Best Ecommerce Software for 2023 The 7 Best Solutions
“Clients prefer voice calls or emails. They don’t prefer purchasing online”.
Sounds familiar? You may have heard your partners, friends or colleagues say it often.
But ecommerce stat data say the exact opposite.
Over 6 out of every 10 buyers purchase products or services online. That’s over 60% of purchases. And these include your target customers as well.
And that’s why smart business owners with dreams of growing their businesses are spending more on enhancing their ecommerce selling channel.
That makes perfect sense since ecommerce is now THE most effective sales channel in the arena.
Source: McKinsey & Company B2B Insights
If you are one of these smart and ambitious business owners, then you need to double down on your ecommerce channel.
To help you find a suitable ecommerce software, we are going to discuss 7 top ones. The right ecommerce solution among these can help you take your dream business to the next level. And make you and your family proud. Once again.
What is ecommerce software?
Ecommerce software is the management system that helps to operate the online business and ensure a smooth ecommerce experience. It works like a backbone of your online store, and it is what makes your business tick.
To describe its basic operation, it assists in listing the products for sale and handles the online payment systems. But as the ecommerce market is growing every day, ecommerce platforms are adding attractive features now and then in their shopping sites to stand out in the competition. Thus, doing the bare minimum is not enough now for the ecommerce software.
As a result, along with performing the basic requirements, most ecommerce software nowadays is adding upgraded tools in their system to adopt the modern market scenario. So, now from handling inventory management, accounting and deliveries to email marketing and customer interactions, everything is covered under the roof of ecommerce software.
The top 7 ecommerce software for 2023
- Shopify
- WebCommander
- Wix
- BigCommerce
- Squarespace
- WooCommerce
- Adobe Commerce
Let’s now begin our discussion. Stay with us. It’s going to help you make and save potentially millions. Literally.
1. Shopify- As easy to use as riding a bicycle
This is Shopify
Shopify is already the biggest ecommerce store builder in the USA. And possibly the easiest to use.
Since it launched its arm in 2019, it pulled a considerable chunk of the business owners willing to sell their goods and services online. In addition to its ecommerce functionality, it has a wide range of features that eases the life of entrepreneurs.
How much does Shopify cost?
The wing of Shopify uses the “Shopify Plus” pricing plan.
This plan initially costs $2,000/month. As your business grows, you can negotiate a custom fee.
How popular is Shopify?
Over the last year, an increasing number of people all over the world are Googling “Shopify”. When you look at the software companies and complementary service providers it acquired, it’s no wonder people are taking more interest in this Canadian ecommerce software.
Big-name brands Shopify is proud of
There are quite a large number of global brands that are on the “pride list” of Shopify.
Some of those are:
- Whole Foods Market (owned by Amazon; company value over $13 billion)
- Hyatt Hotels Corp (company value over $8 billion)
- Fitbit (company value over $2 billion)
- Gymshark (company value about $1.5 billion)
- Kylie Cosmetics (company value over $1 billion)
Businesses that gained high growth using Shopify
There are many who have achieved enviable business growth using the Shopify platform.
Here are some of those A-listers:
Momofuku
They sell about 30,000 noodle packets to retailers through Shopify Plus. The Shopify core has made it effortless for them to run their operations, finance and handle wholesale sales.
Beard and Blade
Has doubled their wholesale revenue growth using Shopify Plus. Their entire large order processing and retail inventory updating are now automated.
Tropeaka
Is a nutrition brand that has secured over $1 million in sales through a 3-day event thanks to Shopify Plus.
Awesome things about Shopify
Business owners of Momofuku, Beard & Blade and Tropeaka consider the benefits Shopify Plus provides instrumental in their massive growth.
The following are some of those benefits:
- You will be able to manage all of them from one location. You will also have powerful management tools and a user-friendly dashboard that will save you time.
- You will have advanced Shopify Plus apps that will handle sharp business growth smoothly
- You will be able to integrate your ERP (enterprise resource planning) software and any other 3rd party app through some sleek API resources.
