How to Sell Online: Top 21 Platforms

Learning how to sell online may be an easier task than you think if you plan and count with the right tools. The ecommerce industry has grown significantly in the last few years and presents an opportunity for companies that already have physical stores to expand their market, and entrepreneurs to start their businesses selling products worldwide. 

You will find thousands of different online stores, and multiple business models as well. You can have an ecommerce store that sells digital products, services (such as classes, massage, and housekeeping), or physical items. It's possible to focus on offering just one type of product or investing in variety. It depends on your strategy and goals. 

11 Steps to Learn How to Sell Online#

1.  Define What You Will Sell#

To understand how to sell online and begin your journey of creating your store, you need to define which products will be available on your ecommerce store. Will you focus on a specific niche by selling a smaller range of products or invest in variety? 

Both strategies have their pros and cons. If you focus on a niche and choose to sell just one type of product, for example, scented candles, your target audience is smaller. On the other hand, you have less competition and can invest in becoming an expert in this sector, making your brand stand out among the others.

If you opt for commercializing a bigger range of products, like electronics, your target audience is much bigger, but so is the competition. However, you can sell from smartphones to computers. 

Once you decide which product will be available in your store, then it's time to analyze the principal aspects of the market you are getting in and draft the strategies accordingly.

2. Establish How Your Will Source Your Products#

There are many options regarding product sourcing, and it has to do with the business model you wish to follow. Do you want to manufacture your own products, or will you be a reseller? 

If you are going to make the items, it's necessary to look for suppliers and find the best partners, which can deliver the materials you need for a good price and respect your deadline. Being a manufacturer entails several costs that must be included in your business plan. 

Resellers, however, don't have to worry about the manufacturing process, but it's crucial to find reliable companies to source your products. In this case, you can opt for being responsible for the whole selling process, stocking the items, packaging, and delivering them or you can opt for the dropshipping model. 

With drop shipping, you are in charge of managing sales and marketing, but the partner company is the one that will store the products, package and send them. This business model is a solution for entrepreneurs that don't have much capital since dropshipping doesn't require spending on manufacturing, renting a space to keep the products, and hiring employees to take care of the packaging and delivery processes. 

3. Get to Know Your Audience#

When you know what you will sell, it's possible to draw a profile of who your potential customers are. There are some very important questions that need to be answered so you will be able to draw effective strategies considering your target audience. 

• What is the age range of your target audience?
• Where do most of them live?
• What social media do they use? 
• What type of content do they like to consume on the internet?
• What are their demands that you can help to solve? 

With that information, the target audience is no longer a question mark, but they gain a face. You can put yourself in their shoes and start thinking about how to draw their attention, convince them to buy, and conquer loyal customers. The target audience profile always needs to be taken into consideration when creating marketing and sales strategies. 

4. Research Your Competition#

Physical stores that have to stand out among a few competitors in the same region they are located. While on the internet, there may be thousands of ecommerce websites from around the world selling the same thing that you sell. 

Therefore, it's crucial to search what strategies your competitors are using in the digital world. Identifying where they are placing ads, the social media channels they have pages or profiles, and other strategies like special offers, loyalty cards, and discount coupons. 

This doesn't mean that you are going to copy everything the other businesses do. On the contrary, you need to understand how they work to find out ways to make your brand stand out and not fall behind. Researching your competitors also helps to understand more about what tactics are effective with your target audience. 

5. Choose the Sales Channels You Will Use#

It's time to select which channels you will use to sell your products on the internet. The main ones are having your own website, marketplaces like Amazon, eBay and Etsy, and social media such as Instagram and Facebook. 

It's important to have a website of your own because it offers you more freedom to build an interface that is aligned with your brand's identity and also set up every detail on the pages to provide the best user and customer experience. Besides, having a website that's well-made gives credibility to your brand. 

Marketplaces offer several advantages too. You don't need to build a website, you can choose a plan that suits your needs, and just upload the products to the platform, adding photos and a description for each item. The marketplaces charge a fee to sell your products, though, and a commission for every sale. However, they already count on a basis of clients that you can enjoy to sell more, mainly if your brand is new on the market. 

Social media networks have long stopped being the place to only promote your products to become a space where customers can finalize their purchases too. Instead of being redirected to the website, the purchase process becomes simpler by reducing the steps to finalize it. You can choose to use just one sales channel or several, study what is best for your business to decide.

