A website is one of the most important assets of an ecommerce business. It is a place where they can sell their product, it also helps them offer a great shopping experience for customers. But, how to build an ecommerce website? Hiring a development agency or using ecommerce website builders to do it yourself. 

Evidently, the second choice is the best for businesses that have a tight budget. You also can develop an ecommerce website easily from home without coding knowledge.  

It’s great that you can choose the best free website builder, but there aren't thousands to choose from, so utilize our simple guide to help you make the best choice. Without further ado, let's see which of these systems is the greatest free ecommerce website builder!

General Information about Website Builders 

What is a website builder?

A website builder allows you to create a website without coding experience. It’s a convenient solution for freelancers, small business owners or anyone who wants to put up a website quickly without investing too much time or money. These use a drag-and-drop interface that is intuitive to use and offers plenty of flexibility and customization. T

Crack the code: A website builder is a tool that allows you to build a website without coding experience. There are two different types of website builders: online and offline. An offline website builder is a software that you download to create the website on your personal computer. Online website builders are web-based and allow you to create and edit your website directly on the company’s server.

How Website Builders Work? 

A website builder converts your drag-and-drop commands into code. They can either be hosted by the company or connect to your hosting provider. Most website builders offer a selection of themes or templates that are suitable for different types of websites. For example, a portfolio would use a different template than an e-commerce store. Once you select a template, you’ll be able to customize many of the features. Depending on the website builder, this includes elements like typeface, the layout and the size of the text and images. You may also be able to add contact forms and embed videos.

Website Builder Features 

A website builder makes many of the complicated aspects of running a website simple and intuitive. Here is a list of some of the most common features.

Drag-and-drop interface

Many website builders allow you to drag and drop the components of a web page to design it as if you are assembling a collage. This could be text, photos, video or any other component on your web page. Each website builder offers different flexibility for customization options. Some companies use themes that are harder to adjust, while others allow you to customise almost every aspect of the web page.

Picture and video storage

Website builders make it easy to upload pictures and videos. With Squarespace, for example, you’ll have access to an image gallery on your account. This way, you’ll be able to edit and remove photos and videos from different pages, but still store them and refer to them in the future. Storage capabilities generally vary by subscription plan.

Hosting and domains

When you’re building a website, you need two components other than design: a website host and a domain name (the URL used to navigate to your site). Many website builders offer all three services. If you already own a domain name but want to use a different website builder (for example, you purchased your domain name through GoDaddy but want to use Wix for design), you’ll have to migrate your domain to the new platform.

Third-party integrations

Website builders make it easy to integrate third-party applications like social media feeds or shopping carts. Lead capture forms are another commonly used integration, allowing potential customers/clients to provide their information and dump it directly into your preferred CRM or data repository.

Mobile compatibility

Because so many people browse the web, mobile compatibility is an important feature for any website. Many website builders integrate this feature automatically and allow you to view the mobile version of your website as you edit. Some can even reflexively adjust the elements on your site so that one design functions well on multiple platforms.

Business email

Most website builders come with the ability to create an email address with your domain name as the extension. Some always charge extra for this feature while others offer one or two emails for free and charge for each additional email, so be sure to choose the best plan for your needs.

SEO analytics

While many people use Google Analytics to assess traffic, most website builders come with their own form of traffic analysis that is easier to follow for laypersons. This will give you information about which websites your traffic is coming from and how viewers found you. If you are actively trying to develop your SEO and expand the reach of your website, you may find the need to invest in specific software for analytics. However, for most individuals and small businesses, the insight available through their website builder is sufficient.

E-commerce Website Builders? Who needs them? 

Website builders are useful for startups and businesses that have a decent budget but don’t want to spend money on hiring a web developer. They can use website builders to create their own websites without any coding knowledge. Website builders are also useful for people who are interested in ecommerce websites as they offer a range of features and tools that allow users to create online stores. 

Things you need to bear in mind when using free website builders 

If something is free, there has to be some sort of catch, right? When it comes to these website builders, there is not really a catch so to speak, but the following are a few things that you need to consider.

Domain name

Most of these free plans do not offer you the chance to connect a custom domain name. Instead, you will most likely have to use their domain which means that your URL will look less professional. 

