Feeling lost in the sea of options when choosing the best ecommerce platform for SEO? We’ve all been there. Selecting the right platform is crucial for your business’s success, especially if you want to shine in Google’s search engine results. The right tools and SEO strategies can skyrocket your online store’s visibility and sales.
In this article, we’ll guide you through six of the top ecommerce platforms for SEO. We will examine the features, pros, and cons of each to help you find the perfect fit for your business needs.
Let’s dive in and make your ecommerce store a success!
Top 8 Best eCommerce Platforms for SEO in 2024
- Shopify: Best for Comprehensive eCommerce Solutions.
- BigCommerce: Best for Scalability and Customization.
- Magento: Best for Advanced Customization and Flexibility.
- WooCommerce: Best for WordPress Integration.
- Squarespace: Best for Design and User Experience.
- Volusion: Best for Built-in Inventory Management.
- Wix: Best for Ease of Use.
- Big Cartel: Best for Artists and Creatives.
Shopify
Shopify makes it easy to start and grow an online store. They provide simple tools for anyone to sell products and manage their business.
Pros & Cons
- Extensive library of plugins
- Easy to use, suitable for beginners
- Built-in blogging feature
- Integration with Google Analytics
- No control over robots.txt files
- Inflexible URL structure
- Limited customization of URLs
Our Experience
Using Shopify for our ecommerce needs has been a largely positive experience. Setting up our store was straightforward due to its user-friendly interface. We could choose a template, add our products, and launch our store without any technical know-how. The various plugins available allowed us to enhance our store’s functionality easily, whether we needed additional marketing tools or advanced analytics.
Creating content was seamless with Shopify’s built-in blogging feature. This not only helped us engage with our audience but also improved our SEO efforts by generating more traffic. The Google Analytics integration was another highlight. This feature gave us critical insights into our website traffic, customer behavior, and conversion rates.
On the downside, we faced challenges with the URL structure. Unlike some other platforms, Shopify doesn’t allow for custom URLs, which affects our ability to optimize pages for search engines. Additionally, the lack of control over the robots.txt files was a bit frustrating, as it limited our ability to manage how search engines interacted with our site.
Despite these setbacks, Shopify’s ecosystem outweighed the cons. The App Store offered a wide range of apps that enhanced our store’s functionality, from SEO tools to social media integrations. The metadata and title tags configuration options were also helpful for improving our site’s search engine visibility.
Overall, our time with Shopify has shown that it is a solid platform for ecommerce. It is great for those new to ecommerce who need an intuitive, all-in-one solution. With its extensive plugin library and built-in features like blogging and Google Analytics, it addresses many of the essential needs of an online store.
The hosted solution aspect allowed us to focus on growing our business without worrying about server maintenance.
Pricing Plan
Shopify offers various pricing plans to suit different business needs. The plans range from $29 to $299 per month. Here is a quick breakdown of the features:
| Plan | Cost per Month | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29 | Basic features include an online store, blog, and SSL certificate |
| Shopify | $79 | Adds professional reports, gift cards |
| Advanced | $299 | Advanced report builder, third-party calculated shipping rates |
Each plan provides essential ecommerce features, but as you increase in pricing, more advanced tools and capabilities become available. This flexible pricing structure allows businesses to scale as they grow.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce helps businesses build and expand their online stores. They offer user-friendly tools to sell products and grow revenue effectively.
Pros & Cons
- Flexible: No coding knowledge needed.
- SEO-friendly: Mobile-friendly design, built-in 301 redirects, SEO-friendly URLs, edit access to Txt files.
- Customer-friendly: Over 40 payment methods available.
- Slow-loading pages: This can affect SEO and user experience.
- Expensive: High costs for businesses with sales above the threshold.
Our Experience
Our experience with BigCommerce has been largely positive. The platform stands out for its flexibility. Creating and managing a store without any coding skills is a big advantage.
The SEO-friendly features like mobile-optimized design and SEO-friendly URLs have significantly helped improve our site’s search engine ranking.
