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Best for Toymakers: Wix.com
- Price: 2 plans that include an online store, Ecommerce at $16.50/month and VIP at $24.50/month.
- Templates: 60 available for online stores
- Transaction fees: No commission
You’ve got an idea for a toy that could be the next fidget spinner or Rubix cube, and now you’re trying to figure out how to get this idea to sprout wings. Basically, you’d be hard pressed to find a better option than Wix. This website builder is known for its drag-and-drop interface, as well as being one of the most user-friendly options on the market. For a small business owner setting up an online store, you probably won’t have a tech guy on hand to navigate a complicated website that requires some familiarity with coding.
While there are hundreds of templates available on Wix – one of the company’s main selling points – there are currently 60 designed for online stores.
There are 2 payment plans on Wix for online stores, the Ecommerce plan at $16.50/month and the VIP plan at $24.50/month. They are both essentially the same—with unlimited bandwidth and 20GB storage—but by paying extra for the VIP plan users are provided with a professional site review and 10 email campaigns a month, which could be put to good use promoting your business. In addition, Wix accommodates coupons and discounts that can be used to attract new customers.
With Wix, users can easily track their sales and manage shipping through the platform, and take advantage of PayPal integration. Wix also automatically optimizes your site for mobile devices.
The platform makes sure that all transactions are secure – and they take zero commission on any of your sales.
The Wix Ecommerce options do not automatically include Facebook integration, which is one drawback. If you want to use the world’s largest social network to make sales for your business, you’ll need to install a third-party app which can be purchased through the Wix market. The app is developed by Shopial, and costs $6.99/month. There is also a free version but it only allows you to display up to 9 items.
And while Wix is certainly user-friendly, you may run into some issues at times, which is when the 24/7 customer support will come in handy.
Best Food and Drink Ecommerce Platform: Square
- Price: Various price plans
- Number of templates: Varies by industry
- Commission on sales: 2.9% + $.30 per transaction
The food and drink industry is different from other retail industries. First of all, food and drink are subject to safety regulations, so any online seller needs to make sure they are in compliance with local and state rules. For homemade food and drinks, this will certainly entail an official inspection.
With food and drink, online sellers also need to include allergy warnings and list ingredients so anyone with dietary restrictions can be aware ahead of time. If you own a restaurant, you need to ensure that the ingredients are fresh, can be delivered without mess, and that customers can pay online.
Square offers Ecommerce stores and has a specific section dedicated to restaurants. Square POS can easily integrate to Square online, so owners can start taking online orders right away. Orders instantly display in your restaurant POS system and relay to kitchen printers. Square also gives your customers a variety of pickup and delivery options, including in-person and curbside pickup or home delivery.
Square Online can integrate with other Square solutions, including the POS, loyalty, marketing, and gift cards.
Best for Apparel Vendors: BigCommerce
- Price: $29.95/month - $249.95/month and higher (enterprise package by quote)
- Templates: 100+ (only 7 are free)
- Transaction fees: None
Designers with a keen eye for fashion have more opportunities than ever to pursue their passion thanks to the internet.
Before you get started running an online apparel store, there are a few things to consider. First off, you need to figure out your niche and your identity. Are you making baby clothes or maternity wear? High-dollar business attire? Custom-made sneakers? See if there is a market for your designs and how you can carve out a little corner for yourself in a crowded industry.
When you launch, as a brand-new outlet you may want to offer some introductory sales and coupons to new customers to get the ball rolling. You’ll need an Ecommerce site that can accommodate this, and with BigCommerce, coupons, discounts, and gift cards are provided with every pricing plan.
BigCommerce is a highly-customizable Ecommerce platform used by both small- and medium-sized companies and clients like Cargill, a major international conglomerate. It is mobile ready and fully scalable as your business grows.
BigCommerce makes checkout easy for your customers, with a one touch PayPal plug-in and instant check-out. It can also fully integrate on eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google Shopping.
In addition, the platform has tools to reduce shopping cart abandonment, including synchronized inventory tracking. Shipping quotes, product ratings and reviews, and professional reporting tools are standard on all accounts, and everything should stay up and running with a promised 99.9% uptime rate. Not only that, but BigCommerce won’t charge any commission on your sales.
BigCommerce can present your designs on 33 templates created specifically for fashion and jewelry, covering everything from kid’s clothing to men’s formal wear. These templates are rich and detailed, which is especially important since customers won’t be able to try the clothes on in person.
That said, only 2 of these templates are free, and the rest range in price from $145-$235.
Following your vision and dream to become a fashion designer is a big move that shouldn’t be taken lightly. With BigCommerce, you can build an online store that can turn your vision into a thriving business.