Advertising

You are probably wondering how they make money, right? Well, one of the ways is by advertising. In most cases, they will only advertise their own website builder, but in some cases they can also advertise other companies. These adverts will appear on your website which can also cause your online store to look less professional. 

Basic features

While eCommerce platforms that offer a free plan in many instances make money via advertising, they also rely on users like you to upgrade their plan at some stage. For example, you might find that you need to add more products than what the free plan allows for, in which case you will need to opt for a paid plan instead. Or, perhaps you want to integrate with social media? So, while free website builders are great tools (to start), keep in mind that not all the features will be available free of charge. 

The Pros and Cons of Free Website Builders

The Pros of Free Website Builders 

No Coding Skills Required

The first and most obvious advantage in using a website builder: coding skills are not required. You don’t need the help of experts. You don’t need to learn the basics of programming. These programs are purposely created for people who don’t know anything about coding.

Cheap and Fast

If you’re looking for a quick solution to your website problem, website builders are here to save the day! They’re great for those who are simply starting out on their first website or those who just want to create a personal blog for random posts. Website builders are cheaper than hiring a web designer. You can save hundreds, no thousands! of dollars. You don’t need to wait too long either. You can create your own website in less than 30 minutes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Easy to Export

While some website builders can’t export their site to other platforms, there are many website builders which can easily do this. Exporting pages and websites is essential so when you’re changing business or domains, you don’t want have to start from scratch. Template Monster has a collection of custom-made responsive templates that are easily exportable to other platforms.

No Design Skills Required

Websites need to look great. They need to follow some kind of theme or style for it to look visually appealing. Website builders don’t promise to create the best looking site, but their designs are decent enough to draw you, visitors.

The cons of using website builders 

Not Very Suitable for Professional Business

Business websites need to have a quality design, SEO coding, and professional features. First impressions last. More often than not consumers will never visit your website twice if you have a cheap looking design.

Your site’s design is not only for aesthetic purposes, according to a study, 48% of people believe that site design is the number one factor in deciding credibility. So if your purpose for this site is business, you should hire a web designer for more quality and visual aesthetics.

Not Custom Designed

If you want a really good website, you need the experience of a pro. Most website builders are not custom designed. Their free templates look generic, may not work on mobile devices, and have no additional SEO features. Plus, if you need something extra added for effectiveness, most of the time, this is impossible. They simply feel and look inadequate if you’re aiming for a more professional layout.

Slow Loading Time

While the look of your site has a lot to say about your credibility, it isn’t everything. You also want a website that will load fast. Sites built using free website builders load too slowly compared to more solidly built websites on paid platforms.

Limited Pages

Unless you signed up for their premium plans, a free website builder account has a limit on the number of pages you’re allowed to create. Some sites will allow up to five pages, while some would even give you just one or two. And we know how little content also means few keywords which equal to few searches and less traffic. People want to read on sites that are frequently updated and growing continuously.

Poor Customer Service 

Free builders also don’t come with the best customer support so if you encounter a technical problem, you’re pretty much on your own. The only thing you can do is consult forums and ask for advice or pray that their support team will miraculously answer your email.

Differences between Free and Paid Website Builders

If you prefer watching, here you go: 

Free Website Builders and Paid: Features 

As would be expected, premium subscription-based website builders generally come with much more advanced features than free ones. Free plans usually come with numerous limitations, including the size of your site, the storage and bandwidth you have access to, and the use of advanced tools for building a website(opens in new tab). 

In most cases, you won’t be able to connect a custom domain name if you use a free website builder. For example, Wix’s free builder limits you to a wixsite.com subdomain, which can look a little unprofessional for a business site. On the other hand, upgrading to a paid plan will enable you to connect a custom domain. And some premium website builders, such as the HostGator Website Builder(opens in new tab), even throw in a free domain with every new subscription. 

Most free website builders also come with some sort of advertisement for the platform that you’re using. For example, both Weebly’s free plan and its cheapest premium plan come with advertising by Square(opens in new tab), its ecommerce partner. You will have to upgrade to the second-most-expensive premium plan, which costs $12 a month, to remove these ads. 

Again we see free website builders underperforming here, with most coming with very limited storage and bandwidth. For example, Site123’s(opens in new tab) free plan includes just 250MB of storage and 250MB of bandwidth. Its premium plans are also a little limited, but still much more generous. 

