Are you ready to launch your side hustle and open an online store for dropshipping, merch, or something else? E-commerce sites can be tricky to build if you don't have the right tools, and they often require paid plans. Where can you turn if you need the best website builder for an online store?
We have you covered with everything you might need or want to know about the 9 best and most affordable options to kickstart your sales.
Ready to learn how you can grow your small businesses with online sales (and even in-person sales)? Let's check out the best options available to you.
TL;DR: What's the Best Website Builder for an Online Store?
Whether you want your online store to be a side hustle or your main gig, you need the right tools. I recommend Shopify as a great all-in-one solution that gets you up and running quickly. They handle everything you could need in a website builder for a reasonable monthly fee.
Remember that there are cheaper options than Shopify, but they might not be as comprehensive and robust.
Get Shopify Here
On the other hand, if you already have a WordPress website, WooCommerce may be the way to go. It integrates with the rest of your website and makes it easy to transition from evergreen content to sales. Plus, it's very cost-effective for these already-established websites.
Get WooCommerce Here
9 Best eCommerce Website Builders
Getting an eCommerce business up and running is no small feat. Even something as simple as inventory management and finding payment gateways can be complex and overwhelming. No matter where business owners decide to build, they should be fully prepared for the costs and features available.
Here are the nine website builders you need to start selling online quickly and easily.
Shopify: Best for Building a Storefront Fast
No doubt about it: Shopify is the leading ecommerce platform and website builder that many people are using to great success. There are more than 48,000 online stores
that are using the framework provided here. See our full Shopify review here.
With thousands of themes to choose from for your online store, you can create something that looks custom for your brand. Add a custom domain, and you seem to have a seamless, tech-heavy storefront with minimal effort. It's intuitive and simple to use, even for beginners.
It's also a powerhouse for supporting your website with SEO tools, email marketing tools, payment gateways, and even a shipping function. Their paid plans offer everything you could possibly need in terms of website features.
The best part is that Shopify is extremely easy to use. I have built a couple of websites using Shopify. If I can figure it out with minimal coding knowledge, I have no doubts that you can replicate my process. Get up and running as quickly as possible to start earning.
Pricing: $29 per month and up
Squarespace: Best for Ease of Use and Services
Squarespace might be the second-best e-commerce website builder for someone with limited technical skills who wants to play around with setting up an online store. Like Shopify, it features intuitive design processes that make it easy to adapt to your custom branding.
The drag-and-drop website editor will make designing your website a breeze, no matter what niche.
You get some excellent features when you build an eCommerce website with Squarespace:
- Built-in SEO tools
- Blogging capabilities
- Mobile-optimization
- Payment gateways
- Inventory management features.
It's a little less customizable than Shopify, but that doesn't mean you should count it out on this alone. This website builder is also a little less expensive and has great built-in e-commerce tools, so give it a shot before deciding where to build your online store.
Pricing: $23 per month for business accounts and up
Compare whether Squarespace or WordPress is the right choice for you here.
WooCommerce: Best for WordPress Websites
If you want to create online stores on an existing WordPress site, you don't have to recreate the wheel. You can leverage powerful tools like WooCommerce that were created specifically for this purpose. When a website is already set up with lots of evergreen content, blogs, or informational pages, you might not want to switch to an entirely new platform.
WooCommerce allows you to build a store immediately without sacrificing other plugins you might already use on WordPress like Yoast SEO or RankMath.
It even has abandoned cart recovery. This free website builder is a must-have for enhancing a WordPress site with merchandising.
I've built a couple of sites using WooCommerce in the past and found it very focused on intuitive use. Even my husband, who is fairly low-tech, found it easy to manage his store builder with this tool.
Website features are easy to add to this type of page regardless of whether you choose to implement a free or paid template. It also supports lots of different payment gateways, so you can choose what will work best for your business, especially if you intend to sell internationally.
Pricing: Free online store builder but may require payment for extensions
See our full WooCommerce review here.
BigCommerce: Best for Scaling Sales
Maybe you're looking for more robust e-commerce builders that can help you scale your sales.
If this describes you, then BigCommerce might be the best website builder for an online store. What sets it apart from the other options for an online business listed here?
First, it's great for someone who wants to sell online without limit. You get unlimited storage space and user accounts on every plan. That means you can list unlimited products without having to worry about running out of room — and you can hire the right number of people to help manage the influx.
