10 Best eCommerce CMS Platforms

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Imagine you wanted to open a physical store. You would require a space, shelves to place your products on, a cash register, and some means of keeping track of your inventory. Best eCommerce CMS platforms are like all that rolled into one, but for the virtual world. It is a software application that enables you to build and manage an online store, even if you’re not some sort of technology wizard. Add any type of product, manage orders, process payments and even design the look and feel of your store, all through a friendly interface that requires no coding.

Types of ECommerce CMS Platforms

Just like there are different types of physical stores: boutiques, supermarkets, and so on, there are best eCommerce CMS platforms in different varieties too. Here is the main group:

  • SaaS (Software as a Service): This is like renting a fully furnished store. The platform provider takes care of all the technical stuff like hosting, security, and updates. You just pay a monthly fee and focus on running your business. Examples include Shopify and BigCommerce. These are great for beginners and those who want a hassle-free experience.
  • Self-Hosted: This is essentially buying a plot of land and setting up your own shop. You have more control and flexibility, but you are also responsible for the technical work. You will have to find a web hosting company, install software, and manage the updates for yourself. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, and Magento is an example of a self-hosted option. These would be more suitable for individuals with some technical knowledge or those who can hire a developer.
  • Open Source: It is just like a community workshop where people share tools and ideas. These platforms are open source, which means they can be used for free and customized as needed. However, these often require technical knowledge. Examples of open-source platforms include Magento (also offered as a self-hosted solution) and OpenCart.

Key Features of Best ECommerce CMS Platforms

Therefore, what should you be looking for in a good eCommerce CMS? Here’s the most important feature:

  • User-Friendly Interface: It is the interface or platform which is pretty easy to navigate and doesn’t create a headache even for a non-technical person. Adding products, managing orders, and customizing the look of your store should come easily on a user-friendly interface.
  • Mobile Responsiveness: Most users make purchases via mobiles phones. So, your online store should be beautiful and flawless on each and every device.
  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Features: These apps are the one that would rank your stores higher in the search results and thus increase your customer traffic. Try for features like custom titled descriptions, and also the ability to generate SEO-friendly URLs.
  • Payment Gateway Integration: The popular payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and credit card processors will be integrated with the platform so that you can easily accept payments from your customers.
  • Inventory Management: You want to keep track of your stock. A good platform will help you manage your inventory, track sales, and even automate reordering.
  • Marketing Tools: You should look for built-in marketing features like email marketing, social media integration, and the ability to create coupons and discounts.
  • Customer Support: In case of a problem, you want to be able to access reliable customer support. See if the platform offers email, phone, or chat support.

10 Best ECommerce CMS Platforms

1. Shopify

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.8/5
  • Best For: Small to large businesses seeking an all-in-one ecommerce solution

Shopify is like having a friendly retail expert right by your side. Think of it as your digital store manager that handles everything from setting up your online shop to processing payments and shipping orders. It’s super easy to use – just like putting together furniture with really good instructions. There is no technical jargon that you need to start with, it also has a load of gorgeous templates so your store can look as professional as possible.

All the backend stuff is going to be handled by the platform, which you’ll be allowed to focus on selling those products. From handcrafted jewelry to great clothing brands, Shopify scales with your business. And it has a big number of users and experts that can help you out whenever you need it.

Key Features:

  • Drag-and-drop store builder
  • Built-in payment processing
  • Mobile commerce tools
  • Inventory management
  • Marketing tools and SEO features
  • 24/7 customer support

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

www.shopify.com

2. BigCommerce

best ecommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.7/5
  • Best For: Scalable features as your business requires

BigCommerce is like some super-powered virtual store that really can take its punches. That’s BigCommerce for you-think of that platform that happens to be there, ready, and built, as big and grand as that dream you thought you could wish for. It is one of the best ECommerce CMS Platforms. Most of these in-built features and add-ons some other platforms come with as you pay extra: pretty cool money-saving stuff.

This platform is perfect for dealing with stores with a large number of products and different kinds of variations, much like one who wanted to organize a huge warehouse but made it very easy. You get many tools to personalize your store and play nice with many other business tools you might already use. It’s really good at helping you sell across different channels, like social media and marketplaces.

