Since the website is the focal point of the customer journey, e-Commerce companies must put a strong emphasis on developing and optimizing the website to give customers the greatest possible digital experience. As a result, finding the best UK e-Commerce website builder for your company is crucial.
See source: 10 Best E-commerce Website Builders In The UK: 2022 Updated
What exactly is an online store builder?
A platform that enables users to develop websites for e-Commerce businesses is known as an e-Commerce website builder.
Depending on the website builder, many features and functions can be tailored to your demands, regardless of your level of expertise in the industry.
How can you decide which website builder is best for your e-Commerce firm, though, when there are so many options available?
Customers want a website to give an intuitive, well-organized, and seamless browsing experience, therefore a good website builder will often be user-friendly. Processing orders, keeping track of payments, and generating traffic for an online company should be easy.
A wise investment that requires cautious management is selecting the best e-Commerce website builder. As your company expands, making an investment in a scalable platform will improve both your bottom line and your ability to connect with customers.
Benefits of utilizing e-Commerce website builders
is less expensive
For companies on a tight budget, using a website builder is far more cost-effective than engaging a specialist to create the website from scratch, let alone paying for system upkeep and other related expenses.
large-scale support
Using a website builder entails joining a thriving user community where you can readily discover forums, shared information, and even FAQs. This is in addition to the customer help offered by the builder's support team.
Beginners-friendly
Beginners can easily start the process of creating an e-Commerce website thanks to the readily available templates and themes.
Along the route, you may easily discover lessons, training sessions, and support forums with the builders.
Integrations
The website builder makes sure that your website interacts properly with SSL encryption, payment gateways, and other integrations/plug-ins because safeguarding your and your customers' information is crucial to the success of your business.
Cons of utilizing e-Commerce website builders
Lack of control
Even while choosing pre-made themes from the website builder may initially seem attractive, you can find it challenging if the results are not what you had hoped for.
If you want to make changes that are not possible, there can be restrictions on using the predefined layout. You might want to think about creating your own e-Commerce website at this point.
Rankings on Google and SEO
Although the website builder provides you control over the layout of your website, you might not have access to the source code, which makes it challenging to fully optimize your website for Google rankings and SEO.
a few pages
Some builders place a cap on the amount of pages you can make with a free account until you sign up for the premium plans, which restricts the potential of your business if you require more pages to highlight your brand and the many services and goods you offer.
How should you choose an e-Commerce website builder for your UK company?
The finest e-Commerce website builder for your company in the UK will depend on a number of variables.
Here are some important considerations to bear in mind as you weigh your options:
Set a spending limit.
Your business's online presence will be its primary battleground, and its main competitive edge is its e-commerce website.
If you want to grow your business in the future as well as in the short term, you must take into account your budget when choosing a website builder.
Additionally, it is crucial to investigate the plans and packages, evaluate the deals, and determine how they will affect the expansion of your company.
Additionally, budgeting for the creation of an e-Commerce website could involve expenses other than merely paying a subscription fee. Your website creation expense will increase if you have to hire an internal expert web developer as certain website builders may need.
Examine your requirements and timeframe.
Some website builders will be simpler to use than others, but most are made for users with little to no experience in design or coding.
Selecting a web builder with a ready-to-use template may be a fantastic choice if you're still unclear of what design to employ for your website.
However, if you already have a distinct vision for how the website should appear, you must ensure that the website builder you select has a template design that corresponds with it.
Additionally, make sure that these templates are flexible, user-friendly, and simple to customize in accordance with your tastes and e-Commerce business model.
You might need to invest extra time in finding and hiring the best developer for your business if the website builder you choose requires you to hire one.
Keep an eye out for integration and customisation.
After you've completed building your website, integration could be required if you want it to function properly.
To support your business's operations, you might utilize a range of tools and technologies, including marketing, sales, CRM, order fulfillment, analytics, and so on. In this situation, you need to make sure that your e-Commerce website builder has easy integration features.
