Free Ecommerce Web Design Software

This article is about free ecommerce web design software to help you create an online store. If you are a business owner and want to set up an online store, then this article is for you.

A web design software is one of the most important tools that any business owner uses to make their business look professional and stylish. This can be done by using different features like creating a website, building a website, designing your own logo, creating a business card and much more.

If you are looking for the best ecommerce web design software that will help you create an online store then there are many options available on the market today. Some of these include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and more. These programs provide users with professional-level tools which allow them to create stunning designs at home or work!

6 Best Free eCommerce Platforms (Create a Free eCommerce Website)

Free Ecommerce Web Design Software

If you want to build an online store without spending a dime, you’ve come to the right place. There’s more than one way to start selling online which is why we’ve split the best free ecommerce platforms into three groups: free online store builders, great online store builders with free trials, and free ecommerce software.

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After hours of testing and research, we’ve awarded Square Online the title of best free ecommerce platform because it offers the most generous free plan, with Big Cartel taking second place as the best platform for independent artists. Wix comes in third place for its excellent free trial (although you will need to upgrade in order to start selling), and WooCommerce gets our vote for the best affordable ecommerce software.

We’ve tested all of the platforms on this list, meaning they’re the best of the best. Use the drop-down menus at the top of the chart to compare and take a look at each builder in more detail. We’re confident that we can help you find the one that’s perfect for your business!

You’ve Got Three Options
We’ll try to keep this short and sweet: There are three different ways to start an online store for free. In this post, we’ll cover:

Option 1: The best free ecommerce platforms – these builders let you sell with absolutely no costs, but will come with strict limits and/or charge commission fees. We’d only really recommend these for people selling “on the side.” The best builder in this category is Square Online.

Option 2: The best ecommerce platforms with free trials – these are builders that offer more powerful paid plans, which you can try out for free. Free trials usually last for about two weeks, so these platforms are perfect for testing out a plan and deciding if it’s worth paying for. Our top recommended free trial builder is Wix.

Option 3: The best free ecommerce software – Software tools are different from website builders because they’re more powerful, more complicated platforms that are free to install, but will require some additional costs to get up and running. Our number one best free ecommerce software is WooCommerce.

We’ve split this page into three sections, so you can compare the best free ecommerce platforms in each of these categories. In each section, you’ll find a side-by-side comparison chart of each builder, plus individual reviews where we get into more detail. These are the platforms you’ll see on this page:

The 8 Best Free Ecommerce Website Builders
Square Online – (free plan) – Most generous free ecommerce plan.
Big Cartel – (free plan) – Best for independent artists.
Wix – (free to build, not sell) – Best for small online stores.
Shopify – (free trial) – Best for larger businesses.
Squarespace – (free trial) – Best value for money.
BigCommerce – (free trial) – Best for a purely online business.
WooCommerce – (free to install) – Best WordPress ecommerce plugin.
Magento – (free to install) – Best for enterprise-level businesses.
Let’s get started!

Option 1: Best Free Ecommerce Website Builders
Overall rating
Free plan
Number of products on cheapest plan
Best in Test

Square Online

Big Cartel

4.2
3.1
Unlimited

5

Visit Square
Visit BigCartel
See our Square Online review

See our BigCartel review

In this section:

Jump to Square Online
Jump to Big Cartel

  1. Square Online
    Most generous free ecommerce plan
    Square Online
    Most generous free ecommerce plan

VERY GOOD
4.2out of 5
Quick setup
Easy to use
Not very scalable
Free plan available

Paid Plans: $16 – $79 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
Overview of Square Online
As far as free online stores go, you can’t beat Square. It’s easy to manage inventory and design a professional site. Square templates aren’t super customizable – in fact, there are only two template options – but that means you can get online quickly with a template that’s guaranteed to look good. Plus, Square offers a remarkable amount of features on its free plan. We recommend Square if you want to grow your business as much as possible before you start paying for a website.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost

Square Gallery
Click the image below to expand
editing square templates
square inventory management tools
square pricing plans
square online logo
Want High Quality at No Cost?
Square offers a rare combination of ease of use and excellent features – we were very impressed!
More Information
Check out our Square Online Review for more info.

