Top 5 eCommerce Platforms to Sell Anything Online

Ecommerce is booming for both enterprise and SMBs alike. In 2012, 88.1% of US Internet users will browse or research products online and a staggering 154.6 million will make an online purchase.

Here are the top 5 ecommerce platforms on the market today.

1. Volusion

$19 to $149 per month

Volusion offers a range of packages with no set-up fee and helpful 24/7-customer support. The software has an extensive catalogue of free/premium templates, payment options, marketing tools and an advanced security system. With an intuitive interface, large catalogue of features and low introductory price, Volusion is perfect for both SMBs with little technical know-how and enterprise companies looking for a comprehensive storefront.

2. Magento

Free to $49,990 per year

Magento serves more than 110,000 merchants worldwide and is the fastest growing platform on the market. Magento offers 12 payment gateways, 87 payment extensions, translation into over 60 languages and support for multiple currencies. A simple one-page checkout, flexible couponing, innumerable add-ons and an extremely effective administration panel makes Magento an industry leader that’s here to stay.

3. WooCommerce

Free to download

WooThemes’ WooCommerce open source WordPress plug-in lets you build a fully functional ecommerce site right out of the box. It’s free to download and comes loaded with a wealth of standard features.

With the standard download you get detailed report, shipping and tax settings and intuitive order, customer and inventory management systems. It’s also fully customizable and offers premium extensions to expand your store’s functionality.

WooCommerce is easy to set-up and looks familiar to anyone who’s used the WordPress dashboard. Combined with WooThemes, WooCommerce will get your store online quicker than any other ecommerce plug-in on the market.

4. Shopify

$29 – $179 per month

Shopify is a great choice for small businesses looking for a simple online shopping cart that’s low-cost and aesthetically pleasing. It also offers built in blogging that’s helpful for maintaining a strong SEO presence. An included mobile app is a big plus given mobile commerce’s growing influence in online retail. Shopify also has an extensive web-based app store that runs the gamut from inventory management to tracking customer referrals.

5. CoreCommerce

$19.99 - $149.99 per month

CoreCommerce brings an extensive list of features that come standard with all of its monthly packages. It’s easy to set up and get started if you’re using one of their templates. The platform has a helpful order management system allowing for unlimited product photos, a one-page checkout, built in POS and a nice mobile app for managing a store via smartphone. It’s simple, low-cost and effective. What more could you ask for?

Ultimately, any business can be successful online. The trick is figuring out what your business goals are and what platform is best suited to help you get there.