On the flip side, we did encounter some slow page loading times which could impact user experience and SEO performance. The cost can also increase quickly, especially if our sales exceed the Pro package limit.
Despite these drawbacks, the platform’s ease of use and features make it a strong candidate for businesses looking to scale up.
Pricing Plan
BigCommerce offers several pricing plans to suit different business needs:
| Plan | Cost | Annual Sales Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $29.95/month | $50,000 |
| Plus | $79.95/month | $180,000 |
| Pro | $299.95/month | $400,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom Pricing | Custom |
Each plan includes customizable web design, unlimited products, and essential SEO features. Larger enterprises might find value in the Enterprise plan for its scalability and additional support options.
For businesses looking to grow without heavy upfront investments, the Standard and Plus plans offer a balanced mix of features and affordability.
With a combination of flexibility, SEO capabilities, and various pricing options, BigCommerce continues to be a popular choice for ecommerce businesses of varying sizes.
Magento
Magento empowers businesses to create flexible and scalable online stores. They offer robust tools for managing products, orders, and customer experiences.
Pros & Cons
- Customizable: Magento allows full customization, giving us the freedom to design a site specifically tailored to our needs.
- SEO-Friendly: The platform supports SEO customizations, enabling us to optimize and rank higher on search engines.
- Open Source: Being open source, it offers flexibility that allows us to make functional additions and adjustments.
- Requires Coding Knowledge: A key drawback is that it demands coding skills for any significant customization.
- Expensive: The cost can start at $20,000 per year, which can be a considerable investment for many businesses.
Our Experience
We have extensively used Magento for various eCommerce projects. One of the things we appreciate about Magento is its fully customizable nature. This capability allows us to create tailored experiences for our customers, whether it involves building intricate navigation bars or specialized checkout processes.
The open-source feature also gives us the flexibility needed to make adjustments whenever necessary without much hassle.
Additionally, its SEO capabilities are strong. We were able to make the necessary coding changes and adjustments to ensure our pages were optimized well. Features like the robots.txt file and XML sitemap helped our site rank better on search engines.
However, one of the significant challenges we faced was the necessity of coding knowledge. For any advanced customization, our team had to rely heavily on our coding expertise, which could be a barrier for those less familiar with coding. The platform is not user-friendly for beginners or those who lack technical skills.
Finally, cost is another critical factor. The basic version costs $20,000 per year, which can be a heavy investment, especially for small businesses. Over time, costs could escalate, making it less affordable than other platforms.
Despite these drawbacks, Magento could be a valuable choice for those who need a highly customizable and SEO-friendly platform.
Pricing Plan
Magento offers various pricing plans to suit different levels of business needs. The basic plan, which includes limited features, starts at $20,000 per year. As needs grow, the costs can increase significantly.
Adobe Commerce, a more advanced version of Magento, includes added functionalities that could benefit larger enterprises but come at an even higher price.
Businesses should carefully consider these costs and weigh them against the benefits of a customized SEO-friendly and flexible platform.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce allows you to turn your WordPress site into an online store. It offers customizable solutions for selling products and managing your business easily.
Pros & Cons
- Customizable
- Hundreds of plugin options
- Strong tech support
- SEO ready
- URL customization
- Built-in 301 redirects
- Mobile-friendliness
- Built-in blogging
- robots.txt editing
- Learning curve
- Requires downloading plugins for individual features
- Time-consuming to ensure plugin compatibility
Our Experience
We have found WooCommerce to be a solid option for those who are familiar with WordPress. Its flexibility through numerous plugins allows us to tailor our online store to meet our specific needs. Being able to customize URLs, use built-in 301 redirects, and edit robots.txt files directly within the platform has significantly improved our site’s SEO performance.
However, we did encounter some challenges. The initial learning curve for those new to WordPress and WooCommerce can be steep. It took us a significant amount of time to figure out the interface and get accustomed to the various plugins.
Additionally, finding the right plugins and ensuring they work well together required patience and effort. This setup can be time-consuming, especially when juggling integrating multiple plugins to achieve the desired functionality.
