Top 12 Best Website Builders for Online Stores in 2025

Building a successful online business starts with choosing the perfect foundation. The right e-commerce platform does more than just display your products; it manages inventory, processes payments, and provides the tools you need to grow. With countless options available, finding the one that aligns with your business model, technical skill, and budget can feel overwhelming. This guide is designed to cut through the noise and provide a detailed, practical breakdown of the best website builders for online stores.

We move beyond generic feature lists to give you actionable insights. Each entry in this comprehensive resource includes an honest assessment of its strengths and limitations, ideal use cases, and key implementation considerations. Whether you're a solopreneur launching your first line of custom t-shirts, a small business scaling its retail operations, or a growing brand in need of advanced enterprise features, this list will help you make an informed decision.

This is not a surface-level review. We've analyzed 12 top-tier platforms, from all-in-one giants like Shopify and BigCommerce to specialized solutions like Big Cartel for creators and the highly customizable WooCommerce for WordPress. For each builder, you will find direct links to their website, clear screenshots of the user interface, and a transparent look at pricing structures. Our goal is to equip you with the specific information needed to select a platform that not only meets your current needs but is also prepared to scale with your future success. Let's find the right digital storefront for your business.

1. Shopify

Shopify is a household name in e-commerce, and for good reason. It’s an all-in-one platform that provides everything needed to start, run, and grow a business, making it one of the best website builders for online stores of any size. From first-time sellers to established brands, its robust infrastructure and intuitive interface simplify the process of launching a professional storefront. The platform handles hosting, security, and updates, allowing you to focus purely on your products and customers.

What truly sets Shopify apart is its comprehensive ecosystem. The platform boasts over 100 professional themes and a vast App Store with more than 8,000 apps, enabling endless customization and functionality. This means you can add features like loyalty programs, advanced analytics, or dropshipping integrations with just a few clicks.

Key Features & Considerations

Shopify excels with its native tools. Shopify Payments offers transparent credit card rates and integrated fraud analysis, streamlining the checkout process. Its built-in shipping tools provide discounted rates from major carriers and support multi-location inventory management. For businesses with a physical presence, Shopify POS creates a seamless omnichannel experience, syncing online and in-store sales.

• Pros: Excellent ecosystem and support, fast setup, reliable infrastructure, strong multichannel tools.

• Cons: App and add-on costs can accumulate, and a transaction fee applies if you don't use Shopify Payments.

• Best For: Businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, who need a scalable, reliable, and feature-rich e-commerce solution.

Website: https://www.shopify.com/pricing?utm_source=openai

2. Wix eCommerce

Wix is widely known as a user-friendly website builder, but its Wix eCommerce platform transforms it into a powerful tool for online sellers. It provides a full-stack solution that combines creative freedom with robust business management features, making it one of the best website builders for online stores that prioritize design and ease of use. The platform offers a highly intuitive visual editor, allowing users to build a unique storefront without needing any coding knowledge.

What makes Wix eCommerce stand out is its combination of design flexibility and built-in functionality. With over 900 customizable templates and AI-powered design assistants like Wix ADI, getting a professional-looking site live is incredibly fast. Beyond aesthetics, it includes a comprehensive suite of native marketing and SEO tools, secure and scalable hosting, and multichannel sales capabilities that let you sell directly on social media and major marketplaces. Adhering to website design best practices is straightforward with its drag-and-drop interface.

Key Features & Considerations

Wix eCommerce excels with its all-in-one approach. Wix Payments provides a native payment processing solution, while the platform also supports over 50 other gateways. Its infrastructure is built for performance, offering enterprise-grade security with DDoS protection, automatic backups, and a free SSL certificate. For businesses looking to grow, the Wix App Market offers hundreds of apps to extend functionality, and its POS solution helps unify online and offline sales channels seamlessly.

• Pros: Very easy to design, robust built-in features, and good value pricing tiers.

• Cons: Once a template is chosen, you must rebuild the site to switch, and power users may want more headless flexibility.

• Best For: Small to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs who want maximum design control without sacrificing essential e-commerce features.

Website: https://www.wix.com/ecommerce/website/?utm_source=openai

3. Squarespace (Commerce)

Squarespace is renowned for its design-first approach, making it one of the best website builders for online stores where aesthetics and brand presentation are paramount. It offers an elegant, all-in-one solution for entrepreneurs and creatives who want a beautiful storefront without needing to code. The platform seamlessly integrates commerce features into its award-winning templates, allowing for the sale of physical products, digital goods, services, and even memberships, all within a polished and cohesive user experience.

