Top 5 Popular eCommerce Website Builders For Both Newbies And Experts

Let’s explore a list of the 5 most reputable ecommerce websites currently available, including Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, and Ecwid. 

Key Takeaways

• Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly are considered the most popular and reputable choices for building an online store. 
• The Key Points of creating the Perfect Ecommerce Website include The target audience, The budget available, the Business sales model, Advertising and promotion strategy, Product visualization, Distinction from competitors, and Optimized user experience. 

5 Most Reputable Ecommerce Website Builders 

Shopify

Main Features

Shopify is one of the leaders in the ecommerce website design market thanks to its powerful yet easy-to-use platform. It provides an impressive out-of-the-box experience for anyone looking to launch an online store quickly. 

The Shopify backend is intuitive and user-friendly, with a drag-and-drop builder and customer guidance. Merchants can sell any product type by managing inventory, payments, and more through Shopify’s tools. 

Additional Shopify functionality can be added through an extensive app store if needed. The app store ecosystem is why Shopify is considered one of the top ecommerce solutions globally. It gives merchants everything required to operate an online business directly within the platform easily.

Pricing

Shopify offers merchants flexible ecommerce solutions through various affordable pricing tiers designed to suit varying needs and budgets. 

Shopify currently distributes 3 main plans as below:

• Basic plan: $39 per month
• Shopify plan: $105 per month
• Advanced: $399 per month

Moreover, the Starter plan from just $5/ month suits merchants who want to sell products at events and through social media and messaging apps. With large corporations who want to expand their online businesses, the Shopify Plus plan started at $2000 is a good choice.

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• The generous free trial period enables prospective users to thoroughly test all core functionality without obligation before committing to a paid subscription. This reduces risks for new merchants. 
• Shopify offers a selection of professionally designed storefront themes to suit any industry or aesthetic preferences. Merchants can find an option that perfectly matches their brand identity. 
• The flexible pricing models cater to various businesses, from startups to enterprises. Monthly and annual plans provide cost-effective options scaled accordingly. Integrating payments could not be more straightforward, with Shopify handling sensitive financial data securely behind the scenes. This simplifies the checkout experience for customers. 
• All subscriptions permit listing an unlimited volume of products and managing orders without limits on storage or bandwidth. This crucial scalability supports growing businesses. The extensive Shopify App Store delivers a remedy for nearly any desired feature addition through a massive assortment of integrated third-party extensions.

Cons: 

• While well-suited for ecommerce, the platform may present constraints for blogs and content-focused sites reliant on advanced commenting or SEO capabilities not prioritized in core Shopify. 
• For giant businesses demanding highly customized integrations or white-labeled solutions, the highest Shopify Plus plans could still prove expensive relative to bespoke developed alternatives.

BigCommerce

Main Features

BigCommerce is a top e-commerce platform like Shopify, offering robust customization options. Its site builder simplifies the setup of products, categories, and shipping. 

However, the advanced system requires coding knowledge, making it less suited for true beginners. The large user community supports those needing extra technical assistance. 

Overall, BigCommerce enables highly customized stores but demands technical aptitude intermediates and experts can leverage through community collaboration when issues arise.

Pricing

BigCommerce is offering 4 main pricing plans:

• Standard plan: $39 per month
• Plus plan: $105 per month
• Pro plan: $399 per month
• Enterprise plan: Contact for details

Users can experience BigCommerce for free 15 days before purchasing. There are no transaction fees to use leading payment gateways.

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• BigCommerce provides robust visual merchandising features through size charts, zooming product images, and related product listings that do not require coding skills. This makes the platform highly accessible for newcomers to online selling. 
• All subscription levels allow merchants to sell an unlimited volume of products without restrictions on storage, bandwidth usage or the number of monthly orders processed. This crucial scalability supports growing businesses to scale at their own pace. 
• By integrating payment solutions directly, BigCommerce saves merchants from paying third-party transaction fees on top of other expenses. This simplifies budgeting and boosts net revenue. 
• Multiple ways exist to feature customer ratings, reviews, and social sharing buttons so buyers can gain assurance from others’ experiences before purchasing. These persuasive trust signals can increase conversion rates. 
• Merchants benefit from various free and paid integrations through the BigCommerce App Bazaar to extend capabilities in shipping, accounting, CRM, and more.

