When it comes to eCommerce, there are a lot of choices. At CeJay Websites, we specialize in creating solutions with WordPress and WooCommerce. Shopify, Square and BigCommerce are popular solutions for those selling products online, but they are not well suited for those renting products online.
NOTE: For renting products, take a look at Twice Commerce. Visit rentparadisefl.com for an example of how Twice works.
Summary:
A professionally designed eCommerce website will have a higher initial fee. Typically you will need a web designer to build your website. You will also need to pay for annual hosting services. If you use premium plugins, you will need to pay annual renewals for those too. At CeJay Websites, our professional design servcies start at $3,000 and hosting is $300 per year.
Using a DIY eCommerce solution such as Square, Shopify, BigCommerce and Twice will require a monthly fee. Their drag-and-drop builders offer you limited flexibility in how your store looks and feels, and they often charge extra for services you’d expect to be included, such as shipping calculations, tax calculations and a per-purchase processing fee. Typical processing fees are 2.9% + $0.30, but some systems add a fee on top of that depending on your subscription plan.
** Transparency: there are no affiliate links on this website. We have researched these tools for your convenience. There may be other tools that better meet your needs. This information is accurate as April 24, 2024. Please refer to the vendor’s website for up-to-date information.**
Square
Square Pricing Fees: Click to Enlarge
Price
Free on their domain. Square Online has a free plan with no monthly fees – you only pay a 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee when you make a sale. With the free plan, a “small” advertisement for Square will always be on your website. They charge $16/month to use your own domain (for example, “www.mywebsite.com.”)
Description
Square is a merchant service company providing sellers with hardware and software tools to run their businesses. Square offers a comprehensive ecommerce solution called Square Online that allows you to easily create and manage an online store. It is well-suited for small to medium-sized businesses looking to sell both online and in-person, or online only. Its user-friendly interface, integrated payments, and multichannel capabilities make it a compelling option for those without extensive technical expertise.
Features
Integrated Payments: Seamlessly integrates with Square’s own payment processing services and provides a streamlined checkout experience for customers, as the payment processing is fully integrated into the Square Online store.
Social Media Tools: From their website: “integrates with social media platforms”
Shipping: From their webiste “offers a wide range of shipping integrations designed to enhance your Square store.” This suggests Square Online has the capability to calculate and offer various shipping options. However, the specific details on how Square Online calculates shipping costs are not provided.
Pros
- Free plan available with no monthly fees, just payment processing fees
- Allows you to list an unlimited number of products
- Integrated inventory management system to sync online and in-person sales
- Offers options for in-store pickup, delivery, and shipping
- Includes built-in marketing tools like email, coupons, and social media integrations
- Easy to use drag-and-drop website builder, even for non-technical users
- Seamlessly integrates with Square’s payment processing, providing a streamlined checkout
Cons
- Limited customization options compared to more flexible ecommerce platforms
- You’re required to use Square’s payment gateway, which may have higher transaction fees than other providers
- Lacks some advanced ecommerce features that high-volume sellers may need, like robust shipping and inventory management
- May have a small learning curve for those completely new to website building
- Availability may be limited in certain regions where Square’s payment processing is not supported
Shopify
Shopify Pricing: Click to Enlarge
Price: $29 per month. If you use Shopify Payments as the payment gateway, there are no additional transaction fees.
Summary
Shopify is a popular online store builder that is easy for anyone to use. It has a simple drag-and-drop tool to create your website, with pre-designed themes and built-in features to manage your products, payments, and orders. Shopify takes care of hosting your website and keeping it secure, so you don’t need any technical skills. It also works with many other apps to add more functionality. The main downside is the monthly subscription fee, but Shopify’s user-friendliness makes it a great choice for small businesses and first-time online sellers.
Features
Integrated Payments: Integrated payment processing through Shopify Payments, its own payment gateway, tightly integrated with the Shopify platform, providing a smooth checkout experience.
Supports integrations with over 100 third-party payment gateways, giving merchants more flexibility
Social Media Tools: Allows you to “sell on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and more.”
Shipping: Shopify merchants “have several options when it comes to ecommerce shipping.”
This implies Shopify also provides tools to calculate and offer different shipping rates.
Pros
- Very easy to use drag-and-drop website builder
- Comes with pre-designed themes and built-in features for managing products, payments, and orders
- Handles hosting, security, and software updates so you don’t need technical skills
- Integrates with many third-party apps to extend functionality
Cons
- Requires a monthly subscription fee
- Less flexibility for customization compared to building your own website
BigCommerce
BigCommerce.com, offers a free trial
Price: $29.95 per month + Merchant processor fee, typically typically around 2.2% to 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.
Summary
BigCommerce is another online store builder that is relatively simple for non-technical users to set up and manage. It has a drag-and-drop website builder, pre-designed themes, and built-in tools for inventory, checkout, and reporting. BigCommerce also has a large app marketplace where you can find add-ons to extend the store’s functionality. Compared to Shopify, BigCommerce may have more advanced features out-of-the-box, potentially reducing the need for additional apps and integrations. The main downside is the higher monthly cost, but the platform’s ease of use and robust features make it a strong option for growing online businesses.
Features
Integrated Payments: BigCommerce has partnerships with over 65 payment gateways, allowing merchants to choose their preferred payment processor. You are responsible for paying the processing fee of your processor in addition to the monthly service fee. This includes integrations with major providers like PayPal, Stripe, and Square. BigCommerce does not have its own proprietary payment gateway like Shopify Payments.
Social Media Tools: Not mentioned on their website
Shipping: Their website further implies that you choose the shipping service of your choice and integrate it with BigCoimmerce.
Pros
- Drag-and-drop website builder and pre-designed themes for easy setup
- Robust built-in features for inventory management, checkout, and reporting
- Large app marketplace to extend functionality
- May require fewer additional apps/integrations than Shopify
Cons
- Higher monthly subscription costs compared to Shopify
- Still requires some technical skills for customization and advanced features
WooCommerce
Price: free, but requires a WordPress website
WooCommerce is a free plugin that you can add to a WordPress website to turn it into an online store. WooCommerce provides an easy-to-use interface for adding products, processing orders, and tracking inventory. There are also many free and paid add-ons available to expand the store’s features. The main benefit of WooCommerce is that you can build your online store right on your existing WordPress website, without needing to learn a whole new platform. However, it may require a bit more technical know-how than Shopify, especially if you want to customize or integrate it with other systems. To use it, you will need a website built with WordPress. WordPress itself has a bit of a learning curve.
Integrated Paymetents: As a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce does not have its own payment processing services.Instead, WooCommerce integrates with a wide variety of third-party merchant services that can be added as extensions. You are responsible for paying the processing fees of merchant service you choose.
WooCommerce has a large selection of free and paid tools to expand it’s features in regards to social interactions, shipping calculations, fulfillment, scheduling services. It can be extended for almost every sales scenario.
Pros
- Free to use as a plugin for your existing WordPress website
- Intuitive interface for adding products, processing orders, and managing inventory
- Large ecosystem of free and paid extensions to add more advanced features
– Allows you to build an online store on your existing WordPress site
Cons
- Requires more technical know-how than Shopify, especially for customization and integration
- Must use in an existing website built using WordPress as the core (not to be confused with wordpress.com). WordPress itself has a bit of a learning curve for non-technical users