Using the perfect eCommerce tools and platforms for your business can boost your sales, especially for small businesses and startups. Choose them wisely.
In this article, we have not only compiled a list of top eCommerce tools, but also the best eCommerce platforms. We have also added an explanation for each, which is differentiating them from the other tools or platforms.
Best Ecommerce Tools
Ecommerce tools are to support your website, strengthen your eCommerce strategies and ease your sales process. They will make your products or services more reachable and user-friendly. Here are the tools recommended:
Stripe
Stripe is reliable software which enables people to pay online. It can be integrated into your eCommerce platform easily. With its user-friendly structure, you can easily monitor the process of payments. Their fees are clear and flat, so you will not have any surprises in your bill at the end of the month.
When you enter your credit card data during shopping, this data is sent to Stripe directly. It doesn’t end up in the server of the seller ever. That is why Stripe is considered to be more secure compared to its competitors. With its headquarter in San Francisco, it is a world brand 14 global offices.
Metrilo
Metrilo is a tool which offers you more than one specific feature. You can use Metrilo for eCommerce analytics, eCommerce CRM, email marketing and customer retention. It is built for DTC brand owners, eCommerce marketers and agencies.
They have official plugins for WooCommerce, Magento and Shopify. Its integration into other platforms and tools is very feasible. This is considered to be the main reason why it is chosen by a wide range of businesses.
Mailchimp
Do you have a new product to announce? Do you want to increase your brand awareness? And, do you feel the need to keep your customers or potential buyer persona informed? If your answer is yes to these questions, you can use Mailchimp which will offer you a lot more!
It is the most commonly used service provider and email tool for direct email communications. One of the most important advantages of Mailchimp for startups or small businesses is that you can sign up and send emails up to 2,000 people for free. It is a great opportunity for you until you have a larger email database. With Mailchimp, you can easily create, personalize & send an email and analyze its impacts afterwards.
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor is another email marketing tool which can be preferred especially for small business ads. You can benefit from their monthly packages, or you can agree to pay per campaign if you do not send out a lot of emails.
They are a good point of contact if you like to send your messages to your customers via email with beautiful designs.
Oberlo
Oberlo is the tool for dropshipping. When the product is shipped from the supplier to the buyer directly, and when the seller does not store the products himself, it is dropshipping.
With Oberlo, you can find products on sale on other platforms, and take them to your “online store” and sell them very easily. So, you can have your own eCommerce store in a very short time.
Top Ecommerce Platforms
If your focus is eCommerce since the beginning, it is better to use the platforms which are designed for eCommerce. So they will appeal to your target audience more.
Once a person is happy visiting your website, meaning that they find it easy to navigate, order and/or shop, they are more likely to come back to your website and even suggest your brand to their friends/families.
Depending on your brand culture, location and what you want to display on your eCommerce website, you can choose one of the reliable platforms given below with their pros and cons:
Shopify
One of the most popular eCommerce platforms is Shopify. This platform has themes, page structures, and everything else designed for selling products online. People know that they do not need to worry about security and payment process when they are using Shopify. So, everyone trusts it in terms of payment gateways. It is designed for eCommerce.
Geolocation in Shopify helps you to sell your products all around the world and in all different currencies. There are also Shopify agencies who can help you to create your website on Shopify.
The only disadvantage it has can be its price. It has the quality without any doubts, but this costs some money. If you are just a small and local business with a little budget, you might reconsider this option.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an eCommerce plugin for WordPress. WordPress is the most common content management system (CMS), which is very simple, free, secure and open to everyone. With WordPress, you create a website without the need to know HTML, coding, design, etc.
Once you have your website ready, you can download the free WooCommerce plugin to build your online store. Great way to combine the content with eCommerce. You can extend this online store with different plugins and extensions.
On their website, they officially state that they are audited by Sucuri, an industry leader in security, on a regular basis. That’s another reason why its security system is reliable.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a more pro eCommerce platform which comprises a lot of significant features. Comparing to its competitors, BigCommerce gives you the opportunity to have a wider store. That does not mean it does not appeal to startups and small businesses. Because it is definitely for everyone from entrepreneurs to big brands.
One of the most important advantages of BigCommerce can be the fact that it doesn’t take any fee for debit or credit cards during payment.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a visual website builder where you do not need to worry about the domain. You can create your website in less than an hour thanks to their templates and user-friendly features.
For instance, Shopify mainly focuses on eCommerce. However, with Squarespace, you can do more. You can design a website as you like and that can include eCommerce as well.
Weebly
Another user-friendly website platform is Weebly It is free and open to everyone. If you prefer to have further detailed themes and features, you can, of course, have premium options which you need to pay for.
However, the free themes available will probably be more than enough for your startup or small business to start. If you would like to update it later on, you always can.
Jungle Scout
Jungle Scout is a successful eCommerce platform which enables you to sell your products on Amazon. If you do not want to spend time on creating your website and dealing with the store for your eCommerce purposes, Jungle Scout can be a perfect option for you. You should also consider the location of your target market.
This is called FBA business and FBA stands for Fulfillment by Amazon. So, what you do as a brand owner is to send your products to Amazon, who will store them for you. Then, you sell your products through Jungle Scout and Amazon ships them to your customer.
Salesforce Ecommerce Cloud
Salesforce is mostly known as a CRM (customer relationship management) software. However, it is more than that. It is an integrated platform that gives all the departments — including marketing, sales, commerce, and service — a single, shared view of every customer.
So, it also serves B2C eCommerce solutions with which you can connect to your shoppers easily. As a CRM-focused platform, it aims to build better digital commerce experiences. Salesforce helps you to build and launch campaigns and promotions without IT support needed – thanks to its ease of use.
OpenCart
OpenCart is another free and open-source eCommerce platform. You need to set up hosting and website security manually. You can add different extensions, free or slightly less expensive, to your website once you have your online store.
You can also manage multiple stores from one admin interface on OpenCart. It allows your website to integrate with a lot of reliable payment gateways.
Fastspring
Fastspring is a full-service eCommerce platform. You can create an eCommerce-focused website through Fastspring, or you can use the plug-in for your website on another platform. Why Fastspring? It is very well-known and trustable for its payment gateway.
It has global online payment systems set, which transfer the money from different currencies without any issues. You also do not need to worry about global taxes, risks, and financial concerns like bills. Because Fastspring takes care of all of it.
Magento
Different from other platforms mentioned earlier, Magento is not very easy to use if you have no experience in development. It might not be for beginners. However, that does not change the fact that the platform has a lot of valuable features that will benefit small businesses too.
Magento enables you to control how you deliver your customer experience. When it comes to security, they offer services to cover the problems. Developers prefer Magento more compared to its competitors.
Regardless of the size of your business, it is vital to have an appealing online store if you are in eCommerce. It is where your potential customers have the first impression of your brand and decide to buy or not.
We have compiled the most significant eCommerce platforms and tools that you can use for your startup or small business. However, if you like to get comprehensive support from a digital agency on this, you can see our article about the top eCommerce agencies with great projects.
