For typical small and medium businesses looking to sell physical products online or at least a mix of physical and digital products , I identified five key features that every platform had to offer. There are other good platforms out there, but if they don't offer a feature on the list, they didn't make the cut as they're likely too niche for most businesses.
A mildly tech-competent person had to be able to build a good-looking, responsive, modern online store with the tools and themes offered—without needing a computer science or graphic design degree. If you can set up an email account on your iPhone, you should be able to use these picks.
Also, the website builders had to allow you to make everything fit with your existing brand materials. This one criterion actually eliminated quite a few platforms from consideration for being either too limited with boring, super similar, or outdated themes, or requiring too much technical know-how to make the most of them.
You have to be able to sell whatever you want, wherever you want, however you want. This meant it had to be able to handle both digital and physical products and offer some way to manage sales taxes and international shipping.
This last point is particularly important for small businesses: if you have physical premises or plan to sell internationally, you may be liable for collecting and filing various kinds of taxes. We only considered full-service eCommerce platforms.
You need to be able to sell your product through a consumer-facing website, but also manage orders, ship goods, track inventory, and otherwise deal with the back-end running and admin of your eCommerce store without using some other service or please no a giant spreadsheet.
Whatever platform you choose, it has to play nice with any other apps and services you rely on for your business. For this reason, I required the apps on this list to have a range of integrations, either through a plug-in and extension marketplace, built-in features, or connecting to Zapier.
You should be able to send your orders straight to your accounting software. All of this had to be available for a clear and affordable monthly price.
Opaque fees were a big no, and while done-for-you solutions are wonderful, they cost thousands of dollars per month—far more than any SMB needs or has to spend on setting up an eCommerce site. To test all the different online store builders, I signed up for an account and…set up an online store!
I went through the signup process, built out a simple site, added a few products, and generally went through all the steps that someone starting out on the platform would go through. Really, the only thing I didn't do was start selling products much to my accountant's disappointment.
This was enough to get a feel for most eCommerce website builders and allowed me to make sure they met my core criteria. From there, I was able to compare and contrast the various different options to find the best eCommerce builders for most people. If you're new to eCommerce platforms, it can be a bit overwhelming.
Here are the primary things you should focus on when making your pick:. Start small, and scale as you need. While it's tough to find a robust free option, you can get a feel for a product on one of its lower tiers before committing to something that will break the bank. Just make sure that the higher plans will still meet your needs in the future.
Of course, your budget will affect the features. All the eCommerce website builders on this list offer the basic features, but if there's one thing that's a dealbreaker for you e. Your familiarity with website builders.
Some apps are just more beginner-friendly. Your time is valuable, so if you're not super technical, be sure you feel ok navigating the interface. When you run into issues, are you comfortable troubleshooting on your own? If not, you'll want to prioritize support features.
Robust analytics are important as you grow, so be sure the platform you choose is reporting on your metrics in a way you feel confident analyzing and acting on. While we're talking about pricing, it can get a little complicated with eCommerce platforms as they charge a little differently from other services.
There are three kinds of fees you may have to pay for an eCommerce website builder:. Monthly fee. This is anything from free to a few hundred dollars and goes straight to the platform.
Payment gateway fees. These are the fees you pay when you process a credit card charge. The normal fee is around 2. Some platforms, like Wix and Shopify, operate their own payment gateways that you can choose to use, while others rely on Stripe, PayPal, and similar services.
Transaction fees. These are another percentage-based fee that's on top of any gateway fees. Let's give this a quick example using Shopify's current pricing. On top of that, you pay 2. As you can see, your monthly costs will vary based on what options you choose and how you run your business.
I'd recommend doing a few back-of-the-envelope calculations when you're selecting your plan and payment gateway, just to see what will work out best for you. I've avoided selecting online store websites with unreasonably high fees and transaction charges, or ridiculous volume expectations, but run some numbers to be sure.
Ecwid by Lightspeed. Shopify has been around for more than 17 years—with millions of stores built using the platform—and it's hard to find a better option for most small businesses looking to get an online store up and running quickly. Sign up for a credit card-free three-day trial, and within a few minutes, you can have a first build of your store ready to go.