In many cases, you'll find that free website builders just don’t offer the tools necessary for selling items or services through your new business website. A small percentage offer very limited online store features, but you will usually need to go for a higher-end paid subscription for any ecommerce features at all. 

Free Website Builders and Paid: Performance 

To compare the performance of free website builders and paid-for services, we took a close look at the editing interface and ease of use of three of our favorite options. 

For one, Wix offers a selection of both free and paid plans. And unlike many of its competitors, there are no limitations on who has access to which website builder features. Premium users can upgrade their SEO and marketing packages, but free users have access to all other design and editing tools. 

On the other hand, Site123’s free website builder is very limited when compared to the paid alternatives. Numerous advanced editing tools are only available for premium users, which can be quite frustrating when trying to create an attractive business site. 

For example, you won’t be able to add plugins or custom code snippets to integrate tools such as Google Analytics—which many would argue are essential for a successful website. 

Another popular free website builder, Strikingly(opens in new tab), is even more limited. While its premium plans are designed for those who want to create a simple yet attractive website, its free plan is disappointing, to say the least. With it, you will be limited to a single-page site with very basic ecommerce tools, and you won’t be able to add custom code snippets or even a site search bar.

At the end of the day, most free website builders come with quite limited editing interfaces. There are some exceptions, such as Wix, but it’s crucial to ensure you do a decent amount of research before selecting a platform.

Free Website Builders and Paid: Support 

At the end of the day, the support services you have access to will largely depend on the website builder you use. However, we can safely say that free builders (and free plans from paid platforms) generally have much poorer customer service than the paid alternatives. 

Usually, free users will have access to a comprehensive knowledge base, community forums where they exist, and, in some cases, email or phone support. However, live support tends to be reserved for paying customers, which can make it hard to get help if you’re using a free option.

Free Website Builders and Paid: Pricing and Plans 

Free website builders are generally 100% free, forever, while the price of a paid subscription can vary from a few dollars per year to tens or even hundreds per month. However, free website builders generally come with quite a few limitations, and a premium option will likely be the best choice for your business. 

When it comes to paid website builders, the HostGator builder offers some of the best value for money plans(opens in new tab) we’ve seen. For just $3.84 a month, you will have access to virtually all the features required to build a fully functional site, and you will even get a free domain name and the ability to create a small ecommerce store. 

Meanwhile, Wix’s paid plans range(opens in new tab) from $14 to $49 a month, and Weebly’s cost between(opens in new tab) $6 and $26 a month. As you can see, it’s possible to save a significant amount of money if you decide to use a free website builder. But then again, it’s not always worth it. 

Free Website Builders and Paid: Verdict 

Comparing popular free website builders with paid builders tells an interesting story. Of course, most free builders are less powerful than their premium alternatives, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t useful. 

Unfortunately, though, we simply can’t recommend using a free website builder to create a business site. In general, they come with more limited features than paid builders, little or no ecommerce support, only basic customer support, and constraints on bandwidth and storage. 

For further information about the differences between free and paid website builders, kindly watch the following video: 

10 Important Considerations for choosing a free vs paid website builder

Do you need an SSL certificate?

Unless your website is entirely for personal use, an SSL certificate is an absolute must. SSL is a security protocol that encrypts the information on your site. Without it, your website is vulnerable to malware and cyberattacks. Most modern internet browsers now automatically block sites without an SSL certificate, showing a large warning popup instead. While it is technically possible for the user to manually override this warning, its presence is a huge hit to your credibility as the website’s owner. This warning will turn away the majority of web traffic before they even see your site. 

Most free providers do not include an SSL certificate, but some providers, such as Wix, bundle one in with their paid tiers.

It is possible to connect a basic third-party security certificate to your free website, but it is not recommended to do so unless you have some time and technical knowledge. For this reason, beginner web developers are better off taking a paid plan if they need an SSL certificate.

Do you need a custom domain name?

Perhaps the most noticeable difference between free and paid website builders is the ability to connect a custom domain. Wix, for instance, offers both free and paid plans to its users. However, free users are assigned a branded domain name, which looks like this: accountname.wixsite.com/sitename. 

