E-commerce has seen enormous growth in Australia over the past few years. More and more businesses are embracing online selling and many are seeking the best ecommerce platforms to power their stores. Here, we will explore the top 5 platforms that are highly popular and effective for Australian e-commerce sites.
Shopify
Shopify has been a frontrunner e-commerce platform globally and also remains one of the best options for Australian merchants. It offers a flexible and customizable solution for any size business. Shopify has powerful themes and design options that allow businesses to create professional and visually appealing online stores without any coding knowledge. Their pricing starts from just $18.75/month which makes it very affordable for small businesses. Shopify also has a large app marketplace where merchants can add numerous functionalities to their store through the integration of third-party apps. Their payment processing is very simple and integrated. Overall, Shopify provides a versatile platform for Australian e-commerce at reasonable pricing.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free, open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. As WordPress powers about 30% of all websites globally, WooCommerce has also gained widespread popularity as an e-commerce solution. It offers deep integration into the WordPress ecosystem which means merchants have access to the thousands of free and paid WordPress themes and extensions. WooCommerce also has a vast collection of apps and extensions that allow merchants to easily customize and expand the functionality of their online stores. The best part is that as it runs on WordPress, the setup and maintenance of WooCommerce stores can be done from the familiar WordPress admin interface. This attracts many WordPress users in Australia to choose WooCommerce as their e-commerce hosting platform.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce offers a full-featured e-commerce solution aimed at mid-sized to large online merchants. It provides an easy drag-and-drop interface for designing professional online stores without any coding. Moreover, BigCommerce has powerful site management capabilities along with advanced marketing, sales and analytics tools. This makes it especially suitable for growing e-commerce businesses that need scalability. BigCommerce also allows customization through its app marketplace. While the paid plans may seem steeper compared to other platforms mentioned here, the professional features and functionalities offered by BigCommerce can help maximize revenues for established Australian brands and retailers.
Magento
Magento is one of the most robust and flexible e-commerce platforms for both B2B and B2C stores. However, its powerful features come at the cost of complexity in terms of design, development and maintenance. Magento requires technical expertise and developer resources to be fully leveraged. It works best for very large-scale enterprises in Australia that can invest in building customized e-commerce solutions as per their unique business needs. Some top Australian retailers that have chosen Magento include SurfStitch, Cotton On and ASOS among others due to their complex requirements and large-scale operations.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a popular platform for creative professionals and small businesses to create professional websites and online stores. It provides beautiful designer templates and is highly intuitive to use without any coding expertise required. Squarespace offers both basic and advanced ecommerce capabilities. Merchants can sell both physical and digital products through the integrated payment system. While not as full-featured as Shopify or WooCommerce, Squarespace provides a simple and elegant solution for small Australian merchants looking to sell their products or services online quickly. The monthly pricing starts from $25 which is very affordable for individual entrepreneurs and sole proprietorships.
Why Use Expertrec as a Custom Search Engine?
Expertrec specializes in providing a customer search engine that can be easily integrated with the e-commerce platforms mentioned above. It helps improve the online shopping experience with fast and relevant search results. With Expertrec’s search engine, businesses can deliver personalized search experiences that engage users by showing them products they may like. Its smart search works seamlessly across all devices. Expertrec also allows spell checking so users can find products even with spelling mistakes in search queries. Merchants can further enhance product discoverability through filters and product merchandising directly within Expertrec. Being compatible with popular platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento and others, Expertrec provides Australian e-commerce stores with a useful solution to optimize customer search and boost sales.
Conclusion
There are excellent e-commerce platforms suitable for different types and sizes of Australian businesses. Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce offer all-rounded solutions for small to medium stores, while Magento and Squarespace cater to the needs of large enterprises. Expertrec further improves the shopping and product discovery experience on any of these platforms through its customer search engine. Australian merchants can choose the right platform to build an online presence, sell seamlessly online, and achieve their commercial goals.
