Here’s how to choose a website builder for your ecommerce store

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Website building has been evolving for the past few years. Business websites and ecommerce stores look completely different now than they were 10 years ago. From using tables to flash animations, websites have evolved to cater to a more minimalist interface that emphasizes better user experience.

But these transformations are not only seen in design. The way people build and develop websites have also changed. Before, you would need a professional programmer to create your website, but now, more entrepreneurs are entrusting their websites to website builders, an inexpensive, efficient, and fast solution to build their brand, empire, and identity in the online community.

These platforms include a wide range of features that makes creating websites convenient for everyone—even for those who have zero coding skills. It used to be impossible to build a website if you didn’t know how to code, but with website building platforms now, you can create your own professional-looking website in less than 30 minutes.

The only real challenge lies in choosing a platform that actually fits your business needs. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your experience in building your ecommerce store.

Price range

Website builders have free and premium offers. If you’re someone who isn’t too comfortable with investing a fortune on your first website, a free DIY builder is most suitable for your budget.

Typical premium models, on the other hand, cost from around US$4 to US$50, depending on the features included. While most free builders almost work the same as a premium or paid website, they only have limited features.

For example, Jimdo’s free plan allows an ecommerce store to display up to only five for-sale items. Weebly’s free model, on the other hand, has a limit of 500MB of storage space.

Ease of use and customization

People who use a builder to create a website on their own usually don’t have enough technical knowledge on creating a website from scratch. It’s therefore recommended that these builders are easy to use, allow simple customization, and have features that are convenient for the user.

There could also be a time when you’ll want to add more features to your ecommerce website. This may or may not include moving your website to another web host to work. A website builder’s portability can make tweaking and transferring your website smoother for designers and developers. Here’s a list of some builders that offer convenient and smart customization features.

Design

With a highly competitive online market, ecommerce stores need to look trendy and appealing to customers in order to stand out. Remember that you only have around 7 seconds to grab your viewer’s attention before they decide to close the tab and leave your website.

When we talk about design, it’s not just about the homepage or the colors and images on your website. Design includes every element including the entire navigation system, user-friendliness, and web features.

Many DIY website builders today provide professional-looking themes that are easy to use. Your builder then should have a variety of templates, a lot of room for personalization, and easy customization features that make editing and resizing doable without the help of an expert designer.

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