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5 Best WordPress Alternatives for Ecommerce Stores (Updated 2022) -

Dec 3, 2022

If you're an eCommerce business manager, you're likely to be well-aware of how crucial it is to build a website that's visually pleasing, user-friendly, and easy to use, and has extensive customizability to provide a unique shopping experience for your clients.

WordPress is among the most used platforms with usage figures from W3techs show the fact that 43 percent of all websites that exist on the internet run on WordPress. Although WordPress is great to blog on and provides a wide flexibility for you to be able to create websites with endless WordPress plugins, their eCommerce functionality is not enough for businesses that operate online. But what happens if WordPress isn't the ideal choice for your business? Do not fret - there's numerous great alternatives available.

In this post in this blog post, we'll look at 5 of the most effective WordPress alternatives for eCommerce businesses. In addition, we'll look at the pros and cons for each platform to help you decide which is most suitable for your needs. So whether you're looking for something that's more flexible or one that is more focused towards eCommerce the options are endless. Let's get started!

Here is a quick listing of the top WordPress alternatives to run your business:

 What exactly is WordPress employed to do?

WordPress is an extremely widely used CMS for content management (CMS) that allows you to create and host websites. With WordPress, you can customize any website to fit your business, blog portfolio, portfolio or even an online store. WordPress contains plugin architecture and a template system so you are able to make the most of your website.

 What is the cost of WordPress Cost?

WordPress provides a wide range of pricing plans designed to suit any budget, however only one plan will allow any eCommerce activities (i.e. being able to accept payments or offer products on your site).

WordPress' eCommerce plan costs CAD$45 per month.

Other plans are available, including Personal, Free Premium, Business, and Free. But we will not include those as they are not suitable for eCommerce or online stores. If you're just planning to build a site to host your blog, WordPress low-cost plans may be suitable for you.

 5 Best WordPress Alternatives to eCommerce Online Stores (Free + Paid)

 1.

The main problem with WordPress's approach to designs and themes lies in the fact that you need be able to code and work with the platform if you want to customize the templates. It's not as easy as using other eCommerce platforms that have built-in eCommerce capabilities.

It is the most effective WordPress alternative in terms of price and value.

 PRICING:

  • Free-for-ever:No monthly subscription fees and 5% of the cost per sale (excluding charges for shipping)
  • Plus: $29/month fees + 2% fees per sale (excluding shipping fees)
  • Pro: $99/month fees, no fees per sale

If you're looking for the possibility of a trial for free, there's the forever-free plan which gives you forever access to the entire feature set for no cost (yes you can use all of them! ).

Unlike other eCommerce platforms that charge monthly fees, only charges a 5% fee whenever you sell something (i.e. if your store doesn't get many sales or orders then you'll not pay anything and you'll have the ability to keep your beautiful online shop). The fee of 5% only applies to your product listing cost and not your shipping costs. This is a major advantage for small-scale businesses who are just starting out.

If you're not sure about maintaining your WordPress website, the best thing is that you'll be in a position to integrate it into WordPress, turning your website into a fully functioning eCommerce store (and at no cost up to the point you've sold on your product listings).

 PROS :

  • Ideal for stores that are just starting out because is the most cost-effective choice, i.e. free. This is the cheapest alternative to the other eCommerce platforms available because it provides a forever-free plan with a 5% fee per purchase
  • Drag and drop site builder and free templates for websites
  • Blogging tools
  • Instant payments through Stripe and Paypal
  • Domain for your store is free (and ability to connect custom domain if you want to)
  • Unlimited quantity of items and unlimited order sales
  • Automated processing VAT UK & EU VAT
  • Built-in features to sell various product types including: digital downloads, online courses, coaching services, subscriptions/memberships, and physical products
  • Marketing tools that are free and complex: affiliate program refer program, coupons, upsell, cross-selland email marketing, and more

 CONS :

  • 's features are optimized to sell digital goods, so if you're selling physical items, bear in mind that it doesn't offer shipping label integration
  • There are no plugins, add-ons nor any app stores. There is the ability to integrate with Zapier (which includes more than 5000+ applications) and the majority of features you need as an eCommerce store are integrated into the platform. However, you won't find the app store nor a marketplace for themes or plugins like you would use on WordPress

 2. Wix

Wix is a well-loved web-based builder, which allows users to design amazing websites, with no programming needed. Wix's drag and drop editor is renowned for its ease to operate and ideal for smaller businesses and individuals who wish to design a website quickly and easily.