  1. Big Cartel
    Best for independent artists
    Big Cartel
    Best for independent artists

ABOVE AVERAGE
3.1out of 5
Good for artistic items
Useful onboarding process
Very limited free plan
Free plan available

Paid Plans: $9.99 – $29.99 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
Overview of Big Cartel
Big Cartel is harder to use than Square, and its templates are still not very flexible. Still, Square is kind of an outlier when it comes to completely free ecommerce website builders – Big Cartel is a little less impressive, but it’s what you can typically expect for the price (or lack thereof).

Plus, Big Cartel does have some impressive sales features, and its paid plans start from very cheap. We recommend Big Cartel if your store sells less than five products, and you don’t plan to expand in the near future.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost
Big Cartel Gallery
Click the image below to expand
big cartel editing help
big cartel inventory management
big cartel pricing plans
big cartel logo
Trying to Run a Small Store Successfully?
Big Cartel will help you out with small-scale inventory management and no transaction fees.
More Information
Read our Big Cartel review. here.
Option 2: Best Ecommerce Website Builders With a Free Trial
3 out of 4
backward
forward
Overall rating
Free plan or free trial
Number of products on cheapest plan
BEST IN TEST

Wix

Shopify

Squarespace

BigCommerce

4.7
4.6
4.5
4.1
Free plan

14-day free trial

14-day free trial

15-day free trial

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Unlimited

Visit Wix
Visit Shopify
View Squarespace
View Bigcommerce
See our Wix Review

See our Shopify review

See our Squarespace review

See our BigCommerce review

In this section

Jump to Wix
Jump to Shopify
Jump to Squarespace
Jump to BigCommerce

  1. Wix
    Best for small online stores
    Wix
    Best for small online stores

OUTSTANDING
4.7out of 5
Plenty of design freedom
Powerful features
Easy to use
Free trial available

Paid Plans: $14 – $56 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
wix logo
Overview of Wix
88% of the Wix users we spoke to would recommend it to a friend, and for good reason: its templates are extremely flexible, but still easy to use, and its ecommerce features are perfect for any small or midsize store. If you can’t identify any one category that means the most to you (i.e., you can’t choose between features and ease of use), we recommend Wix for creating a well-rounded store.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost

Wix Gallery
Click the image below to expand
managing products with wix
adding ecommerce tools to wix
choosing a wix template
wix logo
Do You Value Creative Freedom?
Wix is an easy and flexible online store builder, meaning anyone can design their dream site.
More Information

Read our full Wix Ecommerce Review for more information.
Wix vs Shopify – A deep dive into the key differences between these two platforms, and which will be better for who.

  1. Shopify
    Best for larger businesses
    Shopify
    Best for larger businesses

EXCELLENT
4.6out of 5
Built for large stores
Great inventory tools
Recommended by real users
Free trial available

Paid Plans: $29 – $299 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
shopify logo small website builder
Overview of Shopify
Shopify is a builder with powerful features and a wide range of themes. It has excellent inventory management support, so it’s a really reliable option for an established business. We recommend Shopify as a relatively easy way of building and maintaining a large store.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost
Shopify Gallery
Click the image below to expand
shopify plan prices
shopify sign up process
shopify theme prices
shopify
Want Your Online Store to Thrive?
Shopify is the overall best ecommerce platform on the market, and it has the tools to accommodate a bigger business.
More Information
Like to know more? Read our full Shopify review.

Or, if you’d like to branch out, discover the best Shopify alternatives.

  1. Squarespace
    Best value for money
    Squarespace
    Best value for money

EXCELLENT
4.5out of 5
Great management features
Best designs
Great built-in tools
Free trial available

Paid Plans: $12 – $46 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
squarespace logo
Overview of Squarespace
Squarespace isn’t as powerful as BigCommerce, but it has the best-designed templates on the market, and offers great ecommerce features for a low price. Plus, in our research, it came out as the easiest platform to build and manage an online store. We recommend Squarespace for businesses in a creative industry, because you can really walk the walk with its amazing template designs.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost
Squarespace Gallery
Click the image below to expand
using the squarespace editor
how to start selling
squarespace ecommerce template designs
squarespace logo
Wow Your Customers With a Squarespace Design
On top of its ecommerce features, Squarespace offers expert designs that are both stylish and professional.
More Information
Interested in Squarespace for your online store? Read our ecommerce review here.
See how Squarespace compares to Shopify here.

