The eCommerce industry, commonly known to many people as online store shopping, is a treasure trove of opportunity for people who have the ambition and motivation to find their niche market to profitability. If this interests you, then capture the moment to turn motivation into action and begin building the foundation for unlimited potential and growth.
Whether you are an entrepreneur or an existing business with a desire to open an online store, opportunity awaits. Billions of dollars are spent on eCommerce sites every year, and the trend shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Powerful eCommerce site development tools and services have lowered the obstacles in going from development to profit, to the point where virtually anyone can enter into the industry.
If you are reading this, it is more than likely you have bought something online yourself. Others are profiting from the eCommerce boom, and so should your startup or established business. The initial set up and operating of a web site has been made easier with the recent explosion of the number of eCommerce sites.
Here are some of the best and most active shopping carts and eCommerce store building software. Building the site is only the first step, so related products and services are also included to drive traffic to your store and make a visiting customer a returning customer.
Bigcommerce
According to their website, Bigcommerce has over 35,000 stores generating more than 2 billion dollars in transactions. Active in 65 countries and present in 25 industries, the company has established itself as a viable eCommerce store builder candidate.
It offers:
A 15-day free trial period to test out the site
Your own website and domain name
A secure shopping cart
E-mail accounts
Marketing tools
Mobile-optimized store
Built-in marketing
A network of expert designers to assist you in creating the best store possible
Products can be available on eBay, Facebook, Pricegrabber, and Shopzilla
Credit cards are accepted from PayPal, Authorize.net, Google Checkout and more
Flat monthly rate
A highly secure store with a 99.99% uptime record
Apps that integrate with many accounting and inventory management systems
Shopify
Or should we say Shopify2? The online store builder launched its totally redesigned platform that currently serves more than 50,000 stores in 100 countries, including companies such as General Electric, Tesla Motors, Foo Fighters, and Encyclopedia Britannica. According to their website, “Shopify 2 adds over 60 new features and updates to the platform, including a live theme editor [and] the new design reflects the way people naturally want to work.”
Prices start at $14 per month
Choose from over 100+ professional designs
Completely customize your store. No css/html is off limits
Full featured website CMS to add more content pages to your store
Free 14-day trial period
Web designers available to assist in store setup
And yes, there is much more. With its redesign, Shopify is certain to continue its rapid growth and continue to lead the eCommerce industry in online store setup ease and speed of use.
Pinnacle Cart
What if you already have a server for your business and are convinced the creation of an eCommerce store will boost your profits? With many other online stores, you are required to put your store on their solution. With Pinnacle Cart, the company offers you the option to license their software on to your own server, allowing you to save money and take control of your own store.
Another way Pinnacle Cart is different from other eCommerce web site options is through the inclusion of the knowledge and experience brought to its development by sales and marketing specialists – people who know first hand what it takes to be successful in a highly competitive environment.
Because the Pinnacle Cart software can be put on your own server, special management tools are highlighted to help you make a better purchasing decision.
Advanced Analytics
Advanced Product Management
Powerful Order Management
Fully integrated with all major eCommerce automation tools
Other ecommerce solutions available
There of course are other eCommerce solutions, but we believe these three to be at the top of the class. For your consideration, there are also open source eCommerce solutions. These are packages that allow you to create the store, but the programming code is open and available to the public. Many times the cost is perfect, zero dollars, but you will have to customize the store, which will incur extra time and money.
