The 6 best ecommerce platforms for small businesses Your ideal ecommerce platform will help you grow your retail business and allow more customers to discover you online. Find the right platform for your online store today. Written by Emma Ryan Reviewed by Ollie Simpson Updated on 11 November 2025 Our Research When recommending the best ecommerce platforms, our expert team of writers and researchers focus on the features that matter most to small businesses. We rate platforms on their value for money – including setup costs and ongoing transaction fees – design features, including store templates; inventory management; payment processing options; help and support, plus customer feedback. Written and reviewed by: Emma Ryan Lead Writer Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive Startups.co.uk is reader supported – we may earn a commission from our recommendations, at no extra cost to you and without impacting our editorial impartiality. 1 of 3 Featured: Hostinger – Best AI tools 4.2 Claim Deal 2 of 3 Wix – Best for multi-purpose businesses 4.8 See Pricing 3 of 3 Shopify – Best for ecommerce growth 4.8 Start for Free I have worked with our in-house research team to test 12 ecommerce platforms, completing over 1,200 tasks to test their full functionality.Our findings show that Wix is the best platform for small businesses, thanks to its strong sales tools, simple drag-and-drop editor, and 900+ templates.To help SMEs build an online store easily and affordably, we carried out 300+ hours of research across the eight most important areas, including design, sales features, and SEO.Last year, SMEs lost an average of around £11,000 due to fraud, and refund abuse made up a staggering 42% of that figure. Ecommerce sellers need to make sure they’re fully supported by their platform while still delivering a great customer experience. Read on to compare the best options. Our top six ecommerce platforms Wix – Best for multi-purpose businessesShopify – Best for ecommerce growthSquarespace – Best for eye-catching online storesHostinger – Best for AI-powered business supportGoDaddy – Best for combining ecommerce and marketingBigCommerce – Best for a growing inventory and managing ordersYou can click on the links above to learn more about these providers. 💡Key takeaways Wix’s bespoke sales features – including inventory management and multichannel selling – make it our top choice.The monthly cost for an ecommerce platform ranges from £2.49 to £259 per month.The typical transaction fees you can expect to pay are from 0% to 3%.When choosing an ecommerce platform, don’t just focus on price — make sure the features, support and scalability meet your business needs.Hostinger is the cheapest ecommerce platform (from £1.95 per month) but doesn’t offer a free plan, isn’t scalable, and has limited product storage.Even with a low monthly plan, you still need to factor in additional costs like transaction fees, domain names, and third-party apps/extensions. The best ecommerce platforms: comparison table 0 out of 0 backward forward Overall Score Based on our in-depth research and user testing Pricing Free plan or free trial Templates Transaction fees Add-ons/extra charges FEATURED PROVIDER Hostinger Wix Shopify Squarespace GoDaddy BigCommerce 4.2 4.8 4.8 4.7 4.0 3.7 £1.95-£2.45 per month (for a 48-month term)Up to 81% discounted with code “STARTUPS” £16-119 per month, billed annually£14.40-£107.10 with code “TAKE10” £19-£259 per month, billed annuallyCurrently £1 per month for the first three months £12-£79 per month, billed annuallyUse code “SU10” to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans £13.99 per month (first term savings available) $29-$299 (around £22-£229 per month), billed annually 7-day free trial Free plan 3-day free trial 14-day free trial Free plan 15-day free trial 150+ 900+ 200+ 150+ 150+ 200 0% 2.1% + 20p per transaction From 1.5%-2% + 25p per transaction (online) 0-3% per transaction Up to 2.9% + 20p per transaction (depending on payment provider) 0% Domain renewal and additional email accounts Payment processing, chargebacks, cross-border services fees, domain renewal, premium apps/integrations Card processing fees, currency conversion/foreign card fees, paid apps/plugins, domain renewal Payment processing fees and additional features/extensions Domain renewal, email/marketing tool upgrades, shipping/fulfilment add-ons (if you choose advanced delivery options) Payment gateway fees, domain renewal, paid apps/integrations Try Hostinger Try Wix Try Shopify Try Squarespace Try GoDaddy I last updated this article on 11/11/2025 I frequently check and update this article to make sure it's all up to date and accurate. When I last updated it, I verified all pricing and information as correct. However, I always recommend confirming prices and rates directly with ecommerce platforms before making any buying decisions. 