  1. BigCommerce
    Best for a purely online business
    BigCommerce
    Best for a purely online business

VERY GOOD
4.1out of 5
Scalable features
Not reliant on apps
Helps businesses grow
Free trial available

Paid Plans: $29.95 – $299.95 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
Overview of BigCommerce
BigCommerce is extremely scalable, with tons of built-in apps to help you reach your full potential. It’s not the easiest ecommerce builder to use, but if you can get the hang of it, then the sky’s the limit. We recommend BigCommerce for stores planning for growth in the long term.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost
BigCommerce Gallery
Click the image below to expand
bigcommerce paid theme options
bigcommerce free theme options
bigcommerce price plans
bigcommerce logo
Reach Your Potential With BigCommerce
This powerful builder has the in-house tools and ecommerce-ready themes to help you succeed.
More Information
Check out our full BigCommerce review.
Read our Shopify vs BigCommerce article here.
3
Option 3: Best Free Ecommerce Software
Go to the top
Overall rating
Free plan
Number of products on cheapest plan

WooCommerce

Magento

4.2
4.0
Free to install

Free to install

Unlimited

Unlimited

View WooCommerce
Visit Magento
Not yet reviewed

Not yet reviewed

In this section:

Jump to WooCommerce
Jump to Magento

  1. WooCommerce
    Best WordPress ecommerce plugin
    WooCommerce
    Best WordPress ecommerce plugin

VERY GOOD
4.2out of 5
Very WordPress-compatible
Extremely scalable
Helpful setup wizard
Free plan available

Paid Plans: $12.95 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
Overview of WooCommerce
WooCommerce requires more technical skill than a website builder, but it’s still pretty easy to install. You’ll have to rely on extensions for most features, but there are seemingly endless options to choose from. We recommend WooCommerce for anyone selling on WordPress.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost

WooCommerce Gallery
Click the image below to expand
woocommerce plugins that help sell online
woocommerce wordpress integration
woocommerce software
woocommerce logo
Want to Start Selling on WordPress?
WooCommerce and Bluehost are a powerful combination for an online store, and they’re surprisingly easy to use.
More Information
Top 6 WooCommerce Hosting Providers – Find out why Bluehost is our top-rated hosting provider for WooCommerce, and which other providers we’d recommend.
Bluehost Pricing Review – A full breakdown of all the costs you can expect when you sign up to a Bluehost plan.

  1. Magento
    Best for enterprise-level businesses
    Magento
    Best for enterprise-level businesses

VERY GOOD
4out of 5
Very customizable
Very scalable
Not very easy to use
Free plan available

Paid Plans: $6.99 / month

SEE PROS & CONS
Overview of Magento
Magento is not for small stores, or beginners – it’s pretty difficult to use if you don’t have some level of tech skill going in. However, the payoff is that Magento is the most powerful ecommerce platform on this list. We recommend Magento for very large stores who already have a strong base of loyal customers.

Ease of Use

Design

Sales Features

Upgrade Cost

Magento Gallery
Click the image below to expand
magento support options
magento website example
magento software
magento logo
Need an Enterprise Ecommerce Solution?
Magento is the best ecommerce platform for very advanced stores – it can help you take your online store to the next level!
More Information
Best Magento Hosting Providers – HostGator came out top for Magento hosting – see who else made the cut!
Magento vs Shopify – A complete comparison of two very big players in the ecommerce world.

Are there any other free software options?

Go to the top
Is It Worth Upgrading to a Paid Plan?
Unlocking extra features is key for a successful online store. And, with the website builders around today, it’s cheaper than ever to do so. Remember – Big Cartel’s paid plans start from a mere $9.99 per month. So if you’re wondering whether it’s worth upgrading to a paid plan, the answer is almost definitely: yes!

In short, upgrading to a paid plan will upgrade your business. How is that so? Well, like any subscription, if you pay more, you get more. Below, we’ve listed five of the best features you can get on a paid plan…

  1. No ads
    You may be a really small or totally new business, but nobody will actually know that – unless, of course, you’re using a free plan on an ecommerce builder, and your site is plastered with ads as a result. There’s an element of ‘fake it till you make it’ as a new business, and an unprofessional website isn’t going to give off the right signals.

free website with ads
Free website builder ads can really take away from your site’s professional credibility.
It can feel daunting to pay for an ecommerce platform before you’ve got any guarantee of customers and income, but think of this as a small but necessary investment. And remember, all these platforms will allow you to pay month by month, so there’s no pressure to commit to something long term if you’re not sure it’s going to work out.