Key Features:

  • Advanced product options
  • Multi-channel selling
  • Built-in SEO tools
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Professional reporting
  • Multiple payment gateways

Website:

www.bigcommerce.com

3. WooCommerce

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.6/5
  • Best For: WordPress users and bargain-hunting vendors

WooCommerce is almost like having keys to a place you can shape into the shop you want it to be. It’s your friend who’s coming over to help you get set up but lets you call the shots when it comes to the important things. This is a platform built right on top of WordPress if you are comfortable with that one. Consider it somewhat like a block building. You can add or remove features as you need to. So, your store is about to be as simple or complex as possible.

The good news is that it’s free of charge to start, but there’ll be extra charges for hosting and some other add-ons. You will have total control over how your store looks and feels, and there’s an enormous community of developers making tools and extensions for it.

Key Features:

  • WordPress integration
  • Has unlimited products and variations
  • Has an extensive plugin ecosystem
  • Entire store can be fully customized
  • It’s a self-hosted solution
  • Has several options for payment

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

woocommerce.com

4. Drupal Commerce

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.4/5
  • Best For: Developers and big corporations

Drupal Commerce is a type of master set of building blocks to create an entirely custom online store which makes it one of the best Ecommerce CMS platforms It’s the choice for those who want full control and have no aversion to rolling up their sleeves to get it. The platform is built upon Drupal, which just so happens to be super flexible, but needs technical know-how to use properly. It’s almost like a blank canvas, you can paint anything, but first you must know the art of painting.

It’s really good for large companies which have their store and want it to handle complex transactions or unusual product types. The platform can handle pretty much any kind of content or product you throw at it, and is really good at handling different languages and currencies.

Key Features:

  • Advanced content management
  • Advanced product customization
  • Multi-store capabilities
  • Custom tax rules
  • Advanced permission management
  • Enterprise-level security

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

drupalcommerce.org

5. Adobe Commerce (Magento)

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.7/5
  • Best For:  Large businesses and high-volume vendors

Adobe Commerce is like the supercharged high-end sports car for any ecommerce CMS platforms. It is powerful, fast, and can make it to the end of anything you put before it. This is the platform designed for serious businesses with tools that take care of thousands of products and highly complicated operations. It is more or less considered to be the platform where big brands come in when they do everything at a large scale and need everything to work perfectly. Advanced features are built right into the box, perfect for handling multiple stores, complex pricing rules, and international sales.

There are actually detailed controls over every aspect of your store-from how products are represented to how customers check out.

Key Features:

  • Advanced B2B features
  • Visual merchandising
  • Customer segmentation
  • Global selling tools
  • Content staging
  • Business intelligence

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

commerce.adobe.com

6. OpenCart

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.3/5
  • Best For: Small business on a budget

OpenCart is kind of like a well-honed, very reliable car that gets you where you have to go without breaking the bank. It’s the perfect kind of platform when you are just starting, and you want to have something that works really well without costing too much. This free-download website software makes it just superb to keep costs down while putting together your first online store. It contains every feature you’d need to sell online and then add more in line with expansion of your business.

It is one of the best eCommerce CMS platforms. It excels particularly if you are working with multiple stores from one single dashboard, or like running many small shops out of a single office. Also, when you get to know it well, it becomes pretty easy to use.

Key Features:

  • Multistore Management
  • Product Ratings and Reviews
  • Multi-gateways payment options
  • unlimited products
  • Basic reporting
  • Marketing Tools

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

www.opencart.com

7. Wix

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.5/5
  • Best For: For small businesses and beginners 

Wix would be like a friendly design assistant for beginners or small businesses because it helps make a beautiful online store without too much hassle, perfect for anyone who wants their store up quickly without having to deal with technical stuff. Another thing is this kind of Ecommerce CMS platforms has very beautiful templates to use, so you can have your brand style easily. It is kind of like having a professional designer and web developer in one easy-to-use tool.

Small businesses or creative entrepreneurs who want their store to look professional but don’t have much time or resources for it often find this to be very good. The platform handles all the technicalities in the background so you can focus on getting your store looking fabulous and selling your products.

