Looking to get up and running with an ecommerce shop?
Selling online can be a great way to make some extra cash on the side—or it can be an excellent full-time job if you decide to dive in head first. Either way, kudos to you!
There are SO many ecommerce options out there to choose from these days, with varying levels of ease for the DIY-er. Here’s a quick rundown of four platforms I like to recommend, with a little info about each and who the various platforms are best suited for (in my experience).
Let’s dig in!
WordPress with an Ecommerce Plugin
If you already have a WordPress website that you’re happy with, then there’s a good chance that I’d recommend just sticking with what you already have and know and simply adding on an ecommerce component. There are a ton of ecommerce plugin options for WordPress that are pretty quick and simple to set up, so which one you choose will depend a lot on the functionality you want your shop to have. A few I recommend most frequently are WooCommerce and Ecwid.
Etsy
If you’re looking to toss up a shop quickly and (very!) easily, Etsy might be your best bet, especially if you don’t have a need for a major website right away. If you only have a few hours a week to dedicate to selling your products online, you’ll also likely benefit from not having the hassle of maintaining your own site—and you’ll also have the Etsy marketplace audience right at your fingertips, which can make marketing your products a lot easier.
Squarespace
If you don’t have a website yet, but are looking to build one right along with setting up your online shop, Squarespace might be a good choice—especially if you’re eager to get up and running on your own. Squarespace is a super user friendly platform, requiring a very minimal—if any—web design/development background. This platform gives you the best of both worlds in a sense: you’ll get a robust website as well as an ecommerce solution. If you’re looking to easily set up a beautiful website and want to throw in a simple shop, Squarespace is probably a great solution.
Shopify
Shopify is in the business of helping you set up a robust online store, and it’s definitely one of the better all-in-one options out there. Some of this platform’s many features include product management and inventory control, hundreds of theme options to set up a site with no coding required, it allows you to easily track sales and fulfill orders, and it has 24/7 support. Additionally, Shopify features a decent sized app store with plenty of options for extending the platform’s native functionality. If you’re looking to grow or rebuild an existing ecommerce site on a powerful platform, Shopify is probably the platform for you.
Hopefully this list makes your ecommerce decision just a tad easier. Looking for more insight? Shoot me an email here—I’m happy to chat about your project in depth!