  1. Better sales tools
    A paid plan won’t just make you a website that looks more professional – it will make you a website that acts more professional, too. Ecommerce platforms withhold premium features, like the ability to send abandoned cart recovery emails, for paying members – and with good reason. In fact, 69% of online carts are abandoned (i.e. the customer leaves the site without paying for the items they have collected in their cart). Emails sent to these customers can have an impressive open rate of 45%, and are hugely effective in re-engaging these customers.

squarespace email marketing
Squarespace has its own in-house email marketing package that we were really impressed with.
Even upgrading to the cheapest ecommerce plan will get you a ton of better features. For example, Wix’s Business Basic plan piles on features like five hours’ worth of video and a free domain name for the first year.

  1. Sell more products
    Most free ecommerce plans put a cap on the number of items you can sell. By opting for a paid plan, you’re giving yourself more freedom, and your customers more choice.
  2. Get better support
    Paying customers tend to be able to access support in more ways, such as over the phone. Even if you get the same help and support options as premium customers, you better believe you’re not going to be top of the priority queue when you need help. Don’t wait until your site is down, or until you can’t get an answer to something that’s driving you nuts, before you upgrade – do it now, and your future self (and site) will thank you!
  3. Increase payment methods
    Paid plans typically allow you to connect more payment methods. This in turn makes for an easier shopping experience for your customers, increasing the likelihood that they’ll come back.
  4. Don’t forget your hosting
    If you choose to build your ecommerce store using one of the open-source software we have listed here, you’ll know that you need to arrange hosting separately. We recommend Bluehost across the board for this, although SiteGround also has brilliant Magento-specific plans.

bluehost woocommerce plans
Bluehost is a great hosting provider in general, but its WooCommerce-specific plans set it apart from the pack.
Our top tip would be to review your hosting plan on a regular basis, rather than signing up and considering it a job ticked off.

As your ecommerce business grows, this can put a strain on your hosting plan, which in turn can lead to problems such as:

A slow-loading website, or users being timed out
Your site crashing when too many people are using it
Providers like Bluehost are great because they cover websites of every size, and offer excellent customer support to walk you through the different stages.

If you’re interested in upgrading your free plan or free trial, check out our table below. We’ve listed all of the cheapest starting prices for the platforms we’ve included in this article.

Best Free Ecommerce Platforms: The Verdict
This post has walked you through the key pros and cons of the best free ecommerce platforms and software on the market.

By now, we hope you have a really clear idea of which will work for your budget and your store. Here’s a quick recap:

The 8 Best Free Ecommerce Website Builders
Square Online – (free plan) – Most generous free ecommerce plan.
Big Cartel – (free plan) – Best for independent artists.
Wix – (free to build, not sell) – Best for small online stores.
Shopify – (free trial) – Best for larger businesses.
Squarespace – (free trial) – Best value for money.
BigCommerce – (free trial) – Best for a purely online business.
WooCommerce – (free to install) – Best WordPress ecommerce plugin.
Magento – (free to install) – Best for enterprise-level businesses.
While free plans make perfect sense for money-conscious business owners, they do have their limitations.

Firstly, with Wix, you can only build your store for free. In other words, to actually make money, you’ll need to spend some.

Secondly, on Big Cartel’s free plan, you can only sell five products. This isn’t really feasible for businesses looking to scale; If this is your aim, you’re better off trying Shopify or BigCommerce using their free trials.

So why should you think about upgrading? Because, for just a few extra dollars per month, you’ll have access to a wide range of features. The most important include more sales tools, better customer support, and the ability to actually sell more products.

Overall, we recommend signing up to a free ecommerce plan today – or testing a free trial – to really get the most out of selling your products online.

best free ecommerce platform

Are you looking for the best free eCommerce platform to build your eCommerce website?

In the early days, eCommerce platforms used to cost thousands which kept many small businesses from creating an online store. Luckily now there are several popular eCommerce platforms that offer free or low cost options.

In this article, we will compare the best and most popular free eCommerce platforms that you can use to start an online store. We have a detailed pros and cons analysis for each, so you can choose the best eCommerce website builder for your needs.

Best free eCommerce platforms to get started with
How to Choose the Best Free eCommerce Platform
Let’s be honest, there is no such thing as a 100% free eCommerce platform.

Even when the eCommerce platform itself is free, you will have to pay for domain, web hosting, payment processing fees, and other extension costs.

We have a detailed guide on the real cost of building eCommerce websites.

With that said, your goal should be to find an eCommerce platform that helps you get started at the lowest to no cost, without putting severe limitations on how you run or grow your business.