If your site is just for personal use this is perfectly fine. But for business use, an assigned domain name appears unprofessional, and potential customers may question your credibility. On the other hand, paid plans such as those offered by Wix or GoDaddy typically allow custom domain names.

Do you need an ad-free website?

Free website builders almost always come with advertising for the website builder. For instance, GoDaddy displays ads on the top of each webpage for free users. The ads are removed for paid users. As with custom domains, whether this is an issue depends entirely on the purpose of the site. 

Owners of for-profit business sites and blogs may not want ads on their site, especially for a third party. However, ads in exchange for a free service could be an acceptable trade-off for a site intended for personal use. If you are considering a free website builder, expect ads to show up on every webpage.

What are your storage needs?

Storage is an important factor in determining whether or not to pay for a website builder. Broadly speaking, it determines how fast your website will load. Images, videos, and large amounts of text all contribute to increased storage demand. A typical paid site comes with over 1GB of storage, which is okay for a starter site. Large sites with heavy traffic volumes can require 5GB or more. If you find that your site is loading slowly, purchasing more storage will likely resolve the issue.

Free plans typically come with a minimal amount of storage. Wix’s free plan, for instance, offers 500MB. This is just enough to load a text-based website reasonably quickly, and any videos or graphics will result in a slow load time. That being said, if storage is your main concern, it is fine to start with a free plan and then upgrade to a paid tier once your web traffic increases. Even on a low-storage plan, there should not be any decrease in load time until the traffic gets sufficiently high.

How much do aesthetics matter?

How much effort you aim to put into the appearance of your site depends entirely on its purpose and will determine which website builder is best for you. A personal blog that showcases a few posts probably does not need the same level of attention to its visual design as the digital storefront of an e-commerce business, for instance. 

Paid website builders often have intelligent features that can design most of your site automatically, as well as a wide range of templates and customization options for manual design. If you are concerned about the professional aesthetics of your site, consider investing in a paid builder tool.

Will you need to access e-commerce features?

E-commerce platforms are exclusively a paid feature in most website builders. This includes handling online payments, facilitating shipping, and displaying product listings. GoDaddy, for example, charges users 14.99 USD/month, its highest price tier, to unlock e-commerce features. 

Other issues like 3rd-party ads and assigned domain names also make free website builders unsuitable for an e-commerce user. In short, if you plan on launching an e-commerce site, opt for a paid plan.

Do you need marketing services?

Many paid website builders provide access to email and social media marketing tools. For example, GoDaddy offers marketing services starting at its first paid tier, with 100 email sends per month and 5 social media posts on one platform. 

If you would like to send emails and post on social media directly from the same dashboard where you run your website, these services are a worthwhile investment. Free plans typically do not include such features, so if you are looking for marketing services, choose a paid website builder.

Will you require SEO?

Depending on your knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO), you might be able to implement it on your own, but it is a lot easier to use a website builder’s proprietary SEO tools. These tools will provide a score that gives you an idea of how your site ranks on search engines relative to others and will give you some feedback on how to improve it. 

This is a premium tool that is not available to free users, so if you want SEO analytics you will need to commit to a paid provider.

Do you want visitor analytics?

Paid platforms offer their own analytics services, which are absent from free plans. Analytics can provide you with information about visitor behavior, such as your visitors’ country of origin, what web pages they visited, and how much time they spent on each page.

Another insight provided by analytics services is bounce rate, which is the percentage of visitors that click out of your site almost immediately after clicking in. If your bounce rate declines after you made some changes to your site, you can be sure that something you did is drawing your visitors’ attention.

Such insights vary in usefulness depending on the purpose of the website. The owner of an e-commerce site can benefit greatly from knowing the behavior and demographics of visitors, while the writer of a personal blog might be less concerned with this information. If you believe your site would benefit from analytics, consider upgrading to a paid website builder.

What is your budget?

Consider how much you are willing to spend on your website. For a site that might have a monetary return, such as an e-commerce site, it is worthwhile to invest in a paid website builder to take advantage of SEO, analytics, and marketing services. Attempting to run such a site on a free builder will result in a sub-par, potentially unprofessional-looking website that could sabotage your profits in the long run. 