1. Wix: best for multi-purpose businesses Wix 4.8 Wix gives you a full arsenal of fantastic features and bags of creative freedom, all for a very affordable price. Try Wix FREE TRIAL 14 day money back guarantee PRICE FROM £16 per month, billed annually Flexible pricing plans AI chatbot builder Great additional features that support everything any up and coming merchant needs Summary When we say Wix really does have it all, we mean it. Its largely improved sales features now support multi-channels including Facebook and other marketplaces. The Light plan, at only £9 per month, comes equipped with 24/7 customer support, unlimited product showcasing and the option to sell on social channels. If you want further insight into your ecommerce business and control of where you can sell, the £119 per month Business Elite plan comes with customised reports, marketplace selling capabilities and priority customer care. However, despite the product priding itself on its ease of use, a rather steep learning curve is required, particularly when navigating set "ecom" functionalities. Show moreless Wix pricing: £9-£119 per month (billed annually)Transaction fees: 2.1% + 20p per transactionStandout features: Wix Payments, Wix Owner app, POS integration, keyword data support from Semrush, AI chatbot builderWhat’s missing?: Unlimited products, template flexibility Use Wix if You run a small business and want to take your first step online You want an all-in-one dashboard – Wix provides lots of built-in features but it also has an extensive app store so you can add functionality Avoid Wix if You run a niche shop, as Wix is more of an all-rounder and doesn’t provide specialised tools My experience building an online shop with WixWix is our top choice of ecommerce platform, thanks to its excellent range of website features and 900+ professionally designed templates.You can do almost everything, from managing your inventory to running a blog, all under one roof. It’s the Swiss Army Knife of website builders.Wix is also the best option for designing an online store, making it ideal if you don’t have the time to contend with complex coding. From my experience with the builder, the drag-and-drop editor is incredibly easy to use – I had complete creative control over how my online store looked.I found it easy to make changes to my online store thanks to Wix’s ecommerce templates and drag-and-drop editor. Source: Startups.co.ukAs for its sales features, Wix provides all merchants with the basics, including the ability to offer discounts on products, a free custom domain to help boost brand awareness, and multichannel selling so you can connect with customers on social media and marketplaces.But, to unlock more storage space or even features like adding multiple currencies, you’ll need a more expensive plan (starting from the Core plan).Wix’s AI theme assistant can offer you suggestions on font type. Source: Startups.co.ukWix is always evolving, and recently, it has announced that its users can sell directly through YouTube Shopping, as well as integration with Printful – something that definitely adds to its value for money.It has also launched an AI Site-Chat, meaning your site visitors can receive round-the-clock service. Most recently, Wix announced Astro, an AI-powered business assistant. This lets you perform business-related tasks directly from the chat interface. Expert insight – Eddie Harris I was reasonably impressed with Wix's AI tools when designing. However, certain elements did feel quite random, as it first produced a design with ``fun, tropical colours`` which I felt was at odds with the information I had initially given the AI. I had to tweak/regenerate a few times before getting something I felt was acceptable. The bottom line: is Wix right for you? 🛒 Wix is our first choice as it offers an all-in-one ecommerce platform. It provides small businesses with all of the tools they need to get online and grow a loyal customer base, including a built-in marketing suite and abandoned cart recovery.Wix also scores well for its pricing, as its cheapest plan (Light) is just £9 per month (billed annually).However, compared to its more expensive plans, the Light plan only offers limited features (e.g. just 2GB and two collaborators), but given its scalability, it’s a suitable choice for very small teams or solopreneuers who need a simple, low-cost way to start selling online.Read our in-depth Wix review to learn more about our top-rated ecommerce platform. 2. Shopify: best for ecommerce growth Shopify 4.8 Shopify’s superb features and extensive app market give ambitious ecommerce businesses everything they need to scale rapidly. Try Shopify FREE TRIAL 3-day free trial PRICE FROM £19 per month AI site theme builder is able to create a bespoke site in seconds Great range of apps and extensions Perfect for dropshipping Summary Shopify is perfect for users looking for that all in one online store solution. Its ability to predict what a merchant will need next when creating a website is a brilliant feature, and its countless apps give you complete control over your business, enabling you to grow through diverse multi channel integration options and automated SMS and email marketing. It is definitely better suited to store owners with complex, larger inventories and because there are fewer built in features, using the platform can get expensive compared to other feature-filled competitors like Squarespace and Wix. Show moreless