You would also want the platform to be easy to use, full-featured, with the ability to accept payments using your preferred payment methods.

Keeping these things in mind, let’s take a look at the best free eCommerce platforms that you can use to make money online and grow your business.

  1. WooCommerce
    The WooCommerce website

WooCommerce is the world’s most popular eCommerce platform. It’s a completely free software that you can download and run on any web hosting provider.

Since WooCommerce doesn’t provide hosting for you, you’ll need to buy web hosting and a domain name to make sure your website can be accessed by users worldwide.

We recommend using either Bluehost or SiteGround. They are both among the largest hosting companies in the world and are officially recommended by WooCommerce.

Bluehost is even offering WPBeginner users a free domain name + SSL certificate, and a generous 60% discount on hosting. Basically, you can get started for $2.75 per month.

→ Claim This Exclusive Bluehost Deal ←

Pros

It’s easy to get started with WooCommerce. You can create an online store quickly even if you’re a total beginner.
You’ll be hosting your website yourself, which gives you full control. Although you’ll need to pay for WooCommerce hosting, but this doesn’t have to cost a lot.
There are loads of WooCommerce themes (designs), giving you the opportunity to create a store that truly reflects your brand.
There are thousands of WooCommerce plugins that you can use to add new features and grow your business.
You can sell anything with WooCommerce whether its physical products, digital downloads, membership plans, dropshipping store, or affiliate products.
WooCommerce doesn’t charge you any transaction fees at all. You’ll only have to pay your payment service provider like PayPal or Stripe, or your bank.
Cons

If you’re a total beginner, WooCommerce is a bit trickier to get started with than some other options. You’ll need to buy hosting and a domain name, for instance.
You’ll be responsible for maintaining your online store as it grows. This might mean upgrading your hosting plan or paying for a security plugin for WordPress.
To help beginners get started, we have the most detailed WooCommerce tutorial on the web that helps you build an eCommerce website with WooCommerce.

  1. Web.com Website Builder
    Web.com Website Builder Landing Page

Web.com website builder doesn’t have a free plan, but it offers a very affordable plan that allows you to create an online store without spending a lot of money.

Web.com will host the store and even provide you with a free custom domain and free SSL certificate.

You’ll be able to have up to 500 products in your store, accept credit cards, track & manage your orders, link to Facebook marketplace, and more.

Pros

You can build an online store for with Web.com drag & drop website builder. You can get a free custom domain name of your choosing.
You can sell both physical and digital products through your store. You can use Web.com to track your inventory.
There’s 24/7 email and live chat support available.
You can add a blog to your store’s website for free, though the blogging software is very basic and doesn’t offer the same features as a blogging platform like WordPress.
Pricing is very affordable starting only at $3.95 per month for eCommerce plan.
Cons

The eCommerce features are not as powerful as WooCommerce or Shopify.

  1. BuyNow Plus
    BuyNow Plus website

BuyNow Plus is not a full eCommerce platform. Instead, it lets you create “buy now” buttons that you can put on any website.

You’ll need to create a free Stripe account in order to use BuyNow Plus.

Pros

The transaction fee is pretty low at just 2% per transaction. Keep in mind that Stripe charges its own transaction fees on top of this, though.
You can use BuyNow Plus to handle recurring payments on credit cards without your customers needing to set up an account. If you’re selling recurring memberships for offline items, then this is a really handy feature.
You can put the button links on social media as well as on your website, or you can even use them in emails.
There’s no limit to how many different products you can sell using BuyNow Plus.
Cons

BuyNow Plus doesn’t offer anything extra, like inventory tracking or website creation.
You could do something similar by using Stripe directly on your website. That way, you wouldn’t need to pay BuyNow Plus’s transaction fee. You’d need your own SSL certificate, but it’s possible to get an SSL certificate for free.

  1. BigCommerce
    BigCommerce’s eCommerce platform website

BigCommerce is a fully hosted (or all-in-one) eCommerce platform that you can use to create your eCommerce store. There’s also a WordPress plugin available, if you have an existing site that you want to use with BigCommerce.

While they don’t have a free plan available, there is a free trial which lets you set up your shop and get started without paying anything.