Cons: 

• Although the intuitive dashboard simplifies the setup of critical pages, optimizing the customer journey across the homepage, category pages, product pages, and checkout require some experimentation. The learning curve is steeper than other merchants might expect from mockups and guides alone. 
• While plenty of premium themes are offered, some smaller merchants may find the selection daunting or less inspirational than alternatives emphasizing bold business storytelling through design alone on sites like Shopify. Additional third-party expenses hence are necessary.

Squarespace

Main Features

While smaller than Shopify and BigCommerce, Squarespace is still a leader for creative stores due to its intuitive interface, integration features, and simple templates. 

Beginners can quickly get products online without extra apps as it covers standard functions well. Pricing begins with a free 14-day trial, then affordable monthly plans from $12-36. 

Overall costs are reasonable, and support assists newcomers in launching smoothly, making it ideal for artistic stores and portfolios.

Pricing

Squarespace is providing 4 main pricing plans, including:

• Personal plan: $16 per month
• Business plan: $23 per month
• Commerce basic plan: $27per month
• Commerce advanced plan: $49 per month

There is no free option, but overall costs remain reasonable. Support also helps beginners get up and running smoothly.

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• The platform allows deep linking and sharing of products across major social networks, including Facebook and Instagram. This facilitates viral customer acquisition through earned media. 
• Merchants can choose from numerous professionally designed storefront templates that incorporate adequate white space for easy reading and effective showcasing of images/content. Many options are available to suit different industries and branding needs.
• In addition to monthly plans starting from $x, yearly subscriptions provide better value at $y per month, including a free custom domain (worth $50-100 annually). This reduces long-term costs. 
• New users receive priority support through online help articles, live chat, and phone assistance during business hours. This ensures smooth onboarding. 
• A two-week trial period offers full access to all features without payment information required, allowing merchants to assess the platform comprehensively before commitment.

Cons: 

• Payment processor charges and currency conversion fees can increase overall expenses, especially for high transaction volume stores. 
• Only 1-2 payment buttons may be displayed on individual product pages, limiting checkout options compared to competitors not as constrained by screen real estate. 
• Limited opportunities exist to install applications from outside parties to enhance capabilities in areas like analytics, marketing automation or SEO – these would require separate monthly subscription costs.

Wix

Main Features

Wix is a famous website builder that gives business owners everything needed to create a fabulous online presence, including custom domain names. It has an intuitive backend, built-in e-commerce features, and many enhancing/styling options. Hundreds of templates provide more choices than competitors.

The easy drag-and-drop editor allows adding features however you like. Wix also offers a free version to test functionality before committing, though free sites see ads.

Pricing

The variety of Wix pricing options is more diverse than other eCommerce websites. Currently, the platform is offering 5 different pricing plans for merchants, including:

• Bright: $16 per month
• Core: $27 per month
• Enterprise: $32 per month
• Business essence: $159 per month
• Enterprise: Contact for details

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• Merchants benefit from abundant professionally-created storefront design themes tailored to different niches, ensuring an appealing online presence. 
• Clients enjoy multiple payment method options for checkout convenience. 
• Budget-friendly entry-level plans provide a low-risk starting point for new ventures. 
• Core functionality expands through plugins and apps at affordable monthly fees. 
• Marketing tools like discounts and coupons strengthen sales promotions. 
• Optimization features help listings rank higher in search engines.

Cons: 

• Some advanced integrations found elsewhere may be missing. 
• Without code-level access, broad-scale visual customizations beyond predefined themes are limited.

Weebly

Main Features

Weebly provides an entry-level e-commerce solution for smaller businesses wanting to sell beyond marketplaces. While lacking the advanced features of competitors, it gives beginners practical essential tools. 

The website builder is simple to use without extensive time or technical skills. Professional themes help create a polished image. 

