E-commerce website builders like WordPress, facilitated offline businesses across the globe when the wave of online commerce came in. With the worldwide pandemic and its woes, the e-commerce industry welcomed thousands of first time online shoppers.
We witnessed hundreds of neighbourhood kirana stores and homepreneurs experimenting and exploring different ways to offer their products and services online. It is predicted that by the year 2040, an estimated 95% of all purchases will be through e-commerce.
This article is an attempt to throw light on one of the most uncomplicated e-commerce website builders, its features and benefits. We will also address some of the frequently asked questions in the latter part.
Table of Contents
E-commerce website builder: An overview
Before diving deep into the informational part of the article, let’s get the basics right!
E-commerce website builders are online tools that help a business or an individual sell their services and products online. Have you heard of WordPress, Shopify, Wix? Well, they are e-commerce website builders for you. Click To TweetUsually, they are effortless to use with feature sets like no code requirements, drag and drop functionalities, pre-designed themes and so on. They are positioned as platforms that help you save big on time and effort by taking care of complex tasks.
Features of an e-commerce website builder
It is always good to have a rough framework of what you want your website to look like. Based on the business you are planning to start and its requirements, the list might need some tweaks. However, an ideal website builder should have the following features:
Functionality to create a store
While the sole purpose of any e-commerce website builder is to empower its user with an online store, every builder brings with it its rulebook. Run a detailed analysis after mapping your store requirements. Ensure if the website builder will let you add one extra block or not.
Some of your store requirements can be a section for product reviews, a section for similar products and so on.
Another feature to watch out is the level of coding required. If you do not know how to write code, make sure you go with a 100% no-code builder.
Secure payments & multi-currency support
In the modern world, most entrepreneurs prefer to operate their business 100% online. Click To TweetE-commerce has helped people expand their business across geographies, which used to be a massive challenge in the offline world.
However, this also brings in the need for a secure digital transaction of money. Not all e-commerce website builders support international payments. Payment gateway service providers like Razorpay provide easy integrations to enable digital payments with leading e-commerce website builders like WordPress, Magento, WooCommerce and so on.
[Suggested reading: Your Complete Guide to Starting an Online Reselling Business in 2022]
Content management capabilities
Building an online store is not limited to adding product listings and integrating a payment gateway. You will be required to add pages like Terms & Conditions, About Us, Refund Policy etc. Ensure that the website builder you choose lets you add unlimited pages, edit the content, add images and let you deactivate any module, if required.
Pro-tip: As business scales, building a blog adds a lot of value. Plan well in advance if your website builder will let you host a quality rich blog with its functionalities.
Discount & promotion management
With the increased competition in the online world and so many options to buy a product or avail a service, it is becoming essential for businesses to run offers and promotions from time to time. Click To Tweet
Evaluate if your e-commerce website builder will let you create and manage discount codes. Also, check if the website builder lets you do the following features:
- Add discount codes to categories, brand or products
- Add discount codes that affect shipping
- Set codes as ‘active’ or ‘inactive’.
- Ability to set percentages off, amount off or a set price
- ‘Auto Apply’ discount codes when product added to cart option
- Set and manage dates code is active
- Add minimum and maximum quantity requirements for discount codes
- Set number of times code can be used before automatically becoming inactive
Analytics and real-time data reporting
Data is a gold mine for any entrepreneur, no matter the business, experience or expertise. The e-commerce website builder you sign up for must have intuitive reporting in place. Look for a platform that provides you with data points like sales by amount, store sales order volume, new customers vs. returning, top-selling products, top-selling brands, most used discount codes and so on.
Email marketing capabilities
Email marketing is not going to fade away, at least not anytime soon. Customers, including the majority of the buyers, i.e. the millennials, prefer to receive business communications via an email. Look for a website builder that lets you send promotional emails, timely newsletters, invoicing details and so on.
This will help you save on your time and effort which you would otherwise spend on third-party application integrations, migration and management.
[Also read: Create an Online Store That Converts Visitors into Customers]
Breaking the myth – Free e-commerce website builder
While we are in between the discussion of e-commerce website builders, let’s get one thing right – there’s no free website builder. Yes, there are affordable solutions, and then there are premium service providers, but there’s no to any sorts of a free website builder.
There are different pricing models that these website builders have in place. While some builders start your monthly or yearly subscription only when you make the website live, some would ask you to give your credit card details before you even play around with them.
Most often, e-commerce website builders run on a subscription basis. They might also charge you the maintenance charges, setup fee, domain hosting charges etc. If you choose to avail some of their add-on services like SMS marketing, email marketing, exit-intent pop-up, they will keep adding them to your subsequent subscription.
Pro-tip: Often, e-commerce website builders offer lucrative discounts if you choose to pay the yearly amount upfront. Keep a watch on it when you have finalized on a service provider.
Circling back to the affordable solution we mentioned above, Razorpay Payment Pages is one of the most affordable e-commerce website builders out there. Let’s understand why that is and how it works in detail.
Affordable e-commerce website builder – Razorpay Payment Pages
Razorpay Payment Pages is designed to assist individuals and startups in accepting online payments from their customers, even if they don't have a website or an app. Click To TweetAnyone can easily create a storefront within 5 minutes and start accepting payments via credit and debit card, netbanking, UPI and more.
That’s not all. You can also accept international payments from your customers from across the globe. The best part you ask? This requires no coding or technical knowledge.
Payment Pages helps you build a proper web page with customized content, ready-to-use template, media support and social media sharing option: everything that you need in the initial stages when you open the door and step into the online world!
Share the Payment Page with your customers, add it to your social media channels, share across groups over social media channels like WhatsApp, Facebook etc. and let your customers explore your products. When they finally find what they are looking for, they can add it to their cart and pay within minutes.
FAQs on E-commerce website builder
Which website builder is best for e-commerce?
If you want to sell the items you bake at your home, accept online payments and send receipts to your customers, Razorpay payment pages can be the best fit. However, if you are looking at running a blog, setting up inbound marketing channels and upscale it over the years, going ahead with a full-fledged e-commerce website builder like WordPress will be the right choice.
Are there free ecommerce site builders?
There are a number of free ecommerce site builders available, but most of them have limitations in terms of the features and functionality they offer.
What are the best ecommerce website builders in 2022?
Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Weebly.
Can I build eCommerce website on my own?
Yes, you can build an eCommerce website on your own, but it will require a lot of work and knowledge in coding, web design, and marketing.