Pros

You don’t have to enter any credit card details to take the free trial.
BigCommerce is really easy to get started with. You can just sign up, enter details about your store, and start adding products.
You can get a free domain like mystore.mybigcommerce.com if you don’t want to pay for a custom domain name.
BigCommerce gives you plenty of different ways to take payments. It has built-in integration with lots of payment platforms, including PayPal powered by Braintree, Stripe, Authorize.net and more.
There are lots of third-party apps that you can add to your BigCommerce store to extend its functionality.
Cons

The free trial only lasts for 15 days, which doesn’t give you long to start making money from your store. After that, you’ll need to pay $29.95/month or more to keep your store going.
BigCommerce is an all-in-one platform, which means you’re limited to using their addons and themes. You won’t have the range of choice that you’d have with some other eCommerce options.
Related: See our comparison of WooCommerce vs BigCommerce for more details.

  1. Shopify
    The Shopify eCommerce platform website

Shopify is another fully hosted eCommerce platform. Shopify also offers a 14 day free trial and, like BigCommerce’s free trial, this doesn’t require a credit card.

Pros

It’s really easy to get started with Shopify. Their website builder has a drag and drop interface that means even total beginners can create a great looking online store.
If you want to add extra features to your store, there’s an app marketplace with lots of add-ons that you can buy.
There’s 24/7 support available, through live chat, phone, email, and Twitter.
Shopify Payments (Shopify’s built-in payment gateway) charges 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. Since this is a built-in feature which has the same price as Stripe or other gateways, this makes it easier for users to get started.
Cons

If you use other payment gateways, like PayPal or Stripe, Shopify charges a 2% transaction fee. This is on top of the fee charged by the third-party payment gateway.
The free trial only lasts 14 days. After that, you’ll need to move onto a paid plan. The cheapest is $29/month.
Related: For more details see our comparison of Shopify vs WooCommerce.

  1. Weebly
    Weebly’s eCommere platform website

Weebly isn’t quite so well known as some other eCommerce platforms, like Shopify and WooCommerce, but they offer a free trial where you can test out the platform.

Pros

You can add any kind of physical or digital products to your store
The drag and drop interface is easy to use to build your site and manage items in your store.
There are around 100 different themes (designs) you can choose from, so you should be able to find something that’s just right for your site.
Built-in inventory, shipping, taxes management features.
As well as the community forum, the free plan gives you access to live chat, email, and even phone support.
If you do want to upgrade to a paid plan, these are affordable even for very small businesses. Ecommerce starter plan starts at $12 per month paid annually.
Cons

Weebly charges a 3% transaction fee. That’s in addition to the transaction fee that your payment gateway charges.
If you’re on the free or Personal ($9/month) plans, Weebly will show ads and branding from Square, Weebly’s parent company.
Even with the paid starter plan you are limited to sell only 25 products at a time.

  1. Big Cartel
    The Big Cartel eCommerce platform’s website

Big Cartel is a hosted eCommerce platform that’s designed especially for artists and creatives. If you want to have a store selling handmade products or similar, it could be a great option for you.

Pros

The free plan doesn’t have any transaction fees. You will need to pay Stripe or PayPal fees, though (these are the only options Big Cartel offers for payment processing).
Your free shop URL can be customized. It has to be in the format name.bigcartel.com, but you can choose whatever you want for the name. Many other platforms assign you a specific URL based on your username or store name and you can’t change it.
You can have up to 5 products on your free plan, which makes it more generous than other hosted free plans.
It’s quick to get your store set up and it’s easy to add your products. Big Cartel walks you step by step through the process.
Cons

If you want to customize your website theme, you’ll need to edit the theme’s HTML. This definitely isn’t as beginner-friendly as most other eCommerce platforms.
The free plan only has limited features. You need to upgrade to a paid plan if you want to use things like inventory tracking or discount codes.
Choosing the Best Free eCommerce Platform
So which is the best free eCommerce platform for you? That depends on what you’re looking for.

If you want to start cheap and have full freedom to grow your business, then WooCommerce is the best option.

Using our exclusive Bluehost deal, you can get started for $2.75 per month. That’s less than a cup of coffee.

If you want to use a non-WordPress eCommerce platform that’s affordable, then take a look at Web.com website builder. It’s easy to use and quite affordable when compared to Shopify or Bigcommerce. However, it is limited in terms of features and flexibility that you get with other platforms.

If you want to try out an online store for free, but you’re happy to pay for something that’s a good fit for your business, then BigCommerce and Shopify are great full-featured options.

We hope this article helped you learn about the best free eCommerce platforms to get started with. You may also want to see our guide on the best email marketing services and best live chat software for eCommerce, so you can increase your store sales.

Conclusion

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