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If you’re setting up a website for your small business, you’re going to have to choose a platform to host your site. There are plenty of different platforms out there, so it’s important that you are able to understand and decide which is best for your small business’ needs and for your personal preferences. So, let’s take a moment to look at three of the biggest and most popular platforms out there for Ecommerce – WordPress, Shopify, and Big Cartel.

WordPress

While WordPress was originally a platform associated with blogs and bloggers, the company has grown significantly and you can now use its services for Ecommerce purposes. If you take a look into wordpress development, you’ll be able to see how you can either create an entire store through a WordPress page, or how you can incorporate a store into an existing blog on wordpress. This second option offers an extremely flexible approach for first time small business owners. If you run a blog about things you’re passionate about, you can install the E Commerce shopping cart plugin. This creates a page where you can sell items relating to the blog you write. You know you’ll definitely generate interest in what you’re selling this way, as you already have an audience of readers interested in what you’re writing about.

Shopify

If you’re taking things a little more seriously and want to expand your website, you might want to consider using Shopify. This is one of the best hosts for online retailers. It’s easy to use, but provides you with everything that you need in order to display products for sale, process sales, and generate a significant profit. Developers are constantly making improvements and adding extra features to the toolkit that users can easily access. When you sign up, you will also gain access to a hundred or so page design themes that are free to use. If you’re happy to pay a little more and want a completely unique page, you can outsource your web design process and have some create a custom theme for you. Shopify stores also accept payments instantly through a variety of payment methods, from debit and credit card payments to Paypal payments.

Big Cartel

Big Cartel is a platform that tends to be used by creative individuals. If you create your own products in-house, this could be the best choice to you. It’s accessed by a huge creative community of both buyers and sellers. Your custom store will be simple, but it will be easy to manage. You simply opt for a premade theme, list pictures of your stock, and you should be ready to go.

There are, of course, more sales platforms out there. But taking a look at these three should get you started in the right direction. Whichever platform you opt for, make sure to get to know it before getting started. This will help you to set up everything properly first time round!