What makes Squarespace stand out is its powerful yet intuitive Fluid Engine editor, which provides drag-and-drop flexibility to create visually stunning product pages and content. This focus on combining commerce with rich storytelling capabilities is ideal for brands that rely on strong visual narratives to drive sales. The platform handles all the technical aspects, from hosting to security, simplifying the entire process.

Key Features & Considerations

Squarespace Commerce comes packed with essential native tools right out of the box. Built-in features like abandoned cart recovery, customer accounts, and advanced discount options are available on higher-tier plans without needing third-party apps. Its integrations with Instagram Shopping and Acuity Scheduling are particularly powerful for service-based businesses or social sellers. For those with a physical footprint, the Squarespace POS app allows for synchronized in-person and online sales.

• Pros: Polished design and excellent user experience, strong combination of content and store features, all-in-one ease of use.

• Cons: Fewer third-party integrations compared to competitors like Shopify, and the entry-level commerce plan includes a transaction fee.

• Best For: Creatives, artists, and brand-focused businesses that prioritize sophisticated design and need an integrated solution for selling products, services, or digital content.

Website: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/squarespace?utm_source=openai

4. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a powerful SaaS e-commerce platform built for serious growth, making it one of the best website builders for online stores with large catalogs and ambitious scaling goals. It's particularly well-suited for businesses that are rapidly expanding, offering enterprise-level features without the enterprise-level price tag. The platform is designed to handle complexity, supporting everything from B2B functionalities to sophisticated multi-storefront and omnichannel selling strategies right out of the box.

What truly distinguishes BigCommerce is its commitment to open architecture and cost transparency. Unlike many competitors, it charges 0% in additional platform transaction fees, regardless of the payment processor you use. This, combined with its robust APIs for headless commerce, gives merchants incredible flexibility to build custom shopping experiences and integrate with existing systems without being penalized for growth.

Key Features & Considerations

BigCommerce shines with its native functionality. Its built-in SEO tools, strong B2B features like custom pricing and bulk ordering, and native multi-storefront management empower businesses to serve diverse audiences from a single dashboard. The platform's powerful catalog management can handle thousands of SKUs and complex product variations with ease. It also provides 24/7 support and a comprehensive app marketplace to extend functionality.

• Pros: Scales well for growing businesses, transparent pricing caps based on revenue tiers, enterprise capabilities without heavy add-ons.

• Cons: Theme and design flexibility is less intuitive than competitors like Wix, and plans automatically upgrade when revenue thresholds are met.

• Best For: Fast-growing mid-market businesses, B2B sellers, and brands that need a scalable, open platform with powerful native features and no transaction fees.

Website: https://www.bigcommerce.com/essentials/pricing-treatment-2/?utm_source=openai

5. WooCommerce (for WordPress)

For those who already love WordPress or desire complete control over their online store, WooCommerce is the undisputed champion. It’s not a standalone website builder but a powerful, open-source plugin that transforms any WordPress site into a fully functional e-commerce platform. This approach offers unparalleled flexibility, allowing you to build a store that is uniquely yours, free from the design constraints of all-in-one solutions.

What makes WooCommerce a top contender among the best website builders for online stores is its limitless customization. Since you own the code, you can modify anything. Its massive extension marketplace allows you to add specialized features like subscriptions, bookings, or complex product configurators. This freedom, combined with the world-class content management capabilities of WordPress, creates a potent combination for content-rich stores and savvy marketers. If you choose this route, insights on optimizing WordPress for e-commerce can help you unlock its full potential.

Key Features & Considerations

While the core WooCommerce plugin is free, the total cost depends on your needs. You must arrange your own hosting, which gives you control over performance but also adds responsibility. Because performance is so critical, it's wise to learn more about how to improve website loading speed. WooCommerce Payments offers a native, integrated payment solution, but you can also connect to virtually any gateway, including Stripe and PayPal. The platform's true power lies in its extensive ecosystem of themes and plugins that cater to every imaginable business model.

• Pros: Maximum flexibility and ownership of your store, low initial platform cost, and a vast ecosystem of themes and plugins.

• Cons: Requires more technical setup and ongoing maintenance, and total costs can increase with hosting and paid extensions.

• Best For: Tech-savvy entrepreneurs and businesses that prioritize content marketing and require a highly customized e-commerce solution with full control.

Website: https://woocommerce.com/pt/posts/woocommerce-pricing/?utm_source=openai

6. Square Online (by Square)

Square Online is a powerful entry into e-commerce, especially for businesses already utilizing Square’s payment and point-of-sale (POS) systems. It’s designed as a fully integrated solution, allowing merchants to manage in-person and online sales from a single, unified dashboard. This makes it one of the best website builders for online stores that operate both a physical location, like a café or boutique, and a digital storefront, ensuring seamless inventory and order management across all channels.