Key Features:

  • Drag-and-drop editor
  • Beautiful template
  • Integrated marketing tools
  • Optimized for mobile
  • SEO-friendly
  • Safe transaction

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

www.wix.com

8. HubSpot CMS

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.6/5
  • Best For: Marketing-focused business 

HubSpot CMS is similar to having an intelligent marketing assistant which will assist in selling you things, building your relationship with the customers and this is intended as your single location for both management of the website and relationships. Think of this as that helps with any kind of requirement for both your digital marketing as well as for sales in regards to customer information.

The platform excels at monitoring customer behavior and then using this data to offer tailored shopping experiences. It’s great for business companies that look to grow by using content marketing and SEO as the basis. In addition, it integrates wonderfully with other sales and customer service tools by HubSpot.

Key Features:

  • CRM integration
  • Content management
  • Marketing automation
  • SEO tools
  • Analytics
  • Customer tracking

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

www.hubspot.com

9. Squarespace

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.5/5
  • Best For: Creative professionals and design-focused brands

Squarespace is like having a professional photographer and web designer on your side when you want to make your store look absolutely gorgeous. It is the platform one chooses when you want your online store to be like a high-end boutique but do not possess any design skills. The beautiful, modern templates make your products look their absolute best. Think of it as having a professional design team that’s already done most of the work for you.

It is one of the best ECommerce CMS platforms. You just add your products, the colors and fonts match your brand, and you’re pretty much good to go. It really comes in handy for businesses that sell visually appealing products like art, fashion, or jewelry, where presentation really does matter.

Key Features:

  • Beautiful templates
  • Image-focused design
  • Built-in SEO tools
  • Mobile optimization
  • Social media integration
  • Analytics tools

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

www.squarespace.com

10. PrestaShop

best eCommerce CMS Platforms
  • Rating: 4.2/5
  • Best For: Small to medium-sized enterprises in Europe

PrestaShop is a European-style market stall that has been digitized and modernized. It is particularly popular in Europe and features that are suitable for European commerce regulations and tax systems. The platform gives you a good balance of features and ease of use, making it perfect for medium-sized stores. Think of it like having a store manager with deep knowledge in every detail related to European business.

It features tons of automatics, even concerning the work with various currencies and languages support that’s kinda great if your customers are living all over several different countries. Downloading and using itself is absolutely free, and there is, of course, paid hosting as well as additional feature functionality that comes for pay.

Key Features:

  • Language Support
  • European Compliance Tools
  • Management for Products
  • International sales
  • Tax handling
  • Inventory management

Pros:

Cons:

Website:

www.prestashop.com

How to Select the Best ECommerce CMS Platforms

It can actually be really stressful to choose what is the proper platform, and this is in fact a simple process: 

  • Define your Needs: What am I selling? How many items do I have? What will be my budget? What am I good with technically? Most platforms offer a free trial and it’s amazing to try on the interface because you get an idea if such a platform serves your needs.
  • Go through reviews: this is what other people or users have to say about the site. You get both good and bad news.
  • Compare prices: different sites have different price packages. You should know how much it will cost you, including transaction charges, hosting fees, and other add-ons.
  • Consider scalability: Think about the future. Will the site scale up to support your expansion?
  • Customer support: The platform should provide a sound system of customer support in case you need it.
  • Do not fear asking for help: In case you feel that you cannot manage, you are free to reach out to your friends, colleagues, or even the providers of the platform to seek their assistance.

Conclusion

Choosing the best eCommerce CMS platforms is an important step in building your online store. Knowing types, key features, and choosing your eCommerce CMS means you are all set to build a successful online business. You just need to be willing to experiment, try different platforms, and find the one that feels just right for you. Good luck!

FAQs

  • Which is the easiest eCommerce platform to use?

    SaaS platforms, such as Shopify, are normally the easiest to use, especially for newbies.

  • Do I need to know coding to use an eCommerce CMS?

    No, most modern eCommerce CMS platforms are designed to be user-friendly and don't require any coding knowledge.

  • How much does it cost to set up an online store?

    The cost varies with the platform you choose and your needs. SaaS platforms cost probably on a monthly basis, and self-hosted ones may involve upfront cost of the software and hosting.

  • Can I sell anything online?

    Generally, yes, but there are some restrictions. It is always advisable to check the laws in your area and the terms of service offered by your intended platform.

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