The 5 best e-commerce platforms: advantages and disadvantages

As you probably already know, having an online store is practically a necessity in most market sectors, especially B2C (business-to-consumer). In fact, according to Statista, in Spain, a quarter of purchases are made online , with the last quarter of 2023 reaching a record figure of €22.5 million. Not bad, right?

Now, if you're thinking about starting your own online business, you're probably wondering which ecommerce platforms are available to you . We'll answer that question in this blog post, highlighting the five most used digital platforms in the world.

Stay connected, we're starting now (at the end we'll tell you which one we prefer at Maktagg ).

1. WooCommerce

You've probably heard of WordPress, but what about WooCommerce? WooCommerce is the free plugin that turns any WordPress site into a fully functional ecommerce site. Designed to be accessible and flexible, it's the most widely used ecommerce platform globally.

Advantages

• WordPress Integration : Take advantage of the capabilities of one of the world's most popular CMS.
• Accessibility : The base plugin is free, but it still gives you access to a multitude of interesting features for your store.
• Flexibility : You can customize your virtual showcase down to the smallest detail thanks to its wide variety of templates.
• Open source : This means you can modify it to suit your business needs.
• Extensions and plugins : There are thousands of tools available to customize and enhance your store, some free and some paid.

Disadvantages

• Technical learning curve : If you're not familiar with WordPress, it can be a bit tricky at first.
• Frequent updates : This requires keeping an eye on plugin and WordPress updates, as well as making backups to avoid problems after updates.
• Separate hosting: You need to hire your own hosting service, which increases the cost of using this platform.

2. PrestaShop

PrestaShop is a digital platform designed specifically for ecommerce (unlike WooCommerce, which is a plugin). It's easy to use and has a very attractive user interface.

Advantages

• Easy to use and configure: It has a very intuitive and easy-to-use interface, so you can manage your product catalog comfortably.
• International adaptability : Works with all currencies and tax systems across countries, and you can have your online store in dozens of languages.
• Variety of themes: Like WooCommerce, it has a very wide collection of themes that you can easily customize.

Disadvantages

• Limited size : PrestaShop is designed more for small shops than large online businesses, so depending on the size of your ecommerce site, it may fall a little short.
• Feature Limit : It's not the most feature-rich e-commerce platform, and it's not open source.
  

3. Magento

Magento is an e-commerce platform designed for large companies . It has two versions: one free and one paid. The latter option is somewhat expensive, as the platform itself handles all store management and hosting.

Advantages

• Powerful and scalable : it has virtually all the features you would expect from an e-commerce site.
• Simple management : allows you to quickly and easily manage catalogs with thousands and thousands of products.
• Perfect for large businesses: thanks to its fast catalog management, it's the ideal e-commerce platform for online stores with thousands or even millions of products.

Disadvantages

• Technical experience : It is quite complicated to use, so it is not exactly the easiest or most intuitive platform.
• Long implementation time : Related to the above, setting up and launching your online store can take weeks or months.
• High cost : The paid version is quite expensive, which may be unaffordable for small online stores with lower revenue volume.

4. Wix Store

Wix Store is an extension of the popular Wix website builder. It's a simple and affordable option for small businesses looking for a fast and effective online presence.

Advantages

• Easy to use : Ideal for beginners without technical experience, especially thanks to its drag-and-drop functionality, which allows you to build your store without any HTML knowledge.
• A multitude of templates : Like other e-commerce platforms, it has a wide variety of templates and is constantly updated to offer you more features.
• Affordable price : Its low price makes it the ideal platform for entrepreneurs or small online businesses.

Disadvantages

• Scalability limitations : Not designed for large volumes of business or stores with rapid scalability plans.
• Fewer advanced features : Compared to other ecommerce platforms, the features they offer tend to fall short.
• If your goal is to do SEO in ecommerce, Wix isn't the best option for doing it easily.

5. Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that has steadily gained popularity worldwide, for both small businesses and large enterprises. Among the reasons for its popularity are its ease of use, variety of customizable themes, and the security it offers in terms of data protection.

Advantages

• Self-hosted : The online store is hosted on Shopify's own servers, so there's no need to hire a separate hosting service.
• Loading speed : It's one of the fastest-loading platforms, which is especially important for ecommerce SEO.
• Ease of use : You won't need any technical knowledge to set up your store and manage your product catalogs.
• Multi-channel sales: Sell through social media and physical stores with your POS system.

Disadvantages

• Paid Plan Pricing : The paid versions are slightly more expensive than other platforms, but far from Magento's prices.
• Less customization flexibility : Shopify relies on templates created with HTML, so you may sometimes need to hire a web programmer to implement changes.

Factors to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform

Now that you know the main e-commerce platforms, the next question is: which one should you use? Before rushing to choose one, you should consider the following aspects.

Consider whether you really need an e-commerce site.

This may seem obvious, but depending on your industry, all you might need is a website without the functionality of an e-commerce site.

In general, you'll need an online store if you sell products , i.e., fashion, cosmetics, food, pharmacy, jewelry, and many other sectors based on the sale of "tangible" products, as opposed to other sectors that are based on services.

Determine your business model within an e-commerce

By business model we refer to the types of actors involved in the purchase and sale, that is:

• B2B (Business to Business): you offer products to other companies.
• C2B (Consumer to Business): Consumers sell to businesses.
• C2C (Consumer to Consumer): the sale occurs between consumers.
• B2C (Business to Consumer): You offer products directly to the end consumer.

Depending on the model you choose, a specific e-commerce platform will make it easier for you than others.

Set your objectives and business goals

If your online business is already established and you're looking to scale , you'll need to choose platforms that make things easier (a catalog with thousands of products, implementing other languages ​​and currencies, etc.).

However, if you're just starting out and aren't planning on opening new markets (yet), you'll probably need a platform with the basic features and tools to help you position yourself in your market/country.

Keep your budget in mind

Without a doubt, and related to the previous point, budget is one of the main factors when choosing an e-commerce platform.

As a general rule, the larger your business, the more features you'll need, which means an increased investment (paid versions and tools, hiring professionals to implement changes to the store, etc.). So, if you have a budget, you can opt directly for the paid and more advanced versions of the different platforms.

However, if you're starting out on a budget, you'll need to evaluate all the features offered by the free versions of the platforms to determine which one is best for you, without sacrificing tools you may need from an early stage of your business.

Don't forget your own technical knowledge

If you don't have anyone with technical knowledge who can help you make changes or manage your online store, it's best to choose the most intuitive and easy-to-use platform: you'll save yourself a lot of headaches.

On the other hand, if you're supported by technical professionals , such as a webmaster or an e-commerce agency, you shouldn't be afraid to choose the most appropriate platform without (too) much consideration of the technical complexity involved in managing it.

Which ecommerce platform do we recommend?

Based on our 10 years of experience, we're convinced that the best ecommerce platform is Shopify.

Globally, it was the second most used platform in 2023, only behind (and very close behind) WooCommerce. In Spain, it ranked third, after PrestaShop, but we're confident it will soon take second place in our country.

In addition to the (several) advantages and (few) disadvantages that we have seen, as aShopify Experts agency , we are experts in developing online stores on this platform, we are up to date with the latest developments before other agents and we have direct support from Shopify developers, a fast and constant source of information and help.

We've already built hundreds of clients' online stores with Shopify , offering them all the online marketing services they need to increase their reach, traffic, and sales: PPC, SEO, Social Media, Email marketing, and more.

Were you looking for the best e-commerce platform or a specialized agency? Fill out the form, tell us about your project... And welcome to Maktagg!