6. Build a Business Plan#

Once you have defined what you are going to sell, how to source the products, made complete research about your target audience and competitors, and selected the sales channels, it's needed to put everything on paper. 

Write your business plan to organize your ideas, and understand how to put everything into practice and create a successful company. The business plan should include: 

• Company values
• Mission
• Goals
• Company description
• Products and services offered
• Market analysis
• Marketing strategies
• Financial planning and projection
• Budget 

7. Create a Website#

After writing the business plan, it's time to start acting, and one of the first things that need to be developed is your website. If you don't have any coding or design experience, don't worry, you can focus on learning how to sell online and enjoy the website builders. They are easy to use and enable you to have a website running with just a few steps. 

8. Set Up The Payment Process#

You will have to choose the payment methods that will be available on your online store and other sales channels. The most popular payment method is debit and credit card, where the customer inserts the card number, and the payment confirmation usually happens in a few seconds. 

You can also enable the use of digital wallets, like Apple Pay. They store the user cards' information, so they don't have to insert them again. Many clients prefer to use this method because they feel safer that their data is protected by the company responsible for providing the digital wallet service as well. 

Another option is to partner with payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe. The user creates an account on those websites, where they put all their debit and credit card information, and use them to finalize the payment. It's similar to digital wallets. 

There are other payment methods beyond these ones, depending on the region you are in. Analyze all the options, and check the fees that are charged to select the best payment methods for you and the customers.

9. Select the Shipping Methods#

Shipping fee is a delicate matter because the price can be a decisive factor if the customer will conclude the purchase or not. Therefore, it's crucial to look for ways to make this feel less expensive for the client, but without damaging your business. If you can offer free delivery, it's even better. 

You can set up a shipping process so your company will make the deliveries, but usually, it's more advantageous to partner up with courier companies. The shipping price will vary according to where the customer lives, if they are from another county, it's more expensive.

 If you choose the dropshipping model, a third-party company will be responsible for setting up the delivery process. Study carefully the best options to increase customer satisfaction, and always keep track of the orders to avoid delays, which can be harmful to your brand's credibility.

10. Create Marketing Strategies to Promote Your Products#

When it comes to how to sell online, marketing is fundamental. Your target audience needs to know your brand to want to buy from you, right? A good thing is that the internet offers you thousands of possibilities to promote your company, services and products without having to spend much. 

You can invest in PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns to be displayed on Google, social media platforms, and other websites. But, beyond that, you can create organic content that will drive your target audience's attention. For example by having a blog on your website where you will publish high-quality articles, making a profile of your brand on Instagram, and publishing regularly on the feed and stories. 

11. Analyze Data to Improve#

After you have understood how to sell online and created your store, enjoy the analytics tools like Google Analytics, and analyze the performance of your website and other sales channels. 

You can access valuable information, such as the main region where your customers live, the average time spent on your website, the most accessed pages, and much more. Use this data to identify what are the weak points of your business and come up with new strategies. 

21 Best Platforms to Sell Online#

1. Wix#

Undoubtedly, one of the best platforms available nowadays to sell online is Wix. With a user-friendly interface, you are going to see that creating an online store is simpler than you have ever imagined. 

No design or coding skills are required, you will start by creating your account and choosing one of the business plans offered: Basic, Unlimited, or Vip. But, no worries about making the wrong choice, in all of them you will have the 14-day trial, so you can test everything you need. 

Wix offers more than 500 free pre-built templates, divided into categories such as product landing pages, accessories stores, beauty shops, supermarkets, and electronics stores. After defining the one you want to use, it's up to you to customize the entire store, to turn it into your brand's face. 

Then, you will add the products, choose the payment and shipping methods, create your domain name, and you are ready to launch. To help in this process, tWix has some very useful features, for example, Wix Payments where you can set up payment methods without having to add third parties. 

Wix also has an automated sales tax calculator, making it easier to define the prices. Beyond that, you will have a mobile-friendly ecommerce,  where you can set multi-channels to make your sales, like using social media, and manage everything from one dashboard. 