On the other hand, if professionalism and profitability are not concerns, a free website builder might be your best bet. After all, paid builders drain your wallet every month just to keep your site up. That may not be worth it for a project that won’t bring any financial returns. Keep your budget in mind, and know what you want to get out of your website before choosing between a free and paid website builder.

Top 10 Best Free Ecommerce Website Builders

Square Online

After acquiring Weebly in 2028, Square Online no longer only provides payment solutions for stores. It has launched a website builder platform based on Weebly technology.

The reason Square online has become a popular e-commerce website builder is because of its ease of use. With simple drag-and-drop operations and no programming skills required, you can already create your own website. In addition, Square Online also offers free templates that you can choose from.

There is no fee for building a website on Square Online, but the platform will charge a transaction fee of 2.9 percent + 30 cents per transaction. The Free plan also gives you the ability to store up to 500MB, bulk product setup, inventory management, and organize for store pickups. However, you can connect with PayPal to allow customers to use this method.

Although considered a free platform, Square online also offers paid plans for businesses in need, These plans will have many extended features as well as add-ons.

Advantages of Square Online

• Square Online provides a free URL as well as limitless hosting.

• You can manage and automatically update your inventory for both your online and physical businesses, as well as organize in-store pickups.

• There is no need for any coding skills.

• Social media integration

• Multiple options in payment settings

Disadvantages of Square Online

• To get further services, you must subscribe to one of their paying programs.

• Setting shipment pricing might be difficult 

• Account stability issues are widespread.

• You will be charged a fee for each completed transaction

• Customization is limited, it is difficult to connect the brand's image

• Square logo will only be removed in the footer when you use the paid plan

WooCommerce

Woocommerce is a plugin that allows you to turn your regular WordPress website into a fully functional e-commerce website. However, it is not an indie e-commerce website builder. So to use WooCommerce, you must have a WordPress website first or you will have to build a new website from WordPress. Woocommerce is completely free, with no setup fees and no transaction fees. However, if you do not have a WordPress website, it will cost you to build a new one.

WooCommerce has a whole store of free templates for you to choose from. In addition, It also has many useful free plugins. You can also integrate them into your website easily to diversify features.

There's also stock tracking to guarantee you never make a deal you can't deliver on. Last but not least, WooCommerce provides online support professionals to assist you in getting started. It's an excellent choice for anyone looking to create an online business and employ cutting-edge content marketing methods.

Advantages of WooCommerce

• Complete free

• Flexible Customization

• Powerful Features

• Responsive

• User-friendly

• Many plugins available

• SEO Friendly

Disadvantages of WooCommerce

• Requires WordPress website to use woocommerce

• Woocommerce is free but the expenses of maintenance, development, and hosting can be substantial

• It will be difficult for newbies to WordPress

• No phone support

Top 14 Best Ecommerce Agencies - 2023 Reviews

Ecwid 

This is an ideal tool for small businesses to build online stores. It allows you to integrate with your website, fanpage on social networks such as Facebook, and Instagram,...

Building ecommerce websites on Ecwid is really easy, it offers ready-made design templates that you can also customize. You can build a website that only takes a little time and no programming knowledge needed. In addition, you can also sell through e-commerce websites such as Amazon, and eBay by connecting stores on Ecwid with them.

Selling on multi-channels can make it difficult for you to manage your stores, but Ecwid also allows you to synchronize and manage different stores right from one dashboard. It is really convenient for such cross-platform sales businesses.

With the free plan, you get access to email support and Ecwid's online knowledge base.

Advantages of Ecwid

• No Set up fee, no transaction fee

• Easy to integrate with other platforms 

• Easy to use, No coding knowledge needed.

• Ecwid stores have mobile-friendly layouts.

• Responsive 

• Multi-language

 Disadvantages of Ecwid

• On the free site, there is just one shop theme accessible.

• In comparison to other sites, there are less SEO and GDPR alternatives.

• 10 products limited

Strikingly

Right from the tagline, Strikingly has shown everyone that they are a website builder for e-commerce worth using.  “Create your brand. Conquer the entire globe. No coding or design abilities are necessary.”

Strikingly offers you a lot of free templates for you to set up your store.  They are considered quite beautiful, modern, and eye-catching. However, these templates do not allow you to customize too much. 

