The Top Ecommerce CMS Platforms for Your Online Store

Despite the pandemic causing economic uncertainty, ecommerce store sales continue to rise at a formidable rate, adding up to 12-16% of retail sales across the globe. In fact, eMarketer suggests that ecommerce sales will exceed 23% by the end of 2025.

As such, the market represents an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs who are happy to step into the competitive world of ecommerce.

If you are thinking about starting your own online store, you’ll need to research the best ecommerce CMS solutions.

Within this article, we’ll be looking at the best ecommerce CMS platforms, what they do, and what you should consider before choosing one. Read on for more information about the best CMS for ecommerce.

What Is an Ecommerce Content Management System?

A content management system (commonly referred to as CMS) is a platform that lets ecommerce retailers create and maintain a digital website without needing any coding knowledge. CMS platforms let users modify their online store, change page layout, add promo banners, or create new website sections or functions to drive sales and grow the business.

However, retailers can also choose an ecommerce platform (like Ecwid). This is an online store builder that lets you sell products and manage your retail business through a variety of channels. Certain ecommerce platforms act as a CMS, offering simplified infrastructure that manages back-end functions so you don’t even have to think about them.

If you are looking for a reliable CMS for your ecommerce business, consider one of these CMS platforms.

What Should an Ecommerce CMS Include?

There are numerous features you should consider when choosing an ecommerce CMS for your business. These include:

SEO-friendly

Built-in SEO functions are the first sign of a high-quality ecommerce CMS. Many platforms will analyze your keyword usage, page URLs, page titles, and meta descriptions. Some platforms will auto-generate them for you, while all ecommerce content management systems should let you change URLs, titles, etc. whenever required.

User-friendly for customers and admin

Customers want a user-friendly experience whenever they use an ecommerce site. A streamlined front-end will ensure repeat custom and limit the number of visitors who do not make a purchase. Your ecommerce CMS should have plenty of design options (without coding), so you can update your store and match industry trends or tailor your site to specific demographics.

In addition, the store should also be optimized for mobile — shopping via mobile is becoming increasingly popular. In short, your ecommerce CMS should cater to the mobile experience.

Also, your CMS should be user-friendly for you as well. The best ecommerce CMS providers will make managing your updates, plugins, and integrations as stress-free as possible. You should be able to trial new features and improve the user experience without a ton of experience.

What is the Best Ecommerce CMS Platforms for Your Retail Business?

Shopify

Shopify is a well-known SaaS ecommerce platform with an intuitive interface and convenient fees. As a result, Shopify has become the CMS of choice for many smaller retailers and startups. That being said, many larger brands use Shopify to run their ecommerce store as well. You unlock more features depending on your Shopify plan and also get 24/7 customer support, numerous free templates, and a POS system.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms available. Supporting over 60,000 retailers and boasting many built-in CMS features and capabilities, BigCommerce is both powerful and intuitive, perfect for new or established businesses looking to scale quickly.

The platform offers advanced SEO integration and APIs so retailers can connect to other CMS platforms and software, while using the BigCommerce in the back-end. BigCommerce is also fully hosted and available via a monthly subscription.

WordPress + WooCommerce

WordPress is a commonly used CMS platform, utilized by millions of websites. However, WordPress is not strictly an ecommerce platform. Online stores that use WordPress require the WooCommerce plugin.

The WooCommerce platform has a massive selection of themes, features, and extensions — many of which are free. These plugins can add missing WooCommerce functions with a simple click, creating a user-friendly marketplace for the retailer and their customers. However, take care with the number of plugins, as too many will impact your store’s performance.

WooCommerce is not the only WordPress plugin that adds a shopping cart to your website.

Drupal

Like WordPress, Drupal is not designed solely for ecommerce. However, when you add numerous plugins, you can turn this CMS system into a comprehensive ecommerce platform. Drupal is an open-source system that is almost as popular as Joomla or WordPress. However, Drupal is not as user-friendly unless you are well-versed in CMS platforms.

Drupal commerce offers plenty of flexibility, especially when paired with the BigCommerce plug-in. Customize your front-end any way you like and enjoy a completely-hosted back-end as well.

Joomla

Joomla is another open-source CMS platform that lets you build your website and publish content without paying a fee. While commerce is not included with Joomla’s core functionality. You can add numerous extensions to turn your Joomla page into a fully-functional online store.

Sitecore

Sitecore is one of the top digital platforms to combine commerce, content, and automation with design personalization and editing functionality.  This platform lets retailers create a digital storefront and create a personalized commerce experience for the consumer. Like many other CMS platforms, Sitecore offers plugins to combine back-end commerce functionality with Sitecore’s intuitive front-end interface.

Magento

Owned by Adobe, Magento boasts an impressive reputation and is used in more than 250,000 online stores. These platforms offer impressive functionality and a huge list of extensions, including CRM, ERP, and chatbot integrations. Magento works for various types of retailers. However, most users are fast-scaling companies and large businesses that benefit from Magento’s extensive setup and development features.

Prestashop

Prestashop is an open-source ecommerce platform offering code customization and MySQL data management. The platform comes with plenty of add-ons, themes, and features, letting retailers build an online store from scratch without any tech knowledge. Keep an eye on the cost though — many extensions are fairly expensive.

You don’t need to be an experienced developer to create a Prestashop, which is good news for small or medium-sized retailers. However, keep in mind that Prestashop does not have any free support available.

OpenCart

OpenCart is yet another open-source CMS platform for ecommerce sites. The platform has many templates available for easy and expedited setup, plus a bustling plugin marketplace. OpenCart can integrate with 20 payment methods and eight shipping methods. Because there are no fees, OpenCart is the go-to CMS for many newcomers with a restricted budget.

Wix

Wix is a simple-to-use drag-and-drop platform that lets online businesses create their own websites. While Wix is not solely an ecommerce CMS, retailers can add a commerce module if required.

With numerous templates, features, and no code required, Wix appeals to beginners and retailers with limited coding knowledge. If you have a small range of products and want to create an online store quickly, Wix could be an excellent choice, However, when you choose a template, you cannot alter it if you change your mind later.

Volusion

Volusion offers cloud-based ecommerce solutions via no-code-required web-building. The platform offers handy inventory management features, marketing functions, and payment collection, perfect for mid and large businesses. However, you should know that the company filed for bankruptcy in 2020. The platform still operates as normal, but you may want to consider an alternate CMS if you are planning for the long term.

Try Ecwid for Your Online Store Needs

Alternatively, you can try Ecwid’s ecommerce platform for all your online store requirements. We make selling online efficient and easy. Create your own store and sync with your website, marketplaces, social media, and more. Scale your business with our comprehensive automated marketing tools, and manage your entire online store from the Ecwid control panel.

The best thing about Ecwid is it’s connectivity with almost any platform. Ecwid integrates with any CMS and becomes a natural part of it. And you don’t even have to have coding skills to do that. Try it for free!

Ecwid works with all popular website builders
Learn more

• How to Choose the Best Ecommerce Website Builder to Sell Online
• The Top Ecommerce CMS Platforms for Your Online Store
• How to Choose a Site Builder for Your Online Store
• CRM Systems for Ecommerce: How to Streamline Customer Interactions