Highlighted features: 

• More than 500 free templates
• Wix payments
• Automated sales tax
• Free SSL Certificate
• Currency converter
• Express Checkout
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Multichannel inventory management
• Built-in SEO tools
• Wix Owner app

2.Bluehost#

With Bluehost, the process to learn how to sell online becomes much simpler. You can have the ecommerce website of your dreams with the help of AI. Choose your domain name and the hosting plan that best suits your needs, then select the pre-built template you prefer. You can customize all the pages, change the colors, add pictures, texts, graphic elements, and much more. 

To guarantee the quality of your website, Bluehost offers automated security updates, backup data protection, and 24/7 customer support. If there is any problem, you can count on specialized assistance. 

To enhance user experience and make it easier to manage your online store, you can install multiple plugins to the website too. To help you increase organic traffic, the platform provides SEO tools, and you can check the performance of the pages with the analytics dashboard. 

Highlighted features:

• Free domain
• Free SSL
• Free CDN
• Pre-built templates
• Insightful analytics
• Automated security updates
• Backup data protection
• 24/7 support
• SEO tools
• Powerful plugins

3. SITE123#

Site123 offers many features to build a complete online store and facilitate the management process. Focused on small businesses, your ecommerce store will be quickly ready, you choose a template, customize it, establish the type of your store, add your products and define taxes and shipping rates. 

After launching, you can easily manage your online store at the Site123 dashboard, which can be accessed on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.  As payment methods, you will be able to add the main credit cards, PayPal, and other major payment gateways. 

In case of any doubt, you can count on 24/7  live chat support, and, to ensure your customers’ security, you will have SSL certificates.  

Highlighted features:

• Many types of payment platforms
• Manage shipping and tax rates inside the system
• Automated store inventory
• Choose the accepted currencies
• SSL Certificates
• Sell from any device
• 24/7 live support

4. Webnode#

To create an online store at Webnode, you can connect to a website that you already have or create a new one. You will find several templates to opt for the one that suits you best and customize it, including choosing the idiom. The system has 24 language versions, offers an unlimited number of pages, and allows you to edit on any device.

You can add new products in a few minutes, just upload the pictures, write the description, set prices, and click to publish. Every time there is an order at your store, you receive a notification, you can manage the status order, notify your clients, and archive the fulfilled orders. 

Regardless of the template you choose, all of them are mobile-friendly, improving customer experience. Also, you can set different payment methods, credit cards, wire transfers, Stripe, and PayPal, among others. 

Highlighted features: 

• Responsive store templates
• Store statistics
• Quick and simple checkout
• Import products in bulk
• Export to price comparison sites
• GDPR friendly
• Cookie consent bar
• Integrates with Google Analytics

5. Shoplazza#

Shoplazza offers you an easy-to-use platform to create your ecommerce. You can choose a pre-built theme, then use the drag-and-drop online store builder to customize the pages as you wish. 

You will count on an inventory management system to make it simpler when it comes to organizing the stock and the orders. It stops sales when the inventory reaches zero, avoiding selling out-of-stock items. You can upload an unlimited number of products and customize up to 300 product variants.

You even have the option to add the buy button on other websites and blogs, which weren't created by Shoplazza, so you can sell in more places. Improve the checkout process using the platform AI (artificial intelligence) suggestions. 

Highlighted features:

• Pre-built templates
• Drag-and-drop online store button
• Inventory management system
• Marketing tools
• SEO tools
• Staff accounts
• Multiple payment options
• Shipping partners

6.BigCommerce#

BigCommerce offers solutions for small to big companies that want to develop their online store websites. If you are just starting your business or already have a well-established brand in your market sector, you will find the right features that align with your business objectives. 

BigCommerce Essential is focused on entrepreneurs who are starting their businesses and allows you to create a website store with no complications. Before launching your ecommerce you can start a trial and develop your website with customizable templates. 

You can set your domain, install plugins to leading page providers, and sell at other platforms by integrating channels, such as Amazon, eBay, and Google, and manage everything from BigCommerce. 

Another feature is the possibility to easily manage your inventory and integrate it with online and offline channels. To help you improve, you can count on 24/7 support, including advice from BigCommerce experts. They also have webinars, tutorials, and guides. 

BigCommerce Enterprise has all those advantages, but also offers tools for companies who desire to design with more freedom, has flexible API, allows you to use any front-end, and has specific tools for companies focused on business-to-business (B2B) sales. 