Shopify pricing: £19-£259 per month (billed annually)Transaction fees: From as low as 1.5%-2% + 25p per transaction (online)Standout features: Unlimited products, new AI site theme builder, Shopify Magic, Shopify Payments, VR functionalityWhat’s missing?: Free custom domain, longer free trial period, drag-and-drop editor Use Shopify if You’re selling more than a handful of products or have a complex inventory, as Shopify is equipped to deal with big stores You want to sell beyond your website, through channels such as social media and marketplaces You manage a physical store – you can seamlessly sell between your store and website with Shopify You want to start dropshipping products – Shopify integrates with popular dropshipping suppliers Avoid Shopify if You run a very new or small business that’s just starting to sell a few products here and there – you won’t need all the bells and whistles that come with Shopify right away You’re easily overwhelmed by the technical side of things – I’d recommend choosing an easier builder, like Squarespace You’re on a budget, as Shopify’s plans are some of the most expensive for an ecommerce platform and there’s a limited free trial My experience building an online shop with ShopifyShopify is by far one of the best online store builders I’ve tested, particularly for its impressive sales features. You’ll benefit from automated emails, abandoned cart recovery, and multichannel selling — all from Shopify’s cheapest plan.There were thousands of apps in Shopify’s app store for me to choose from. Source: Startups.co.ukWhat I liked most when testing Shopify was its customisability – if I couldn’t find a feature already built into the platform, I could browse the massive app market to add extra functionality.Whether it’s a new marketing or fulfilment app, Shopify helps your business scale seamlessly. The ability to automatically generate customisable invoices was also a definite highlight.That said, I found it difficult to customise my site’s appearance as the editor isn’t the most beginner-friendly – Shopify opts to have you structure your pages by section, rather than using the popular drag-and-drop style that other builders use, like Wix.You can use Shopify Magic, a suite of AI-powered tools, to help generate product descriptions. Source: Startups.co.ukThe good news is that Shopify continues to make improvements behind the scenes and considers the needs of its merchants.For example, Shopify Sidekick – its AI-powered assistant – and Shopify Magic, a suite of AI-powered features. There’s also the AI site theme builder that can create a site for you in just seconds. Expert insight – Emma Ryan This is the first time I've used Shopify's AI template generator and I'm really impressed! I usually hate selecting Shopify's free templates because they pull through differently into the editor (with blank images/copy), whereas the AI template includes images and copy related to your business which makes designing from scratch easier. You can see what you can actually do within Shopify's editor with these. The bottom line: is Shopify right for you? 🛒 Shopify’s sales features are some of the best on the market. While it’s a little costly compared to other platforms – going up as much as £259 per month – it’s worth the cost if you have the budget and a growing or sizable inventory.You might sacrifice a little on the design front, but Shopify’s strength lies in supporting your business as it expands.To discover more about where Shopify excels as an ecommerce platform, head to our detailed Shopify review. 3. Squarespace: best for eye-catching online stores Squarespace 4.7 Squarespace’s excellent editing tools make it quick and easy to get your online store up and running. Try Squarespace Squarespace Ecommerce full review FREE TRIAL 14-day free trial PRICE FROM £17 per month Use code "SU10" to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans Easy to use dashboard that links seamlessly with the builder Fully customisable checkout page Use code "SU10" to receive a 10% discount on all Squarespace plans Summary Squarespace's ecommerce offering has plenty of great selling points to keep its users happy. The ecommerce platform provides polished templates help create a luxury brand experience for your business as well as strong email marketing features. It also provides a step-by-step AI builder, giving you greater control over the look and style of your site. Show moreless Squarespace pricing: £12-£79 per month (billed annually)Transaction fees: 0-3% per transactionStandout features: Service-based tools, Squarespace Payments, stunning templates and designs, AI site builder, excellent booking tools through Acuity, customisable checkout pageWhat’s missing?: Built-in dropshipping functionality, UK POS integration Use Squarespace if You have a creative business – Squarespace will help you build a stunning website with its templates and editor You’re a beginner to building websites, because Squarespace is the easiest ecommerce platform to understand and use You want to offer services to customers – Squarespace has made recent improvements to its service booking and scheduling tools Avoid Squarespace