PRICING:
Wix offers various pricing plans. Here are the pricing plans that include eCommerce features:

  • Business Basic:CAD$28/month
  • Business UnlimitedCAD$36/month
  • Business VIP:CAD$49/month

 PROS :

  • One of the main advantages that Wix has over Wix in comparison to WordPress is the fact that the Wix website builder is easy to use and lets you to create professional-looking websites without any coding skills
  • A plethora of templates for websites that are free

 CONS :

  • Ecommerce functionality is not available with the free version of the service, so you'll have pick one of the plans listed above
  • Lack of complex marketing tools such as affiliate marketing
  • There are no built-in features for selling digital goods. Wix's eCommerce functionalities are geared to physical product sales. So if you need quick file delivery or other features relating to selling digital products it is necessary to download applications from third parties that may be more expensive.
  • Wix does not automatically pay taxes for you on your behalf. Based on the pricing plan you choose, Wix can auto-calculate your sales tax for you, but they do not pay these taxes to appropriate bodies on your behalf

 3. Squarespace

Squarespace is another well-known website builder which gives users a simple method of build stunning websites. The Squarespace platform is ideal for people or companies who wish to have complete control over the appearance of their site.

 PRICING:

  • Personal: $16/month (no eCommerce functionality)
  • Business:$23/month Plus 3% transaction fees
  • Basic Commerce: $27/month + no transaction fees
  • Advanced Commerce:$49/month + no transaction charges

 PROS :

  • Website templates for free
  • Store builder that is easy to use to design professional-looking websites with the need for any programming expertise
  • Capability to import blog post content from WordPress to the Squarespace environment with just a couple of steps

 CONS :

  • SEO optimization is more challenging than WordPress since meta description and page title are harder to adjust on Squarespace
  • There are no complex modifications when it comes to its eCommerce functions
  • Insufficiently complex marketing tools like affiliate marketing. Tools such as cross-sell and upsell also require a bit of work before you're able to launch it
  • The Squarespace app store is smaller than other eCommerce platforms like Shopify and Wix

 4. Weebly

It was founded in 2006 and Weebly is a popular choice to build websites. Weebly is another website builder that offers an easy-to-use website building platform. However, while Weebly provides a lot less customization and control over the appearance and functions of your website The platform provides convenience as well as value. Weebly was bought by Square in 2018, allowing the platform to have greater eCommerce capabilities than it did prior to the acquisition.

 PRICING:

Weebly has a variety of pricing plans, but here are the plans for pricing with eCommerce capabilities:

  • Pro: $12/month
  • Business: $25/month
  • Business Plus Monthly cost: $38.

 PROS :

  • Over 70 different premade template for online stores which you can alter without needing to redesign your web site
  • Unlike WordPress, Wix, or Shopify With Weebly's Business and Business Plus plans you can sell digital products with a file size limit of 3 GB

 CONS

  • Weebly's website builder is not more customizable than its rivals. You'll have to be proficient in programming or opt on Weebly's templates
  • Lack of advanced tools for eCommerce such as complex marketing tools like affiliate marketing

 5. Shopify

With more than 1.75 million customers around the world, Shopify is one of the most widely used eCommerce platforms offering a variety of apps from third parties through its store for apps. While Shopify's blogging tools might be lacking as an alternative to WordPress but its eCommerce features are worth exploring.

 PRICING:

Shopify offers a 14-day free trial for new users.

  • Basic: $29/month
  • Shopify: $79/month
  • Advanced: $299/month
  • Shopify Plusfrom $2,000/month

 PROS :

  • Website templates for free to select from
  • Extensive number of third-party apps are available through the Shopify App store
  • Shopify also has a community of experts that provide their troubleshooting advice in the Shopify forum in the event that you need any help or assistance

 CONS

  • Shopify's tools for managing blogs are not as robust as WordPress. WordPress provides a much more advanced platform for content management that includes features like archive and versioning of content
  • The website-building tools offered by Shopify do not have as much flexibility as its top competitors as it uses Liquid set-up. Building a website that completely suits your branding might be a struggle, but you might be able to locate freelancers that can build a site for you.
  • There are no built-in features for selling digital goods. Shopify's eCommerce features are designed to physical product sales. Therefore, if you're selling eBooks, coaching services, memberships, online coursesor other digital goods, you'll have to install an additional third-party app that may be more expensive.

Final Thoughts

In the process of creating an online store, businesses have their own requirements. Although WordPress is a great platform with lots of great features however, it's not a one-size-fits-all.

With these WordPress alternatives in mind think about signing up with these services to test them out yourselves. Find options that can take your store to the next stage with features like the drag-and-drop website design tool, SEO tools, marketing tools, and lastly, reasonable pricing.

The sites mentioned offer unique features that are worth a look in the event that you're seeking alternatives to WordPress. Have you used one of the sites mentioned in the above list? Please share your experience in the comments below!