- There is no limit to the staff accounts you can create in Shopify Plus.
- Shopify’s award-winning customer support teams will be at your disposal 24/7.
Read about all other cool features here: Shopify Plus features
Some not-so-awesome things (you need to know these too)
Here are some things you need to know about Shopify Plus before you make a decision:
- Order confirmation emails are not always dynamic. Meaning it doesn’t always reflect changes in the order.
- The analytics reporting section is not like super deep. You may need to invest in some 3rd party tool if you want to get more insights from your data.
- The backend is not exactly easy to customize. For small and medium-sized businesses, it’s not exactly a problem. But if you handle large orders, you may face some difficulty customizing it to adjust to the buyer’s journey.
- Some users have faced issues handling bulk or multi-layered discounts.
Know more about issues you may face on Shopify Plus: Pros and cons of Shopify Plus
Do business owners like Shopify?
Shopify Plus has received a 4.4/5.0 based on reviews of 284 business owners.
Here is the breakdown:
Visit this page to get detailed reviews of Shopify Plus.
What’s their website?
You can visit it here: Shopify
2. WebCommander- A rising kid on the ecommerce block
So, what is WebCommander?
WebCommander is a modern ecommerce platform that’s rising fast in popularity in Australia. With 1,000+ B2B and B2C happy businesses as its client, it’s a platform that has a good start.
How much?
You will find the pricing plans of WebCommander pretty simple.
Here they are:
- Commander Ecommerce Plus- $110/month
- Commander Ecommerce Enterprise- $243/month
Know more about the features under each plan here: WebCommander pricing Plans and features.
How popular is WebCommander?
Not as popular as Shopify yet. That’s why we have termed it “a rising kid on the ecommerce block”.
Any top brands using it for e-commerce?
At this moment, it doesn’t have any global brand as its client. But they are working on some next-level functionalities which will make it a go-to choice for brands with turnover in the hundreds of millions.
Businesses that achieved success using WebCommander
Even though it doesn’t have any global brand as its client yet, it has helped several Australian businesses fulfil their ecommerce and digital marketing needs.
How can WebCommander help you?
It comes with a decent bunch of features that will easily meet the needs of a small or medium-sized business.
Here are some of the most prominent ones:
- You will be able to offer your customers both retail and wholesale prices from a single store.
- Creating multi-tiered discounts is pretty easy here.
- You will be able to adjust shipping fees for individual shipping zones and order volumes with just a few clicks.
What are its drawbacks?
While it does come with some really effective features, it’s not free of drawbacks.
Some business owners have faced the following issues:
- The dashboard may feel a bit cluttered because of too many features. The option to turn off functionalities you don’t need isn’t there yet.
- The price updating feature needs to be more user-friendly.
How are the users like it?
At the moment of writing this article, we found only 4 businesses that have reviewed it. Based on their ratings, WebCommander has received an amazing 4.8/5.0.
Know more about it and user reviews here: WebCommander rating and reviews.
What’s their website?
You can visit it here: WebCommander
3. Wix- An ecommerce software fortune 500 companies use
The one ecommerce software that used Hollywood stars in its ads.
Wix is probably the only ecommerce software that has sponsored Gal Gadot (The Wonder Woman), Jason Statham (the meanest action hero in Hollywood) and some other big name actors. It is that proud of its platform in general and the features it offers to businesses.
Is it very expensive?
Wix offers business owners with custom pricing based on their requirements.
But according to some of our sources, it costs over $500/month.
Is it more popular than Shopify?
To answer this question, let’s look at some data from Google Trends.
Globally, a varying number of people have looked up “Wix” over the last 1 year. Shopify, on the other hand, has experienced a rising google search worldwide in the same time frame.
List of top brands using Wix to sell stuff online
Here are some of the tier-1 brands using Wix for their ecommerce needs.