Highlighted features:

• Customizable URLs
• Plugin POS integration to leading providers
• Channels integration
• Optimized one-page checkout 
• Shopping cart recovery
• Inventory management tools
• 24/7 support
• Product filtering for searches
• Built-in coupons and discounting

7. WordPress Ecommerce#

WordPress Ecommerce allows you to have a completely personalized online store and still offers the best management tools. You can start taking payments in seconds by enabling the PayPal button, and easily setup debit and credit card payments.

You will be able to publish content and sell products using the same platform. WordPress also provides multiple plugins to enhance user experience, increase sales, and guarantee your website is safe. You will have the option to sell not only physical products but digital items as well.

Highlighted features:

• WordPress themes
• Different types of plugins
• Google apps
• Sell physical and digital products
• Enable subscriptions
• Customization tools
• Easy-to-use website editor

8. Ecwid#

Are you looking for a free ecommerce website builder? Ecwid allows you to create your store without having to pay anything and upgrade to a paid plan only if you want it. The free plan allows you to sell on different channels, like Facebook, Instagram, or Amazon, and simply manage everything with a centralized inventory. 

You can develop and control your marketing strategies on the same dashboard, for example, by creating and following up on Google and Facebook ads performance, sending automated messages to your clients, and integrating with Mailchimp.

Ecwid enables you to include several payment methods, more than 50 options, in a fast and safe way. Besides, you can choose as many shipping options as you want.

Highlighted features:

• Create your online store for free
• Customizable design tools
• Sell on social media
• Centralized inventory
• Manage your marketing actions in one place
• Integrates with Mailchimp
• Real-time shipping rates

9. WooCommerce#

Are you looking for an ecommerce builder that works perfectly for WordPress websites? No doubt, WooCommerce is the best solution for that, because it was built on WordPress, which means considering all the necessary features to perfectly sync with it.

If you already have a website WordPress, what you are going to do is to add the WooCommerce plugin and customize your store with pre-built templates. But, if you don't have it, you can start by creating your account and setting up the site along with your online store. 

One of the greatest advantages of WooCommerce is that you can add several extensions such as TaxJar, Google Ads, Mailchimp, ShipStation, Jetpack, and Facebook. They are going to help you manage your strategies in a more centralized way, and also improve the customer experience. 

Built with a REST API, Woo Commerce was thought to be a scalable tool, which means it is able to adapt according to your business needs, as you grow. To enhance your performance and learn from others, you will count on a  huge global community and be able to participate in several meetups. 

Highlighted features:

• Built on WordPress
• Customizable, open-source ecommerce platform
• 140 specific payment gateways
• Live shipping rates
• Marketing integrations
• Support forum
• Set prices in multiple currencies
• Create multilingual content
• Scalable platform 
• Hundreds of extensions
• Manage the store from your mobile device
• Track your stats
• 30-day money-back guarantee

10. Jumpseller#

When you create your online store it must have your brand’s visual identity. To do that, having customizable mobile-friendly templates will make that task much easier, and JumpSeller offers it. You can edit all the pages the way you wish, including the checkout, and have your store set up in different languages. 

Jumpseller is partnered with shipping companies, allowing you to save money by using the discounts offered, and other facilities like print labels. Besides, you can expand your business by accepting payments from different currencies and using local payment methods. 

The ecommerce builder has an all-in-one platform where you can manage different sales channels on the same dashboard, and create marketing strategies too.

Highlighted features:

• Customizable theme
• Mobile-friendly
• Translate your store into several languages
• Create your domain
• Discounts with partnered shipping carriers
• Accept various currencies
• Connect to social media
• Sell in several channels

11. Strikingly#

Strikingly isn't only a website builder, but also enables you to easily create your online store. You will find a big amount of customizable templates, which are easy to edit and all of them have a responsive design. 

The platform offers 4 different plans, Free, Limited, Pro, and VIP, all of which have the possibility to include an online store. You should pay attention, though, to the number of products each plan allows you to add. For example, in the free plan, you can sell only one product.

On the ecommerce management dashboard, you can connect to PayPal or Stripe, easily set shipping methods, and add coupons. Besides, Strikingly has tools to help you create membership logins, and forms, set up email marketing, and direct your customers to your social media pages. 

