eCommerce software helps you kickstart your online business and bring in more sales.
As a small-business owner, starting an online venture may seem like wandering into unfamiliar territory. You have to build a website, set up payment processing, manage an online inventory, and build a customer base. You also have to face intense competition from existing online businesses, making it hard to attract and retain customers.
Fortunately, you can invest in eCommerce software to easily set up and manage your online business. eCommerce tools help set up an online store to expand your customer base through cross-channel marketing, reach a global audience, and increase sales. They also help automate various eCommerce functions, including inventory management and order processing.
We highlight, in alphabetical order, the seven best eCommerce software products for small businesses based on verified software reviews. Read more.
Check out the complete list of eCommerce tools in Capterra's software directory.
1. BigCommerce: Offers an option to preview website pages before publishing
BigCommerce is an eCommerce platform that lets your business set up an online store using editable site pages with a drag-and-drop option. You can make your eCommerce website mobile responsive and use fully customizable website themes that come with built-in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
The software allows you to create and share discount coupons and promotions with recurring and long-standing customers. It also offers SEO-friendly customizable URLs and page metadata to help get more traffic to your eCommerce website.
Product features of interestCheckout customization: Uses server-to-server checkout APIs to let you customize your checkout pages.
Page builder visual editor: Offers a drag-and-drop tool to launch and edit your website pages.
Preview before publishing: Allows you to test and push changes onto your website in a local environment without downtime.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Online store analytics in BigCommerce (Source)
2. Bookmark: Provides a website language translator
Bookmark is a website builder and eCommerce platform that helps create an online store. It lets you build an eCommerce website and set up and manage an online inventory. It also lets you use emails or website prompts to remind customers about their abandoned e-carts.
With Bookmark, you can create custom forms to collect customer details during purchases and build survey forms to send with your email campaigns to understand customer preferences and purchasing habits. The software also provides built-in analytics to help you identify products or services that sell the most.
Product features of interestLanguage translator: Automatically translates your website’s content into the language of your audience’s region.
Shipping and tax calculator: Lets you set parameters such as distance, courier weight, and fragility to calculate shipping costs and taxes for shipments.
Product reviews: Allows your customers to leave product reviews on your online eCommerce website.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Editing an eCommerce website in Bookmark (Source)
3. Shopify: Helps establish an order fulfillment network
Shopify is an online eCommerce platform that helps create an eCommerce store to sell your products or services. It lets you customize your store’s look and add custom buttons to help visitors navigate your website efficiently. It allows you to manage your inventory, add new products, update pricing for existing products, process payments, and track customer orders.
You can connect your Shopify store to third-party social media platforms and online marketplaces to increase your online reach and start cross-selling initiatives. You can also access detailed analytics and reports to understand the purchasing habits of customers and how they interact with your eCommerce business.
Product features of interestOnline store editor: Offer multiple themes and custom templates to help you build your online eCommerce store and edit its interface.
Integrated shipping: Provides built-in shipping services to ship your orders to customers faster.
Shopify fulfillment network: Ensures order fulfillment by tracking your customer orders and assisting with product inspections in case of returns or exchanges.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Managing customer orders in Shopify (Source)
4. Squarespace: Offers downloadable digital content to customers
Squarespace is a website builder platform that lets your business create and manage an online commerce store to sell products and services directly from your website. It offers predesigned templates that help you create a professional-looking website without needing any coding knowledge.
You can set up shipping through Squarespace and provide options such as flat rate and weight based to customers. You can also integrate the software with multiple third-party payment solutions to process customer payments.
Product features of interestSubscription building: Helps build subscriptions for regular customers to simplify their purchases and build customer loyalty.
Direct download: Offers direct downloads for digital content such as e-books and music.
SEO optimization: Provides built-in SEO tools to help optimize product titles and descriptions, thus improving your search result ranking.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Appointment calendar in Squarespace (Source)
5. Weebly: Provides an email campaign builder
Weebly is a website builder that lets your small business sell products and services online and grow its customer base. It offers customizable themes to help create a unique e-store design to showcase your offerings. Its built-in shipping tool helps you calculate shipping rates for local and international shipments and add charges to customer invoices accordingly.
The software integrates with multiple third-party payment platforms to process customer payments on your website. It also offers detailed analytics on website performance and overall website search ranking to help you identify improvement areas by optimizing your SEO and page metadata.