Best for Toymakers: Wix.com
- Price: 2 plans that include an online store, Ecommerce at $16.50/month and VIP at $24.50/month.
- Templates: 60 available for online stores
- Transaction fees: No commission
You’ve got an idea for a toy that could be the next fidget spinner or Rubix cube, and now you’re trying to figure out how to get this idea to sprout wings. Basically, you’d be hard pressed to find a better option than Wix. This website builder is known for its drag-and-drop interface, as well as being one of the most user-friendly options on the market. For a small business owner setting up an online store, you probably won’t have a tech guy on hand to navigate a complicated website that requires some familiarity with coding.
While there are hundreds of templates available on Wix – one of the company’s main selling points – there are currently 60 designed for online stores.
There are 2 payment plans on Wix for online stores, the Ecommerce plan at $16.50/month and the VIP plan at $24.50/month. They are both essentially the same—with unlimited bandwidth and 20GB storage—but by paying extra for the VIP plan users are provided with a professional site review and 10 email campaigns a month, which could be put to good use promoting your business. In addition, Wix accommodates coupons and discounts that can be used to attract new customers.
With Wix, users can easily track their sales and manage shipping through the platform, and take advantage of PayPal integration. Wix also automatically optimizes your site for mobile devices.
The platform makes sure that all transactions are secure – and they take zero commission on any of your sales.
The Wix Ecommerce options do not automatically include Facebook integration, which is one drawback. If you want to use the world’s largest social network to make sales for your business, you’ll need to install a third-party app which can be purchased through the Wix market. The app is developed by Shopial, and costs $6.99/month. There is also a free version but it only allows you to display up to 9 items.
And while Wix is certainly user-friendly, you may run into some issues at times, which is when the 24/7 customer support will come in handy.
Best for Electronics and Gadgets: GoDaddy
- Price: Varies by plan
- Templates: Varies by plan
- Transaction fees:
GoDaddy is a great option for selling electronics and gadgets. Its Ecommerce site is hosted by WordPress and it offers over 50,000 WordPress plug-ins and 10,000 themes. There is a lot of built-in flexibility and customization, which makes it easy for business owners to showcase their products.
Features include unlimited visitors and storage, access to WooCommerce extensions, SEO optimizer, daily security scans, free domain and business email address, daily backups, and more.
If you don’t already have a vision for how you want your website to look, you can get a lot of ideas from GoDaddy. In addition to its online selling options, GoDaddy also offers advanced marketing tools like content creation, SEO, social media management, 24/7 support, analytics & reporting, tailored action plans, and more.
GoDaddy’s WordPress Ecommerce hosting costs about $17/month while its website builder plans start at about $10/month.
Best for Books: BlueHost + Woocommerce
- Price: $13.99/month (starter), $17.99/month (Plus), $31.99/month (Pro)
- Templates: 14 (2 free, 12 cost $39 – also works with WordPress themes)
- Transaction fees: None, all charges processed through PayPal
You love to read and collect books, and now you want to turn your hobby into a business.
Because there are so many online bookstores – including giants like Amazon – you should try and focus on a niche that will set you apart. You could focus on self-help books, or parenting guides, or just young adult fiction. Whatever you decide, you need to think of a way to set yourself apart from the big fish, and start collecting the inventory you need.
Once you’ve settled these issues, give WooCommerce a try. It’s an Ecommerce plugin that turns your WordPress website into an online store.
Set up is easy and you manage the store entirely from your WordPress dashboard.
The price range varies from as cheap as $13.99/month for the entry level “starter” plan, to $31.99/month for the pro plan. All come with unmetered bandwidth, customer support and SSL certificate, but that’s where the similarities end.
With the starter package, you get only 100 GB of website space, while on the other plans it is unmetered. You’re also limited in the number of domains and email accounts with the starter plan, and receive only $100 in marketing offers, as opposed to $150 for the plus package and $300 for the pro package.
Payment is built-in with PayPal and Stripe, keeping things simple. Security is also a selling point, with payment plans coming with SSL certificate and a dedicated IP.
And to help you keep track of all those book titles piling up in your garage, WooCommerce includes stock levels control, which – like everything else on the platform – you can manage from your mobile device.
Furthermore, there is a great deal of freedom with WooCommerce, because you can implement literally hundreds of WordPress plugins to customize your site as you see fit.
Bottom Line
Though setting up an store online is significantly easier than a storefront, there are still many variables to consider. You have to determine your “identity” as a vendor and a brand - what are you selling, who is it for, and what sets you apart. Once you’ve laid the groundwork, finding the right Ecommerce platform for your business can play a major role in whether or not your small business dreams come true.
