There are several platforms that exist to create your online store. But some are more suitable than others. Therefore, we will help you make a decision and tell you which option is best to create your online store. When it comes to your ecommerce the most important thing is that you get good advice on the features, advantages and disadvantages of each of them so that the work and dedication you put into it will pay off.
PrestaShop is a great option to get started, as it is completely free (you only have to pay for hosting). With it you don't have to pay fees or percentages for sales. It has more than 500 initial functions with which to launch your online store. It is perfect for small and medium-sized businesses and it is also scalable. That is, you will be able to expand features as your business grows and your sales increase. Being open source, you can make any changes you need and you will not have limitations or registration fees. In addition, it is translated into 65 languages, being very easy to configure for SEO.
Shopify is an ecommerce tool with a good reputation and a large amout of followers, which has been in business since 2006. It has more than 600,000 online stores. It is very simple and intuitive, with it you can create an online store, organize the product catalog and customize its design in a few steps, so it is not necessary to have many development skills to have your own online store. It accepts different forms of payment, in addition to many other features. It has about 100 free templates to set up the web design and others that are paid. It also has a mobile app to manage your store from any device. In addition, Shopify handles all hosting, security and maintenance issues and problems, offering 24/7 support. However, for each card payment made in your online store you must pay a fee and a percentage (depending on the plan you have contracted, being 2% the minimum) for each payment made by your customers through Paypal or PayU. Finally, Shopify is not open source and cannot be modified, but uses a proprietary language called Liquid.
Woocomerce is a WordPress plugin that allows you to create an online store. This is the option for some companies that already have a website or blog and want to expand its functionality to an online store. It is very easy to use and has a wide variety of templates to define the look of your store, products and services. In this case, it is not necessary to have a dedicated hosting to make it work. However, keep in mind that with it you will find certain limitations, since it is not a native e-commerce platform, but rather an add-on for WordPress. Therefore, every time you need to improve or complete functionalities of your online store, you will need to purchase a new plugin. In addition, in terms of catalog capacity, it has certain limitations. Finally, in terms of hacks, it is the one that offers the least security.