E-commerce: the best software to create an online store

Nowadays, it is easy to find a software called CMS (Content Management System) allowing to create a website, and therefore an e-commerce, without necessarily having knowledge in web development. Only further customization of the website will require mastery of languages ​​such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP. This is why training courses dedicated to the discovery of e-commerce software are often aimed at two distinct audiences: those who have a minimum of web languages, and those who have never coded in their life.

E-commerce software often works on the freemium model, that is to say that the base is generally free, but to have access to certain more advanced features you will sometimes have to put your own money. In any case, the creation of an online store requires a minimum of costs, if only to host your website or buy a domain name. No income without expenses! What software can you use to create your e-commerce site? Overview of the main e-commerce solutions available on the market.

Woocommerce: a WordPress plugin

Currently WordPress is the most used CMS for website creation. Over 38% of websites are designed using this solution. This figure gives an idea of ​​the notoriety and the confidence placed in this free, free and open-source software. One of the big advantages of WordPress is that it brings together a (very) large community of users who are always ready to improve the tool, make updates and bug fixes or even help someone new to the CMS. . This popularity means that the technical documentation on WordPress is particularly extensive, which means that whatever problem you encounter, chances are someone has already given a clear and precise answer. The popularity of WordPress is also explained by its relative simplicity. The back-office interface is rather intuitive and after a little adaptation time, it is easy to add content to your website and enrich it with new features. But, it is especially Woocommerce, an extension (or plugin) of WordPress that should interest you if you want to learn how to create your e-commerce site. This free extension allows you to create your online store and manage it from A to Z: adding products, order management, customer relations, setting up promotions, statistics of your activity, etc. Some familiarity with the WordPress CMS will allow you to get started with Woocommerce more quickly. Today, Woocommerce is one of the most popular online store building solutions on the web with over 28% of e-commerce sites designed through this plugin from WordPress.

Prestashop

Prestashop was created in 2007 by students from Epitech. Free, free and open-source, this online store creation software has quickly established itself as a benchmark in the market. It is today in a dominant position among all e-commerce solutions. One of its strengths is the ability to customize your e-commerce site and add extensions without having to manage the web development part. Prestashop is therefore a relatively easy-to-use e-commerce solution that is perfect for beginners unfamiliar with CMS. As for all the e-commerce sites mentioned in this article, Prestashop has a wide choice of templates (kinds of site skeletons that determine its architecture) and free and paid extensions aimed at enriching the visible or hidden part. of the website in question. The many features offered by Prestashop allow an e-merchant to manage his online store like a real business manager. In addition, just like WordPress, Prestashop has a large community that is particularly active on forums, which is highly valuable when you encounter a technical problem.

Magento

Launched in 2008 by the American publisher Varien and bought 10 years later by Adobe, Magento is ideal for large e-commerce sites with a large catalog of products. While this software (also free, free and open-source) is very successful and proves to be a powerful tool for creating an online store, mastering it requires more time to adapt because of its greater complexity, and ‘a not very intuitive interface compared to other e-commerce solutions available on the market. It is therefore better to be well armed to fully exploit the full potential of this e-commerce solution which does not lack features. Among the strengths of the software, the easy creation of multi-sites, multi-stores and multi-language sites, but also its strong interest in SEO (or natural referencing) issues so that your website is better placed on the main search engine. Note that regardless of the CMS you choose, you will in all cases have a real job to do to optimize the natural referencing of your online store.

Shopify

Created in 2006, the Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify has experienced a resurgence in popularity for several years already due to the craze of merchants for dropshipping. Shopify is a SaaS solution and therefore does not require the installation of any software. However, you will need to subscribe to a monthly subscription to be able to use it. Shopify is renowned for being easy to use and intuitive, which is a big part of its success with audiences new to the ecommerce world. The brand does not fail to communicate on its accessibility, which allows it to reach users from all backgrounds and all levels in IT. Shopify is particularly suitable for small or medium-sized e-commerce sites that do not require significant logistics management. This product can therefore be interesting for people wishing to learn about the creation of an online store. A 14-day trial version will allow you to test the tool to form your own opinion.

Have you made your choice ? Still hesitating between two e-commerce software? Do not hesitate to test the existing tools and know that in any case you will easily find e-commerce training to teach you how to create and manage your online store on the chosen solution.