Best Ecommerce Software

Creating an online store does not have to be difficult, depending on if you choose the best ecommerce software. So, how does one know what the shopping cart is best for them? Believe it or not, there are simple guidelines to choosing a solution that suits your needs the most. Looking at things like features, bandwidth, storage, customer service, and pricing are just some of the aspects that should be researched prior to signing up for any ecommerce software.

Top 10 Ecommerce Software

1) Bigcommerce: the best ecommerce software solution due to its robust features and the best overall deal. [Read our comprehensive Bigcommerce Review]

BigCommerce Shopping Cart Rating: 10 out of 10

• 100 to unlimited products
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 1 GB to unlimited storage
• No transaction or setup fees
• No bandwidth overage fees
• Plans range from $24.95 to $299.95 per month

 

2) Shopify: Probably one of the easiest and quickest ways of launching an online store. Very affordable. [Read our comprehensive Shopify Review]

Shopify Shopping Cart Rating: 9.70 out of 10

• 25 to unlimited products
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 1 GB to unlimited storage
• 0 to 2% transaction fees
• No bandwidth overage fees
• Plans range from $14 to $179 per month

 

3) Volusion: Tons of free templates. Very popular hosted shopping cart. [Read our comprehensive Volusion Review]

Volusion Shopping Cart Rating: 9.42 out of 10

• 100 to unlimited products
• 1 GB to 40 GB of bandwidth
• Unlimited storage
• No transaction or setup fees
• Bandwidth overage fees of $7/GB.
• Plans range from $15 to $195 per month

 

4) 3dcart: The most underrated shopping cart. Advanced marketing tools. [Read our comprehensive 3dcart Review]

3dcart Shopping Cart Rating: 9.03 out of 10

• 100 to unlimited products
• 2 GB to 45 GB of bandwidth
• Unlimited image storage
• No transaction or setup fees
• Bandwidth overages fees of $5/GB.
• Plans range from $19.99 to $129.99

 

5) Magento Go: The most popular shopping cart in the market. Lots of possibilities. [Read our comprehensive Magento Go Review]

Magento Go Shopping Cart Review: 8.75 out of 10

• 100 to 10,000 products
• 4 GB to 32 GB of bandwidth
• 200 MB to 5 GB of storage
• No transaction or setup fees
• Bandwidth overage fees of $10/GB.
• Plans range from $15 to $125 per month

 

6) Pinnacle Cart: Tons of advanced shopping cart features. Easy to use and configure. [Read our comprehensive Pinnacle Cart Review]

Pinnacle Cart Shopping Cart Rating: 8.41 out of 10

• Unlimited products
• 2 GB to 100 GB of bandwidth
• 1 GB to 50 GB of storage
• No transaction or setup fees
• Bandwidth overage fees of $3.50/GB.
• Plans range from $30 to $150 per month

 

7) 1ShoppingCart: One of the very few shopping carts that offer integrated email marketing. [Read our comprehensive 1ShoppingCart Review]

1ShoppingCart Ecommerce Software Review: 7.87 out of 10

• 500 to unlimited products
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Unlimited storage
• 0.75% to 1.50% transaction fees
• No bandwidth overage or setup fees
• Plans range from $34 to $249 per month

 

8) CoreCommerce: Little sister of BigCommerce. Easy to use. [Read our comprehensive CoreCommerce Review]

CoreCommerce Shopping Cart Rating: 7.42 out of 10

• 150 to unlimited products
• 2 GB to unlimited bandwidth
• 1 GB to 50 GB of storage
• No transaction or setup fees
• Bandwidth overage fees of 0 to $9/GB.
• Plans range from $29.99 to $199.99 per month

 

9) AmeriCommerce: Not very popular, but a good alternative to the shopping carts above. [Read our comprehensive AmeriCommerce Review]

AmeriCommerce Shopping Cart Rating: 7.14 out of 10

• 100 to unlimited products
• 2 GB to 50 GB of bandwidth
• 250 MB to 5 GB of storage
• No transaction or setup fees
• Bandwidth overage fees of $4 to $6/GB.
• Plans range from $24.95 to $299 per month

 

10) Yahoo Merchant: Simple. Easy to use. Good reputation and basic features. [Read our comprehensive Yahoo Merchant Review]

Yahoo Merchant Shopping Cart Rating: 7.10 out of 10

• Up to 50,000 products
• Unlimited bandwidth
• Unlimited storage
• 0.75% to 1.50% transaction fees
• No bandwidth overage or setup fees
• Plans range from $39.95 to $299.95 per month

 

Why Ecommerce Software is Important?