Worried that you won't be able to use all of the ecommerce features included here? BigCommerce will make it easy for you with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor that allows you to visualize your new page and customize an existing theme.
Plus, you can implement an ecommerce store built by BigCommerce with an existing WordPress site. Be sure to see more details in our detailed BigCommerce review.
Pricing: $29 per month for up to $50,000 in sales annually
Wix: Best Free Online Store Builder
Maybe you are looking for the best e-commerce website builder but don't want to spend a fortune to determine whether this is the side hustle for you. The good news is that you can turn to Wix to build your online store and get off the ground quickly. Like many others, it features a drag-and-drop editor that makes design easy.
Keep in mind that it won't be as robust as Shopify or BigCommerce, but it's a great stepping stone for new website owners.
The one downside to using Wix as an eCommerce website builder is that it doesn't integrate with many other tools. Email marketing tools and advanced analytics will be hard to come by. Still, it does have a few bells and whistles, like abandoned cart recovery and customer segmentation, you can leverage.
Pricing: Free ecommerce website builder up to 500MB of storage; $17 and up for additional
Shift4Shop: Best for Customization
If none of the other website builders seem like a good fit, then Shift4Shop might give you the ecommerce websites you have been looking for. Their site builder makes it extremely easy for you to get up and running with built-in payment processing that makes it easier for you to cash out.
However, their ecommerce platforms have a wide variety of functions you can use to build your site:
- Search engine optimization tools
- Inventory management
- Dropshipping capabilities
- Subscriptions
- Digital product sales.
Where it truly stands out from other online store builders is that it allows you to customize pricing for an individual client. Set up a price list for each one of your customer segmentations and you'll have a B2B sales page that can rake in the big bucks.
Pricing: $0 for Shift4 payment gateways with $500 minimum in sales per month; $29 per month for PayPal
GoDaddy: Best on a Budget
WordPress is one of the best site builders around, but many people feel overwhelmed by the options for hosting, site building, plugins, and more. GoDaddy simplifies the process and lets you tackle building an ecommerce site with greater ease.
They provide hosting, domain registration, and even a simple site builder.
One thing to note is that it isn't as easy to customize using their ecommerce site builder as with the Shopify or Squarespace options. It's a solid store builder if you're okay using a template that comes out of the box. If you're hoping for a more custom website builder, then you would be better off choosing a different ecommerce store builder.
They also have AI that can help you create your online store in mere minutes instead of spending hours or days on a project.
Pricing: $10.99 for basic ecommerce and up
Hostinger: Best WordPress Website Builder
Looking for the best website builder for an online store and aren't sure where to turn? Hostinger might be the solution you need for an ecommerce platform. They allow you to host your website, get a custom domain, and design your store to the exact specifications you had in mind.
Like other top ecommerce website builders listed here, this one offers a variety of ready-to-use templates to build your store. However, it also allows for customization, ensuring your website stands out and doesn’t just blend in with the rest created by similar builders.
With their drag-and-drop editor, you have lots of options with no coding required. Other functions of this ecommerce website builder include:
- Adding variants for each product quickly and easily
- Automated sales tax processing
- Shipping methods for each region where you make sales
- AI website builder.
Pricing: $2.99 per month
Square Online (Weebly): Best for Small Businesses
Square Online (not the same as Squarespace—see our comparison of Square vs. Squarespace here), formerly known as Weebly, is another great e-commerce site builder option. Chances are that you're already familiar with the services Square Online offers to customers in the form of card readers, payment options, and point-of-sale software.
Now, it has many of the same capabilities as most e-commerce website builders, including payments with no additional transaction fees. However, you may face other transaction fees if you decide to use separate payment gateways instead of Square, so be sure to do your homework before deciding.
It's a great option for anyone wanting to run a physical retail location and an online store because it syncs your inventory. This ensures that you never oversell and fail to truly deliver to your customers.
Pricing: Free plan or $29 per month for a Plus plan
Final Thoughts on the Best Website Builder for Your Online Store?
Consider what you would like to do with a new website builder when building your online store. The next right move for your brand depends on the finished product, pricing, and ease of use that you anticipate in the creation process. I recommend Shopify as the all-in-one best e-commerce website builder, but the others have their place as well.
Which of these options are the best ecommerce website builders for your unique business? Experiment and see which is easiest and most intuitive for you today!
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