Despite these drawbacks, the platform’s strong technical support community has been invaluable. Whenever we faced issues or had questions, we found numerous resources and forums with helpful advice and solutions. This level of support makes WooCommerce a great choice, even for those starting out.
Pricing Plan
WooCommerce is a free plugin, making it an attractive choice for budget-conscious businesses. However, there are other costs to consider. Many of the additional plugins that enhance WooCommerce’s functionality come with their own price tags.
Here’s a simple breakdown of potential costs:
| Feature | Cost |
|---|---|
| WooCommerce Plugin | Free |
| Themes | Varies ($29-$99) |
| Additional Plugins | Varies ($0-$200) |
| Hosting | Varies ($5/month and up) |
Understanding these potential expenses is crucial for effectively planning your budget. WooCommerce’s flexibility and potential for growth make It a viable solution for many businesses looking to scale their presence.
Squarespace
Squarespace enables you to build beautiful websites and online stores. They provide intuitive tools for designing, selling products, and managing your presence.
Pros & Cons
- It’s ready for blogging: You can quickly start a blog for your ecommerce business.
- Mobile-Responsive: It looks and works great on smartphones.
- Great Community: Offers support from other users for troubleshooting and advice.
- Limited Usability: Missing features like autosave and undo changes.
- Not Suitable for Large Websites: Lacks deep navigation hierarchy and multilingual support.
Our Experience
We have tried Squarespace for our ecommerce platform. The design aspect is impressive, offering over 100 flexible templates. This makes it simple to create an appealing online shop.
When it comes to usability, setting up the website was not entirely smooth. We found the lack of autosave and undo options quite frustrating. These features seem essential for a user-friendly interface.
However, the blogging capabilities are flexible. We could easily start a blog, which helps with SEO and driving traffic. The mobile-responsive design also meant that our site looked great on smartphones, which is essential as many users shop from their phones.
Another high point is the community support. We found the user community to be extremely helpful. This community makes it easier to solve issues and get advice for improving the site.
While Squarespace has its strengths, it falls short for businesses that need more extensive site navigation or support for multiple languages. This could be a significant drawback if you plan to expand internationally or have a large catalog of products.
Pricing Plan
Squarespace offers several pricing plans that cater to different needs. Here is a table that breaks down the costs:
| Plan | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Personal | $12 per month |
| Business | $18 per month |
| Basic Commerce | $26 per month |
| Advanced Commerce | $40 per month |
These plans offer flexibility, allowing you to choose the one that fits your budget and needs best. From our experience, the advanced features in higher-tier plans might be necessary for serious ecommerce ventures.
Volusion
Volusion helps businesses create and manage online stores. It provides straightforward tools for selling products and effectively handling daily operations.
Pros & Cons
- SEO-Enhanced: Features like URL customization and 301 redirects.
- Guides and Tutorials: Step-by-step tutorials for setup.
- No Built-in Blogging: Requires a workaround for blogging.
- Potential Slow Load Times: Reports of slower page loads.
Our Experience
We found Volusion to be an intuitive platform for setting up an ecommerce site. The SEO tools were particularly helpful, allowing us to customize URLs and implement 301 redirects seamlessly, which improved our site’s online visibility.
However, the absence of a built-in blogging feature was a significant drawback. Since blogging is crucial for SEO, we had to find alternative solutions to integrate a blog, which was not ideal. This made content marketing efforts more cumbersome than on platforms where blogging is integrated.
Page load times were another concern. We noticed that our site took longer to load than others built with different platforms. This was frustrating and could potentially cause us to lose customers who prefer faster load times.
Volusion’s tutorials were a standout feature. They guided us through each step of setting up our store, from adding products to configuring payment gateways. This made the initial setup process straightforward, even for those without much technical background.
Pricing Plan
Volusion offers several pricing tiers to accommodate different business needs:
| Plan | Cost (per month) |
|---|---|
| Personal | $26 |
| Professional | $71 |
| Business | $161 |
| Prime | Custom pricing |
The entry-level Personal plan suits small businesses, while the higher tiers offer more advanced features. It’s important to note that transaction fees, payment gateways, and customer support options vary by plan.