With 4 different price plans, Strikingly's Free Plan is also considered pretty good with 5GB five GB of monthly bandwidth and 500MB of free storage. Although for the free plan, you can only have 1 product per page, the number of pages is not limited.

Strikingly's customer support can be said to be truly amazing. Great knowledge base, articles with detailed instructions, videos, and screenshots that make problem-solving easy. It also offers 24/7 live chat support, with IT technicians calling themselves “happy cops”.

Advantages of Strikingly

• Affodable to small business 

• modern template design 

• Easy to use 

• Multiple online payment processors

Disadvantages of Strikingly

• Not SEO friendly 

• just set up one product on a site

• Difficult to customize templates 

• Not suitable for large businesses with many products

FreeWebStore

Perhaps this is the only ecommerce website builder platform that does not limit the number of products. Most of the platforms we've just introduced limit the number of products, however, FreeWebStore does not at all, you can set up as many products as you want. However, the platform limits annual sales to $30,000, which will be suitable for businesses that retail products of not too high value.

With FreeWebStore, you get a free SSL certificate and the hosting is also completely free. In addition, a large number of templates are available for free for you to choose from, these templates are also designed to be mobile device friendly. However, many reviews consider the template design to be quite outdated.

You may access the site from anywhere in the globe and set up alerts so that the site notifies you when things are running short on supply. If you plan to sell age-related shares, our platform can assist you in setting up an age verification process.

Advantages of Freewebstore

• Age verification is available in the Free Webstore. This is useful if you offer things that have age restrictions. Take, for example, alcohol or cigarettes.

• Standard marketing tools  

• Various payment method 

• Unlimited product 

• Free SSL certificate and storage

• Mobile device friendly

Disadvantages of Freewebstore

• Limit 30000$ a year revenue, not suitable for businesses that sell high-value product 

• Free plan not including a free domain 

• No account for collaborators

• There are some limits to the free version, such as no mailing labels or social networking links. 

Magento

Magento was founded in 2008. There are two versions available: free and paid. Magento Community Edition is a free solution that is suitable for expanding small enterprises and new ventures. Users may adapt it to their own needs, and there are forums where users can discuss tips and methods.

Magento (see our Magento review) claims to be the world's most active and influential developer community. If you've never set up an ecommerce site before, reviewers say it's simple to use.

There are free publications available that provide guidance on how to expand your business, sell your products online, and much more. That's in addition to the technical assistance you may get to help you set up your ecommerce site.

Advantages of Magento

• The free version is open source and has a lot of customization options.

• Their stores are simple to expand.

• There are several features available for you to use.

• You may become a member of Magento's vibrant and worldwide community.

Disadvantages of Magento

• Magento is a complicated platform with a steep learning curve. To get the most out of this solution, you'll need to be well-versed in web programming.

• You must have prior expertise developing and tweaking themes in order to use Magento's templates.

• There is no customer service accessible (beyond looking for help from the community).

• Magento's 'Commerce Variation' has a premium price tag.

• You must still pay for web hosting, SSL certificates, and payment processing. 

Mozello

Mozello gives you around 50 themes to choose from when you create your online store. These templates are considered quite easy to customize, you can change a few elements on the website as well as adjust the layout to achieve the look that you want.

While Mozello only allows you to set up up to 5 products, you can set up 5 variations per product. In addition, you also cannot sell digital products through the website builded by Mozello.

In return, Mozello allows creating a multilingual website, if you want to sell your products in other regions, this is really a reasonable choice.

One problem that people without much programming knowledge should be aware of is customer support service is not appreciated. It seem to be only documentation, FAQs, and email support. Quite inconvenient for people who need immediate feedback.

Advantages of Mozello

• Multiple languages 

• Mobile-friendly

• Free 500MB Storage

• No transaction fees

• Inventory tracking

• Including SSL certificate

Disadvantages of Mozello

• Only accept Paypal

• Limited to 5 products

• Cannot sell digital products

• Does not support popular marketing tools such as discount codes, email marketing

Webnode

Webnode made its first appearance in 2008. In today's world, about 30 million people have an account. Webnode has been used by millions of businesses to develop their own websites, portfolios, personal blogs, and ecommerce enterprises (read our Webnode website builder review).

