What You Need Before You Start
An ecommerce website is a storefront you own and control, where customers browse products, add them to a cart, and pay you directly. Unlike selling through Amazon or eBay, you keep all the revenue (minus payment processing fees), but you also handle customer service, returns, and shipping yourself.
Before you choose a platform, decide what you are actually selling. A small business selling 20 handmade items has different needs than a store with 500 products that ship nationwide. The size of your catalog, the complexity of your shipping, whether you need to track inventory in real time, and how much customization you want — these shape which platform makes sense.
You will also need a domain name (the web address customers type), a way to process payments (usually Stripe or PayPal), and product photos or descriptions. If you are selling physical goods, you need to know your shipping costs and whether you will handle fulfillment yourself or use a third party.
Key Takeaways
- Ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce handle the storefront, shopping cart, and payment processing — you provide the products and customer service.
- Hosted platforms (Shopify, BigCommerce) charge monthly fees but require no technical setup; self-hosted platforms (WooCommerce) cost less monthly but need a separate web host and more configuration.
- Payment processing fees typically run 2.2% to 3% per transaction plus a fixed amount per sale, regardless of which platform you choose.
- Your first decision is whether you want a straightforward setup with limited customization or a flexible system that requires more technical knowledge.
- Most platforms include basic inventory tracking, abandoned cart recovery, and integration with shipping carriers — compare what each includes before paying for add-ons.
Hosted Platforms: Shopify, BigCommerce, and Squarespace
A hosted ecommerce platform means the company runs the servers, handles security updates, and backs up your data. You log in, add products, and your store is live. Shopify is the largest: it charges $29 to $299 per month depending on your sales volume, includes hosting and a domain, and works well for stores with 50 to 5,000 products. BigCommerce starts at $29 per month and is built for larger catalogs. Squarespace is simpler and cheaper ($23 per month) but less flexible if you need advanced features later.
The main advantage is speed. You can launch in a day. The main disadvantage is cost — you pay monthly whether you make sales or not, and you are locked into their feature set. If you outgrow Shopify's tools, moving to a different platform means rebuilding your store.
All three handle payment processing through Stripe or PayPal, include basic inventory management, and let you add apps (Shopify calls them "apps", BigCommerce calls them "integrations") for email marketing, accounting software, or shipping label printing. Shopify's app store is the largest, which matters if you need specialized tools.
Self-Hosted Platforms: WooCommerce and Open Source Options
WooCommerce is a free plugin that turns WordPress into an ecommerce store. You pay for web hosting separately (usually $5 to $20 per month), a domain name ($10 to $15 per year), and an SSL certificate for find payments (often free with hosting). WooCommerce itself costs nothing, but you may pay for premium extensions — shipping calculators, inventory management, or payment gateway plugins — that add $50 to $500 per year.
The advantage is cost and control. You own your data, you can customize almost anything, and you are not locked into a company's roadmap. The disadvantage is that you need to handle security updates, backups, and troubleshooting yourself — or pay someone to do it. If your site gets hacked or your host goes down, you are responsible for fixing it.
WooCommerce works well for stores with 100 to 10,000 products and owners who are comfortable with WordPress or willing to learn it. If you already run a WordPress blog, adding WooCommerce is straightforward. If you are starting from zero and do not want to learn WordPress, a hosted platform is faster.
Other self-hosted options exist — Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop — but they require more technical knowledge and are usually chosen by stores with very large catalogs or unusual requirements.
Payment Processing and Transaction Fees
Every ecommerce platform connects to a payment processor. Stripe and PayPal are the most common. Both charge roughly 2.2% of the transaction plus $0.30 per sale for credit cards, and higher rates for international cards or certain payment methods. If you sell a $100 item, you pay about $2.50 in processing fees.
Some platforms bundle payment processing into their monthly fee (Shopify does this), while others let you choose your processor (WooCommerce does this). If you use Shopify, you pay Shopify's rates. If you use WooCommerce, you can shop around for the processor with the lowest fees for your business type.
Do not choose a platform based on payment fees alone — the difference between processors is usually $10 to $50 per month for a small store. Choose based on the overall feature set, and then optimize payment processing within that choice.
Building Your Product Catalog and Store Design
Every platform provides templates you can customize without code. Shopify has hundreds of free and paid themes. WooCommerce has thousands of free themes plus paid options. BigCommerce and Squarespace have fewer choices but higher quality defaults.
The real work is adding your products. You need a product name, description, price, and at least one photo for each item. If you have 500 products, this takes time — many store owners use a spreadsheet to organize product data, then import it all at once rather than entering each one by hand.
