pricing plans. You can customize each design to your liking, and the platform’s site editor lets you see changes made to your Big Cartel site right away. 

As for your store offerings, you can list five products for sale through the free forever plan, or upgrade to a paid plan to list between 50 and 500 products. All plans come with an assortment of basic eCommerce tools, though more advanced features like analytics, inventory management and shipping tracking are available through paid plans.

Key features of Big Cartel

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Shopify’s website builder is designed specifically for eCommerce businesses. The platform offers a wide range of features and customizability options for merchants, making it a popular choice for online selling.

To build your online store with Shopify, you can browse more than 170 professionally designed templates from the platform’s theme library. Of this assortment, around a dozen themes are free while more than 160 are paid. Shopify's templates provide the basic framework you need to get started building your online store; you can then add additional functionality and customization to your site via Shopify’s diverse app store, which features more than 8,000 free and paid apps as of this writing. 

Key features of Shopify

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WooCommerce is an open-source plugin that's built for WordPress, giving you tight control over your eCommerce site. Building a store with WooCommerce is a budget-friendly option because the plugin is free. The only caveat is you'll need your own server, domain name and SSL certificate to receive payments. Since the onus is on you, the user, to sort out your website, that also means you'll need to handle your website's upkeep and safety.

Since you have full control and autonomy over WooCommerce, you can really make your online store your own. There are hundreds of free and paid extensions you can add to include features like different ways to pay or tools for email marketing.

However, bear in mind that you have to keep these plugins and your WordPress up to date to keep your site safe and working right. Other eCommerce website builders on this list manage everything for you (usually at a cost). With you completely at the helm, you’ll want to double-check your site’s functionality after something like a plugin update. 

If you’re looking instead for a turnkey solution, Woo, the creator of WooCommerce, also offers Woo Express. These paid plans are designed for folks who want to spend less time building and more time selling.   

Key features of WooCommerce

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See more: Ready to get your venture off of the ground? Read our guide on how to start a business.

Ecwid is a unique option among the best eCommerce website builders. Instead of needing to build or redesign an entire site, Ecwid can simply be added to your existing website—including your Wix website—instantly turning it into an online store.

The platform proclaims that it can help you “sell anywhere,” offering additional eCommerce integrations for social media, online marketplaces like Esty or Amazon, and even in-person sales via POS and mobile. 

If you don’t yet have a website, you can use Ecwid’s “Instant Site” feature to put one together in about 30 minutes. The platform offers hundreds of customizable templates designed to get your store launched as quickly and effortlessly as possible.

Ecwid offers a free forever plan with limited functionality. Advanced and even basic eCommerce features—like live chat support, discounts and access to Ecwid’s App Market—are only available through paid plans. 

Key features of Ecwid

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Weebly is another good choice for independent contractors or small businesses that want to set up a website, especially if you don't want anything too technical. Weebly is owned by Square, meaning you’ll need a Square Online account to access the site builder. 

Weebly offers a range of customizable templates—including free options—that enable you to craft a professional-looking store. Its user-friendly interface makes designing your site straightforward, though it’s a bit more limited in design options than other platforms on this list. Weebly also integrates seamlessly with various payment gateways, providing a smooth transaction experience for both the store owner and the customers. 

This simplicity does not come at the cost of functionality, as Weebly includes essential features like inventory management, shipping tools and basic marketing capabilities within its platform.

Key features of Weebly

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See more: Need some advice in growing your online store? Brush up on these essential eCommerce strategies to take sales to the next level.

Shift4Shop, formerly known as 3dcart, is a strong contender in the eCommerce website builder space, particularly for businesses looking for an all-inclusive platform with extensive customization capabilities. 

One of Shift4Shop’s most significant advantages is that it offers an “unlimited, enterprise-grade” plan with a full suite of eCommerce tools for the potential cost of $0. If your online store processes at least $500 per month, your end-to-end eCommerce plan is free. If you process less than $500 per month, you’ll still have access to the same tools, but may be charged a monthly software as a service (SaaS) fee. All of Shift4Shop’s 100 website themes are free, too.

Key features of Shift4Shop

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Volusion is a solid out-of-the-box solution for small- to medium-sized online stores, with a focus on making website creation simple and easily customizable.

The platform offers an assortment of free themes expertly designed with “conversions in mind.” The simple page-building tool allows you to customize each theme with click-to-add functionality for pre-coded content blocks—like blogs, featured products, testimonials and more.

Volusion also offers an assortment of sales and marketing tools, but it’s worth noting that they’re only available starting at the second-tier paid plan. This includes useful features like abandoned cart reports, a customer relationship management (CRM) system, ratings, reviews and more.

Key features of Volusion

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The best eCommerce website builders should offer a range of features to enable you to create, manage and optimize your online store. Some of the key non-negotiable features you should expect from an eCommerce website builder are:

Any platform you use should have an intuitive interface that allows users with varying levels of technical expertise to build and customize their online stores without extensive coding knowledge. Look for features such as drag and drop and low code no code capabilities.

Access to a variety of professionally designed ecommerce templates should be paramount, catering to different industries and design styles. Additionally, the ability to customize these templates with branding elements, colors, fonts and layouts is essential for creating a unique online store.

Popular ecommerce template categories include:

The builder should ensure that websites created on the builder are mobile friendly, allowing you to design your site for mobile. Mobile friendly ecommerce website builders prioritize site reliability and performance.

Robust product ecommerce management features are crucial, including the ability to add, edit, and categorize products easily. Users should be able to upload product images, set prices, manage inventory and create product variations (such as sizesm or colors) efficiently.

Your ecommerce platform should offer a secure and streamlined checkout process, allowing customers to easily add products to their cart, enter shipping and payment details and complete purchases. Integration with popular payment gateways and support for multiple payment methods (credit cards, PayPal) is essential.

Your ecommerce builder should provide flexible shipping and tax configuration options, allowing users to set shipping rates based on factors like weight, location or order value. It should also support automatic tax calculations based on the customer's location and applicable tax laws.

Built-in search engine optimization (SEO) features are essential to help you optimize their online stores for better visibility in search engine results. Additionally, marketing tools such as email marketing integration, discount codes, social media sharing and gift cards can help drive traffic and increase sales.

A good ecommerce website builder should offer built-in analytics tools that provide insights into website traffic, sales performance, customer behavior and other key metrics. Access to detailed reports and data visualization tools can help you make informed decisions to optimize their online stores.

Security features such as SSL encryption, PCI compliance and regular software updates are essential to protect customer data and ensure a secure shopping experience. Also look for features like automatic backups and fraud detection/prevention mechanisms, all of which are standard with a Wix ecommerce site.

Look for responsive customer support channels (such as live chat, email or phone support) and comprehensive documentation/resources to help you troubleshoot issues and get the most out of your builder. An active user community or forum can encourage knowledge sharing and collaboration among all users.

Editor’s note: all prices and features are current as of January 11, 2024.