This eCommerce website builder is quite simple to use, so you don't need to be a computer whiz to get the most out of it. All you have to do is select one of their many beautiful templates. In only a few minutes, you can modify it to radiate your brand. The best part? It's completely free. Furthermore, all of their websites are mobile-friendly. So it doesn't matter what sort of gadget your guests use to access the web; it'll look great anyway.

Advantages of Webnode

• Ease of use: you get access to an easy-to-use website editor.
• If you wish to upgrade to one of their premium plans, you may do so for a low cost.
• Features for website backup and recovery
• All plans have ecommerce capabilities.

Disadvantages of Webnode

• Webnode's ecommerce feature is cumbersome. Its primary shop design makes use of an out-of-date interface.
• The free plan has a storage limit of 10MB.
• Unless you purchase their most costly option, no SSL certificate is included.

WebStarts

If you're a small business looking to create your first website, Weebly is a fantastic option. Its drag-and-drop editor is rather simple, so you and your team shouldn't have too much trouble learning it. It also provides users with a broad number of capabilities, allowing you to design something that will make a lasting impression on your visitors.

However, Webstarts has little support for marketing tools. No Social integration, no support SEO, no Email marketing, no Membership Features. So this tool will be quite inconvenient for you to communicate for your online store.

Advantages of Weebly

• Simple to use with drag-and-drop feature.
• 1Gb of space
• You can sell both digital products and physical products
• Upto 10 products 
• Good payment options

Disadvantages of Weebly

• No Social integration
• No support SEO
• No Email marketing
• No Membership Features

Big Cartel

If you are looking for a free Ecommerce website builder for small businesses with a small number of products, Big Carter is really the ideal choice.

They offer you free templates stock to use on your online store. They are considered to be quite modern and beautiful. Although not appreciated for their uniqueness, the Big Carter templates still work well on mobile devices.

The Templates that Big Carter provides do not allow you to customize much. However, if you really want to, you must have programming knowledge. That is not the only obstacle of Big carter, they do not allow your customers to save payment information as well as other information, which is quite inconvenient for your customers.

Big carter provides email support and documents. Although there is no direct chat, Big carter focuses on some useful and practical by providing detailed documents, and they cover almost any problem that users might face.

Advantages of Big Cartel

• Dashboard that is simple to use
• Plans with reasonable pricing
• Website templates in plenty
• Flexibility in modifying the site's code

Disadvantages of Big Cartel

• It is not developer-friendly.
• There is no search functionality.
• Stores have few payment choices.

For further useful information, you can watch the following the video: 

FAQs: Got a question - Get your answer

Is a free Ecommerce site enough for small businesses to succeed?

When it comes to ecommerce, that old adage ‘you’ve got to spend money to make money’ holds true.

For a start, with most of the ‘free’ ecommerce website builders listed above, you won’t even be able to start taking payments until you upgrade to a paid plan.

As you can see, many of the premium plans on offer are very affordable, with the option to scale up to a more expensive one if necessary.

But it’s not just the facility to take payments that makes upgrading to a paid plan worth it. Often, essential ecommerce functions like store management, and the marketing and SEO features you need to actually get visitors to your site, are only available with paid plans.

Even when using our top free plan pick Square Online, there are limitations to the features at your disposal until you upgrade to a paid plan.

For example, you don't have access to advanced reporting, product reviews, or the ability to accept PayPal payments with Square's free plan. Whereas on its performance plan you get access to all of these professional features, and as your business scales using only free ecommerce plans could definitely do more damage than good.

Do free website builders offer nonprofit-specific features?

It’s surprisingly rare to find website builders, especially free ones, that are geared toward the needs of nonprofits—like easily accepting online one-time and recurring donations, email newsletter signups, a custom form builder, or event management.   

In some cases, you can add these types of functionality if you find a third-party tool to integrate with or embed, but don’t forget that you’ll need to sign up for, maintain, and potentially pay for another piece of tech in your marketing and fundraising ecosystem.

How much customer support can I expect?

This is definitely an area of nonprofit web design where you get what you pay for. With most free website builders, you can expect access to written documentation and support articles about how to use your website and key features. Maybe there’s a contact form to reach out with questions.   Otherwise, you can expect to pay for more hands-on help, like through live chat, emails or phone calls. If you think you might need more guidance at the start of your project, look for plans that allow you to scale up and down as your needs or in-house capacity change.