The platform’s key strength is its simplicity and speed to market. For existing Square users, launching a basic store can take minutes, as product libraries and payment information are already synced. It offers a free-to-start plan that is genuinely useful, enabling businesses to sell online, offer curbside pickup, and even manage local delivery without a monthly subscription fee, only paying for transaction processing.

Key Features & Considerations

Square Online's core value lies in its tight integration with the broader Square ecosystem. This means payments, invoicing, loyalty programs, marketing campaigns, and appointment scheduling all work together effortlessly. The platform handles everything from payment processing to creating "pay-by-link" options for custom orders. For service-based businesses, the integration with Square Appointments is a significant advantage, allowing clients to book and pay for services directly through the website.

• Pros: Fastest setup for sellers already using Square, strong POS integration, no monthly fee to get started.

• Cons: The ecosystem is Square-centric, and advanced features often require upgrading to paid plans or add-ons.

• Best For: Small businesses, restaurants, and retailers, particularly in the US, who need a simple, cost-effective way to unify their in-person and online sales channels.

Website: https://squareup.com/pricing?utm_source=openai

7. GoDaddy Online Store

GoDaddy is widely known for domain registration and hosting, but its Online Store builder offers an incredibly simple and streamlined path to e-commerce. Designed for beginners and small businesses that need to get online quickly, it combines website creation, marketing tools, and sales channels into one unified dashboard. This all-in-one approach removes the technical hurdles often associated with launching a store, allowing users to build a functional site in under an hour.

What makes GoDaddy stand out is its simplicity and speed. The builder uses an ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) system that generates a template based on your industry, making the initial setup nearly automatic. You can build your entire site for free and only need to upgrade to a paid plan when you are ready to start accepting payments. This low-risk entry point makes it one of the best website builders for online stores just starting out.

Key Features & Considerations

GoDaddy integrates its core services seamlessly. You can manage your domain, website, email marketing, and social media posts from a single location. The platform includes essential e-commerce features like abandoned cart recovery, flexible shipping options, and the ability to sell on marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy. For service-based businesses, it also offers a convenient online appointment booking tool that syncs with your calendar.

• Pros: Low barrier to entry, extremely easy and quick setup process, one vendor for domain, hosting, and site management.

• Cons: Less extensible than dedicated platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce, with limited advanced customization options.

• Best For: Solopreneurs, freelancers, and small businesses that need a simple, fast, and affordable way to launch an online store with minimal technical effort.

Website: https://www.godaddy.com/websites/online-store?utm_source=openai

8. Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Commerce)

Adobe Commerce, formerly known as Magento, is an enterprise-grade e-commerce platform designed for large-scale B2C and B2B brands that require deep customization and robust functionality. It’s a composable, API-first solution that offers unparalleled control over the digital storefront, making it a powerful choice for global businesses with complex requirements. The platform integrates seamlessly into the Adobe Experience Cloud, providing a unified suite of tools for marketing, analytics, and content management.

What truly distinguishes Adobe Commerce is its headless-ready architecture and extensive extensibility. Leveraging GraphQL and REST APIs, businesses can create unique, high-performance customer experiences across any channel. Its feature set includes AI-powered product recommendations, advanced merchandising, multi-storefront support from a single backend, and powerful global selling capabilities, solidifying its position as one of the best website builders for online stores at the enterprise level. Given its complexity, it's crucial to implement strong website security; for more on this topic, learn more about website security best practices.

Key Features & Considerations

Adobe Commerce delivers sophisticated tools tailored for complex operations. Its B2B functionality is a major strength, offering features like company accounts, custom catalogs, and quote management directly out of the box. AI-powered live search and product recommendations enhance the customer journey, driving conversions and increasing average order value. The platform’s ability to manage intricate product catalogs and support global operations with multiple currencies and languages is second to none.

• Pros: Extremely powerful and customizable platform, enterprise-level tooling for global scale, strong integration with the Adobe ecosystem.

• Cons: Complex implementation requires significant technical expertise, custom pricing leads to a higher total cost of ownership.

• Best For: Large enterprises and established B2B or B2C brands that need a highly scalable, flexible, and feature-rich commerce solution with specific customization needs.

Website: https://business.adobe.com/products/magento/intelligent-commerce.html?utm_source=openai

9. Ecwid by Lightspeed

Ecwid by Lightspeed offers a unique and flexible approach to e-commerce, distinguishing itself from traditional all-in-one platforms. Instead of requiring you to build a new website from scratch, Ecwid allows you to add a full-featured online store to any existing website, blog, or social media page. This makes it an excellent choice for businesses that already have an online presence and want to start selling without a complete site overhaul.