- Lyft
- DHL
- Hilton
- Deloitte
Brands that grew using Wix
Let’s have a look at the brands that have multiplied their revenue using Wix.
Ruby Love
They have built a business worth over $20 million since their inception in 2016. From a single person, it has grown into a 40 employees business with their own fulfilment centre.
The Spice Suite
They have got millions of dollars of sales since they launched in 2015. To know more about their business growth, read their success story.
Cleverchefs
They are a fine dining catering service based in Bristol, UK. Using the Wix ecommerce software, they made over $60,000 in sales in just 2 weeks.
How can Wix help your business?
The following benefits of Wix will be crucial to take your business to the next level:
- Managing multi-channel marketing and sales is easy.
- Tracking your business activities is effortless.
- Effective campaign management.
- Reliable APIs to connect your Wix store with any 3rd party apps.
Visit this page to know more: Wix Enterprise features
What you need to know about Wix though?
Wix, with its cutting-edge features, is not entirely free of drawbacks.
The following are issues some users have faced:
- Updates made in the backend sometimes took time to sync.
- The sheer number of features may feel overwhelming in the beginning.
- Wix Support is not the fastest in the world.
- The admin panel has room to be more user-friendly.
Visit this page to know more: Pros and cons of Wix
Here is the verdict of users of Wix
Based on 1,488 reviews, it has received a 4.2/5.0.
The image below shows a detailed rating:
What’s their website?
You can visit it here: Wix Enterprise
4. BigCommerce- Big by name, big by features
A small intro (a big one will take up the whole blog).
Founded in 2009, it has grown into one of the largest open SAAS ecommerce platforms in the world. Some of the reasons behind it are its large set of features and extensive customization capability. No matter what size your business is, you will be able to grow using BigCommerce.
Another popular ecommerce software?
According to Google Trends, yes, it is. Here is what the data says:
Over the last 1 year, it has received a pretty decent number of searches from all over the world. If you look closely, you will see that it has an upward trend.
How much does it charge?
BigCommerce offers business owners 4 pricing plans.
Those are:
- Standard- $29.95/month
- Plus- $79.95/month
- Pro- $299.95/month
- Enterprise- offers custom pricing based on your business requirements.
Visit their pricing plan page to learn about the features offered in each plan.
Brands in the hall of fame of BigCommerce
It has a growing number of top brands in its clientele.
Some of the notable ones are:
- Skull Candy (sells audio products)
- Solo Stove (sells stoves and ovens)
- MitoQ (skincare and supplements producer)
- Burrow (sells furniture)
Businesses in the “A list” of BigCommerce
The following are the businesses BigCommerce is really proud of. So proud that they have earned their spot on their success stories.
Diano
Based out of Seattle, USA, they are a baby car seat manufacturer. In just 12 months, they have opened 5 ecommerce stores and more than doubled their revenue.
Brock’s Performance
They are a motorcycle performance enhancer parts producer. Using BigCommerce, they have experienced a 100%+ rise in the number of orders in just 3 years.
Tygris
Is a cleaning products manufacturer based out of Scotland. In just 1 year, they have managed to boost their revenue over 2 times. And they thank BigCommerce for it.
Visit their case study to learn more about they achieved such massive success.
Some amazing things about BigCommerce
With BigCommerce, you will be able to:
- Sell to businesses and direct to consumers from the same store.
- Run your business without worrying about your website security.
- Access support from experts no matter what challenge you are facing.
- Run your business without worrying about your site breaking down.
- Create custom pricing and layered discounts.
- Segment your customers in groups and create unique buying experiences for them.
- Maintain multiple sales channels (POS, Amazon, eBay) from one dashboard.
- Process your orders with zero transaction fees.
Feel free to visit their enterprise feature page to know more.
What they need to improve
They have several areas of improvement though.
For instance:
- The pricing plans have a yearly sales volume cap. If you exceed it, you will be auto-upgraded to a higher plan. Or they will charge you extra for the excess sales. It may spike your operations cost.
