Ecommerce Platforms Comparison

Introduction to ecommerce world

In our digital age, the Internet represents the primary way by which consumers evaluate and access products and services. Because of the high frequency of online searches, every organisation from big enterprises to small startups puts much importance on online presence, as an extension of an offline business, and selling products on the website, as an additional or sometimes the main sales channel.

Here the question is: how to enter this virtual market in the right way? Of course, you need to build a website. To make the life easier there are lots of software solutions. The knowledge of what you want to get with the help of a free online store builder is one of the main components in choosing the right software provider.

What do you need to know before launching a site?

If you plan to move your business online in order to grow and develop it, then you should choose a solution according to the needs of the site. There are many important aspects to take into account in reviewing ecommerce software vendors. Most of these solutions have very similar features. As for differentiators, the pieces of software come in two ways: hosted and self-hosted.

When you use self-hosted platforms with open source you never know what costs are there. If you do not have a web design experience, it is complicated even to start without hiring a professional. Maintenance of the site, safety of its code and choosing hosting are among the main problems of using open source software.

Our hosted ecommerce platform is specially designed to sell products online, also bearing in mind mobile selling. It is managed, upgraded and optimized systematically by Getsocio. You make changes to your ecommerce site as easy as you edit your profile via social networks.

The first thing to do in comparing solutions and choosing the best ecommerce platform is to identify your needs:

• Do you sell digital or physical products?
• How many products do you have?
• How many are options for your product there?
• Do you sell offline?
• What payment gateways are you going to use?
• Does the number of languages and currencies matter?

So, make a list of requirements for a web site, describe options it should provide to visitors and then according to this list select the best ecommerce website builder for your needs and abilities.

How does Getsocio compare to other platforms?

There are many articles on the Net containing charts and ecommerce platforms comparison with information on advantages and disadvantages of using this or that ecommerce software. They are legion. We believe that every software has its subtleties and nuances, and there is no best ecommerce software for one and all.

If you have 10 products and need to use only one payment gateway, choosing software with 30 Gb bandwidth and 60 payment methods in package at a price of about 150$ would be like using a lawn mower to drive around, but not cut the grass.

We will provide you with the information on top 5 hosted platforms vs Getsocio so you could make a self-examination to assess every of them and gain an overview of the requirements and key features of e-commerce platforms.

	Getsocio	3dcart	Shopify	BigCommerce	Volusion	Squarespace
Starting price ($)	15	19.99	29	29.95	15	26
Transaction fees	+/- (depending on plan)	-	+/- (depending on plan)	-	-	-
Visitor quota per month	-	4K-50K	-	-	Depending on plan	-
Bandwidth	Unlimited	Depending on plan	Unlimited	Unlimited	1Gb-35Gb	Unlimited
Staff accounts	Unlimited	Unlimited	2-15	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Online sales per year ($)	+/- (depending on plan)	-	-	+/- (depending on plan)	-	-
Product limit	Unlimited	100-Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	100-Unlimited	Unlimited
SSL ($)	Free	Free	Free	Free	89-995	+
Taxes	+	+	+	+	+	+
Coupon codes	+	+	+/- (depending on plan)	+	+	+
Google Speed Test (mobile - m, desktop - d)	87/100 - m 100/100 - d	85/100 - m 92/100 - d	66/100 - m 84/100 - d	59/100 - m 76/100 - d	70/100 - m 76/100 - d	53/100 - m 12/100 - d

As you can see, there is a number of platforms out there with SSL certificates for security of data, the possibility of creating coupon codes, calculating taxes, built-in shopping cart software and other important features for selling online. Some of them have monthly quotas per visits and the amount of traffic on your site, others set limits for the quantity of products. We intentionally didn't include into the comparison such items as user reviews, because they are mostly judgemental. But, if you clearly understand your storefront needs, outline the direction of growth for a business, the choice based on these factors becomes increasingly clear.