5 of The Best Cloud-Based Ecommerce Platforms

Digital commerce is a critical avenue for companies to expand their customer base and drive key goods and services. Cloudbased ecommerce platforms provide you with the means not only to create a website, but also an online shop, to increase product recognition and brand awareness.

Both sites have a broad mobile and social outreach, capitalizing on ever-evolving technology and communication networks. To properly take advantage of eCommerce platforms, they must meet the needs of the business model. There are so many eCommerce platforms available, but the five listed here are ideal solutions for businesses looking to develop digital marketing and sales.

1. Shopify Of all available eCommerce platforms, Shopify may be the most common and successful one out there, and you’re probably already familiar with it. Shopify is the most comprehensive and feature-rich platform available with over 600,000 online stores and over one million active users worldwide. More than $72 billion has also been traded for Shopify, a testament to its large scope and versatility.

There are enough high-quality tools to help your store if you use Shopify, for example: you can sell products and services both physically and digitally through the app You can also connect them to a variety of social networks, like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, as well as online retailers such as Amazon. There are over 100 payment gateways to choose from, like Shopify Payments and Google Pa. You get customizable features for your checkout, such as logos, brand colors and fonts. You can drop-in, bid downloads, and sell whatever your heart desires. Shopify offers different price points, with simple pricing plans beginning at $29. Shopify can be the best place to start for businesses or any digital marketing executives who want to get into eCommerce.

2. Wix Initially a site builder with drag-and-drop functionality, Wix has become a popular platform for building online stores. It’s not as versatile because Shopify, because you can’t sell through several platforms without using devices, and it doesn’t have an abandoned cart recovery. Being a website with eCommerce features, rather than being designed for this purpose, it does not have the same set of choices.

And, because of its drag-and-drop configuration, you can see exactly how your storefront looks. Plus, your online store is designed to be mobile-friendly, making it easier for potential customers to browse and shop from their phone or tablet. Priceing is also reasonable, as the eCommerce package is only $17 a month.

You’ll get phone, email and social media support, plus a forum and an in-depth knowledge base. In addition, when you’re building your shop, you get on-page support, making it perfect for small businesses or self-starting entrepreneurs.

With its highly personalized apps that show you how your storefront looks to customers when you edit them, you have complete control over what apps are most noticeable. You can attach product videos and protect your website using the Protect Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. This certification helps you to convince your customers that their data will be treated securely when they apply their information when buying a product.

You can add other software, such as Wix Stores and Ecwid, to offer the best functionality to your eCommerce website. Ecwid lets you sell items through Instagram and Twitter, and Wix Stores lets you give customers automated confirmation emails and build discounts. You will maintain your website when you’re on the go and get a decent value for your money while you learn how to create a site and operate a company at the same time.

3. BigCommerce BigCommerce is the most flexible solution for large and fast-growing companies. It is a hosted eCommerce platform that acts both as a full SaaS solution and a shopping cart for other types of websites. As a consequence, there are also similarities with Shopify.

The software has strong retail management capabilities, with several tools and features including promotions, return handling options, coupons, discounts, and more. BigCommerce also has versatile shipping solutions that provide consumers with live quotes and pricing calculators.

It boasts a range of well-known customers, from Clarks shoe company specialists to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream producer. You can understand why big names trust BigCommerce because it has email marketing, search filters, and enables clients to build profiles and leave feedback.

All you need to make your eCommerce website a success is built-in, improving your chances of turning your online store into a large-scale enterprise. And, all of this can be done with plans beginning at $29.95. However, you might have a few kinks to work through. For one thing, it doesn’t have a smartphone app, nor does it have the easiest user interface to navigate.

You can start selling as soon as you build your store and track how well your products are doing with the analytics report on the platform. Those include a shop summary, real-time updates, customer updates, lost cart reports, and merchandising reports. You will get more than 40 payment processing solutions with no transaction fees attached. You do get complete control of the URL format, and there are a number of templates.

If you’re interested in business or technology, this is a perfect way to develop your company from the ground up.

4. Weebly When it comes to value for money, few eCommerce sites are better off than Weebly. It has four price plans, all geared to eCommerce, including advantages such as Google Advertising credits and e-mail marketing.

The best strategy will depend on your company. You can sell up to 10 items on the cheapest plan, the starter package. If you’re using a business plan, you can sell limitless goods and don’t have to think about transaction fees. Features such as lost cart recovery, gift cards and real-time shopping prices are only available for the most costly package, the Quality Package.

You can sell digital, physical and service-based products via Weebly. You can start uploading in bulk and use built-in software to control your stock on a consistent basis. There’s even a smartphone app that lets you handle your online store on the go, and even print shipping labels from your camera. Weebly also provides you with a blog and a portfolio for your shop, so that you can connect with consumers and show them the best parts of your business and your products.

Application options are broad in nature. You can view the Instagram feed of your company on your homepage while also adding the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section to let customers comment on the store or product features. It has a drag-and-drop set-up just like Wix, so you can easily build your store when following the guidelines for your theme.

Weebly is a more appropriate choice for small businesses, as its restricted resources for operating store inventory are not extensive enough for larger corporations. Checkout options are also restricted, as there are only three key payment gateways: PayPal, Square and Stripe. That said, Weebly gives you more creative control than almost any other eCommerce platform available, is very SEO-friendly and can give you a strong return on investment when used correctly.

5. Volusion This platform is a cloud-based, hosted solution that has been in operation since 1999, handling more than $28 billion in revenue during that period.

You can create customer accounts that allow you to store customer information in the safest way possible and make shopping experiences difficult. As a drag-and-drop website builder with in-page editing, Volusion provides robust site search functionality as well as eCommerce and inventory management resources such as rich text product reviews, native compliance options, and membership or loyalty options. It works with a range of payment services, such as PayPal, Stripe and Apple Pay.

Facebook stores can be connected to the Volusion website to enable multi-channel integration. This funds marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, allowing website owners to optimize their online presence and to better gage clientele. The downside is that you can not market digital goods using this site or use blogging tools to help promote your products or services.

Volusion has a simple inventory framework with a range of helpful prompts. It has comprehensive analytics and insight reports that allow you to track all your stock in one location. This feature offers you more opportunities to optimize your multi-channel selling choices without the need for heavy lifting. In the meantime, support for website users is available 24/7 via live chat and phone. Products, guides and more are part of a robust knowledge base to keep customers updated.

Volusion is better suited if you run a starter store or a small to medium-sized company. Plans are based on fixed bandwidth limits, so you’re going to have to pay for an SSL certificate for added security-but if that’s the cost you’re willing to pay, try it out.

CONCLUSION In order to build an effective eCommerce strategy for your company, it is important to choose a platform that will help you keep your customer in mind during the development and research process. Examples above will help you increase your conversion levels, maintain an active customer review site, boost product exposure and brand awareness.

As long as you set up your marketing plan and select the goods you’re trying to sell carefully, it’s easy to find the right platform for your company.