The process of expanding your e-commerce business isn’t all that different from growing up – both have their share of ups and downs. As your business increases, your priorities change and soon you find that the ecommerce platform you thought was “perfect” is no longer relevant. You need to keep up with the increasing demand by experimenting with new, advanced software. As you go through dozens of ecommerce platforms trying to find the right fit, you realize something – the scalability of the software matters greatly. And below we present the five most scalable ecommerce solutions that cater to the needs of growing businesses in the most efficient manner. There are lots of other features as well that make these ecommerce solutions the top picks in the industry right now among growing merchants. Find out why, below:

Wix

This website builder works entirely on the basis of the “drag and drop” functionality, allowing you to exercise your creative freedom when it comes to designing your business website. Other ecommerce solutions do not provide this level of flexibility and precision regarding where your slideshows, images, text, should go.

Even though Wix lacks many of the complicated features of advanced website builders, do not be fooled into thinking that it is any less powerful. The thing is, this ecommerce solution targets users who prefer simple, uncluttered store configurations. Yes, you do face issues when trying to integrate fulfilment, marketing, and accounting software at later stages, but this is a minor gripe, and one that can be easily fixed.

One area where Wix shines is its ecommerce designs. If you want a professional looking, streamlined web store, this platform has you covered. Wix understands the importance of branding, and enables you to inspire the confidence of your customers.

Wix allows you to include multiple variations of a single product in your store, and insert an integrated shopping cart that can be connected to payment gateways like Authorize.net and PayPal. Offline payments are also doable.

Wix has a limited number of ecommerce tools, but they offer just the right level of flexibility to keep up with the growth of your business and promote the sale of your products.

Pros:

• Short-term pricing structure
• Excellent site onboarding and configuration
• Great selection of design templates
• Fast and secure website building experience
• Efficient knowledge base and customer support

Cons

• Long-term plans can be quite expensive
• Technical limitations and lack of advanced marketing tools
• No rulers and parameters for editing and design
• No way to export data

 

Squarespace Commerce

Squarespace Commerce is fairly new, but it fits the bill of a “flexible” ecommerce solution perfectly. With a growing list of features, this website creator is meant primarily for small businesses but has provisions to support an unlimited number of transactions and products. Also, personal websites and regular businesses can be integrated with the ecommerce tools.

Compared to other “big” website creators, Squarespace Commerce feels surprisingly lightweight but it still packs everything you need to sell online, including packing slips, customizable emails, coupons, etc. However, this ecommerce platform has come a long way since its inception, and now provides SSL security, automated discounts, free domains, real-time carrier shipping, etc. That means it will grow along with your website. All that Squarespace lacks is an app store.

It might take you awhile to figure out the user interface, but once you become accustomed to it, it becomes quite easy. The addition of drag and drop features is a big plus. However, if you plan on using custom domains, thing can get tricky. Still, Squarespace itself offers free custom domains, so you are not inconvenienced in any way.

Coding knowledge is not a necessity, but there are some areas which tend to become a little less confusing with the right information. For example, the process of customization of an email receipt for your customers requires you to check some HTML code. The process is not that complicated, but some people might find it a bit intimidating.

Squarespace Commerce is pricier than lots of other solutions available in the market, but many of the free templates offer by this premium solution boast of great quality, justifying the high price point. The main area where this business website builder shines is design. You get some exceptional templates and they are highly responsive and customizable. These templates are mobile-friendly as well. So, if you want to retain the attention of your visitors, Squarespace Commerce has you covered.

This ecommerce solution boasts of some impressive marketing and SEO functions. For example, you are allowed to create custom URLs, edit meta descriptions and page titles, and even work with 301 redirects. Complete social integration means you remain connected with your customers through Facebook, Twitter, and other websites, and even sell on some of them.

The thing is, being a new player in the industry, Squarespace Commerce does not have any marketing or ecommerce-specific applications to improve the functionality of the stores. Thus, at the moment, you will have to make do without one. But given the speed with which new features are released, you can count on something to become available as your company grows.

This ecommerce platform can handle huge volumes on your websites while protecting sensitive customer information, thanks to SSL security. Your customer data remains encrypted, safe from unethical sources. 24/7 support is also available with every plan for the benefit of the customers.

Pros:

• Amazing template designs
• All-in-one platform
• Data export capabilities available
• Quick and easy-to-use
• Improved onboarding and customer support

Cons:

• Expensive pricing structure
• Absence of advanced marketing tools
• Noticeable absence of app store
• Steep learning curve

Pricing for Squarespace starts at $26 per month. But this doesn’t include other fees such as merchant account fees and credit card processing fees. You will need to pay extra for that.

