The Most Preferable Software For ECommerce Development: 8 Best Options

Online sales are growing rapidly. According to statistics, in 2021, e-commerce retail sales in the world amounted to approximately $ 4.9 trillion. By 2025, growth is projected at 50%. If your retail business wants to take its place in this ocean of e-commerce, you mustn’t waste time. Create an eCommerce website and help your business grow through social media.

Because of the vast amount of information and tools, taking the first steps can be challenging for beginners. This article will help you determine the need to use software for online retail. We will also touch on the topic of creating a brand for retail and digital marketing tools. Set yourself up to read thoughtfully and take notes right away for the sake of your company.

ECommerce Store Platform

If you wish to start your internet retail business, do not try to solve all the problems with your resources. Retail eCommerce is very diverse. You must be familiar with the specifics of the creation process of eCommerce website design, set up a prospective payment system, and many more nuances. Check out the top development companies that create online retail stores. 

But before you contact the developers, read our list of software for e-commerce. A brief description and characteristics of these resources will help you make a choice.

Shopify

Millions of users around the world choose Shopify for online sales. This is you in one e-commerce platform. Creating an eCommerce website on Shopify takes you 15 minutes.

The algorithm is simple and does not require special technical skills:

• Step 1. Sign up for Shopify: enter your email, password, and online store name.
• Step 2. Fill in the profile with information about your brand.
• Step 3. Choose the type of store: brick-and-mortar or online,
• Step 4. Fill the online store with information about the goods: name, description, supplier, price.
• Step 5. Configure eCommerce website design: theme, color, fonts, and all that.
• Step 6. Click the Add a Domain button.
• Step 7. Choose a prospective payment system: PayPal, Amazon, GooglePay, ApplePay, or Shopify’s payment system.

Ease of setup is not the only advantage of Shopify. The platform offers a set of tools for:

• brand awareness;
• order management;
• analytical reporting;
• support is available 24/7;
• learning materials.

The cost of setting up a Shopify online store is determined by the design, functionality, options, and the company’s growth. There are three options:

• Basic (for easy start of small sales) — $29/mo.
• Shopify (to boost sales over the internet) —$79/mo.
• Advanced (for the expansion of a brand) — $299/mo.

With the Shopify platform, you can establish, run, and expand your online business.

WooCommerce

The WooCommerce platform is available for free. As a result, it’s a good option for beginning a modest internet retail firm with no tall ambitions. However, you must first establish a WordPress site or hire a developer to create it. Furthermore, the domain name and hosting of the site must be paid annually.

WooCommerce functionality for online sales:

• Start. Just add the WooCommerce plugin to your web page.
• Expand. Add functionality with the Marketplace extension.
• Be mobile. With the Mobile App, you can keep track of your online sales.

The platform also offers training materials and certain opportunities for eCommerce website development. However, if you have significant plans, WooCommerce will become constrained at some time.

BigCommerce

Take a deeper look at BigCommerce if you’re a CEO of a small company. It is a multi-channel software for online retail with brand awareness capabilities.

BigCommerce’s online sales features.

• Ecommerce website design: visual editor, simple settings, optimization for the mobile version, preview before publication.
• Additional opportunities to improve the site: merchandising, product search, discount settings, digital wallets, SEO, automatic product updates.
• Multi-channel e-commerce: marketplaces, social networks, multi-stores.

Try online sales at BigCommerce for free for 15 days. Then choose the package for your needs:

• Standard – $ 29.95 / mo;
• Plus – $ 79.95 / mo;
• Pro – $ 249.95 / mo.

On the convenient international platform BigCommerce you can make online sales for both B2C and B2B.

Magento

You’ll require enterprise software if you’re a significant online retailer. Consider the Magento platform as an option. This is a business-to-business (B2B) open-source platform. You will need to hire a developer to set up an eCommerce website.

With Magento, you get all the necessary functionality for large online sales:

• prospective payment system with support for regular payments;
• unlimited list of products;
• ability to create customer accounts;
• order management;
• digital marketing tools;
• analytics and reporting.

Magento Commerce Pricing starts at $ 22,000 / year. This is a solution for online retailers with a large customer base.

Elementor

If you want to develop a high-quality eCommerce website without knowing how to code, then use the site designer Elementor. You’ll have the ability to create a WordPress website for online commerce through Ecommerce or WooCommerce.

Elementor’s features:

• editing without coding (over 300 templates, over 100 widgets, intuitive drag-and-drop);
• workflow optimization (management, web creation, save the backup, kits library);
• design capabilities (colors, effects, typography, layout);
• digital marketing (Landing Page creator, popup builder, form builder, dynamic content maker);
• integration with many online resources to grow an online retail business.

Elementor Pro cost starts from $ 49/year. To work with one eCommerce website for this price, you get everything you need.

Volusion

E-commerce has its special characteristics. The Volusion platform takes into account many nuances of online sales. An additional advantage of this resource is the help with eCommerce website design through your studio.

Volusion features:

• a set of tools for product management;
• order management;
• payment processing;
• marketing tools;
• dropshipping integration;
• own CRM system;
• barcode manager;
• tracking profitability and investment.