The onboarding wizard walks you through adding your products, customizing the look of your store, connecting your own domain, and getting set up to take those all-important payments. Even if you've never built a website before, you're unlikely to get lost in Shopify's intuitive web app. Everything is clearly labeled, buttons do what you think they should, and the help docs and setup guide are comprehensive.
Things like designing your store, adding a product, creating discounts, configuring payment options, and checking your sales numbers are all simple and largely self-explanatory. While Shopify ticks most boxes right out of the gate, its extensibility and app store are what really make it such a powerful option.
But because Shopify is so popular , you can also find more than 1, themes available on ThemeForest or get a professional designer who's already experienced with the platform to make you a custom one. It's the same with almost any feature you could want. If it's not built into Shopify, you can find an extension, plug-in, or service that does it in the app store.
There's even a point-of-sale solution if you have a physical store. Just go to apps. com , and find the app you need. Be warned, though: adding lots of apps can quickly increase your monthly fees. Of course, like many apps, Shopify is adding deeply integrated AI features it calls Magic.
Some features, like generating text for product descriptions or your site, are available now, while others, like a chatbot called in th, are still in early access. They don't massively change the overall experience of using Shopify, though Sidekick's abilities to analyze your sales data and make suggestions seem super interesting.
It should be no surprise that Shopify integrates with Zapier , so if you want to automatically add new customers to your email marketing list, track orders with a project management tool, or connect Shopify to any of the other apps you use, you can do it easily.
Learn more about how to automate Shopify , or get started with one of these workflows. Limited themes and customization options compared to some other tools. If you run a small business and want the option to sell in-person, like at a farmer's market or craft fair, as well as through your online store, Square—better known for its point-of-sale terminals—is the best choice.
It's really designed for offline businesses and retailers that are looking to make the jump online, rather than internet-first sellers. Things like online and offline orders are all organized under a single dashboard, so there's no jumping between apps, trying to track down customer details using random spreadsheets, or having to enter things manually after the fact.
Square bought the website builder app Weebly in , so when you set up your store, that's what's running under the hood. If you occasionally see a URL direct to weebly. com, it's nothing to worry about. Square has some of the best onboarding around.
When you sign up, you have to fill in a detailed questionnaire about your business and its needs, and it will walk you through the process of configuring everything to meet them. However you want to sell stuff, Square makes it easy. In terms of storefront customization, Square is a little more limited than some of the other options.
Free users have to make their own design using the admittedly excellent site builder, while Plus subscribers now have access to 22 customizable themes. Where Square really stands out is in how it integrates your offline and online business. If you create an Item—what Square calls products or services—in the regular Square Dashboard, it will get synced to your Square Online Dashboard and vice versa.
Similarly, inventory levels are synced, so if you sell your last widget at a farmer's market, someone won't be able to order it online later that day. If you have a Square credit card reader available for free or other Square point-of-sale tool, you can swipe your customers' cards for a 2.
Online, Square's charges are similar. On the free plan and Plus plans, you're charged 2. Square also integrates with Zapier , so you can connect it to thousands of other apps. Here are popular ways to automate Square , plus some pre-made workflows to get you started.
Square price : Free with 2. Point-of-sale card readers start from free. Adding to this dynamic sensation is the fast-paced animated text on the top fold of their site.
The tone of voice is self-assured and to-the-point, inviting visitors to reach out and hire their expert services. As opposed to the other portfolio website examples in this selection, By Experience shares their work alongside testimonials by satisfied customers.
This demonstrates their skills and past successes, helping to attract potential clients. They make it easy for visitors to contact them by including a static floating menu icon in the top right-hand corner that leads to an online form for getting in touch.
Using your professional portfolio as a personal marketing portfolio is never a bad idea. Crafting a photography portfolio is much like curating an art exhibition; it's an intimate reflection of the artist's eye, requiring thoughtful presentation to truly resonate with the viewer.
Aling Wen's website perfectly exemplifies this, drawing you in with a dreamy, fullscreen portrait that spills over the edges, inviting you into the photo's idyllic setting.
Aling has separated her portfolio into sections so that her clients can view samples that are relevant to their purposes. The website's design—featuring a graceful font, a sprightly logo, and a subtle color palette—wonderfully complements the ethereal quality of her photos.