The platform’s core strength is its embeddable nature. With a simple copy-and-paste code snippet, you can integrate your storefront into WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or any other site builder. For those without a website, Ecwid provides a free, one-page "Instant Site" to get you selling immediately. This versatility, combined with powerful features like social selling integrations, makes it one of the most adaptable website builders for online stores.

Key Features & Considerations

Ecwid stands out by not charging its own transaction fees on any plan, including its free-forever tier. This plan allows you to sell up to five products, making it perfect for testing the waters. As you upgrade, you unlock powerful capabilities like selling on Amazon and eBay, abandoned cart recovery, and subscription-based products. Ecwid's mobile app is also a major highlight, enabling you to manage your entire store, from inventory to sales, directly from your smartphone. The platform supports automated tax calculations and provides a multilingual storefront to help you sell internationally.

• Pros: Easily integrates with any existing website, offers a robust free plan, and charges no transaction fees.

• Cons: Design customization is more limited than dedicated builders, and key features are reserved for higher-priced plans.

• Best For: Small to midsize businesses with an established website or social presence looking to quickly add e-commerce functionality.

Website: https://www.ecwid.com/pricing/?utm_source=openai

10. Shift4Shop

Shift4Shop, formerly 3dcart, offers a uniquely powerful proposition for U.S.-based merchants. It provides a feature-rich, enterprise-grade e-commerce platform completely free of charge for those who use Shift4 as their payment processor. This model bundles hosting, an SSL certificate, and robust store management tools into a cost-effective package, making it one of the best website builders for online stores focused on minimizing initial investment while maximizing functionality.

What makes Shift4Shop stand out is the sheer number of advanced features included out-of-the-box. While other platforms often require paid apps for functions like B2B customer groups, bulk pricing, or advanced SEO tools, Shift4Shop integrates them natively. This approach provides deep control over every aspect of the store, from product management to marketing, without the need for a patchwork of third-party add-ons.

Key Features & Considerations

Shift4Shop is built for serious e-commerce from the ground up. It supports unlimited products, categories, and bandwidth, ensuring scalability as your business grows. The platform includes real-time shipping rate calculations, a built-in blogging engine, and integrated email marketing tools to help you attract and retain customers. For businesses with complex needs, its B2B features are particularly strong, offering tools that are typically reserved for expensive enterprise plans on other platforms.

• Pros: Very cost-effective if using Shift4 payment processing, rich feature set out-of-the-box, includes SSL and domain on certain plans.

• Cons: Best value is tied specifically to the Shift4 payment processor, and the user interface feels more traditional compared to some modern builders.

• Best For: U.S.-based businesses looking for an all-inclusive, feature-packed solution without monthly platform fees, especially those with B2B or complex product catalogs.

Website: https://www.shift4shop.com/end-to-end-plan.html?utm_source=openai

11. Big Cartel

Big Cartel is designed specifically for artists, makers, and creators, offering a simple and accessible way to sell products online. It carves out its niche by avoiding the complexity of larger platforms, making it one of the best website builders for online stores with a small, focused product catalog. This platform is all about providing the essential tools to get a store up and running quickly without a steep learning curve or significant financial investment.

What makes Big Cartel stand out is its "for artists, by artists" ethos. The entire experience is tailored to individuals and small creative businesses, with clean, minimalist templates that let the products shine. It offers a free plan for up to five products, allowing anyone to start selling with zero platform fees, a major draw for those just starting their entrepreneurial journey.

Key Features & Considerations

Big Cartel focuses on core e-commerce necessities. Users get inventory tracking, order management, and tools to set up discounts and promotions. You can manage your business on the go with dedicated mobile apps for both iOS and Android. While its feature set is intentionally lean, it integrates with essential services like Stripe and PayPal for payments, and Zapier for connecting to other marketing and fulfillment apps.

• Pros: Very affordable pricing with a free plan, straightforward and easy to use, ideal for small product lines.

• Cons: Limited scalability and fewer advanced features, a smaller set of integrations compared to larger platforms.

• Best For: Artists, musicians, designers, and makers who need a simple, no-fuss platform to sell a limited number of products directly to their audience.

Website: https://www.bigcartel.com/plans/premium?utm_source=openai

12. Webflow Ecommerce

Webflow Ecommerce is a designer’s dream, merging a powerful visual web development platform with robust e-commerce capabilities. It offers unparalleled design control, allowing brands and agencies to build completely custom, pixel-perfect online stores without writing code. This platform is ideal for those who want to create unique, highly branded shopping experiences that break the mold of traditional e-commerce templates, making it one of the best website builders for online stores that prioritize design.