The user has 14 days to try Volusion for free. Next, you need to choose one of the packages:

• Personal — 29$/mo;
• Professional — 79$/mo;
• Business — 299$/mo;
• Prime — based on Gross Merchandise Volume.

It’s simple to get started on this platform, and there are plenty of potentials for your business to develop, thanks to 24/7 assistance.

3dcart

One of the oldest e-commerce platforms is still in use. 3dcart is also worthy of mention. The resource is constantly evolving and is a good service to start online sales.

3dcart abilities:

• templates for a web retailer;
• simple editing tools;
• shopping channel management;
• SEO eCommerce website;
• data tracking;
• integration with social networks;
• training materials.

You can begin with 15 days of free service. Then, at the level of other e-commerce sites, prices are set:

• Basic — 29$/mo;
• Plus — 79$/mo;
• Pro — 299$/mo.

An online merchant can use 3dcart to set up affiliate marketing, send out consumer newsletters, and conduct loyalty programs.

Wix

The Wix is the most popular platform among designers. There are over 500 themes to choose from when opening an online store, giving you plenty of room to express yourself.

Wix Features:

• with a simple slide function, you may create a website;
• built-in SEO tools;
• site performance analytics;
• order tracking and inventory management;
• options for setting up different payment methods;
• Wix mobile application for freedom in online sales.

The cost depends on the selected package of services:

• Combo — 8,5$/mo;
• Unlimited — 12,5$/mo;
• VIP — 24,5$/mo.

All packages include 24/7 support.

How To Grow Brand Awareness For Online Retail Business

Creating a website for online sales is just the beginning. You must attract and maintain your target audience for your brand to continue to flourish. Develop a marketing automation strategy for your online store and create interesting content.

The battle for customer attention is strong in today’s environment. Your company will benefit from video marketing. In the second part of the article, we will consider which videos will attract the attention of buyers to your eCommerce website.

Video Presentation Of The Brand

Personal attachments control people’s actions. Even when shopping, consumers prefer the products of brands they trust. Video about the company helps build that trust. In online sales, this rule also works.

Tips for making an online store introduction video:

1. Write a script for the video. Share the company’s values, talk about corporate culture, express your attitude to global issues that concern your audience. Choose terms that you would use when conversing with friends.
2. Shoot quality video. You’ll need some tools and knowledge. It is preferable to prepare the speech ahead of time and record a few takes. It’s easier to put together a solid presentation if you have more videos.
3. Edit the video. Use video editing software for good results. If something has gone wrong during the shoot, editing will assist in resolving the issue.
4. Upload the video on the eCommerce site and post it on social media for the brand.

Video marketing begins with a friendly conversation with the audience. And it applies to every form of business.

Video About Product

Online transactions are complicated by the fact that the buyer cannot view things before making a purchase. This is what keeps some people from buying on an eCommerce website. That’s why video stories about the product increase sales. One important rule: build a story around the needs of the consumer, not the characteristics of the product.

Here are some suggestions for making a product video:

• Capture the viewer’s attention from the first frames. Long introductions are a loss of audience.
• Speak easily and interestingly. Instead of using sophisticated phrases, use simple language.
• Explain clearly what problem the consumer will solve with this purchase.
• Get creative with video styles. The audience no longer wants the boring story of the seller of the online store in front of the camera.

If the video has noticeable shaking, then fix this problem with video stabilization software Mac.

Customer Video Feedback

Online video marketing works well with genuine reviews and testimonials from buyers. Such videos entice potential clients to make a purchase.

Tips for creating customer videos feedback:

1. Look for users who fit your ideal customers.
2. Ask the buyer to reveal the history of their purchase.
3. Do not edit these videos to perfect conditions.

The main thing is that these were real reviews of living people. Staging videos with actors in reviews do not inspire the audience’s trust in the brand.

Video Instructions For Using The Product

If, after the purchase, the consumer does not know how to properly use the product, it is a complete failure for the brand. Let’s take the place of such a consumer. Anyone who has never been able to assemble a simple chair or children’s table will understand this. You begin to despise the brand and cross it off your shopping list.

Tips for making a “how-to” video:

1. Identify the problem of consumers. Bottlenecks will be revealed through negative feedback on your eCommerce website and competitors’ websites.
2. Customers should be asked if they are happy with the goods. You can achieve this with the help of an email questionnaire.
3. Communicate with your brand’s social media audience.

Make a list of subjects for the video after you’ve finished the research. Genuine customer service is the most straightforward technique to raise brand awareness.

Video For The Brand’s Social Media

Video marketing in social media helps businesses solve many problems. You can promote videos on Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram to increase brand awareness, increase online sales, increase traffic to the eCommerce website, and generate leads for future email marketing campaigns.

Tips for creating videos for social media:

1. Share video content from your site or create individual videos.
2. Adapt the video to the requirements of each social network.
3. Create short video clips that are more engaging.

Make sure to track the success of your marketing activities. This will assist you in gaining a better understanding of your potential audience.

Conclusion

To get started in e-commerce, you don’t need a lot of money or experience. A modest online store created with the help of a web designer and the lowest cost for using an e-commerce platform is sufficient at first. And tools like video marketing help to actively develop an online store, even with minimal investment in advertising. As a result, don’t wait to get started in the e-commerce world. Buyers are waiting for you.