Best Ecommerce Platforms for Features
We compared and tested 38+ providers to summarize the best ecommerce platforms for features in the following list.
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Features
Swell
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Swell offers a unique approach to ecommerce by focusing on headless commerce, providing businesses with the flexibility to create custom storefronts while managing backend processes separately. This platform is ideal for enterprises looking for scalability and the ability to tailor their online presence extensively, leveraging API-driven functionalities for a more dynamic ecommerce experience.
In top 3 for
Pros
Perfect for developers
Highly customizable
Cons
Not suitable for small projects
Limited data storage & API requests on base plans
X-Cart
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X-Cart offers a robust and flexible ecommerce platform, suitable for businesses of all sizes seeking a customizable online store solution. It stands out with its open-source nature, allowing full customization and control over the store's design and functionality. X-Cart is particularly favored by those with specific ecommerce needs and the technical expertise to tailor their online presence to precise specifications.
In top 3 for
Pros
Developed app ecosystem
Extensive features available
Secure website
Cons
Quite expensive
Shopify
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Shopify stands as a leading ecommerce platform, renowned for its user-friendly interface and extensive customization options. Ideal for businesses of all sizes, it offers a comprehensive set of tools for online store creation, inventory management, and seamless integration with numerous apps and payment gateways.
Pros
Heavy discounts on annual plans
Developed app ecosystem
By far the best for international selling
Competitive shipping rates from DHL Express, UPS, or USPS
$5/month plan available for selling via social media only
Cons
Custom programming requires knowing their Liquid language
WooCommerce
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WooCommerce is a flexible, open-source ecommerce platform built on WordPress, ideal for businesses looking for customizable online store solutions. Its strength lies in its vast plugin ecosystem and adaptability, allowing users to extend functionality and tailor their sites to specific business needs, making it a popular choice for those who already use or are familiar with WordPress.
In top 3 for
Pros
Free to use
Developed app ecosystem
Extensive features available
Cons
Requires WordPress
Requires web hosting
Webflow
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Webflow offers a unique blend of web design flexibility and ecommerce functionality, appealing to businesses and designers seeking creative control over their online store's appearance and user experience. With its visual building tools and CMS capabilities, it's a go-to choice for those who prioritize design.
Pros
Extensive features available
Automate tasks and experiences using workflow triggers and actions
Automated image variants for responsive mobile pages that load up to 10x faster
Upload and manage your assets in the Webflow Designer
Cons
Platform charges additional transaction fee
Available in only English
- Our ranking applies to each individual plan that a provider offers. Subsequently, the scores of each plan are merged using a dynamically weighted model.
Ecommerce platforms come with a wide variety of features. Some platforms have more features to offer than others but miss the essential ones and vice versa. To ensure that you select an ecommerce platform stacked with valuable functionalities, we have analyzed the whole market and customer requirements to rank ecommerce platforms with the best features for you.
We look only at the features that a platform contains by nature. Everything that requires add-ons and plugins is therefore excluded. You can find more information about which ecommerce platforms offer great integration opportunities can be found here. Let's dive into the most important features of ecommerce platforms and learn more about the evaluation process.
What Makes the Best Ecommerce Platform for Features?
The best ecommerce platform in terms of features is determined by the presence of the essential functionalities to run an online store. We analyze these features in two major groups: selling and marketing.
Let's take a closer look at how these two categories are broken down.
Selling
Selling features include all the tools needed to manage your business sales effectively. When analyzing ecommerce platforms based on selling, we listed all crucial attributes of an ecommerce platform. We gathered data on each ecommerce provider based on the presence or absence of these attributes and their value.
Number of products - This refers to the number of products you can upload to your online store. While some ecommerce platforms offer unlimited products to list, others do not. Depending on the vision for your online store, you’ll need to emphasize the number of products you’ll be allowed to list on your online store.
Mobile app - This feature allows you to control and monitor your online store on the go using an app provided by ecommerce platforms.
Inventory management - Inventory management allows you to monitor your products, track your inventory, and manage your store's stock levels. The inventory management attribute is essential to any ecommerce platform with physical products.
Subscriptions - They allow you to sell products or services as subscriptions with recurring payments.
Returns and refunds - Manage returns from customers and refund their money according to their order or situation.
Shipping calculator - Automatically calculate shipping rates in real-time by setting up your store once. It allows you to define precisely how you want to go about the shipping for specific products, quantities, and countries or if you want to offer free shipping whenever a particular card value is reached.
Staff accounts - The number of staff accounts defines how many people you can invite to manage parts of your online store.
Abandoned cart recovery - Nobody wants to lose sales. Remind your customers to finish their purchase by sending them an automatic reminder that leads them to the checkout page.
Marketing
Marketing features help you to promote and sell your products more efficiently. It’s all about managing the user's attention and how to best utilize
Reports and analytics - Analyse your online store's performance by monitoring key metrics such as your sales per month, country, or channel, and dive deeper by using specific reports.
Custom branding - Use a custom domain, logo, and other branding collateral to stand out from the competition. Building a corporate identity heavily depends on a holistic and consistent web presence.
Discount codes - Create codes and link a value or percentage discount. Discount codes are a great way to boost your sales numbers. They help attract new customers and give people that extra push to finally make their purchases.
Marketing automation - Develop automated workflows directly from the ecommerce platform to communicate with your customers. In combination with promotions, marketing automation is a driving power for high engagement.
Customer segmentation - Group your customers based on their purchasing or interaction behavior with your store. It helps you to divide and understand who your customers are, which you can use to drive special promotions, for example, by offering bonuses to high spending customers or sending out special deals to people who show interest in particular products.
Gift cards - Allow customers to purchase and send gift cards that can be redeemed on the online store.
Loyalty programs - Create and run a rewards program to improve engagement and acquire new customers.
10 Best Ecommerce Platforms for Features
How to Choose an Ecommerce Platform with Great Features
A vital step to selecting an ecommerce platform with the most suitable features is to think about your store requirements, needs, and your vision for your store. A clear understanding of each feature and its importance will help you decide which functionalities are less critical to you and which ones you’d consider top tier.
Once you’ve made that clear for the features we discussed above, you can check if other elements that are not listed but still vital to you can be integrated through a plugin or addon and if that causes any additional payments.
If you’re still finding it hard to decide on an ecommerce platform, you can always check our overall best picks on ecommerce platforms, our comparison tool, and our finder tool for more assistance.
Michael E.
Updated: Aug 23, 2024
I used to sell everything online. Today I teach others to do the same. As an ecommerce consultant, I explore opportunities and test new strategies to leverage what others have yet to see.