Everything you need to sell online

Set up an online store in minutes to sell on a website, social media, or marketplaces.

What Is the Best Ecommerce Website for a Small Business?

9 min read

Setting up an online store is no longer optional for small businesses; it’s a necessity. Ecommerce is your ticket to a wider audience, increased sales, and sustainable growth. But with so many platforms and tools available, choosing the right ecommerce website for your small business can feel overwhelming. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered!

This blog post breaks down everything you need to know about creating the best ecommerce website for your business. From choosing the right platform to implementing design best practices, here’s how to build a store that’s easy to manage, attracts customers, and gets results.

How to sell online
Tips from e-commerce experts for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Please enter a valid email address

Choosing the Right Ecommerce Platform

The foundation of your online store begins with choosing the right ecommerce platform. You need a platform that’s scalable, easy to use, and tailored to small businesses—that’s where Ecwid shines.

Why Ecwid is a Top Solution for Small Businesses

Ecwid is a powerful yet user-friendly ecommerce platform that simplifies the process of setting up and running an online store. Here’s why small business owners love it:

  • No technical expertise required: Ecwid’s intuitive interface means you don’t need to be a developer to get started.
  • Affordable pricing: Ecwid offers low-cost subscription plans that won’t break the bank.
  • Seamless integrations: Already have a website on WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix? Ecwid seamlessly integrates with your current website without complicated steps.
  • Sell everywhere: With Ecwid, you can sell on your website, social media, marketplaces, and even in person.

For small businesses that want robust functionality without the learning curve, Ecwid is one of the best ecommerce website options.

Selecting the Best Website Hosting

Website hosting is like the backbone of your ecommerce website. Reliable hosting ensures that your website stays online, loads quickly, and keeps your customers’ data secure. The good news? Ecwid takes care of hosting for its users!

But if you run an independent site or use another platform, consider these factors when choosing a reliable hosting provider:

  • Uptime guarantee: Look for a provider offering at least 99.9% uptime to ensure your website stays online.
  • Speed: Fast-loading websites improve user experience and boost your search engine rankings.
  • Security: Opt for hosting providers that include SSL certificates and firewalls to protect your business and customer data.

Providers like Bluehost, HostGator, and SiteGround are also popular for hosting ecommerce sites. However, when hosting and platform maintenance are built into your solution (like it is with Ecwid), your life becomes much easier.

Creating the Best Design for Ecommerce Website​s

Ecommerce design is everything when it comes to converting visitors into customers. A poorly designed website can turn potential buyers away before they even add items to their shopping cart.

Here are the best practices for creating an ecommerce website that’s functional and visually appealing:

Focus on User Experience

Here’s how to do that:

  • Simple navigation: Make it easy for customers to browse by organizing your products into clear categories.
  • Speedy page loads: A two-second delay can lead to higher bounce rates. Optimize images and reduce unnecessary scripts for faster load times.

Design with Mobile in Mind

Did you know that 68% of online shopping is done on mobile devices? Ensure your website is mobile-friendly with a responsive design that adapts to any screen size.

Incorporate Strong Branding

Your site should reflect your brand’s personality. Use consistent colors, fonts, and imagery. A recognizable and professional brand instills trust in your customers.

Use High-Quality Visuals

People shop with their eyes. Use clear, high-resolution product images with multiple angles to help customers feel confident in their purchases.

Ecommerce Website Best Practices

Running a successful online store isn’t just about having a sleek website. Follow these ecommerce website best practices to optimize your store for conversions and sales:

Perfect Your Product Listings

Here’s how to write product descriptions that sell:

  • Descriptive titles: Use clear and concise titles that include keywords. For example, instead of “Shoes,” write “Men’s Running Shoes with Arch Support.”
  • Detailed descriptions: Highlight the benefits, size options, and materials of your product. Always address customer pain points! For example, “Say goodbye to foot pain with our cushioned insoles.”
  • High-quality images and videos: Use multiple high-resolution photos showing different angles of your product. Consider using lifestyle images that showcase how the product can be used in real life.
  • SEO keywords: Include keywords like “best ecommerce clothing websites” to improve your product page visibility on Google.

Streamline Your Checkout

Checkout is the last step in your shopping journey—make sure it’s a smooth one.

  • A clear checkout process: Fewer clicks lead to fewer abandoned carts. Minimize fields and simplify the checkout process as much as possible.
  • Multiple payment options: Offer credit/debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Buy Now Pay Later, and other popular methods to cater to diverse customer preferences.

Integrate Trust Signals

Show your customers they’re in safe hands:

  • Include customer reviews and testimonials on your product pages.
  • Display security badges (like SSL certification).
  • Offer easy returns or a money-back guarantee.

Get the Best Ecommerce Website​ for Your Business

There’s never been a better time to take your small business online. With the right platform, hosting, and design, you can create a polished ecommerce store that drives sales and builds customer loyalty.

Ecwid simplifies the process, making it one of the best platforms for small business owners:

  • A sleek, mobile-friendly ecommerce website designed to turn browsers into buyers
  • Hosted and maintained by Ecwid, so you can focus on growing your business while we handle the tech
  • Built with the best ecommerce website design​ practices to boost sales—streamlined checkout, detailed product listings, customer reviews, and more.

Don’t wait another day to take the leap! Sign up for Ecwid and start building the ecommerce website your business deserves.

 

Table of contents

Sell online

With Ecwid Ecommerce, you can easily sell anywhere, to anyone — across the internet and around the world.

About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.

Ecommerce that has your back

So simple to use – even my most technophobic clients can manage. Easy to install, quick to set up. Light years ahead of other shop plugins.
I’m so impressed I’ve recommended it to my website clients and am now using it for my own store along with four others for which I webmaster. Beautiful coding, excellent top-notch support, great documentation, fantastic how-to videos. Thank you so much Ecwid, you rock!
I’ve used Ecwid and I love the platform itself. Everything is so simplified it’s insane. I love how you have different options to choose shipping carriers, to be able to put in so many different variants. It’s a pretty open e-commerce gateway.
Easy to use, affordable. Looks professional, many templates to select from. The App is my favorite feature as I can manage my store right from my phone. Highly recommended 👌👍
I like that Ecwid was easy to start and to use. Even for a person like me, without any technical background. Very well written help articles. And the support team is the best for my opinion.
For everything it has to offer, ECWID is incredibly easy to set up. Highly recommend! I did a lot of research and tried about 3 other competitors. Just try ECWID and you'll be online in no time.

Your ecommerce dreams start here

By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Your Privacy

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. More information

More information

Strictly Necessary Cookies (Always active)
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site.