In terms of abandoned cart recovery, certain Volusion plans come equipped with this feature, helping to recover potentially lost sales. However, these features are generally available on higher-tier plans, adding to the overall cost.
Overall, we found the different pricing plans offered good flexibility, but businesses should carefully consider their requirements to choose the most suitable plan.
Wix
Wix lets you create stunning websites and online stores. They offer easy-to-use tools for designing, selling products, and managing your business.
Pros & Cons
- Beginner-friendly interface.
- Customizable templates are suitable for various types of products.
- Strong SEO tools, including Wix SEO Wiz.
- Mobile optimization.
- Integrated tools for adding products and managing inventory.
- Limited scalability for very large businesses.
- Some advanced features may require third-party apps.
- There is a slight learning curve for some customization options.
Our Experience
We’ve had significant experience using Wix for our eCommerce needs. Setting up an online store with Wix is straightforward, especially for those new to eCommerce. The initial setup involves selecting a suitable template, which Wix offers in abundance.
Whether you have a large catalog or just one product, there’s a template designed to fit your needs. We customized our template easily by adjusting colors, fonts, and layouts to match our brand.
Creating our storefront with Wix felt intuitive. Their design tools incorporate drag-and-drop functionality, which made it simple to arrange elements exactly how we wanted. The site’s speed is impressive, and ensuring that images and videos are placed strategically means our site loads quickly.
Adding products to our store was another seamless experience. Wix’s product interface allows us to upload individual items or in bulk via CSV files. Each product page can accommodate high-quality images from multiple perspectives, videos, and detailed descriptions, which helps provide clear, comprehensive information to our shoppers.
One of the standout features we appreciate is the Wix SEO Wiz. It offers step-by-step guidance to optimize our website for search engines, making it easier for potential customers to find us. Customizable meta tags, structured data support, and SSL certificates enhance our visibility and credibility online.
Managing the store is straightforward with Wix’s dashboard. We can track orders, manage inventory, and update product information with ease. The user-friendly interface ensures that even team members who are not tech-savvy can handle these tasks efficiently.
Despite its many strengths, Wix has a few limitations. It might not scale well for very large enterprises due to certain restrictions on handling extensive back-end management. Additionally, while Wix offers a wide range of built-in features, some advanced functionalities may require third-party applications, adding to the cost and complexity.
Overall, Wix eCommerce provides a flexible platform for small to medium-sized businesses looking to establish a presence. With its mix of customization options, SEO tools, and ease of use, it serves as a solid foundation for eCommerce success.
Pricing Plan
Wix offers several pricing plans to suit different business needs. Below is a breakdown of their major plans:
| Plan Name | Price (Monthly) | Features Included |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $23 | All essential eCommerce features: Custom domain, 50GB of storage, 24/7 customer support, secure online payments, and manual order creation. |
| Unlimited | $27 | Includes all Basic features plus: Site Booster app, Visitor Analytics app, and 10 video hours. |
| VIP | $49 | Includes all Unlimited features plus: 50GB of storage, professional logo design, social media logo files, and priority customer support. |
| Business Basic | $23 | eCommerce capabilities: Secure online payments, unlimited products, abandoned cart recovery, up to 50GB data storage, and a free domain for 1 year. |
| Business Unlimited | $27 | All features of Business Basic plus: Subscription payments, automated sales tax (up to 100 transactions per month), currency converter, and more. |
| Business VIP | $49 | All features of Business Unlimited plus: Priority response, loyalty programs, 50GB storage, and unlimited video hours. |
Each plan is designed to support various levels of business needs, from startups to more established online stores. The Basic plan is excellent for those just starting out, offering the fundamental features required for a website.
For businesses that want a more comprehensive set of tools, the Unlimited and VIP plans offer enhanced features and priority support.
