Online shopping has changed dramatically in recent years because of how easy it is to set up an online store. You’ve heard of regular hosting, but some companies are profiting by offering Ecommerce hosting, which is a complete commerce solution. In 2007, I had set up my own electronics store and this type of hosting made it very easy for me to get things up and running. However, I was searching online and noticed how many other solutions have popped up over the years. They all offer something unique and are worth checking out if you are looking to set up an online store. I’ve tried some of the best over the years because many of my clients are involved in ecommerce so I would like to go over some of the popular options.
Let’s get started and your opinion will be appreciated if you have tried something different than the ones mentioned here.
Volusion.com
I have personal experience using this ecommerce solution because I built my store using their platform. It is very easy to use and the pricing is decent. You can start with a FREE plan and start building your store even if you don’t have a domain registered. Why? It’s very easy to change the DNS settings later on without losing all of the work you put into designing your store. They have great options and allow for easy upload of products through .CSV. However, templates options are very slim and to buy a customized theme can be very costly, anywhere from $399.00 to $699.00.
If you have coding experience, then I would recommend playing around with the.CSS files, but other than that, you can’t change any other code around.
Shoptify.com
Another great ecommerce provider and offers you a wide range of features. When I was using Volusion.com in 2007, Shoptify.com was just starting out and didn’t offer cool features. However, over the years, they have learned from their competitors and now provide an all-in-one ecommerce solution. The pricing is very decent and they offer great templates for FREE. You have more depth access to the files so you can make tweaks to the code. The foundation code is a secret, but with the access they provide, you do have flexibility. Here are some other cool things:
- Easily add bulk products through .CSV
- Incorporate a gift card and points system to your store
- Optimize images
- Build the change DNS to activate domain
- Offers SSL for an additional price
BigCommerce.com
A great user interface and you can build a store within minutes. They have several different themes and allow you to incorporate a payment system easily. However, this feature is also available on the other ecommerce hosting providers, but the interface in BigCommerce.com is more streamlined. For $29.95/mo, you can upload unlimited products and have unlimited storage, which is awesome because this was NOT around when I had my online store. You even have the option of offering the following:
- Promotions and coupons to your clients
- Free or discounted shipping options
- Custom pricing tables
- Cool default and FREE templates no matter what your plan
- Abandon cart saver
All of the above Ecommerce hosting providers offer an all-in-one solution, however, some have a better backend and user interface than others. Because they do offer a FREE trial when you sign-up, I encourage all of you to try each of them until you find one you are comfortable with. Play with the different features and look for the elements you need for your store. After,
You can purchase a domain and switch the DNS settings to activate your store on your domain without losing any data. Get started now by visiting each of these ecommerce hosting providers.