if You want to start a dropshipping business, as Squarespace lacks any built-in support for this – you’ll need to install a third-party extension Your business is expanding rapidly – Squarespace’s ecommerce plans won’t support a scaling business as well as Shopify’s My experience building an online shop with SquarespaceLike Wix, Squarespace is a website builder that rivals ecommerce-specific platforms when it comes to creating a professional online store.Based on my hands-on testing of the platform and our rigorous research, I can confidently say that Squarespace is not only one of the easiest platforms to use, but it also boasts a great range of design features.You can build a stylish and modern online store using Squarespace’s stunning templates and drag-and-drop editor.For ecommerce sites, I particularly love the testimonial and digital product design elements – Squarespace makes the process of building a page from scratch quick and simple. You can also create a customisable checkout page containing special fields and a guest checkout function.I loved how many styles and designs Squarespace offers for different section types, helping you create a unique-looking store. Source: Startups.co.ukAnother great perk is the scheduling and service-based tools. Acuity Scheduling lets you create and manage bookings directly in Squarespace, and you can also create branded invoices.As of its last Refresh update, it also launched the Design Intelligence suite of features, including Blueprint AI, its first AI-powered website builder. This gives you greater control and more confidence over what’s on your ecommerce site. Expert insights – Natasha Willett As an AI builder goes, Squarespace has a very different feel from other platforms. For example, when you select the site info and the type of site needed, it shows you the difference in font based on the text selected – taking you on the journey more than others. You can use Squarespace Blueprint to build a site quickly with AI. Source: Startups.co.ukAnother positive about Squarespace is that since updating its pricing plans, you can now access its ecommerce features from its cheapest plan (£12 a month), which is great for those on a tighter budget.However, we’d warn you that Squarespace’s site speeds aren’t the zippiest – out of all the builders we tested, Hostinger can lay claim to having the fastest loading speeds in town. The bottom line: is Squarespace right for you? 🛒 Out of all the ecommerce platforms I’ve tested, Squarespace is one of the easiest to use, and I could build a stylish-looking online store in a flash. Because of this, and its reasonable sales features, it’s a great option for creative and service-based businesses.Squarespace’s ecommerce features are available from its Basic plan, including the ability to sell products and services, send invoices, and sell content/memberships.However, more advanced features like professional shipping and tax services, sales funnel analytics, and API integrations are only available from its Core plan (£17 per month). But as this is just £5 more than the Basic plan, it doesn’t stretch your wallet too much.Discover more in our Squarespace review to learn what this design-focused website builder has to offer for online stores. 4. Hostinger: best for AI-powered business support Hostinger 4.2 This affordable website builder makes building simple with its suite of AI tools. Try Hostinger Free trial 30-day Price from £3.49 Affordable deals for beginners The drag-and-drop editor is very easy to use A growing suite of AI features Summary Hostinger is a simple and low-cost website builder, offering affordable plans and introductory deals for new businesses. It's made recent upgrades in overall usability and navigation, though it lacks basic functionalities like email marketing. That said, its design options are impressive and its suite of AI tools makes building a website quick and easy. Show moreless Hostinger pricing: £2.49-£3.29 per month (for a 48-month subscription)Transaction fees: Zero transaction feesStandout features: Suite of AI tools including AI blog generator, speedy setup time, fastest site loading speeds on the roundupWhat’s missing?: Scalable ecommerce plans, unlimited products, built-in email marketing Use Hostinger if You’re a new business owner, as the platform is beginner-friendly and offers the basic sales features you’ll need You run a side hustle – Hostinger is incredibly cheap and you won’t need the advanced functionality available with more expensive platforms You have a need for speed – Hostinger is the fastest loading website we tested Avoid Hostinger if You want to grow your online store with a large range of products – Hostinger only offers one basic ecommerce plan You want to build an online community – you’ll be left without email marketing tools You need strong booking tools – Squarespace can offer integrated booking tools instead My experience building an online shop with HostingerIn our 2025 ranking, Hostinger has moved up a spot since our last round of research in 2024.Having made improvements to site speed (now having the fastest load times that we tested), interface, navigation, and overall