We’ve found that the Business Unlimited plan strikes a good balance between cost and features, ideal for growing businesses that need more than the basics but aren’t yet ready to invest in top-tier options. Each plan has a 14-day free trial, allowing businesses to test the platform before committing.
In conclusion, Wix offers structured, flexible pricing plans that cater to varied business requirements. With clear tiers, businesses can choose the right plan that aligns with their goals and scale as needed.
Big Cartel
Big Cartel helps artists and makers create simple online stores. They offer straightforward tools to sell products and manage your shop with ease.
Pros & Cons
- Easy to Use: Very beginner-friendly interface.
- Low Cost: Affordable pricing plans.
- Attractive Themes: Varied designs available.
- No Transaction Fees: No hidden fees on any plan.
- Limited Features: Few built-in features.
- Minimal Customization: Limited theme and feature customization.
- Few Payment Gateways: Only supports PayPal and Stripe natively.
- Basic Builder: Basic website building tools.
- Limited SEO Tools: Minimal options for SEO and marketing.
- Restricted Support: Email support only, no phone or live chat.
- No Scalability: Not suited for growing businesses.
Our Experience
We found Big Cartel very simple to get started with. The sign-up process is quick, requiring just an email, password, and store name. Once logged in, the dashboard is intuitive, with easy-to-follow steps for setting up products, themes, and checkout processes. The interface is designed for those with little to no technical skills, which we appreciate.
Designing our store was straightforward, thanks to the 18 pre-made themes available. While the themes cover a variety of styles, the customization options are fairly limited. We could only adjust basic elements like colors and alignments.
Adding custom pages was also restrictive, as the text editor lacked advanced formatting options. If you want a highly personalized store, the limited customization can be a drawback.
Managing inventory and orders is straightforward. The tools provided are simple but effective for small-scale operations. However, the lack of built-in features was noticeable. For instance, there are no advanced SEO tools or in-depth marketing options. We had to rely on third-party integrations for tasks like email marketing, which can be cumbersome.
We were pleasantly surprised by Big Cartel’s performance. Our test sites loaded quickly on both mobile and desktop devices, clocking around 2 seconds. The Google PageSpeed scores were decent, particularly for desktops. However, the mobile scores fluctuated somewhat.
Payment processing was another area where Big Cartel fell short. Currently, they support only PayPal and Stripe natively. While Apple Pay and Square can be added through third-party apps, this adds an extra step that some users may find inconvenient. On the plus side, the absence of transaction fees is a big benefit, particularly for small businesses.
Customer support is limited to email and is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. Response times were reasonable, but we missed having a live chat or phone support for quicker resolutions. Social media channels like Facebook and Twitter are additional support options, but they don’t replace the need for direct customer service.
Pricing Plan
| Plan | Products | Turnover Limit | Transaction Fees | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Up to 5 | None | None | Free SSL, Google Analytics, 1 image per product |
| Platinum | Up to 50 | None | None | Free SSL, Google Analytics, 5 images per product |
| Diamond | Up to 500 | None | None | Free SSL, Google Analytics, 5 images per product |
Big Cartel is designed for smaller, boutique-style businesses, which is evident in their pricing. The Gold plan is free and allows up to 5 products, making it ideal for testing the platform.
The Platinum plan, at $9.99 per month, supports up to 50 products and is suitable for slightly larger operations.
The Diamond plan allows up to 500 products for $19.99 per month. All plans include essential features like SSL certification and Google Analytics, but there’s no additional functionality beyond what’s listed.
In summary, Big Cartel is a solid option for small businesses and beginners. Its ease of use, attractive themes, and low cost make it appealing. However, its limited features, customization, and support might not meet the needs of growing businesses or those looking for more advanced capabilities.
Final Thoughts
After evaluating several eCommerce platforms, we believe Shopify is the most effective choice for SEO. It offers a variety of built-in SEO features that simplify optimization.
Key Features of Shopify:
- Automatic Sitemaps: Shopify automatically generates sitemaps, helping search engines easily find and index your pages.
- SEO-Friendly URLs: You can customize URLs to make them more descriptive and keyword-rich.