- They don’t offer any email marketing solutions yet. That means you will need to get a 3rd party solution provider for this purpose.
- If you want to offer your customers the option to check out from anywhere (social media, blog posts, emails), then it’s quite tricky with BigCommerce.
- Their customer support system needs be faster and smarter.
- The updates they roll out have glitches. They need to be thoroughly tested before being implemented on the platform.
- Migrating your existing website and digital resources from another ecommerce software to BigCommerce can get pretty complicated.
Visit this page to learn more about their pros and cons.
What do people think about BigCommerce
About 500 business owners have rated it.
Here is the rating breakdown:
Overall, they have received a 4.2/5.0.
The image below shows how good their ease of setup, support quality and user-friendliness are:
Visit this rating page to learn more about their user reviews.
What’s their website?
You can visit it here: BigCommerce
5. Squarespace- The most charming DIY ecommerce software
Here is the charmer among all ecommerce software.
If you do a quick tour of their website, you will say the same thing. And there is more to it than just looks. Its extensive store management features give you complete control over your business. Additionally, it offers you a wide range of digital marketing tools to help you get more clients.
Does it cost much?
No, it does NOT.
The following are the 4 pricing plans it offers.
- Personal- $23/month (when paid annually)
- Business- $33/month (same)
- Basic Commerce- $36/month (same)
- Advanced Commerce- $65/month (same)
For its enterprise plan, you will need to contact them.
Based on your business needs, they will give you a custom price.
It must be very popular right?
In the arena, not as much as Shopify or WooCommerce. Here is the data:
As you can see, Squarespace gets fluctuating searches on Google. That means business owners are probably not much aware of their wing at the moment.
Celebrity businesses using Squarespace
Here are the “A list” brands that are using Squarespace to power their ecommerce wing:
- Etsy
- DoorDash
- ARCH Motorcycles
- Harper’s Bazaar
Businesses that made it big using Squarespace
The following business owners have made the “zero to hero” stories possible with Squarespace.
Ghost Wares
It’s an online store that sells pottery. Using Squarespace’s ecommerce features, it has transformed from a hobby into a thriving business.
Lark + Raven
It’s a store that sells creative stationery items. Just like Ghost Wares, it has grown into a successful business powered by the passion of the founder Ali Macdonald.
What you will love about Squarespace
Squarespace offers the following benefits that have helped Ghost Wares and Lark + Raven gain immense growth.
Here they are:
- Maintain permission levels for all your employees with just a few clicks.
- Its feature-packed software saves you tons of time and money while giving you total control over your business.
- It grows with your business. That means you don’t need to worry about your site breaking down at peak business hours. No wonder it’s used by over 180 million business owners.
Challenges you may face when using Squarespace
You need to be aware of the following issues of Squarespace before you seriously start considering it for your business.
Here they are:
- Their website templates are not very fast. That means you may need to hire in-house or 3rd party developers to enhance it for speed. Meaning your expense will rise.
- It doesn’t offer a navigation menu bar with a deep hierarchy. For businesses with a large range of products or services, this may be a huge problem.
- It has a limited collection of apps that can help extend the usability of your site. If you want to switch to Squarespace from WordPress, you will find this a huge challenge.
- Its dashboard can be quite overwhelming given its huge feature set. It takes some getting used to.
- Creating a custom check-out option for your customers will be very difficult here.
- Your site won’t be able to connect with other software of apps that you may need to use. As a result, you may need to hire developers to design APIs for this purpose.
Are business owners crazy about Squarespace?
About a thousand business owners have shared their reviews after using Squarespace for some years.
Let’s see how they have rated it.
As you can see, most of them liked it. That’s why it has received an overall 4.4/5.0 based on 994 ratings.
Along with overall ratings, do have a look at their ease of use, support quality and ease of setup ratings.
What’s the link to their website?
You can visit it here: Squarespace
6. WooCommerce- You can customize it in any you want
The one powering 3 out of every 10 ecommerce sites.