Customization options are limited, making adjustments like checkout pages difficult. Basic functions like blogging and memberships are available. 

Pricing

Merchants can select among 1 free plan and 3 paid plans from Weebly, consisting of:

• Free plan:
• Personal plan: $10 per month
• Professional plan: $12 per month
• Performance: $26 per month

Pros & Cons

Pros: 

• The drag-and-drop interface allows non-technical users to build attractive stores without coding quickly. 
• The extensive theme library caters to different industries and aesthetics. 
• Apps expand core features like payments, shipping, and emails cost-effectively. 
• Affordable pricing tiers start from free and scale with business needs. Blogging and membership tools enable related content monetization.

Cons:

• Customization is limited without accessing code. 
• International store owners may find some localization features like languages and payments lacking compared to competitors.

Top 15 Ecommerce Website Designs in 2023 | Real Cases

Couple

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it special?

Couple’s website features a chat box in the bottom right corner of the homepage. This provides visitors instant access to Couple’s support team for queries or questions. 

Chat boxes are handy for enhancing customer service and demonstrating a commitment to promptly addressing visitors’ needs. Having a live chat available shows that assistance is just a message away. 

This live chat functionality improves the user experience by enabling swift support interactions directly on the site. It allows for resolving potential issues or answering inquiries without leaving the page.

Rebecca Atwood

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it special?

Rebecca Atwood is a textile designer based in Brooklyn with an accomplished e-commerce background. She created a custom online store that appears stylish on mobile and desktop. 

The store design features products in realistic settings, visually demonstrating usage and building an aspirational image for users. The site incorporates click-to-buy functionality like Instagram, allowing immediate transport to product pages. 

This streamlined shopping experience optimizes usability and purchasing convenience comparable to social media platforms. The visually immersive design and direct purchase options enhance customer engagement.

The Owl

Website Builder used: Shopify 

What makes it special?

Owl stands out due to their unconventional take on e-commerce design. Their homepage diverges from typical store formats, which is beneficial as it lends creativity. Doing something distinctive compared to others can significantly boost business performance. 

The minimalist homepage accompanies an automatic video that features products in an attention-grabbing manner. It creates an almost magical atmosphere through visual storytelling. Because of the minimal design approach, the video does not negatively impact site speeds for users.

Baron Fig

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it special?

Baron Fig’s website utilizes sharp photography and fun graphics/phrases in a cohesive style. A consistent color scheme ties all elements together seamlessly. Below the fold, a rolling display of press snippets from significant brands like GQ and Buzzfeed grabs attention through social proofs. 

The design skillfully combines minimalist visuals with livelier touches, drawing users in through high-quality photography, lively additions, and prominent third-party endorsements – all presented cohesively.

Caroline Z Hurley

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it special?

Caroline Z Hurley’s homepage features an immersive lead photo that sets a lighthearted yet authentic tone. 

Product shots promote naturally without overloading, focusing on one engrossed customer to captivate simply. This natural style differs from stock images using artificial emotional poses.

Beatific

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it special?

Beatific uses an ecommerce website built on Shopify. What makes their site special is using a wide variety of digital content, such as photos, animations, and illustrations, to convey their young and playful brand identity successfully.

The youthful feel of the site is reinforced by connecting Facebook Messenger directly to the site. This allows customers to message for help if already connected on Facebook instantly

Wolf Gang

Website Builder used: Squarespace

What makes it special?

Wolf Gang’s unique dark and heavy design stands out from more brightly colored competitors. Their bold typography grabs attention. 

They reduce scrolling fatigue through automatic section changes, which is clever.

Two Chimps Coffee

Website Builder used – WooCommerce

What makes it special? 

Two Chimps prioritizes uniqueness with a rare hamburger menu design that pops up distinctively. Distinctive features carry through the entire site. Upon trying to leave, a playfully worded “Please Don’t Go” prompt appears instead of a generic CTA. It says “Gimme Some,” offering a fresh alternative to overused calls like “add to basket.”

Sense6

Website Builder used: BigCommerce

What makes it special?