Most platforms let you organize products into categories, add variants (size, color, material), set inventory quantities, and write SEO descriptions that help customers find you in search results. If you are selling digital products (ebooks, software, templates), the process is simpler — no shipping, no inventory tracking, just upload the file and set the price.
Shipping, Inventory, and Fulfillment
All major platforms integrate with shipping carriers — USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL. When a customer orders, you can print a label, weigh the package, and the carrier picks it up. Most platforms calculate shipping costs automatically based on weight and destination, so customers see the real cost at checkout.
Inventory tracking is built into every platform. You set a quantity for each product, and the number decreases when someone buys it. You can set up alerts when stock runs low, or automatically hide a product when it sells out. If you sell the same product on multiple channels (your website, Etsy, a physical store), inventory syncing becomes important — some platforms handle this better than others.
For fulfillment, you have three options: handle it yourself (pack and ship from home or an office), use a third-party logistics company (3PL) that stores your inventory and ships on your behalf, or use a dropshipper who manufactures and ships directly to customers. Each has different costs and complexity. Most platforms integrate with major 3PLs, but you need to set up the relationship separately.
Comparing Total Cost and Hidden Expenses
Here is what a small store actually costs per month:
| Platform | Monthly Fee | Hosting | Payment Processing (est.) | Total (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | $29 | Included | $30–$100 | $59–$129 |
| BigCommerce | $29 | Included | $30–$100 | $59–$129 |
| WooCommerce | $0 | $10–$20 | $30–$100 | $40–$120 |
| Squarespace | $23 | Included | $30–$100 | $53–$123 |
These estimates assume a store making $1,500 to $5,000 per month. Payment processing fees scale with sales, so a store doing $10,000 per month pays roughly $220 to $300 in processing fees. Apps and extensions add $10 to $100 per month depending on what you need.
Hidden costs include professional product photography (if you do not take your own), email marketing software (MailChimp is free up to 500 contacts, then $20+ per month), accounting software (Wave is free, QuickBooks is $15+ per month), and customer support tools if you get busy. Budget an extra $50 to $200 per month for these as you grow.
Getting Started: Which Platform to Choose
Start with this question: do you want to launch quickly with minimal technical knowledge, or do you want maximum control and customization?
Choose Shopify if you want the fastest path to a live store, do not mind paying monthly, and want access to thousands of apps and integrations. It is the safest choice for someone new to ecommerce.
Choose WooCommerce if you already use WordPress, want lower monthly costs, or plan to customize your store heavily. It requires more setup but offers more flexibility.
Choose BigCommerce if you have a large product catalog (over 1,000 items) or plan to scale quickly. It is built for growth.
Choose Squarespace if you want a straightforward, beautiful store with minimal configuration and do not need advanced features.
Most platforms offer a free trial or free plan with limited features. Use the trial to add a few products and test the checkout process. That 30 minutes of hands-on time will tell you more than any comparison article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch platforms later if I outgrow my first choice?
Yes, but it takes work. You can export your product data, customer information, and order history from most platforms, then import it into a new one. The design and customizations do not transfer, so you will rebuild your store layout. Plan for a week of work and a few hours of downtime. This is why choosing a platform that can grow with you matters more than picking the absolute cheapest option.
Do I need to know how to code to build an ecommerce store?
No. Shopify, BigCommerce, and Squarespace require no coding at all — you use drag-and-drop editors and pre-built templates. WooCommerce is the same if you stick to free themes and plugins. Coding only becomes necessary if you want highly custom features that no existing plugin provides, and even then you can hire a developer instead of learning it yourself.
What is the difference between a domain name and web hosting?
A domain name is your web address (example.com). Web hosting is the server that stores your website files and makes it accessible online. Hosted platforms like Shopify include both. Self-hosted platforms like WooCommerce require you to buy hosting separately. You can buy both from the same company or different ones — they work independently.
How long does it take to launch a store?
With a hosted platform like Shopify, you can have a basic store live in a few hours — sign up, pick a theme, add 10 products, set up payment processing. A complete store with 100+ products, professional photos, and customization takes a few weeks of part-time work. A self-hosted platform takes longer because of the initial setup, but the ongoing work is similar.
What happens to my store if the platform shuts down?
Hosted platforms like Shopify are large, stable companies unlikely to shut down, but it is a real risk with smaller platforms. You can export your data from most platforms, but your store design and customizations are lost. Self-hosted platforms like WooCommerce are open source — even if the company behind them disappeared, the software would continue to exist and be maintained by the community. This is one reason some store owners prefer self-hosted options.