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In the ecommerce web development game Shopify is a big player with a healthy list of successful stores to back it up. However, it’s not the only player in ecommerce town, it has some major disadvantages, and other, open source ecommerce website design platforms may suit your business better.
Open Source Ecommerce Development
Open source platforms offer a wide range of benefits that Shopify ecommerce is notably lacking starting with complete ownership. Should the need or desire arise you are able to transfer your entire site anywhere you’d like with an open source platform. With Shopify, the essentially own your website and allow you to use it.
Another major win for businesses using open source platforms is that there are no additional transaction costs or monthly fees. Platforms like Wix and Shopify hide their best modules and services behind a pay wall that can end up eating deeply into your profits whereas open source offers you all the goodies up front and often free of charge.
10 Best Shopify Alternatives
Below are the 10 best Shopify alternatives that are able to host your company’s ecommerce website. Whether you’re just starting out or redesigning your site one of these 10 could be a perfect match for your needs.
Big Commerce
Offering you an unlimited amount of products, Big Commerce also allows you to manage your stores across several platforms including Amazon, eBay, and Facebook. Great for businesses that want to utilize SEO.
WooCommerce (WordPress)
This free, opensource platform competes well with the big players. Easily integrate this ecommerce platform into your WordPress website and enjoy no additional transaction fees.
Magento
Magento ecommerce is a free, open source platform that’s used by large companies including Ford and Nike. Boasting an immense selection of features and premium SEO tools this platfom is great for mid to large sized businesses.
OpenCart
Featuring over 2500 themes this open source, free PHP platform allows you to customize to your business’ needs. It abounds with payment and shipping options and is a highly popular choice.
Joomla
Claiming nearly six percent of the market, Joomla demonstrates its popularity. Primarily used by individual store owners it’s also used by schools.
BigCartel
Packed with Google Analytics, Paypal, and Facebook integration, BigCartel is simple to use and offers no extra transaction fees. It’s popular among artists.
Prestashop
Free, though you have to provide hosting, this platform is favored by entrepreneurs with limited budgets. Supporting international sales Prestashop offers multilingual integration.
ZenCart
Offering a strong community that provides support in several languages, Zencart is an open source PHP that includes over 1800 add ons.
Bagisto
Ideal for solopreneurs and startups this PHP open source platform allows you to control multi-channel inventory and features excellent SEO capabilities.
OSCommerce
A bastion of longevity, this platform is one of the oldest and is used in over thirteen thousand ecommerce shops. Needless to say it has a robust and helpful community and a large library of add ons.
If you’re ready to create or transition to an open source platform reach out to Thought Media, an ecommerce web developer with international website design experience.
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