- Integrated Blogging: Shopify includes a blogging platform, which is crucial for adding fresh content and improving your site’s SEO.
- Mobile Optimization: Its themes are responsive, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly and meets Google’s mobile-first indexing standards.
- Fast Loading Speeds: Shopify’s code and infrastructure are optimized for speed, which is a key ranking factor.
User-Friendly Benefits:
- Ease of Use: No need for extensive technical knowledge to manage SEO tasks.
- Comprehensive Support: Access to various support channels and resources, including tutorials and forums.
- App Integrations: Supports numerous SEO apps to enhance functionality and manage SEO activities more efficiently.
Comparison with Other Platforms:
| Feature | Shopify | Wix | BigCommerce |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO Tools | Excellent | Good | Very Good |
| URL Customization | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Blog Integration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Optimization | Excellent | Good | Excellent |
| Loading Speed | Fast | Moderate | Fast |
| Ease of Use | Very Easy | Very Easy | Moderate |
| App Integration | Extensive | Limited | Good |
Shopify leads in several essential areas, such as SEO tools, URL customization, and user experience. While platforms like Wix and BigCommerce offer strong competition, Shopify’s overall package makes it an exceptional choice for those focused on achieving better SEO results.
Our Methodology
To find the top ecommerce platforms for SEO, we began by investigating a wide range of options available in the market. We focused on platforms popular in the US and Europe, using data from BuiltWith. This gave us a clear picture of the most widely used platforms.
Selection Process:
- Market Research: We explored a variety of ecommerce platforms, gathering information on their popularity and user base.
- Narrowing Down: We selected the platforms that showed the most promise for SEO based on initial research.
- Criteria-Based Testing: We tested each platform on several important aspects of SEO.
Platforms Tested:
- BigCommerce
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Shift-4-Shop
Criteria Evaluated:
- Ease of Use: How user-friendly is the platform, especially for those without extensive technical knowledge?
- SEO Tools: What built-in tools and features does the platform offer to enhance SEO?
- Performance: How well does the platform handle website speed and uptime, which are crucial for SEO?
- Cost: What is the price range, and does it offer value for money?
By putting these platforms through rigorous testing, we could accurately assess their strengths and weaknesses in relation to SEO, providing a clear guide to help you choose the best option for your needs.
What to Look for in an eCommerce Platform for SEO
To make sure our eCommerce platform is SEO-friendly, we should consider several key features:
Strong SEO Tools
An eCommerce platform with helpful SEO tools is essential. Platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce are known for their comprehensive SEO tools, which include features for customizing URLs, meta tags, and image alt text.
Fast Loading Speeds
Loading speed is crucial for SEO. Platforms like BigCommerce include CDN integration to ensure pages load quickly. A fast site keeps visitors engaged and helps improve search engine rankings.
Mobile Optimization
Our platform must be optimized for mobile devices. Given the rise in mobile shopping, platforms should offer responsive designs to ensure a seamless experience on phones and tablets. This also positively impacts SEO.
User-Friendly Interface
For SEO success, we need a platform that’s easy to use. A user-friendly interface makes it simple to add SEO elements to our pages, helping us implement strategies without needing deep technical knowledge.
Integrations with SEO Plugins
Seamless integration with SEO plugins can enhance our efforts. Platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify offer easy integration with popular plugins, providing additional tools for optimization.
Secure and Reliable Hosting
It is important to find a reliable hosting service with strong security measures. This ensures our site is always up and running smoothly. Look for platforms that provide secure hosting services.
Customization Options
Customization options allow us to tailor our SEO strategy. Platforms that let us customize URLs, page titles, and meta descriptions will help improve our SEO efforts. BigCommerce provides these customization possibilities.
Built-in Blogging Capabilities
Blogging is a great way to boost SEO. Platforms like BigCommerce offer built-in blogging tools, making it easier to create content that drives traffic and improves search engine rankings.
By ensuring our eCommerce platform includes these features, we can better optimize our site for search engines and enhance our website.