Additionally, when your business expands, think about whether the builder offers a broad selection of extra integrations to match your future requirements.
If you wish to modify your website beyond your existing skill set, hiring a website developer is essential.
British e-commerce website builders' top ten list
To assist you in selecting the one that is best for your company, let's examine the advantages and disadvantages of the most well-known UK e-Commerce website builders.
Shopify is the small company platform that is the easiest to use.
For startups and small enterprises, Shopify is a well-known e-Commerce platform and all-in-one website builder.
The website has a complete content management system (CMS) that enables users to control all of their digital content from one place.
Pros
Many themes that can be customized for a layout that looks professional
significant integrations and add-ons to boost productivity
Scalable software and a flexible payment processor.
Cons
pricey with add-ons (templates, plugins, web designer, etc.)
If you choose not to use Shopify's integrated payment processor and Shopify payments, you will be charged additional transaction fees.
Only premium plans can access advanced reporting capabilities.
Pricing
Shopify has a 14-day free trial as well as three different pricing tiers:
Basic - £24
Advanced - £259/month Shopify - £69
The most user-friendly website builder is Wix
With its wide selection of themes and straightforward drag-and-drop customization tools, Wix is a well-known builder.
Pros
a selection of expertly created, mobile-responsive templates for every type of business
A network of collaborators that can assist you with website design (with additional cost)
Pricing strategies for all sizes of companies
Includes Wix Payments
There are offered guides and assistance.
Cons
For basic plans, site analytics are not provided.
In order to access the Wix Analytics App, users must pay extra.
Web content incorporated into the template
Pricing
Depending on the plan, Wix offers variable pricing ranging from £3.50 to £19/month. In order for you to test out the features prior to choosing to subscribe, the organization also provides a 14-day free trial period.
The most innovative website builder is Squarespace
Squarespace is a cloud-hosted website builder that provides well-designed templates that ensure your website will have a modern, polished appearance.
Pros
Award-winning templates make it simple to build a reliable and interesting website.
For startups with tight budgets, reasonable prices and no transaction fee are available.
Convenient Google Analytics integration for improved tracking and reporting.
24-hour customer service for any troubles or problems that may arise
comparative lack of customization choices
No built-in capability for selling in several currencies
fewer available payment methods
Free domains are only offered with the annual paying option.
Pricing
Depending on the plan, Squarespace's price ranges from £10 to £30 per month. The price difference between a monthly payment option and an annual plan may be substantial. On the website, there is also a 14-day free trial you can use.
GoDaddy - ADI offers a strong website builder
GoDaddy provides artificial design intelligence (ADI) to make creating your e-Commerce website simpler for you. GoDaddy also claims integrated capabilities for email marketing, social media, and search engine optimization.
Pros
Pricing that is fair
Simple to use templates
Dedicated support service with a UK presence
Pricing based on SSL certification
ADI features and a professional-looking website
Cons
With the Basic plan, there are no SEO tools available.
less advanced capabilities
control with little customization
Pricing
A 30-day free trial is available from GoDaddy. The Basic plan is £6.99 per month, and the e-Commerce plan costs £19.99. After that, you can choose your price (when billed annually).
The top website builder for small businesses is Weebly
Weebly gives you total control over your e-Commerce website, allowing you to manage everything a startup needs to quickly get up and running, from layout creation to store management.
If you're just getting started and don't want to deal with technical aspects or maintenance, Weebly is a fantastic option.
Websites that are mobile-friendly provide better user experiences
Easy to use interface for rapid website creation
Coding is not necessary.
Platform for flexible inventory and order management
startup-focused prices
Cons
Lack of innovative and inventive elements
Comparatively few functionalities are available for blogs.
Pricing
Although the basic service offered by Weebly is entirely free, there are some restrictions. For additional features, you can subscribe to paid plans, which range in price from £4 for the Starter plan to £10 for the Pro plan.
