Are you looking for the next step to take with your small business? If you are, then an ecommerce site may fit perfectly with your plans. An ecommerce site is relatively inexpensive to start up; most of the cost is in the software. Having an ecommerce website gives you an advantage over your competitors that do not, especially if you have integrated shopping cart software. Shopping cart software built into the software platforms is a great feature tha can be included when setting up a retail site. Shopping carts make it much easier for customers to make their purchases online, and a shopping cart-enabled site will have more sales than an identical site without one. Here are the three most popular online ecommerce platforms right now:
1. Magento
Magento is at the top of every online retailer’s wish list, when looking at ecommerce platforms. They are by far the most popular choice of ecommerce software platforms, and currently the most rapidly growing software for online stores over the past six months, with a phenomenal growth record of over 20%. While this might not sound very impressive, consider that there are hundreds of competitive platforms available. Magento is unique in that it built on a modular system that offers maximum flexibility. With a wide range of options like built-in shopping cart software, SEO, and product browsing, it is very comprehensive. One unique feature is the ability to optimize your site for mobile access, knowing that most people will shop via their Smartphones in the coming years.
2. Zen Cart
While Zen Cart started out very strong and at first appeared to be a strong competitor for Magento, their growth has slowed recently, with less than a 10% increase over the last six months. Zen Cart focuses mainly on the payment methods of your ecommerce site, making many options available to you. They have also integrated PayPal into their software to make for an easier experience for your customers. Having PayPal available means less missed sales due to people who do not use credit cards to shop online, but prefer the safety of PayPal. Zen Cart has a few other positive points—it is free, open-source software, and very user-friendly for those with limited technical savvy.
3. VirtueMart
VirtueMart makes the short list because it is more customizable than most of the other ecommerce platforms available. All of the features that you would expect to see in any ecommerce platform are here, but also there are several features that are unique that set them apart. One of those features is the ability to feature certain products on your site by setting them to “on special”. It also has a built in shipping calculator and allows customers the chance to use your site in different languages or make payments with foreign currency if the site owner chooses to allow it. The flexibility of this site is remarkable, with additional customization available through several modules, templates and plug-ins.
Like any other business decision, thorough research into the different ecommerce platforms is wise. Review other ecommerce sites, especially those that are in your general niche to check out their presentations and get ideas. Check for the features that are most vital to you before deciding which platform is best. Remember that being paid for your services or products is one of the most important aspects of a business, so this is one aspect you need to get exactly right.
A further enhancement is Magento Integration, proprietary software that incorporates accounting software with your Magento storefront. You can find out more about it at http://www.webninjamagento.com/tour/.
Informative article. Readers may also be interested in this whitepaper on E-Commerce ( http://bit.ly/HJbEFy ), with good information on online retail and advice from industry experts you may find useful.
Thanks Manmohan–I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my post, and giving us some additional information to peruse.
I was interested to read this list but I must say that I don’t agree with it. Magento is awesome but I would think twice before recommending it to small businesses just starting out in ecommerce. I wouln’t touch it without the help of an expert developer. And VirtueMart? Even developers tear their hair out trying to get that one to behave.
I really think that smaller businesses should seriously consider the hosted ecommerce options – it’s cheaper and easier to maintain.
HiNaomi– thanks for reading and commenting– and for pointing out that there are easier options for beginners. These are the three most popular platforms across all levels of retailers–so that takes into account some of the behemoths, for sure. Ease of use, of course, is vital for beginners….and now I know what to right as a follow up post:) Thanks, Denise
Should have proofread that– sometimes the fingers do not connect with the brain… I course I will “write” a follow up post…Jeez…
I agree with you Naomi. As an ecommerce beginner, starting with Magento was difficult. I did not know much about it. Months passed until I could understand Magento. It is recommended for people who have experience working with ecommerce sites. I have Magento running with my website, though and I love it. But it just isn’t for beginners. You could try but you’ll need plenty of time.
Really DeniseGabbard !It is absolutely true that Magento, Zen cart and VirturMart these three platforms are proper solutions of ecommerce website.
Thanks to sharing this.
Really nice and great blog info!!
Thanks for share…..:-)
Is this just a thin article to promote web ninja magento? How can you claim that these are the top 3 ecommerce platforms for 2012 with so little research?
This websites business is writing quality content foe search engines to read. We know the big m is a flawed piece of kit. There is another ecommerce platform which is the mother if them all and it gets no mention. Really a strange article indeed with little research. PS see the way I have made the comment so as it does not help the seo effort of the big m. :-)
Magento Go might be a good choice for beginners since they include host service.
We develop Magento extensions and templates and also use Magento as our platform ;)
http://www.magestore.com
Thanks for your comment.
Hi, Besides these three shopping cart software,I would like to add Zeuscart which is the best free cart software to create your store.
http://www.zeuscart.com
I have heard lots of good things about zeuscart…
These are three good picks Denise although I would agree with Naomi that Magento can be an overkill for beginners.
I would have added Shopify to the list, it is one of most popular choice with users of the GetApp Cloud Business Apps Marketplace. More options for larger sites or vertical needs are available from this list http://www.getapp.com/ecommerce-software
Thanks
Christophe
Hi Christophe— Thanks for your comment, and definitely it is noted that Shopify is a good platform as well.
Its true that need an expert to install and setup Magento store. But it gives maximum flexibility to setting up your store and expand the features of the store in future. Other stores are also available like Open cart. Also it is good to consider Magento Go a hosted solution from Magento company.
Thank you–sometimes spending a little money is worth the expense, especially when it comes to a platform that handles your sales and your money.
Congratulations to the magento corporation for being popular and recognize as the top E-commerce platform this 2012. They deserve and more more powers to them. Congratulations again.
Thanks for confirming my point about Magento–they really are the platform that others should aspire to.
@Denise. Have you had a chance to look at http://www.avangate.com ?
Not yet, Chuck. What do you like about avangate?
Very good share! Good work on comparing the performances of the best ecommerce platforms.
Thank you, Hary– I appreciate your comment.
Broadleaf Commerce is a good one to consider as well. It’s a free, open source, enterprise-class eCommerce platform built on best of breed technologies with a huge number of features. Version 2.0 is simple to set up and configure out of the box. It also allows you to customize, extend, and integrate in absolutely any way that you need. We were able to get a complex eCommerce site with a large number of custom features, including flash sales and perishable inventory, deployed to production in 6 weeks. Broadleaf is one of the best platforms available for tech savvy businesses, whether small, medium, or large. However, it’s not likely the best solution, at this point, for companies that do not have any technical capabilities. But Broadleaf is backed by a company that maintains the code and offers (optional) consulting, training, hosting, and support.
Thanks for that Kelly–I will check it out now. I work on a lot of websites for my clients, and not having any IT background, it sounds like the type of platform that would be good to recommend to them.
Thank you Denise for such informative shopping cart ranking. However, I wonder why you have picked Zen Cart in your top 3. There are much more advanced solution at the moment and in comparison with PrestaShop for example, ZenCart seems to fade away. If you check this article you’ll see my point
http://www.shopping-cart-migration.com/useful-articles/43-prestashop/5819-user-friendly-or-customisable-prestashop-or-zen-cart
Great article! There are too many e-commerce solutions out there, everyone has their own favourites, my personal one is OpenCart, free, user friendly and the feature lists matches Magento with free support as well. Definitely worth looking at if your just starting out.