Highlighted features: 

• Register a new domain or use one you already have
• Analytics built-in
• HTTPS built-in
• Easily customizable templates
• Add links to your social media pages
• 24/7 support
• Create and manage forms
• Register memberships

12. Weebly#

Enabling entrepreneurs for developing professional ecommerce websites has become much simpler through Weebly features. With customizable themes, you can edit the one you choose and easily create a unique store by using the drag-and-drop builder. 

Weebly also offers several marketing tools, for example, you can send a welcome email to new customers or a special discount when you see an abandoned cart. You can also analyze your ecommerce performance through SEO tools and install a huge variety of apps to make the customer experience even better. 

You can launch and manage your store from anywhere, using the mobile app on your smartphone or tablet. The inventory is easily tracked, and, in case of needing to add a big number of products at the same time, you can bulk import.

Highlighted features:

• Customizable themes
• Marketing tools
• SEO tools
• Several apps to install
• Real-time shipping rates
• Bulk import
• Coupon builder
• Product search
• Automatic tax calculator

13. X-Cart#

Back in 2001, when X-Cart was founded, it was the world's first PHP-based eCommerce platform. Now, with over 20 years of experience, X-Cart provides a stable yet very flexible eCommerce solution along with a full range of complementary services, including web design, web development, hosting, and SEO consultancy. 

It is a highly-customizable eCommerce platform with open code and API-driven modern technology, which means that if you lack a feature or need any unique functionality, you can code it yourself or hire X-Cart's team or a development agency to code it for you. 

Highlighted features: 

• Powerful default functionality 
• Highly-customizable platform 
• Unlimited SKUs  
• Mobile-first customizable templates 
• Flexible payment processors 
• Hundreds of add-ons and API integrations 
• Assisted migration 
• Support for various business models 

14. Shift4Shop#

Shift4Shop is a free website builder which offers many resources, starting from giving you a big variety of professionally designed, industry-specific, and mobile-friendly templates. They have a web design tool to help you customize everything, but you can edit directly the HTML and CSS too. 

The free plan includes unlimited products, features, and bandwidth. You will also count on migration assistance and fraud protection. Shift4Shop provides marketing tools, as well, like built-in e-mail marketing, and the possibility to include group deals, daily deals, coupons, and discounts, among others.

It also has cart abandonment recovery tools, focused on automatically engaging users, and motivating them to finish their purchase. Another benefit is that each part of your website is pre-optimized for SEO.

Highlighted features:

• Inventory management tools
• Product management software
• Analytical tools
• Cart abandonment recovery tools
• SEO optimization
• Visa CPI Certified Security
• Real-time shipping rates
• Integrated with PayPal
• Centralized inventory to sell in different channels

15. Volusion#

Developing your online store without knowing how to code, and being able to set up everything by choosing a pre-built responsive theme: Volusion makes it possible and also provides a 14-day trial.   

After customizing your website design, you can add several tools such as shipping methods, other selling channels, automated email, payment gateways, and stats about your store performance. Besides, the built-in SEO management will help you to gain more visibility.

When adding your products, you have the opportunity to use some tools that will make it even simpler and more effective, like variant pricing, import products via CSV, and rich text product descriptions. 

Highlighted features:

• Responsive themes
• Add site search
• Built-in SEO
• Integration with marketplaces
• Secure checkout
• Comprehensive management system
• Search friendly URLs
• Admin Social Management
• Reporting tools

16. Magento#

Magento is the ecommerce website builder from Adobe, and it's driven to help companies to develop a great shopping experience, with several features. In the page builder, you are going to encounter an intuitive interface and content editor that allow you to customize everything, using the drag-and-drop tool.

The platform was created to help businesses of all sizes, small to big companies according to their needs. You can integrate the store with other selling channels, use B2B solutions, and easily manage your inventory.

Adobe also has a global community where you can find different partners to help you grow and find exactly what you were expecting. For example, you can have technology partners that will give you directions to optimize the way you use Magento. Community insiders, and certified Magento developers, can guide you through creating a better design. 

Highlighted features: 

• B2B ecommerce
• Customer segmentation and personalization
• Integrates with other sales channels
• Cloud-based services
• Mobile-friendly
• Live search
• Instant purchase
• Connected Enterprise Resource Planning

17. Squarespace#

Squarespace is an ecommerce website builder that will enable you to create pages that better suit your business needs. Focusing on growing and expanding, before creating your account, you will choose which template has more to do with your brand visual identity, and customize it, the images, the color palette, and fonts. 