usability, it’s a builder that’s gone from strength to strength.When using it, I could get my online store up and running in minutes thanks to Hostinger’s AI website builder and intuitive drag-and-drop editor.I could use Hostinger’s AI Logo Maker to help me create a logo for my business. Source: Startups.co.ukDuring my testing, Hostinger’s AI managed to create an effective site for my fake online bookshop. It already came equipped with useful elements, like shop categories and a contact form to join a book club. I only had to make a few tweaks here and there to refresh the imagery and copy.Hostinger has also doubled down on its AI features, especially in recent months, which I found especially useful. It provides an AI search engine optimisation (SEO) tool and AI heatmaps. Expert insight – Emma Ryan I'm very impressed that Hostinger's SEO tool had already filled this out for me, suggesting keywords, completing the SEO title/description, and offering other SEO tips like flagging how many images had alt text already. For time-poor business owners, you can quickly add copy, blog posts (the AI blog feature can generate up to 2000 words, which is really useful for quickly building your site’s content), or new images – to name just a few examples – using Hostinger’s suite of AI tools.Hostinger has a suite of AI-powered tools to help build your website. Source: Startups.co.ukI was particularly impressed by the AI-powered Product Information Generator tool.With this, I could let Hostinger generate my product details for me, such as a description or title, all based on my uploaded image. This is a very useful feature for new businesses that are unfamiliar with building an inventory online.Another decent bonus from Hostinger is that it charges 0% on processing fees for businesses (just keep in mind you’ll still be subject to any fees from your payment processor, though). The bottom line: is Hostinger right for you? 🛒 Hostinger offers the cheapest premium ecommerce plan from just £2.49 per month (for a 48-month term). Its basic sales features and beginner-friendly drag-and-drop editor make it easy to set up your online store.However, while it might be the cheapest, it’s important to keep in mind that it doesn’t offer much scalability, is limited in product storage, and doesn’t offer built-in email marketing tools. So while the price might be attractive, businesses that plan to grow quickly may outgrow its limitations and need to upgrade to a more scalable platform. 5. GoDaddy: best for combining ecommerce and marketing GoDaddy 4.0 A simple way to build an online store and combine your ecommerce with marketing and booking tools. Try GoDaddy Free trial 7-days Price from £13.99 Built-in social media calendar and post planner Simple to use builder Simple pricing Summary It lacks sophisticated sales and design features, but GoDaddy is still one of the easiest ways to create an online store, and it has excellent integrated marketing tools. It just has one ecommerce plan, for the reasonable price of £13.99 per month. Show moreless GoDaddy pricing: £8.99-£16.99 per month (billed annually)Transaction fees: Dependent on the payment provider, up to 2.9% + 20p per transactionStandout features: Quickest setup time, AI website builder, built-in social media calendar and post plannerWhat’s missing?: App market, drag-and-drop editor, additional ecommerce plans Use GoDaddy if You're a marketing focused business who wants built-in tools to connect with customers You need to get online fast, as GoDaddy has the quickest setup time out of all the builders I’ve tested You have a new, small business – GoDaddy’s simple sales features will be more than enough to support your shop Avoid GoDaddy if You want lots of creative control over your online store’s look – GoDaddy’s editor is too restrictive to create a unique appearance You have a large business or need to sell lots of products as GoDaddy is better equipped to handle smaller online stores You want to integrate third party apps – GoDaddy doesn't have an app market My experience building an online shop with GoDaddyGoDaddy is an entry-level website builder that excels in integrating your ecommerce site with a marketing system.GoDaddy can provide you with a host of built-in marketing tools, like an AI-generated social calendar planner, as well as a social post creator. It also provides integrated booking tools that are great for businesses that need to manage lots of appointments.GoDaddy provides helpful onboarding steps that make it beginner-friendly. Source: Startups.co.ukGoDaddy also makes starting your own ecommerce site a breeze, even if you’re not technologically inclined. I’d argue that GoDaddy’s simplicity makes it ideal for beginners, but its editor and features can be too basic at times.That said, GoDaddy is not only easy to use, but it’s also one of the quickest ways to get online. The onboarding process took me a few minutes, and I could immediately dive into designing my store or adding products in the backend.I added all of the key information to my GoDaddy product page, such as name, price, inventory quantity, and shipping options. Source: Startups.co.ukHowever, GoDaddy is let