5 tools to create an e-commerce site: and which is the best choice?
Many aspiring online entrepreneurs have great ideas for online stores but fail to implement them due to the cost of building an e-commerce website . Fortunately, some of the best website builders allow you to develop an ecommerce website for free.
In most cases, these websites can be set up without any technical skills and come with tools that help you quickly publish your product. Why do these tools provide free ecommerce websites ? You offer it as a way for aspiring webmasters to test their management of your site, while offering upgrade options to expand your business.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce website builders , and with its library of customizable templates, you can build a website with no design knowledge required. Note that Shopify only offers a 14-day free trial and is not a "free forever" site. However, the 14-day trial period does not require a credit card to sign up.
Shopify lets you make sales and accept payments live or online, with fully automated shipping and payment services that integrate with your website . With the basic package, you will get the following benefits:
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited products
- Shopify point of sale application
- Basic website and blog functionality
- Free SSL certificate
You'll also get these value-added benefits:
- Ability to print shipping labels
- Evasion analysis
- The ability to provide discount codes
- Canceled cart recovery tool
- Shopify Payments has no transaction fees
Shopify also offers a powerful app store packed with apps to help you with product sourcing , marketing , social media, shipping, inventory, accounts, customer service, and more.
As mentioned, you only have a 14-day free trial. After that, you must upgrade or you will not be able to access your website . The basic package is ideal for most startups. As your business grows, you can upgrade to an account that offers better selection, discounted shipping, and access to third-party apps on your website .
Shopify is suitable for most ecommerce businesses looking to get started, especially those looking to host a large number of products.
SimpleSite
You probably know that SimpleSite lets you build a free website in minutes, but did you know that it comes with limited e-commerce features for free? SimpleSite 's free plan allows you to create a website with a limited number of customizable templates.
With SimpleSite, you get the following standard features:
- SimpleSite subdomain address
- Ability to host up to 15 pages
- Mobile sites
- Add the video to your website
While SimpleSite 's most valuable and essential service is more for those looking to host an e-commerce website. You can create an online store with only five products. The payment processing option is limited to PayPal .
Of course, if you want something better or the ability to create more powerful websites , you'll need to upgrade. Don't bother with the Pro plan, though, because the e-commerce features are similar to the Free plan. The e-commerce package offers the following benefits:
- Free domain name
- Unlimited pages
- Unlimited minutes for photos and videos
- Five email addresses
- Unlimited products in the online store
SimpleSite's free website is ideal for anyone looking to sell a limited selection of products online or looking for in-person sales. They're also great for small sales like Girl Scout cookies or lottery tickets.
Volusion
- Volusion is another e-commerce platform that offers a 14-day free trial. He specializes in helping aspiring ecommerce website owners build a fully functional store in minutes without any technical knowledge.
- With Volusion Store, you get the following benefits:
- Online store compatible with mobile phones
- The ability to accept PayPal and Stripe payments
- Free SSL certificate for your website
- Drag and drop store builder
- List up to 100 products
- 1 GB of storage
- With the convenience store basic package, you will get the following benefits to help you start your online business:
- 2% lower transaction fees
- Automatic tax calculator
- Inventory Management
- Ability to use tools such as live chat, email management, social media and Google Analytics
- After 14 days, your free trial will expire and you will need to either upgrade your website or lose it. Convenience store packages are available for smaller stores, but choosing a larger package will give you the following additional benefits:
- Unlimited products
- Unlimited storage
- Bulk order processing
- Ratings and reviews on your site
- big sale
- Canceled offer report
- Up to 0.5% transaction fee
Volusion is for those who are new to e-commerce and looking to sell a small product line. The basic plan is not suitable for those looking to sell a lot of products, or those looking to add a lot of media to their website due to storage space limitations .
WooCommerce
Unlike the other products on this list, WooCommerce is not an ecommerce hosting site . But it is a customizable WordPress plugin . This means that you still need to find your WordPress hosting and domain name.
WooCommerce is a completely open source e-commerce platform that provides wallpapers and themes, allowing you to set up a basic interface for free, while also offering the following benefits:
- Built-in blog
- Built-in product
- Shopping cart account
- Integration of payment processors for a wide range of service providers
- Unlimited photos and galleries
- Unlimited products
- The ability to sell physical and digital products
- Shipping options and shipping rates are available in real time
The main advantage of using WooCommerce over other services is that you have complete freedom in designing your website . The templates are fully customizable, you can add any functionality you want to the templates.
Something to be aware of when using WooCommerce is that some plugins and extensions require purchase. The same goes for some advanced background settings. However, this fee is a one-time payment and not a recurring fee like other platforms. This will save you money in the long run.
WooCommerce is the best choice for those who want full control of their website and are ready to customize their pages. It is not recommended for those who want an all-in-one option that includes web hosting and domain.
Doubt
Duda offers you a paid 30-day free trial to try out the service. Unlike many other platforms, Duda demo packs are " Tier 2 " team packs. The Team Pack provides the ability to create an e-commerce store in minutes with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. It also provides customizable templates, giving you the freedom to create your own sections rather than limiting yourself to pre-made design options.
Here are some of the benefits you get from the Duda website:
- Interactive website design
- Customizable product pages
- Email marketing features
- Millions of free and paid images for your website
One difference between Duda and the other services on this list is that Duda offers a free domain service. Duda also provides the following advanced features:
- Customize your website's HTML/CSS code
- Digital download offers
- Automatic tax calculator in multiple currencies
- Set maximum and minimum purchase amounts
- Offers shipping service options with real-time shipping rates
The caveat to using Duda at the expense of other services is that you are limited to ten Duda products . For everything else, you'll pay an additional monthly fee. You can list 100 products for a small additional monthly fee and then list 2,500 products for $10.
After the 30-day trial period, you must upgrade to continue using the site. If you decide you want to host more than one website , you can use the proxy package to host up to eight websites. Users who want their store to be limited to ten products can choose the basic package.
Duda is for those looking for more freedom in how they design their websites. However, it is not recommended for those looking to cut costs, as listing more than a dozen products will incur additional fees.
See also: How to increase sales - 25 ways to increase sales and income
Start for free and upgrade as your business grows
Although you can sign up for an e-commerce website for free using the above services, you give up a few things when you do so. In some cases, you will not get a custom domain. In other cases, product quantities will be very limited, or design options will be limited.
Some services only offer a short free period and after that you will have to upgrade or lose everything you have created. Also, these sites are not perfect in terms of SEO, especially those on subdomains. This will make it more difficult to rank in Google , which will make it harder for people to find your store.
The reality of business tells us that you have to spend money to make money. The great thing about free website builders is that you can set up your own e-commerce website for free to get your business up and running.
- Ultimately, you will need to upgrade your website to keep your business growing. In e-commerce , this type of question is good because it means that the business is successful and profitable. The great thing about all of the above providers is that you can get started for free. When the time comes to grow, they will provide you with all the tools to scale your e-commerce business.