Each online store sector has its specificities, taking that into consideration Square Space includes many tools to add to your choice and also has marketing features. This way, you can implement actions such as email campaigns, through the platform. 

They provide solutions not only to sell physical products, but also digital content, like ebooks and music, subscriptions, or services. Besides, if you sell online or in-person, you can use the Squarespace inventory to keep everything synced. 

Highlighted features: 

• Customizable templates
• Mobile optimized design
• Easy-to-use interface
• Centralized inventory
• Real-time shipping estimates for US customers
• Simple payment and checkout
• 24/7 support
• Automate sales tax filing
• Built-in SEO tools

18. PrestaShop#

With PrestaShop, you can count on a highly scalable and flexible option to have an online store that suits your client's needs. You can fully personalize the website pages by choosing a pre-built theme, adding useful features, selecting the color palette, font, inserting images, and much more. 

The platform has an intuitive interface, which means you and your team can easily learn how to navigate through its tools and make the most of it to offer the customer experience. You can manage everything from a single platform, including controlling the inventory, the payment process, and shipping. 

You also can enjoy the marketing tools to launch campaigns and promote your brand. Another advantage is the option to sell internationally, by having a multilingual store and adding multi-currency options.

Highlighted features: 

• Pre-built themes
• Easy-to-use
• All-in-one-platform
• Sell internationally
• Marketing tools
• Analytics tools
• Customer support

19. Sellfy#

Sellfy is an easy-to-use ecommerce platform that allows you to create your online store with just a few clicks. It was developed focusing on helping creators to sell their digital products and merchandise online. 

To begin, all you need to do is sign up for the platform, add your products, then customize every page to have your brand's identity. You can also use Sellfy to commercialize your products on social media like Facebook and Instagram and manage everything in one place. Enjoy the built-in marketing features to promote your store and enhance your revenue. 

You can sell a huge variety of digital products, such as ebooks, videos, audio, and other files in multiple formats. It's also possible to create digital subscriptions and charge your customers periodically, another possibility is offering video streaming services on demand. 

Highlighted features: 

• Easy-to-use
• Sell products and subscriptions
• Responsive design
• Customization tools
• Built-in marketing features
• Sell from social media
• Multiple payment options

20. BigCartel#

The BigCartel platform is recommended for artists who want to sell their products online. You will find the proper tool to make it easier to run a creative business. To begin building your online store, select one of the pre-built themes, and customize it according to your brand's visual identity.

Then, add the products, and set up important configurations such as the payment and shipping methods. You can count on very useful tools to manage your store, fulfill orders, update products, check stats, and run promotions from any device. 

Highlighted features: 

• Developed for artists by artists
• Easy-to-use
• Pre-built themes
• Personalization tools
• Management tools

21. ShopWired#

ShopWired is considered the best ecommerce platform in the United Kingdom. It offers you beautiful and responsive themes, so you can build your online store without having to design it yourself, but still be able to customize the details to be aligned with your brand's visual identity. 

The platform integrates the most important features for managing an online business, so you can centralize all your tasks in a single place. You will be able to keep track of all the orders, update the product catalog, and create promotions. If you already use another platform, you can fully migrate to ShopWired in 7 days or less.

Highlighted features: 

• Responsive design
• Pre-built themes
• Customization tools
• No coding or software installation required
• All-in-one platform
• Sell on social media
• Customer support
• Insightful reports
• Advanced b2b features

Leverage Specialized Tools for E-commerce Success#

While choosing the right platform is crucial for your online selling success, utilizing specialized tools can significantly enhance your ability to manage and grow your e-commerce business.

For Amazon sellers, it's especially beneficial to consider tools designed to optimize listings, manage inventory, and analyze market data to stay ahead of the competition. Check out the Best Amazon Seller Tools

Start Selling Online#

Now that you have learned how to sell online, don't waste time. Take the project you have always dreamed of out of the paper and enjoy the multiple possibilities that the digital world offers. 

Keep in mind, though, that new technologies are constantly being developed. This means you need to be up to date with the latest changes to keep offering great customer service, and increase revenue.