What truly makes Webflow stand out is its seamless integration of a world-class CMS with e-commerce functionality. This allows you to build rich, content-driven product pages, lookbooks, and blog posts that convert. The visual editor gives you direct control over every element, interaction, and animation, ensuring your brand’s personality shines through in every detail of the customer journey.

Key Features & Considerations

Webflow’s strength lies in its advanced design editor, which essentially brings the power of front-end coding into a visual interface. You can manage everything from custom product grids to intricate checkout flows. The platform is performance-focused, delivering fast-loading storefronts with clean code and strong SEO controls to help your products get discovered. It also supports up to 15,000 e-commerce items on its advanced plans, making it suitable for growing catalogs.

• Pros: Best-in-class design control and customization, strong CMS and e-commerce combination for branded experiences, highly flexible for front-end developers and designers.

• Cons: Steeper technical learning curve than simpler builders, and some native account and membership features are being moved to partner integrations.

• Best For: Design-conscious brands, creative agencies, and businesses that need complete control over their store’s front-end experience and visual identity.

Website: https://webflow.com/ecommerce

Top 12 Online Store Builders Comparison

Making Your Final Choice: Which Builder is Right for You?

Navigating the landscape of the best website builders for online stores can feel overwhelming, but the journey to launching your e-commerce business is now clearer. We've explored twelve powerful platforms, each with a unique set of strengths tailored to different types of entrepreneurs and business models. The key takeaway is simple: there is no single "best" platform, only the one that is best for you.

Your final decision hinges on a careful assessment of your specific business needs, technical skills, and long-term growth aspirations. The ideal choice is a platform that not only meets your current requirements but can also scale with you as your business evolves.

Recapping the Top Contenders and Their Core Strengths

Let's distill our in-depth analysis into a strategic summary to guide your choice:

• For the All-Rounder: Shopify stands out as the market leader for a reason. Its robust, scalable infrastructure, massive app ecosystem, and comprehensive e-commerce features make it the go-to choice for businesses of all sizes, from ambitious startups to established enterprises.

• For Creative Control & Ease of Use: Wix eCommerce and Squarespace are perfect for brands where visual storytelling is paramount. They offer stunning templates and intuitive drag-and-drop editors, making them ideal for creative entrepreneurs, designers, and small businesses focused on brand identity.

• For WordPress Loyalists: If you're already committed to the WordPress ecosystem, WooCommerce is the undisputed champion. It offers unparalleled customization and control, allowing you to build a truly bespoke online store, provided you're comfortable with a steeper learning curve.

• For High-Growth Ambitions: BigCommerce is a formidable competitor, particularly for serious retailers planning for significant scale. It offers a powerful native feature set with zero transaction fees, which can be a major cost-saver as you grow. If your decision is narrowing down to the top two contenders, exploring a detailed comparison of Shopify and BigCommerce can provide the granular insights needed to make a confident choice.

• For Niche & Budget-Conscious Sellers: Platforms like Big Cartel (for artists), Square Online (for brick-and-mortar integration), and Ecwid (to add a store to any existing site) provide excellent, cost-effective entry points into the e-commerce world.

A Practical Checklist for Your Final Decision

Before you commit, run through this final checklist. Grab a notepad and answer these questions honestly. Your answers will illuminate the path forward.

1. What is my realistic budget? Factor in monthly subscription fees, transaction costs, app expenses, and potential theme purchases.

2. How much time can I invest? Be honest about your availability for initial setup and ongoing management. A platform like WooCommerce requires more time than a streamlined solution like Shopify or Wix.

3. What is my technical comfort level? Do you want a simple, all-in-one solution, or are you comfortable managing plugins, updates, and minor code tweaks?

4. What are my essential "must-have" features? Do you need advanced inventory management, subscription capabilities, or specific marketing integrations? Make a list and check it against each platform's offerings.

5. Where do I see my business in three years? Choose a platform that won't just support your launch but will also facilitate your future growth without requiring a costly and complex migration.

Ultimately, choosing one of the best website builders for your online store is the foundational step in turning your vision into a reality. The right tool will empower you, not hinder you. It will automate the complexities of e-commerce, allowing you to focus on what you do best: creating great products and building lasting relationships with your customers. Trust your research, consider your unique goals, and take that exciting first step.

Ready to skip the complexity and launch your online store faster than ever? Alpha uses advanced AI to build a fully functional, professional-grade e-commerce website for you in minutes. Get your products online and start selling today with Alpha.