down by its lack of sales features, especially in comparison to the other ecommerce platforms on this list.For example, GoDaddy will always charge transaction fees, whereas other builders, like BigCommerce and Hostinger, don’t charge them at all.You’ll get the bare minimum, such as personalised SEO tools and the ability to connect your store with Google to help your business get found by the right customers. And, while this makes it great for targeting the local market, GoDaddy limits your store to 5,000 products and lacks scalability.Still, for stores that don’t need the advanced sales functionality provided by platforms like Shopify, GoDaddy is a very affordable alternative, especially if you’re looking for an ecommerce and marketing hybrid platform. Expert insight – Eddie Harris GoDaddy's social media calendar is a great addition to their product offering, but I'd like to see more consistency with the site branding on other areas of marketing – such as email and social posts. This misalignment seems such an easy way to give greater confidence but also save users time. The bottom line: is GoDaddy right for you? 🛒 GoDaddy’s simplicity works in its favour, encouraging small businesses onto the platform with its no-nonsense approach to building and stripped-back sales features. However, GoDaddy lacks the advanced functionality that larger stores will need.But for those starting out, GoDaddy is a solid choice. Its beginner-friendly interface makes setting up an online store quick and easy, and starting from just £8.99 per month, it’s an affordable option for small businesses testing the ecommerce waters for the first time.Get a closer look at GoDaddy’s features, templates, and more in our GoDaddy review. 6. BigCommerce: best for a growing inventory and managing orders BigCommerce 3.7 With an impressive range of sales features, BigCommerce gives you everything you need to create a fully-optimised online store Free trial 15-day Price from $29 per month Quality in-built inventory management features 0% payment processing fees Great for scaling businesses Summary BigCommerce is the big budget option for small businesses with big ambitions. It's quite pricey, but you’re getting access to a range of in-built inventory, order management, and sales tools. The costlier the plan, the more advanced the functionality, of course – you also increase your sales allowance. This ranges from an upper limit of $50,000 on the Standard plan to a maximum of $400,000 on the Pro plan. And if your sales are likely to be higher than that, BigCommerce offers custom enterprise solutions. Show moreless BigCommerce pricing: around $29-$299 per month billed annually (BigCommerce’s pricing is given in US dollars)Transaction fees: Zero transaction feesStandout features: Unlimited products, international shipping options, variety of payment options including Square, PayPal, Stripe and Gift CardsWhat’s missing?: AI features, better design options Use BigCommerce if You have a large, complex inventory, as BigCommerce caters to sellers who manage high volume of orders You have a sizable budget – BigCommerce is one of the more expensive ecommerce platforms You want to start selling internationally – BigCommerce helps you prepare your store for global markets and customers Avoid BigCommerce if You run a small business or boutique store – BigCommerce is overkill and overly complex You’re not confident about designing a website – BigCommerce lacks the quality and quantity of design options available elsewhere You want a customisable checkout page for customers – Shopify is a better option for this My experience building an online shop with BigCommerceBigCommerce should be your go-to ecommerce platform if your business is rapidly expanding, and you need advanced inventory and order management to support your needs.BigCommerce is equipped to handle thousands of stock-keeping units (SKUs), and you can sync up your inventory across multiple marketplaces. These tools can help large ecommerce stores really streamline daily operations.You can easily navigate global fulfilment thanks to the multiple storefronts and inventory locations BigCommerce allows – plus, you can accept payments in over 100 different currencies to help encourage sales around the world.You can also connect a wide variety of payment options to your site, including Amazon (one of the only builders we tested that supports this).When testing BigCommerce myself, I found its sales features and interface to be more complex and advanced than Shopify’s, so expect a steep learning curve if you’re an ecommerce beginner.I found it difficult to use BigCommerce’s editor and my site quickly looked messy. Source: Startups.co.ukTruthfully, I even found the onboarding process to be a little overwhelming. So, unless you have the time to invest in learning the ins and outs of BigCommerce, I’d recommend choosing an easier ecommerce experience with a platform like Hostinger or Squarespace.For this reason, BigCommerce is better suited for large enterprises. While Shopify rivals the platform with its depth of sales features to support growing businesses and an option for a customisable checkout page, the fact that BigCommerce won’t charge you any transaction fees might give it the edge in the eyes of large-scale sellers. Expert insights – Julia Watts I like that BigCommerce was pre-populated with images and prices based on the product you chose. However, it would have been nice to be able to customise the widget further (e.g. add a product description). Selecting products to go in the widget could also be more intuitive – I had to type the product name, whereas it would have been helpful to also have my products listed already so I could choose from that. The bottom line: is BigCommerce right for you?