I can sit here and give you dozens of reasons why ecommerce software is important for your online store. This type of software makes it easy to create and manage an online store. You do not have to be a professional designer or have extensive knowledge in HTML and/or CSS to create an online store. The best ecommerce software will do all of the hard work for you. Additionally, hosted ecommerce software requires no additional fees and does not require a separate hosting account.

The best ecommerce software will not only put your online store in front of millions of shoppers, it will give you the top features and tools you need to run and manage a successful online store. Yes, there is a ton of shopping carts that promise you all of that, but only a handful are truly reliable.

As a long time developer, I understand that choosing the best ecommerce software can be overwhelming, especially for beginners. That is why I developed a “what to look for criteria” and made a list of the top ecommerce shopping carts that are great for creating online stores. This list is filled with some of the best ecommerce providers in the industry including BigCommerce, Shopify, and Volusion.

How to Find the Best Ecommerce Software?

Since most of you are reading this article because you are having a hard time choosing the best ecommerce software. As mentioned above, the criteria below are helpful to anyone looking for the top shopping cart for their online store:

• Price – I have included this first because price is important and you want to be able to fit it in your budget. It does not matter what the ecommerce software offers if you cannot afford it. It is important to develop the maximum price you are willing to spend on this type of software. Once you have a price in mind, research and compare the different plans available. Since we have tons of options to choose from, it’s vital that you are not overpaying for type of software.
• Features – This is probably the most important step that most people skip over. Sit down and create a list of the features that you need. Features will vary from niche to niche. For example, an electronics store might need different features than a book store. Ideally, be on the lookout for features in categories such as bandwidth and storage, marketing, SEO, store management, design, and analytics.
• Monthly Bandwidth Limits – Some shopping carts have unlimited bandwidth on all plans or offer it on their more expensive plans, while others have limited bandwidth. Having unlimited bandwidth takes the worry off your monthly bill, meaning you do not have to worry about crossing your bandwidth limit and incurring overage fees. On the other hand, shopping carts offering limited bandwidth will have overage fees. These overage fees are usually charged per gigabyte and vary from cart to cart. It’s best to go with a shopping cart that offers enough bandwidth for your online store.
• Transaction Fees – Whether you want to believe it or not, but transaction fees tend to eat into the profits of your store. However, shopping carts like to charge these transaction fees as a way of racking in more profits into their pockets. Some shopping carts give you options to waive transaction fees, while others do not. I recommend to go with a shopping cart that does not charge transaction fees or make yourself eligible to waive them. Typically, transaction fees tend to range anywhere from 0 to 2%.
• Store Product Limits – Since most shopping carts offers several plans, it should be easy to choose the plan that can withstand your inventory levels. Some ecommerce solutions even offer unlimited products.
• Payment Options – Depending on the country you are targeting, having limited payment options can lead to problems. Not all countries know about PayPal and not everyone is comfortable sending you checks and money orders. Furthermore, it is important to allow your customers to pay using a credit card and not go through a third-party service like PayPal. It is always good to know how you want to accept payments. Some payment gateways even offer recurring billing.
• Ease of Use – Most hosted shopping carts are much easier to use than standard open source platforms. That being said, signing up for a free trial and testing out the platform before deciding on them is your best bet. Shopify is extremely easy to use and it is very simple to create a store using their software.
• Technical Support and Assistance – Having a 24/7 customer support line is good, but it is not the only thing you should look at. Just because they are available all day does not mean they are knowledge and reliable. Additionally, it is a good idea to browse through their support pages and see if they have any guides or tutorials. I found it helpful to place a test call to their support team to see if they are able to answer your questions.

Can You Succeed Selling Online?

Absolutely, selling online can be a successful business. Online shopping has been on a steady increase over the past several years. “Internet Retailer” reports online sales of over $225 billion in 2012, that’s an increase of 15% from previous years. Considering that the economy has not fully recovered, customers continue making most of their purchases through online shopping.

Those are amazing figures and they will continue to be impressive. The holiday season is around the corner, why not start your online store and help improve online sales?

Additional Tips and Information

Regardless of the shopping cart you choose, be sure that it is the best fit for your online business. Choosing the best ecommerce software is the key to creating and running an online store. It is a good idea to take advantage of free trials as you can see how the ecommerce software works and if it will be the right choice for you.