If it hadn’t been for the World Wide Web, a lot of dreams would have been left unfulfilled, several now-successful businesses would have never seen the light of day and basically, the world would have been a dull place!
Few would disagree if I said that the Internet has been extremely instrumental in changing the way business was done traditionally. From starting out as a platform for connecting people to going on to becoming a mobilizer of entrepreneurial ambitions, an enabler for businesses, the globalizing element for businessmen, and the passport to money-making, the Internet has come a long way in being a key business driver today.
If you want to sell something, turning to the Internet to do so could prove to be one of the best decisions you ever made. What’s great about it is that anything can be sold online, provided you have a Web store that has the ability to attract customers, the dexterity to provide them with a rewarding shopping experience, and the digital competence to help you market yourself and grow your business.
The world of e-commerce stores
If you thought building an online store involved showcasing an extensive product line along with engaging technical experts and spending exorbitant amounts of money to hire professional help to do the same, then you need to snap out of it!
There are some amazing e-commerce website building tools out there today, that not only enable you to design and setup your Web store, but also help you develop your business in terms of earnings and margins. Thanks to these tools, the Internet has now become a marketplace.
Whether it is creating appealing storefronts that work as a platform for you to display your offerings, fashioning speedy checkout procedures that help shoppers make quick purchases, formulating layouts and templates to boost your store setup, or integrating your website with social networks, payment gateways and app markets, the online store-building tools of today are easy and fun to work with.
Looking to build your own e-commerce website, but don’t know how? Read on to find out more about the best web-based tools available to help you in your endeavor.
1. ShopIntegrator
With online tools such as ShopIntegrator, you need not undergo the long and draining wait to start your own business. In fact, going into business has now become as simple as taking a walk in the park!
This easy-to-use shopping cart plugin is a wonderful tool as it can help convert your currently existing website/blog into a fully-loaded e-commerce website. It enables you to showcase your offerings by creating customized storefronts.
Using it to your advantage is as simple as dragging and dropping contents with the help of the design editor that lets you customize the overall design and feel of your online store. It also allows you to manage inventory, and accept and deliver customer orders flawlessly.
Want to build multilingual websites? No problem; with ShopIntegrator, you can build websites in 7 languages namely English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), French, German and Swedish.
The best thing about it is that stores built on ShopIntegrator automatically get a mobile-optimized layout for the ease of smartphone/tablet users. It allows you to accept payments via debit/credit cards or PayPal, and offers optimal security to keep your as well as the customer’s data safe with SSL security and PCI-compliant payment gateways.
Related: How To Pick the Best Online Shopping Cart for Your eCommerce Website
2. Shopify
One of the leading platforms for e-commerce websites, Shopify is another user-friendly tool that you can consider to set up your Web store. It will put you in the driver’s seat and give you complete control over designing your website by choosing from more than a hundred different templates.
Think that’s not good enough? Well then, feel free to custom design a theme according to your taste without HTML or CSS restrictions. You can also make use of the website’s smart analytics platform, wherein you can get detailed customer profiles, allow customers to set up accounts and form customer groups.
To add more functionality to your website, Shopify supports the creation of apps that are fast and easy to set up and use. This, in turn, will help you enhance your SEO efforts, monitor sales, and manage the purchase process better.
Shopify supports and integrates more than 70 global payment gateways including MasterCard, 2Checkout and PayPal. Apart from that, it also backs multiple languages, varying tax rates and numerous currencies from around the globe.
Wix
Looking for an all-in-one solution to your Web store requirements? Give Wix a shot! Get swept off your feet with its enchanting array of professionally designed and responsive templates. They’re systematically classified according to particular categories, so you won’t have trouble picking out the one that best fits your needs. Plus, it’s super easy to use – simply drag and drop the contents.
Wix comes well-equipped with several potent and necessary features such as inventory management and taxation, and shipping costs calculation widgets, which can simplify the selling that takes place on the website. It also allows for integration with social media websites to mobilize your marketing and promotional strategies. Wix also lets you integrate numerous payment solutions.
With efficient SEO tools, you will be able to attract and engage customers by showing up in search engine results. What’s more? Thanks to Wix’s marketing support features (newsletters and coupon management), you will be able to connect with your existing customers and tap prospects.
Further, stores built on Wix are mobile compatible, so smartphone and tablet users can have an enjoyable shopping experience.
Having the right tools at your disposal will not only make building an electronic store easy for you, but will also enable you to concentrate on the other aspects that are vital to the subsistence and expansion of your website.
Isn’t that better than wasting your time in areas that can be fixed through automation? Say hello to the above tools to take your e-commerce business up several notches and bid goodbye to your worries related to finding the perfect web-based support function for your website/business.
Author: Rachel Oliver is a passionate writer. She often share her thoughts on business, technology, leadership, finance, fashion and more. Feel free to hit her up on Google+.