🛒 BigCommerce targets large and growing online stores with its advanced inventory management features, internationalisation tools, and the fact that it doesn’t charge transaction fees.However, because of its sizable price tag and complexities, I wouldn’t recommend this ecommerce platform to smaller businesses. It also isn’t the most cost-efficient, as other platforms offer good-quality features for a cheaper price. How to choose an ecommerce platform for your businessEcommerce platforms are website builders designed to help you create an online store from scratch, but how do you know which sales features you need or what plan to pick?I recommend thinking about the following questions as you research which ecommerce platform is right for your business:Where are your customers based? – Think about your target market and audience to determine what features your store needs. Are they local? Are they mostly on social media? Do you need international shipping options?Will you need to pay transaction fees? – Your ecommerce platform subscription won’t be your only cost when you set up an online store, as many providers charge additional transaction fees. If you want to avoid this, consider builders like Hostinger or BigCommerce, or use a provider’s in-house payment gateway to minimise costs.What do you want your online store to look like? – If building a stylish store is a priority, you’ll want to choose a design-focused builder, such as Squarespace. Assess a platform’s website themes, editor style, and pre-designed elements.Are the features you need built-in? – How many features are available with your ecommerce platform subscription? Will you need to install third-party apps and plugins to add extra functionality? For example, Shopify relies heavily on its app market, and many of these apps come with additional costs. How we test ecommerce platformsEach ecommerce platform has undergone rigorous testing. Our senior researcher recently conducted an entirely fresh round of re-testing to ensure our reviews and recommendations are as accurate, up-to-date and helpful as possible.Our research team improved their methodology for this new analysis, with a heavier focus on help & support and the user experience. This is to consider the needs of those who are at the beginning of their small business journey and require a smooth experience and extra support.For this latest round of research and testing, our research team conducted 100 hours of data collection over eight categories. In total, 283 individual areas of the ecommerce platforms were investigated, with the sole purpose of finding the right ecommerce platform for your business.This was broken down into the areas which we felt were more critical to a successful ecommerce platform, which were then given individual importance weightings, ensuring that you were receiving the most helpful recommendations possible:Sales features: 30% – The ecommerce features and tools available to support your online store growth, such as shipping options, multi-channel integration, and abandoned cart recovery.Website functionality: 15% – The quality and range of the website features, such as SEO, internationalisation, AI tools and app markets.Design features: 15% – Determined on several design factors, such as themes, templates, AI builders, and responsiveness.Help and support: 15% – Investigating how website owners can seek help, such as customer support channels and the availability and responsiveness of a knowledge centre.Pricing: 10% – The balance between features and price, the availability of a free trial or plan, and overall affordability.User experience: 10% – Based on hands-on testing with each ecommerce platform, assessing the accessibility for different skill levels.Reputation: 5% – We examine an ecommerce platform’s position and popularity in the market. Key considerations for UK businessesRunning an ecommerce or dropshipping store means there’s a lot to manage – from product listings and customer service to payments, shipping, and tax compliance.For UK businesses, it’s important to choose a platform that can handle value-added tax (VAT), shipping options, payment gateways, and reliable customer support.For example, Wix offers a tool that calculates and collects VAT from your customers. There are two main options you can choose from:Manual VAT collection: you can manually set the VAT rate (the standard is 20% in the UK) that applies to sales made to customers.Automatic VAT collection: Wix integrates with Avalara AvaTax to automatically determine and apply the correct VAT.However, while