Yes, you read that correctly. WooCommerce powers about 30% of all websites that sell goods and services online. And one of the primary reasons behind it is its claylike customizability. And it forever expands plugin and extension collections. No wonder a large number of global brands use it.
How much does it cost?
Unlike the other ecommerce software here, it’s completely free. It’s basically a software that you install exclusively on WordPress websites. If yours is on any other ecommerce software, you won’t be able to use it.
As popular as Wix or Shopify?
It definitely is. We are that confident because of the data from Google.
Here it is:
As you can see, there is an upward rising trend in the search volume of the Woocommerce software. A clear indication that it’s pretty popular.
Top brands that love WooCommerce
There are several renowned brands that use WooCommerce.
Some of the most mention-worthy ones are:
- Porter and York
- ClickBank
- Bluestar coffee roasters
- Barefoot Buttons
- Airstream
- Singer
Businesses that found success using WooCommerce
WooCommerce has helped many businesses gain serious results.
The following are some of those:
Your Benefit Store
They have brought a new twist in purchasing health benefit plans. Using Woocommerce, they have designed a simple checkout process.
DVO Suspension
They sell top-notch mountain bike suspensions. After they onboarded Woocommerce, their cancelled orders sharply dropped helping them capture lost revenue.
Visit the Woocommerce customer showcase page to know about more successful B2B and B2C businesses.
Benefits of WooCommerce
The success of businesses like “Your Benefit Store” and “DVO Suspension” was because of the benefits of WooCommerce.
The following are some of those:
- Plug and play. It’s the very definition of it. With it as your ecommerce solution provider, you will be onboard any additional software or plugins including Dokan Multivendor you want to extend your business site usability.
- It rolls out thoroughly tested updates thanks to its massive developer community. That means your site going down due to glitches is significantly reduced.
- It can be used with a large number of payment systems.
- It comes with an easy order processing functionality. You will be able to save valuable time because of this.
What you should know though
The benefits of WooCommerce are no doubt amazing with proven results. But, it has its fair share of issues.
The following are some issues business owners have faced often:
- Business websites tend to get laden with plugins. As a result, the load speed may slow down leading to reduced traffic and conversion.
- The interface is not that user-friendly.
- Most of the built-in features are a little too simple. That’s why you may need to get additional plugins which will ramp up your expenses.
Visit this review page to know more pros and cons of Woocommerce.
Let’s hear from the users
Now, we are going to see what people think about WooCommerce:
What’s their website?
You can visit it here: WooCommerce
7. Adobe Commerce – For those with the big bucks
It was formerly known as Magento.
It was known as Magento before Adobe acquired it. Now it’s called “Adobe Commerce”. Given its sophisticated functionalities, it has managed to find its own niche of business owners.
Does it really cost a ton of money?
No, it doesn’t. In fact, it’s totally free. Just like WooCommerce.
However, it’s not exactly as easy to customize. That means you will need to hire developers for big changes. And that will take a toll on your bank account. A pretty big toll if you have lots of changes in mind.
It’s not that popular right?
Actually, it is. Probably just as popular as BigCommerce or Wix.
While it’s not looked up on Google as often as Shopify, a considerable number of people all over the planet are visiting its site.
Notable brands using Adobe Commerce
Here are some of the globally known brands. Some of them have switched to it from other ecommerce solution providers.
They are:
- The Ford Company (you have definitely heard of it)
- Coca Cola
- Procter & Gamble
- HP
- Tommy Hilfiger
Brands that adore Adobe Commerce
Adobe Commerce has managed to earn the respect of a significantly large number of business owners.
The reason is obvious. They have gained serious growth using this ecommerce software.
Here are some of those:
Helly Hansen
They are a winter clothing manufacturer. Using Adobe Commerce, they have received over 40% rise in their online sale revenue. Their mobile traffic has had similar boost.
Yakima Chief Hops
Is a seller of beer hops for brewers of all sizes. After implementing Adobe Commerce on their system, they have achieved a 29% boost in their spot sales.
