Starting a webshop
E-commerce platforms compared: how to choose one for your online store
An e-commerce platform is the software your online store runs on. It holds your products, runs the checkout, takes payments and sends orders to you. The choice decides what you pay every month, how much technical work you do and which payment methods your customers see. This guide explains the three kinds of platforms, what to compare and how the best-known options differ.
In short
- There are three kinds: hosted platforms, open-source software you host yourself, and marketplaces where you sell on someone else's site.
- Compare the total monthly cost, including transaction fees, apps and hosting, not only the plan price.
- Local payment methods matter: Bizum in Spain, iDEAL and Wero in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium.
- Hosting in the EU makes GDPR easier for a European shop.
- Check that you can export your products, customers and orders, so you are free to switch later.
What an e-commerce platform does
Every online store needs the same building blocks: a product catalogue with prices, variants and stock, a cart and checkout, payment processing, shipping rates, VAT settings, order management and hosting that keeps it all online and secure. An e-commerce platform bundles some or all of these.
How much is bundled is the real difference between platforms. Some include everything in one monthly price. Others give you free software and leave hosting, security, payments and extensions to you.
Good to know
This comparison describes how the platforms work in general. Prices and features change often, so check each platform's own pricing page before you decide.
Three kinds of e-commerce platforms
Before you compare names, decide which kind of platform fits how you want to work.
- Hosted platform: you pay a monthly fee and the provider runs the software, hosting, security and updates. Quick to start, little technical work.
- Open-source software: the software is free, but you rent hosting, install updates, arrange security and backups, and often buy extensions. Most freedom, most work.
- Marketplace: you sell on a large site such as Amazon or Etsy. Many visitors from day one, but you pay commission per sale, follow their rules and do not own the customer relationship.
Good to know
Marketplaces work best as an extra sales channel next to your own shop, not as a replacement for it.
What to compare
Feature lists look alike. These are the points where platforms really differ in cost and effort.
Your checklist
- Total monthly cost: plan, apps or extensions, hosting and theme
- Transaction fees: what you pay per order, and whether there is an extra fee for using another payment provider
- Payment methods your customers expect in each country you sell to
- Where your shop and customer data are hosted, and how that fits the GDPR
- Languages and currencies for selling abroad
- Maintenance: who installs updates and fixes security issues
- Support in your own language
- Data export: can you take products, customers and orders with you
The best-known platforms at a glance
These are the platforms most small and medium shops in Europe compare. Each suits a different kind of seller.
- Shopify: a hosted platform from Canada with a large app store. Many features come through paid apps, and on most plans there is an extra fee per sale when you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments.
- WooCommerce: a free e-commerce plugin for WordPress. Very flexible, but you arrange hosting, updates, security and backups, and many features need paid extensions.
- PrestaShop: open-source shop software from France, popular in Spain and France. You need hosting, and many features come as paid modules, so some technical knowledge helps.
- Wix: a website builder with e-commerce plans. A good fit when the website comes first and the shop is small.
- SitePack: a European hosted platform for websites and webshops, with EU hosting, local payment methods built in and no plugins to maintain.
Payment methods decide your conversion
Customers abandon a checkout when they do not see the way they like to pay. What people expect differs a lot per country, so check which methods a platform supports where you sell, and what each one costs per transaction.
Popular methods per country
- Spain: Bizum, cards and PayPal
- Netherlands: iDEAL, which is moving to Wero
- Belgium: Bancontact
- Germany: PayPal, cards and SEPA direct debit
- Across Europe: Visa and Mastercard, and increasingly Wero
Which platform fits which shop
There is no best platform for everyone. Match the platform to your situation.
- Just starting, few products, little time: a hosted platform with everything included
- Large range and a developer on hand: open-source software such as WooCommerce or PrestaShop
- Selling mainly in Europe and want EU hosting: a European hosted platform
- Testing whether a product sells at all: a marketplace, next to a simple shop of your own
- Website first, shop second: a website builder with a shop module
SitePack as your e-commerce platform
SitePack is built in Europe and runs on European servers. A webshop starts at 25 euro per month on Starter, billed yearly, with your domain, business email, SSL and daily backups included. You add unlimited products with variants that have their own price and stock, set shipping rates per country and run discounts. There are no plugins to install or update.
Payments run through SitePack Payments, with cards, PayPal, SEPA direct debit, Bizum, iDEAL, Wero and Bancontact, at a transparent rate per transaction. Moving from Shopify? We have a page on how to switch.
Try it free for 14 days, without payment details. Prefer to have it built? We set up your webshop for 750 euro one-off.
- Webshop from 25 euro per month, billed yearly
- Unlimited products, variants, shipping per country and discounts
- Local payment methods through SitePack Payments
- EU hosting, SSL and daily backups included
- 14-day free trial, or built for you for 750 euro
Keep reading
- How to start an online store The full guide, from idea to first order.
- What a webshop costs Every cost of a webshop, explained.
- How to sell online Channels, payments, shipping and first customers.
- Switch from Shopify to SitePack Move your products and orders across.
- SitePack vs Shopify The European alternative, side by side.
- Try a webshop free for 14 days Build your shop before you pay anything.
Ready to get started?
Put your first version together today. Fourteen days free to try, no payment details needed.