The Covid-19 pandemic has revived the e-commerce industry and online shopping has seen a major boost. The E-commerce industry has a very low entry barrier and arguably a level playing field when it comes to setting up your e-commerce store. Shopping cart software allows for e-commerce functionality integration on a website. The functionality ranges from selecting a product, adding it to the cart, and making a payment. It essentially allows you to build an online store.
What to know before buying an e-commerce shopping cart software –
• You will ideally need an e-commerce web hosting for your shopping website.
• You will need to add a payment processing option.
Choosing which e-commerce shopping cart software to go for can be a tricky choice, that is why we have curated our top 10 list of the best software solutions.
1. WooCommerce
This is a free and easy to use add on for WordPress. It has payment processors such as PayPal, SagePay, Stripe. It is easy to install with essential features and add ons. The set up involves installing directly from WordPress. The add-ons are also available to be sold through third-party websites. The add-ons are not free but not costly as well which makes it a solid contender in the market. WooCommerce gives functionality to your shops like inventory management, stock market, and integrations. This is a top choice for many as it user-friendly and cost-effective.
2. Shopify
Shopify has an interesting birth story. There were two boys who wanted to sell their snow-board and couldn’t find any website satisfactory. So, they created on for themselves. If you are not a coder, this one is the best choice for you. This is beginner-friendly as it does not require any pre-requisite knowledge and it is easy to use and install. You will have to pay transaction fees additionally if you are using PayPal, SagePay, or similar parties. This software is good for a small e-commerce business and certainly, a winner compared to the other software.
3. Magento
Magento is the opposite of Shopify when it comes to the coding part. You require good coding skills like HTML and CSS, to use this software. It is open-source software. Major popular companies like Nike, Ford use this software solution in some form or the other just like a million other companies. It is owned by Adobe, a brand name that is trustworthy and known for their best service. The unique quality of Magento is that it has features like search engine optimization, marketing tools, product catalog management. If you have a large-scale business, this is a good choice, as it can get expensive for the smaller businesses considering if you hire a professional coder.
4. PinnacleCart
This is another software that does not require coding knowledge although the initial investment could be expensive. You get a 14-day trial and then you can decide if you want to buy this one. It has a huge set of templates to choose from to make your website shopping cart look more attractive. It also has search engine optimization tools, website builders, email marketing services. This software lets you create an engaging blog for your customers and lets you give them a knowledge of your website personally by creating an About page.
5. BigCommerce
BigCommerce gives you 24/7 live support. They have third-party support with many built-in features. It is easy to use although it comes with limited options for customization. The packages range from various prices and all of them have advanced features. The Startup plan is cost-effective, whereas the Advanced plan has unlimited storage. It does not have a steep learning curve which means it is easier to understand for users. It is a powerful software and flexible too. Some people may find it expensive but it is worth it as there is something for beginners as well as professionals.
6. Wix Stores
Wix stores does not charge any transaction fees, an advantage for the new users. It has point-of-sale support which is an important feature. It also has many beautiful templates to work around. Large companies cannot benefit much from this software as these companies require large inventories and third-party software. Wix Stores has only 20 GB storage limits, which can be a drawback and it requires bandwidth fees. It has very easy website editing options. The web hosting tool creates a professional website for you.
7. 3d cart
3d cart is a scalable software with many payment processing options. It is a cloud-based e-commerce platform. It has many features suited for the evolving market of e-commerce. In the search engine feature, it has content management, page speed optimization, dynamic sitemap, and many other options. It gives you a 15-day trial, and you can log in with your email. The site statistics are informative, and navigation is easy for the customers. 3d cart will give you great tools for the marketing of your business.
8. GoDaddy GoOnline
It has an easy site-building wizard with simple navigation and an intuitive dashboard. It creates commercial pages for social media and manages email marketing. It performs SEO scans but does not work on mobile apps. GoDaddy is a very popular website hosting service. You can build your site for free, and when you are ready to sell you just have to give your payment details. You can change the site design as and when you want. You can add any number of categories you want, and it allows you to send text-based notifications to the customer when they place an order.
9. Square
Square has a free plan available and it is easy to use. It is also one of those software solutions where you do not require extensive coding knowledge. Professionals may find this software a bit limited regarding the features and also limited payment options. It works well for beginners and small business merchants. Anyone can open an account and start accepting virtual payments. The free plan has 500MB storage with SEO features, inventory management, automatic tax calculator. One of the main features of Square is that it gives you the ability to create and advertise coupon codes.
10. Volusion
Volusion offers you a 14-day trial and later lets you choose among many payment plans. It has a dashboard with home-page features. With the bulk import tool, you can add products using CSV files. The inventory management keeps track of all your products, marketing feature promotes discount codes. The SEO tools will write URLs, meta-tags, descriptions. Volusion will give you online and phone support, automatic tax calculator, integrated drop shipping, and all for free. There are a professional, start-up, business, and prime versions of these that give you more advanced features and accordingly varied payment, that you would not regret.