Are there hidden or extra fees I should be aware of?

There are usually a few price tags that come along with making a website for your nonprofit, including hosting and domain registration, that can make a seemingly “free” website builder cost a bit more at the end of the day. Or you might discover that it’s free to have the site but you’re stuck with third party advertising across your pages. 

Carefully evaluate each website option to see what exactly is included and if there are standard features or potential upgrades that have a cost associated with them (like payment processing).

Plus, consider if you’ll be stuck in a long-term contract or will need to pay any cancellation fees. And if you have a hard time finding any of this information or need to reach out for a quote, chances are you’re going to need at least a little bit of budget money to fund your site. 

All things considered, paying for a service that best meets your needs is worth the investment in terms of time and energy savings.

What kind of search engine optimization will I get?

When it comes to making sure that your nonprofit’s website is visible to search engines, there are a lot of factors that come into play. First, you should have quality content and a great structure that makes it easy for people and search engines to find their way around. Then comes the more technical side of things.  The sad truth is that website builders are known for having terrible search engine optimization (SEO), as outlined in this recent post from Search Engine Journal. In addition to technical limitations, some don’t allow you easy access to vital SEO settings or site speed is so slow that search engines give you a failing grade.  If you want to build new website traffic and supporters from search engines (and who doesn’t?), don’t forget to look into how a website builder performs in terms of SEO. You can often find this information in product reviews, by asking them directly or looking to see what kind of SEO-specific features are offered. For example, Wired Impact websites have the Yoast SEO plugin automatically built-in.

Top useful resources when choosing your free website builders 

7 Mistakes to Avoid While Developing a Website

12 Things To Consider When Choosing A Website Builder

Website Builder: Create a Free Website

The Best Free Website Builders for 2023

How to create a free website ?

Wrapping Up

Although each tool has its own weaknesses, it also has certain benefits that you can take advantage of. So website builders for ecommerce are ideal for individuals who wish to launch an internet business quickly and easily. Most crucially, people with little knowledge of technology, the internet, and online business. 

Website builders are popular because of their ease of use. You just need to choose a template you like and customize it, the drag-and-drop feature will help you build easily. However, building a website based on a website builder will cause you to have a few branding problems such as not having your own domain, and not completely reflecting the brand image. Therefore, many businesses choose to hire a development agency to have the most comprehensive website. 

CMSmart is the leading agency in website development. You will work with a great and trustworthy partner, with more than 10 years of experience, we are confident that we can understand your wishes and can help you own a great website at an affordable cost. If you have any problems building a website, contact us to get a free consultation.

Rose Helen

Shop Owner

Rose Helen is a highly accomplished Ecommerce Project Consultant with a strong background in managing and guiding successful e-commerce projects. With her exceptional expertise and strategic mindset, she helps businesses achieve their goals in the digital marketplace.
With years of experience, Rose Helen possesses an in-depth understanding of e-commerce platforms, technologies, and best practices. She works closely with clients to analyze their needs, develop tailored strategies, and execute effective project plans that drive growth and success.
As an Ecommerce Project Consultant, Rose Helen excels at overseeing project lifecycles, from inception to completion. She ensures projects are delivered on time, within budget, and with the highest level of quality. Her exceptional project management skills enable her to effectively communicate with stakeholders, manage resources, and mitigate risks throughout the project journey.
Rose Helen is a strategic thinker who leverages her extensive knowledge to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation. She provides valuable insights and recommendations to optimize e-commerce processes, enhance user experiences, and increase online sales.
With her strong communication and collaboration skills, Rose Helen builds strong relationships with clients and key stakeholders. She fosters a collaborative environment, working closely with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless project execution and alignment with business objectives.
Beyond her technical expertise, Rose Helen is dedicated to delivering exceptional client service. She goes above and beyond to understand her clients' unique requirements and provide them with personalized solutions that drive tangible results. Her commitment to client success is evident in her approach and the long-term relationships she builds.
Rose Helen's passion for e-commerce, coupled with her extensive experience and project management skills, makes her a valuable asset for organizations looking to thrive in the digital landscape. With her guidance, businesses can navigate the complexities of e-commerce projects and achieve their objectives with confidence and success.