E-commerce Platforms
Your own online store gives you the customer relationship and the margins that marketplaces keep for themselves, at the cost of bringing your own traffic. Hosted builders like Shopify, BigCommerce and Squarespace handle hosting, security and checkout so you can focus on products. WooCommerce runs on WordPress and gives you more control in exchange for more maintenance.
If you sell downloads, courses or memberships, a lighter checkout platform is often a better fit than a full store. Print-on-demand services let you sell printed products without holding inventory; they integrate with most store builders and ship directly to your customer. Pick the platform first, then add apps only for problems you actually have.
Store builders
Digital products & creators
Print on demand
Store tools
How to choose
- Add up the real cost: monthly plan, payment processing, apps you will need, and any transaction fee for using an outside payment provider.
- Test checkout on your phone. Most small-store sales are on mobile, and a slow or cluttered checkout loses them.
- Check how easy it is to export products, customers and orders. You may outgrow your first platform.
- For digital products, confirm who handles sales tax and VAT. Merchant-of-record platforms collect and remit it for you.
- With print on demand, order samples of your best sellers before launching so you know the quality customers will receive.
Frequently asked questions
Shopify or WooCommerce?
Shopify is hosted and quicker to launch, with a monthly fee and an app store for extras. WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin, but you pay for hosting, maintain updates yourself and assemble more of the pieces. Choose based on how much technical work you want to own.
Do I need a website if I already sell on Etsy or Amazon?
Not to start. Many sellers add their own store later to build a customer list and reduce marketplace fees, and keep the marketplace as a source of new buyers.
What is a merchant of record?
A company that legally sells to your customer on your behalf and handles payment processing, sales tax and VAT. Some digital-product platforms work this way, which simplifies tax compliance for small sellers.
How does print on demand make money?
You set the retail price; the print provider charges you for the product and shipping only when an order comes in. Your profit is the difference, so price with the provider's base cost in mind.
Descriptions are written by ShopStart and are not endorsements. Features and prices change; confirm details on each provider's official site. Something missing or out of date? Tell us.