Sense6 stands out from the crowd with minimal black-and-white coloring. Small intentional pops of gold direct the eye to menus and buttons.

Native Union

Website Builder used – BigCommerce

What makes it special?

Native Union’s sliding banner creates interactivity and simple navigation between pages. Photographic representations throughout are more compelling than sole reliance on text, better illustrating the products. 

Front-and-center product shots leave users with minimal questions. When utilizing the header menu, sub-products are highlighted without needing clicks. Icons additionally allow effortless identification of click targets. 

Myro

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it special?

As Myro’s product lacks visual excitement being a refill pod, cultivating a lifestyle emphasis through website design becomes pivotal. To convey the simple product’s ease, Myro incorporates a below-the-fold interactive GIF. 

Within seconds it attracts users and demonstrates the item’s usage and impact via engaging visualization.

The Burren Perfumery

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it unique?

The Burren Perfumery leans heavily on attractive lifestyle imagery of its products. Beautifully composed shots showcase perfume creation and application. Their use of a fun, whimsical font also enhances visuals. 

The homepage layout naturally persuades through means other than hard selling. Lifestyle photography, paired with their compelling narrative, pulls people in ably.

Save Khaki

Website Builder used – Shopify

What makes it special?

The site features a minimalist style primarily focused on full-width imagery. While homepage carousels are often discouraged for risking mixed messaging, Save Khaki implements theirs strategically. 

Rather than various promotions, it highlights everyday product usage cohesively. The static Men’s and Women’s shop options allow consideration of browsing at one’s convenience amidst the lifestyle-enhancing rotation. 

In this execution, the carousel complements the aesthetic and reinforces the brand experience by emphasizing wearability across compatible offers. Clear dedicated shopping access further ensures usability and choice are not compromised.

Umbra Shift

Website Builder used – BigCommerce

What makes it special?

Rather than endless lengthy homepages, Umbra Shift opts for a succinct welcoming page that produces a less overstimulating sensation. 

This assists visitors in feeling at ease. White space is utilized judiciously, allowing products to command prominent display. Their clear priority highlights items impressively across any device format. By diverging from overcrowded homepages, Umbra Shift decreases potential discomfort. 

Strategic spacing simultaneously magnifies offerings. Together, these foster a hospitable environment conducive for consideration and interaction.

MAKR

Website Builder used – Magento

What makes it special?

MAKR’s landing page especially spotlights its assortment while actively engaging visitors. Arranged in rows, the various leather goods have changing colors as users hover, efficiently illustrating both products and customization simultaneously. 

Just as meaningfully, complementary pairings of apparel are visualized. This considerately addresses a common question of stylish integration important to purchasers.

Key Points of Creating the Perfect Ecommerce Website

The target audience – You’ll want to understand their demographics like age, interests, etc, to cater to the design appropriately. For example, a younger audience may expect vibrant graphics/animations, while B2B focuses on information density. 

The budget is available – As a small business, funds are likely limited. While using open-source platforms to start for free, you’ll need to invest in crucial areas like professional photos later. Budget constraints affect features you can include. 

Business sales model – Some businesses sell directly on their site, while others integrate marketplaces like Amazon. This heavily influences things like payment options, product info requirements, and checkout processes to design accordingly. 

Advertising and promotion strategy – A thoughtful SEO-optimized content/link building plan helps discovery, but you’ll also need to explore paid social media/email campaigns to drive traffic. 

Product visualization – High quality images, zoom capabilities, and descriptive text allow customers to envision your offerings. Videos and slideshows further boost engagement if the budget allows. 

Distinction from competitors – No matter the product, competitors exist. Consider unique value propositions, specializations, personalized experiences, and quality assurances to attract customers to your brand. 

Optimized user experience – Focus on easy navigation, quick loading mobile-responsiveness, and payment convenience. A seamless user journey enhances conversion and satisfaction.

Ecommerce Websites FAQs

Final words

With so many strong options available, taking time to evaluate your unique business goals and needs will help identify the best ecommerce platform match. Regardless of which reputable builder is chosen, focusing efforts on content, products, and customers post-launch will ultimately determine the store’s success.