The most user-friendly website builder is Volusion
Because of its ease of use, well-organized dashboard, and comprehensive tutorial, Volusion is a wonderful platform for new users.
Pros
Simple access to data to easily determine how well your store is doing and where to make improvements
It is easily possible to sell on eBay and Amazon thanks to their integration.
simple features in page design
Cons
Sales of digital products are not allowed (e.g., ebooks, music, art, etc.)
Support via phone calls is not always accessible.
Pricing
Volusion has monthly fees ranging from £25 for a personal plan to £259 for a business plan. You can pick a customized plan for even more special features.
The most established provider of e-Commerce websites is Site123
One of the first e-Commerce systems to be used in the world today, SITE123 offers a plethora of features and pre-built website templates for both personal and business use. With Site123, you can quickly and easily construct a website.
Pros
Numerous themes and layouts that can be customized to each business's needs
Live chat is offered to customers around-the-clock.
Easy-to-use editing platform for building your online store
Mobile-friendly shops that will present your goods beautifully across all platforms
Cons
Free domain plan with limited features
The Site123 logo is applied to the website if you don't upgrade to a premium account.
Lowest design score and little creative freedom
Pricing
Five different plans are offered by SITE123, with monthly costs ranging from $12.80 to $28.80. $5 monthly for a ten-year subscription
The best option for customizing websites is BigCommerce
One-stop shopping platform BigCommerce is renowned for its scalability. Using the drag-and-drop capabilities, users may simply construct an e-Commerce website.
As a result, launching your website does not require any coding expertise or the services of a professional developer.
Even after your website has been published, it can still be customized.
Pros
Available without charge
Unlimited products, bandwidth, and storage
there are no extra transaction costs.
many staff accounts
Mobile-friendly checkouts that are integrated with PayPal and Apple Pay
Constant email and chat assistance
There are few options for free themes.
Not appropriate for complete beginners
The Standard Plan has an annual $50,000 cap on sales.
Only US-based phone support is available Pricing
15 days of the BigCommerce trial are free. After then, costs range from $24 (Standard Plan) per month to £259 per month (Pro Plan).
EKM - a top option for small enterprises in the UK
EKM is an all-inclusive platform that provides access to all the resources required to start an e-Commerce website.
Pros
ownership of a domain name
Dedicated help from the UK
There are more than 70 themes available for customization.
gorgeous templates
SSL-certified No further transaction costs
email marketing tools already bundled
Pros Built-in payment processor
costly for new and small businesses
VAT is excluded from the final price.
There are few native third-party apps.
Pricing
A 28-day free trial is offered by EKM. After the trial, the Basic plan costs £34.99 + VAT per month, and the Advanced plan costs £209.99 + VAT per month.
The cost is £1,999.99 + VAT if you want to modify your website.
Free website setup using Square Online
Square Online is a website-building tool that is supported by the Square digital payment business. Therefore, Square Online is available to utilize for free for companies who currently use Square to process payments.
Smaller companies and those with a physical presence are the focus of Square Online. This has made this constructor a fantastic choice for internet companies with physical stores.
Pros
No recurring charges or entrance fees
artificial design intelligence is mostly employed (ADI)
Inventory sync between online and offline
Cons
The free plan's meager storage capacity ( up to only 500MB)
transaction fees for using payment gateways other than Square
Pricing
Only a processing fee, which starts at 1.9% per transaction when you make a sale, is charged when you create a website; there are no monthly fees or setup costs. The monthly fees for the premium plans range from £9 to £54 (when billed annually), including VAT.
Conclusion
There is no one-size-fits-all option when choosing a website builder for your e-Commerce firm.
It's typical for a builder to perform well for another client yet fall short for you. Therefore, you want to search for a website builder that largely satisfies your requirements, skill set, and business strategy.
It can be simpler to choose the best e-Commerce website builder for your company in the UK if you use the advice and information in this article as a resource.
0 Comments