Product features of interestProduct search and badges: Lets you create custom product search bars to help customers find the right products and highlight top-selling products with product badges.
App center: Integrates with third-party applications to boost website traffic, promote products on social media, and create customer outreach campaigns.
Email campaign builder: Offers a drag-and-drop editor to help design email campaigns for product promotions.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Setting up your website on Weebly (Source)
6. Wix: Supports APIs to create custom website functionalities
Wix is a website builder that lets you create an eCommerce website without any coding knowledge. You can set up an online store, manage product inventory, process customer payments, and track orders. You can also create a blog to publish content about your products and services.
The software offers a variety of customizable templates to create your eCommerce website. It also provides multiple product layout options for inventory management. Its built-in email campaign designer feature helps you reach out to your audience and promote your products.
Product features of interestTax automation: Automatically calculates sales taxes to help you comply with tax regulations.
Dropshipping: Lets you collect customer orders on your eCommerce website and forward them to your suppliers for faster shipping.
Product subscriptions: Offers subscription packages to customers with recurring orders.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Sales analytics in Wix (Source)
7. WooCommerce: Prevents server downtime for online stores
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin that helps create online stores to sell products and services. You can create pages showcasing the different product types and service categories your eCommerce business offers.
The software helps manage and track online orders and facilitate payment processing through integration with multiple third-party platforms. It offers a built-in shipping dashboard and provides live shipping rates from third-party carriers.
Product features of interestStore customizations: Offers a customizable interface that lets you change how your website looks and interacts with customers.
Server downtime prevention: Prevents server downtime to ensure your services are always available.
Robust security: Protects your website against cyberattacks such as malware and ransomware and provides authenticated customer logins.
Customer support options: Chat, email, and phone
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Starting price
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Online store in WooCommerce (Source)
How to choose the best eCommerce software for your business
Here are some considerations to keep in mind to shortlist the best eCommerce platform for your small business:
Assess the types of payment options available. A good eCommerce solution should provide a variety of payment options and integrate with multiple third-party payment platforms to help you easily manage and process payments for customers and vendors.
Determine how efficiently the software collects customer information. An ideal eCommerce platform should have custom forms and a survey builder to ensure you can collect data on your customer's preferences and shopping habits. It should also let you capture customer information during checkouts and auto-save the data to simplify future purchases.
Check for mobile-responsive designs and templates. An ideal eCommerce solution should let you create mobile-responsive website designs to cater to mobile users. Investing in an eCommerce solution that doesn't support mobile-responsive designs could limit the number of people you can target and cater to online.
How much does eCommerce software cost?
Most eCommerce software products on the market are priced on a per user, per month basis, and their entry-level pricing plan ranges from $12 to $29.95* per month. An enterprise or premium product that’s priced higher may include additional features such as integrated shipping labels, abandoned cart emails, market share analysis, customer experience insights, and customized merchandise.
*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offerings found on vendor websites as of Jan. 7, 2023.
Hidden costs associated with eCommerce software
When purchasing eCommerce software, look out for these hidden costs:
Transaction fee: Many eCommerce platforms charge a percentage or flat rate for each transaction you make through the platform.
Payment gateway fees: Payment processors often charge for the use of their payment gateway service.
Shipping and handling costs: Many online commerce platforms don’t include shipping and handling costs in their base price; these costs are factored in separately.
Additional apps or plugin costs: Some eCommerce platforms may require additional apps or plugins for certain features, such as email marketing, SEO optimization, or customer service management, which could incur an additional cost.
Common questions to ask vendors when buying eCommerce software
To select the best eCommerce platform, it's crucial to understand software features and capabilities. Here are some common questions to ask vendors when evaluating different options:
Does your eCommerce software showcase real-time inventory changes?
An ideal eCommerce platform should showcase real-time changes to your inventory and notify you if you’re running out of particular products. Make sure to ask vendors whether their product has this feature or not.
Can I customize your eCommerce software according to my brand?
While most eCommerce software solutions offer built-in design templates, it's crucial to invest in a tool that you can customize to match your online business's style and branding. Before finalizing your purchase, ask vendors how much customization is possible with their product.
Can my customers create their own accounts using your eCommerce software?
It's ideal to purchase an eCommerce platform that lets your customers create an account and track their orders on your website. This eCommerce functionality will not only increase customer loyalty for your small business but also help you track customer packages more efficiently.