Short Intro
When it comes to online selling , there is no better online selling platform than online e commerce store . You might be curious about this, and we will explain why in the following lines.
Online e-commerce stores allow users to sell their products online. They also allow online sellers to open online shops and create their own online stores, with a personalized design and according to their own preferences (e.g.: choosing specific categories and creating headers or sliders).
In addition, these platforms offer many customization possibilities regarding the display of offers available for sale on the website, on top of providing information about each product on sale via detailed features, images, and descriptions.
In addition, some online e commerce platforms even provide powerful options such as SEO optimization tools which would help online shop owners get to the top of online search listings without needing to hire a separate online marketing team.
Online e-commerce stores also allow online sellers and online shops to manage their online sales by setting up online sales goals, defining prices and discounts for each product, managing sales & promotions, and notifying customers by email about the availability of new products and any other possible pieces of news or updates.
Furthermore, these platforms provide users with access to powerful analytics tools which would help them measure important data such as online sales number, conversion rates (from visitors into buyers) and even geographical distribution of views, clicks and purchases (by country or city).
This is how online selling works:
You sign up for an online commerce store platform like PrestaShop, Magento, WooCommerce, or any other online e-commerce store platform of your choice. Then you install it on your own website and set up an online shop as desired. In the end, an online shop will be created which you can use as a sales tool to sell online from your online store via online e-commerce platforms.
With these online selling platforms, anyone can start their own online e-commerce stores without needing to invest in anything but the cost of signing up for a hosting plan that would allow them to install their chosen online selling platform on a web server they have access to (i.e.: the ones located at the hosting provider's data centers).
Online e-commerce stores are very useful because users can also buy and sell directly through them. So, online sellers can use them as their main sales channel or even as a complementary channel to sell some of their products online (i.e.: the ones they couldn't sell online using another online shop that they created for this very specific purpose).
Online e-commerce stores are fully customizable and users would be able to change aspects like the color scheme, backgrounds used, contact information displayed on the site (or not)…etc. They also give online shop owners full freedom regarding the design of online shops including free choice of fonts used in the text content of pages and posts.
Moreover, online e-commerce store features allow online shop owners to fill online stores with many different types of product offers such as books, electronics, candles, sports equipment ..etc. And online sellers can also sell both online and offline with online e-commerce stores. So, they are considered online selling platforms that allow online sellers to sell online or, if they prefer, via brick-and-mortar outlets.
With online e-commerce store platforms, users can also post their ads on the site by posting advertisements of their products for sale at prices set by themselves. Online shop owners would be able to manage all this without needing any knowledge about coding or website design.
All these features ensure that starting an online store with them is very easy and quick. Furthermore, the time needed to install one of these online e-commerce stores on your own website is now reduced to a few simple steps such as choosing the right platform/theme, installing it, filling the online store with products, and posting online ads. That's it!
In fact, online e-commerce stores are online shopping carts that allow online shops to sell their products directly from their own websites. These online carts come with a number of options meant to meet the needs of different types of online shop owners. So, depending on your specific type of online business you can choose an online commerce store that allows you to sell goods from your online shop via open cart or closed cart model.
Features
In general, there is a wide range of features available in most free and premium versions for these online selling platforms/online e-commerce stores which include :
- Multi-currency support at no additional cost
- Shipping rates calculator per item
- Support for online e-commerce loyalty/reward program coupons
- Possibility to set up an online shop with online marketing tools like pay-per-click or retargeting ads.
Then, online selling platforms are also further divided into different types according to the features they offer :
- Standard online selling platforms that allow you to sell goods online but have no specific features that would enhance your online retail sales. They just provide options for payment processing and shipping rate calculation based on the destination address of customers. However, these standard online selling platforms come in 2 subcategories: free online selling platforms and paid online selling platforms.
But both are very limited when it comes to targeted buyers' audiences since they are not designed to send out newsletters or promote products via social media pages. So, online sellers can use them as their main online selling platform or even as a complementary online selling platform to sell some of their products online (i.e.: the ones they couldn't sell online using another online shop that they created for this very specific purpose).
BigCommerce
- BigCommerce is one of the most popular free online selling platforms on the market today which comes with more than 100 themes and offers all needed features like inventory control, shipping rate calculator per product/per order line/per destination address, tax calculation by states or countries, sales reporting by orders or products…etc. Moreover, users are able to create coupon codes in just a few simple steps. This online ecommerce store also supports multi-currency at no additional cost.
Magento
- Magento is one of the most popular online selling platforms today that comes with more than 300 available features. It is a very user-friendly online e-commerce store that can be installed in just a few simple steps and has a number of great themes. That's also why it is considered one of the best online shopping cart software on the market today. However, this online platform will cost you a one-time fee that starts from $25/month.
Yahoo Store
- Yahoo Store is an online shop that allows you to sell your products online via open cart model or closed cart model easily and quickly for free without requiring any online marketing skills to promote your online store or programming skills to install this online shop on your website. In fact, these features make Yahoo Store online shop the best online selling platform for online sellers who have no online marketing skills to promote their online store. Moreover, yahoo store comes with free online web hosting that allows you to host your online store's website on Yahoo servers.
Volusion
- Volusion is one of the most popular online selling platforms today that provides great features like inventory control, shipping rate calculator per product/per order line/per destination address, tax calculation by states or countries, sales reporting by orders or products…etc. Further, this free online e-commerce store also supports multi-currency at no additional cost. However, it doesn't come with a lot of beautiful themes but has an extensive library of apps available for purchase.
Shopify
- Shopify is an excellent open source online online shop that enables online sellers to sell their products online with the help of its beautiful themes . Moreover, it is very simple to use with a very user-friendly interface. It also supports multi-currency at no additional cost.
BigCartel
- BigCartel online shop is one of the most popular online selling platforms today which provides all needed features like inventory control, shipping rate calculator per product/per order line/per destination address, tax calculation by states or countries, sales reporting by orders or products…etc.
This platform even offers you the ability to create coupon codes in just a few simple steps plus there are no setup fees and no monthly subscription fees which makes this online shop one of the most flexible online shops around. However, users need either pay a one-time fee or pay four fees per month to use the online shop and its features.
OpenCart
- OpenCart online shop is an open-source online store that comes with more than 150 free themes, it is also very simple to use and install…etc. Further, it has a built-in CMS (Content Management System) which allows you to easily create new pages & posts for your online e-commerce store's website by yourself even if you aren't an expert on website design. It also supports multi-currency at no additional cost. Moreover, users are able to create coupon codes in just a few simple steps.
BiggerBoat
- BiggerBoat online shop provides great features like inventory management, tax calculation by states or countries, sales reporting by orders or products…etc. Further, it has an online shop that comes with an extensive library of apps available for purchase to suit your online store's needs. However, users need to pay a one-time fee or pay four fees per month to use the online shop and its features.
0 Comments