Wix can collect VAT, it does not automatically file your VAT return with HMRC. This is your responsibility, and you’ll need accounting software that is compliant with Making Tax Digital (MTD) to keep digital records and submit your returns.Meanwhile, Shopify offers two main payment gateways – its built-in solution (Shopify Payments) and a variety of third-party providers, including global gateways (e.g. PayPal and Stripe), digital wallets (e.g. Apple Pay and Google Pay), and Buy Now, Pay Later (e.g. Klarna and Afterpay/Clearpay).In terms of shipping, Squarespace offers built-in support, letting users create shipping options that automatically apply to both physical and subscription products. It’s also directly integrated with DPD, Evri, Parcelforce, and UPS. Final verdict: which platform is best for selling?Wix is our top ecommerce platform for small businesses, thanks to its variety of professionally-designed templates and easy-to-use sales features, such as multichannel selling and inventory management.That said, when it comes to choosing the right ecommerce platform for your business, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. It depends entirely on your budget and business needs.If you’re not sure which provider to pick, I recommend trying free trials or plans if available. It’s a handy way to test a platform for yourself, play around in the editor, and explore the different sales features.Once you’ve chosen your ecommerce platform, check out these tips for building your business website, and have a look at our guide on how to start a business to help you find your feet. Jump back up to any of our reviews: Ecommerce platforms comparison table 1. Wix 2. Shopify 3. Squarespace 4. Hostinger 5. GoDaddy 6. BigCommerce How to choose an ecommerce platform for your business How we test ecommerce platforms Key considerations for UK businesses Final verdict: which platform is best for selling? Startups.co.uk is reader-supported. If you make a purchase through the links on our site, we may earn a commission from the retailers of the products we have reviewed. This helps Startups.co.uk to provide free reviews for our readers. It has no additional cost to you, and never affects the editorial independence of our reviews. FAQs Which platform is best for dropshipping? Based on our research, we found that Shopify is the best platform for dropshipping businesses, as it integrates with a range of dropshipping suppliers. Which platform is best for beginners? We found that Squarespace, Hostinger, and GoDaddy were the most beginner-friendly ecommerce platforms, primarily because of their easy-to-use drag-and-drop editors. What other costs can I expect? On top of the monthly platform fee, you'll also need to budget for payment processing charges, international transaction fees, chargebacks, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), and shipping/fulfilment costs. Can I switch platforms if I outgrow my current one? Yes, but migration can be time-consuming as you'll need to move products, design, and SEO data manually or with a paid migration tool. To avoid this, you should choose a platform that can scale with you (e.g. Shopify or BigCommerce). Which is the best international ecommerce platform? BigCommerce stands out as a strong platform for international sales, primarily because of its global shipping options and help preparing to enter new markets. Which platform is the best for SEO? We found that Wix offered the best SEO features. However, Hostinger also scores highly for its AI SEO tool and heatmaps, while GoDaddy connects your store to Google to help get your business noticed on the search engine and found by your target audience. Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags Recommendations Written by: Emma Ryan Lead Writer Emma works on Startups’ reviews and recommendations for building a website for your business. She is the Lead Writer at Website Builder Expert, having first joined the team in 2022. She manages Website Builder Expert’s topical content strategy to help website owners navigate the highs and lows of being online. Emma specialises in hands-on testing and research of all the leading website builder platforms, including Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify. Her work and expertise have been featured in Digiday, TechRound, Industry Today, and Digital Information World. Reviewed by: Ollie Simpson Senior Research Executive After three years of refining my skills in data analysis, I transitioned to a role as a researcher to help understand our readers' preferences and needs. My professional journey started as a researcher in law enforcement, where I developed strong analytical abilities. Later, I moved into operations, strengthening my understanding of quantitative data. Now, I blend my quantitative analysis skills with qualitative research to explore both audience preferences and product nuances. Armed with a UX design diploma, I translate research findings into actionable insights that facilitate informed decision-making. Whether enhancing Startups offerings or delivering research presentations, I am driven by a relentless pursuit of improvement and results.