Visit this page to know about the ecommerce success of Adobe Commerce users.
Reasons you will love this ecommerce software
Here are what you would love about Adobe Commerce:
- It is super reliable. It simply doesn’t fail a business owner.
- It updates regularly. That means your site will be up to date and thus less prone to cyberattacks.
- The software is not like super complicated. So using it won’t be a hassle.
- It scales a growing business like a shadow. If you are anticipating peak business, adobe commerce is an excellent ecommerce partner. In fact when processing ultra-high volume of sales, Adobe Commerce has been found to far more stable and flexible compared to others on this list.
Things you need to be aware of
It will be unfair to you and your business if you don’t know the drawbacks of Adobe Commerce.
Here are the most significant ones:
- It is pretty difficult to get used to. And it happens to be one of the most common issues business owners face when it comes to this ecommerce software.
- Unlike other software like Shopify, Wix and BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce is not exactly “drag and drop”. Either you will need to know coding to some extent or get expert help which is expensive.
- To expand the usability of this free software, you will need to invest in expensive 3rd party plugins. As a result, your business overhead will rise.
For detailed reviews from users, visit this page.
Let’s hear it from the users of this software
Let’s hear from the actual users of Adobe Commerce.
As you can see, it has received a lower percentage of 5 and 4 stars compared to other ecommerce platforms we have discussed today. That’s most likely due to its high learning curve and lack of user-friendliness.
Overall, it has received a 4.0/5.0 based on 485 reviews.
Do have a look at the breakdown of user reviews to get an even better picture:
What’s their website?
You can visit it here: Adobe Commerce
Recap of the 7 ecommerce software discussed here
Let’s have a look at the 7 ecommerce software again:
- Shopify
- WebCommander
- Wix
- BigCommerce
- Squarespace
- WooCommerce
- Adobe Commerce
What are the essential elements you should look for in an ecommerce solution?
Ecommerce software comes as a helping hand for businesses to cover almost every task under one system. While choosing ecommerce software for your online business, you should keep in mind that the software should perform like an all-in-one integrated solution to your business.
Here is a list of elements you should look for in an ecommerce solution
Manages customers and orders:
Customers are the key to a successful business; thus, their satisfaction is essential. To gain a satisfactory result from the customers, the whole order processing cycle is crucial. For ecommerce software, the customer order management process should consist of steps like,
- Understanding customer needs
- Confirming orders
- Picking and packing
- Shipping
- Tracking and
- Follow up after a sale
Organised products and inventory:
The inventory can be organised by variation, for example, size, colours and quantity. The ecommerce software should be intelligent enough to notify about the inventory status and when the stock goes low. It is also necessary the inventory management to know what items are fast-moving or slow-moving to handle and tackle any situation.
Simplified marketing:
If you want your business to bloom, it is high time to choose software that allows in-built marketing operations. Make sure the ecommerce software has the incorporated SEO tools required to market your online store. This can improve your ranking on Google, increase revenue, and decrease customer acquisition costs.
Improved customer experience:
As mentioned earlier, ensuring a good impression of your business to the customers is essential to run any and every type of business. It is necessary to confirm an ecommerce software that allows the customer with a smoothly operated and attractive interface where they can find everything easily. So, in simple words, the software should meet customer demands and ensure a seamless shopping experience.
Choose your ecommerce software wisely
After a very thorough discussion, that’s all we can say.
As you have noticed, each platform comes with a slightly different feature set. That’s because they are targeting different user bases and pain points. And that makes it very difficult to choose the “best ecommerce software”.
So, talk to experts. Find as much as possible about any platform you consider.
And if you are simply too busy for that, feel free to reach out to us. With about 15+ years of experience developing B2B and B2C ecommerce websites, we have gathered a large collection of good advice for business owners like you. And we don’t charge for sharing those.
Why don’t you shoot us a message and tell us about your business then?