Shopify

Shopify is one of the biggest names in the ecommerce solutions industry, and with good reason. This popular SaaS solution provides plans for sellers at each stage, from beginners to multimillion dollar companies. The reason why Shopify is so scalable is the usability; the dashboard of this platform is among the most intuitive in the industry. Not only does it enable you to add products, create email marketing strategies, and add discounts, but it allows you to do so without any prior web experience.

You get access to a huge collection of beautiful, mobile-responsive templates. For those with greater web experience, there are CSS and HTML editors in the admin section. Plus, if you feel the features of this ecommerce solution are inadequate, you are welcome to add another software to better handle your fulfilment, accounting, and marketing.

There are more than 1500 applications Shopify offers in their marketplace, along with some excellent customer service.

The only drawback of this website builder is the limited number of built-in features. While the company has taken steps to improve the built-in features, Shopify still is wanting in terms of advanced functionality. Plus, if you wish to add extensions and integrations through Shopify’s app market, you must remember that each integration has its own expenses.

Pros:

• Perfect for hosting due to security and speed
• Comprehensive customer support
• High level design and customization
• Extremely intuitive dashboard
• Large collection of mobile-responsive templates

Cons

• Limited built-in features
• Extensions available only through Shopify app market
• Costly plans
• Lots of technical jargon

If you are planning to have your own full fledged sports ecommerce website like Sportsuncle, then Shopify may not be a good choice for you. You need a customizable platform like WooCommerce discussed below.

 

WooCommerce

This is the most used ecommerce solution right now and with good reason, the first being the “Core+Extensions” model. What this means is, WooCommerce includes all basic features, and advanced features require integrations and add-ons. This model makes WooCommerce highly scalable, affordable, and lightweight.

While the basic software is enough to handle the requirements of small merchants, you can add extensions as your company expands. You will be surprised to know that the app store of this website builder has more than 400 extensions available.

While WooCommerce is free, you must still pay for web development, hosting. Website security, and SSL certificate. Thankfully, most of these are one-time purchases.

WooCommerce is also easy to use, and you will not find it difficult to add products. However, it might be tricky to edit themes. If you are unable to code yourself, you must hire a web developer to make necessary adjustments.

While WooCommerce offers plenty of video tutorials, a community forum, and documentation for users, any kind of personalized support will require you to hire a web developer. The absence of individualized support is WooCommerce’s main drawback. However, considering the fact that you are getting most of the software for free, it makes sense that the company would make cuts somewhere.

Pros:

• All-in-one website builder
• Highly scalable and lightweight
• Ability to add numerous extensions
• New products are easy to add
• Multiple product variants supported

Cons:

• Beginners will not find easy-to-use
• Lack of customized support
• Additional fees for hosting, web development, SSL encryption
• Editing themes requires coding knowledge

LemonStand

While LemonStand won’t be winning any popularity contests, it is still a powerful and unique ecommerce solution, one that provides a completely customizable web design. The pricing plans of this website builder make all the best parts available to every merchant, irrespective of business size. Every plan comes with unlimited bandwidth and storage, unlimited staff accounts, and unlimited products. No cancellation fees or transaction fees are levied.

All the features can easily be implemented, and you will have no trouble navigating the well-organized dashboard. You will be able to add new products quickly and efficiently. The only drawback is the way this ecommerce platform presents the “Add a Product” pages; they require lots of scrolling. However, the overall experience is quite pleasant.

The cart has a unique web design, and you can access 14 different open source, mobile-responsive themes. The themes can be customized, but that requires you to be familiar with coding. Otherwise, you might have to hire a developer for this purpose.

The lack of integrations is disappointing. LemonStand offers just a couple dozens of them. The rest can be found through a Zapier connection, but that involves paying for the services.

Customer support is somewhat personalized, and you can access email and live chat. Response times are based on the pricing. However, you can expect a response within a span of 24 hours.

Pros:

• Advanced SEO capabilities
• Zero transaction costs
• Full control over design
• 24 X 7 tech support
• Customizable checkout
• Unlimited product categories and variants

Cons:

• Shoddy presentation
• Customization of themes requires coding skills
• Absence of integration features

As your business continues to grow, try to keep these three ecommerce solutions in mind. You might find them handy, especially if your present software begins to buckle under the weight of all your orders. To prevent migration issues and challenges, the sooner you switch to one of these platforms, the better.