We love that she chose to add some variety to the layout so that each fold feels like a unique treat. In fact, the homepage of her portfolio website contains no images whatsoever, but rather a burnt orange background, her logo and a few introductory sentences that act as an alternative navigation menu.
With no imagery at all, Ana still manages to form a highly visual homepage, thanks to her attention to detail, typography, digital art and color. To showcase her works and sell art online through her store, Ana implements a simple light grey background that gives her vivid illustrations the platform they deserve.
This also really helps establish her unique personal branding style. Textile designer Reut Chen has gone for a classic grid layout on her portfolio website.
The geometric building blocks that make up her site contrast with her works, which have a more organic, textured and handmade feel. The simple, distraction-free web design lets her art stand out. Breaking away from the grid is a new project that she has chosen to highlight at the top of her homepage.
By putting the spotlight on this particular piece, potential clients or collaborators can instantly understand which areas she is currently exploring. Tailoring your portfolio to the type of work you want in the future as a freelancer is a key graphic design portfolio tip.
Lena Steinkühler, a freelance graphic designer focusing on digital film and VFX art, creates a striking first impression by placing her most eye-catching pieces at the top of her site see digital portfolio examples for even more examples.
A curated selection of vibrant, somewhat surreal 3D visuals fill the screen in a slideshow format, piquing our curiosity. Her works are displayed in a fullscreen grid, with a clean white border to separate between images.
The use of an uneven grid, with some images larger than others, adds a sense of hierarchy and brings our focus to certain pieces more than others. Vertical and horizontal images are pieced together in a grid with white space between each to display the range of his capabilities.
The color palette used on both the website design and the images encompasses soft neutral tones, offering an inviting, approachable online space. Unlike other portfolio examples, this site contains very minimal links or navigation and almost no menu. Sisters Tessa and Tara Sakhi design spaces inspired by the beauty of the human experience.
Their interior design portfolio is a true expression of their work, combining multimedia, images and videos of urban architecture and design. Additionally, an About section shares a bit about their story, creating a personal connection between the artists and potential customers.
This London-based industrial designer has a unique, contemporary style that shines through in her portfolio website. A striking slideshow of her latest work makes up the top strip of her site, containing vibrant, modern images. A menu at the top of this industrial design portfolio contains links to About, News and Contact pages, as well as to an online store, which is all part of a free eCommerce website.
Allowing visitors the opportunity to purchase pieces directly from her website simplifies the process for those who want to do so. The online shop contains quick-view images of each product, with a full description and price listing once you click through. Berlin and Rotterdam-based illustrator, animator and art director Rafael Varona, showcases his astonishing range of motion design on his animation portfolio website.
The artist specializes in complex animated loops, which takes center stage upon entering his site with an array of colorful and detailed clips. Looking to take your portfolio to the next level, or designing portfolios for agencies? Check out Wix Studio. Yes, having a portfolio website is definitely worth it.
Beyond the Rack Beyond the Rack is a Canadian-based sample sale site though yes, they ship to the U. New sales open up seven days a week beginning at 11 a. CT Fab Fab. Gilt Gilt  is an invitation-only online sample sale site.
New sales open up seven days a week beginning at 12 p. Gilt City Gilt City is an offshoot of Gilt, but each week they offer a few new regional deals, as well as a couple of national deals. New sales open up M-F, depending on the city.
Ideel Ideel is an invitation-only online sample sale site that mainly features items for women and the home, and only ships within the United States. New sales open up Monday through Saturday week beginning at 12 p. JackThreads JackThreads is dedicated solely to menswear, shoes, and accessories.
New sales usually open up Monday through Friday beginning at 12 p. Jetsetter Jetsetter is all about the travel.
Best Sample Sale Websites in the USA: Discover Incredible Deals in · 1. Beautiful Connection Group · 2. Gilt · 3. Rue La La · 4. HauteLook · 5. Beyond the Rack Hautelook is an invitation-only online sample sale site that has a great selection of items for women, men, children, and home at up to 75% off retail prices Get ideas and inspiration for creative, copy, and layout with these small business, portfolio, nonprofit, and ecommerce website examples by
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