No industry is booming like ecommerce and if you are an aspiring entrepreneur thinking about starting an online ecommerce store, the opportunities are endless for you. However, starting an online store is not that difficult but choosing an ecommerce platform among a list of platforms is a daunting task. From mobile friendly to easy setup, there are many features that a user must look through before choosing an ecommerce platform.
Here are some custom-oriented features that an ecommerce platform must have:
- Optimized for mobile devices
- Social media integration
- Customer-behavior insights for better targeting
- Easy navigation, enjoyable user-experience & SEO ready
- Marketing tools, especially for content marketing
- Customer service module
Considering the above features, I have researched 3 ecommerce platforms that are a right fit for ecommerce startups in 2016 and beyond.
1. Shopify
Shopify is like a veteran in ecommerce platforms and offers as many features that’s required for any ecommerce website. It is a hosted platform and its basic plan starts at $29 a month. Here are list of top features that the Shopify platform has:
- SEO optimized & feature rich system
- Tablet and mobile friendliness
- Quick loading speed
- Secure payment gateway
- Great customer support
I also found in my research why some users don’t want to go with shopify; Shopify’s checkout is not that customizable and also migrating from hosting to self-hosting is not easy or even possible sometimes.
2. Prestashop
Prestashop is another popular and cost-effective open source ecommerce platform. You can use the basic set up free of charge, but you will need to purchase templates, themes and modules if you want to make the most out of this system.
Here are some of the impressive features Prestashop has to offer:
- Available in 40 languages
- Vast selection of customizable ecommerce themes
- Quick install features
- Intuitive interface
- Powerful set of integrations
- Multiple payment gateways
Here are some of the downsides of Prestashop; it does not support multi-store feature nor have any official customer support team. It is also a little expensive when you think about upgrading your system.
3. Yo!kart
Yo!Kart is an emerging ecommerce platform built with the intentions of overcoming the cons of the above popular ecommerce paltforms. It is available in both hosted and self-hosted plans and switching from hosted to self-hosted is also easy.
Check out the list of top features Yo!Kart has:
- Fully SEO optimized and feature-rich system
- Multiple payment gateways
- Multi-vendor functionality with custom storefront
- Responsive design for mobile and tablets
- Highly secure with an intuitive interface design
- Offers easy setup
Here are some of the downsides of Yo!Kart; its script is partially encrypted and customization requires initially working with its developers. In addition, there are no plugins available for Yo!kart.
This post is completely based upon the results of research I conducted or the facts I found on the internet about these 3 platforms.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below about these and other ecommerce platforms you know.