Searching For The Best E Commerce Sites
Introduction.
Having a solid E Commerce site is of critical importance as more people do their shopping online rather than physical retail stores. As a digital entrepreneur, you naturally want to look for the best eCommerce platform for your business that would fit into your budget. And where you don't lose an arm or leg paying for it. You watch your costs but at the same time you have high expectations on the quality of the platform. It is perfectly normal to approach things that way as a digital entrepreneur. Join us in our examination of the best E Commerce sites and the search for the best eCommerce website platform for your firm whether it is a large business, small business, or a startup.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Table Of Contents
*** Click Below To Jump To Section ***Introduction.
Digital Entrepreneurs Need The Best E Commerce Sites.
Comparing Features Between E Commerce Brands.
Shift4Shop - Best eCommerce Platform Small Business.
.....And Shift4Shop Is The Best eCommerce Platform For Startups.
.....But what if the small business becomes a large company later?
.....Is this platform good for B2C business or B2B business?
.....But I am looking for specific features you haven't mentioned yet.
Shift4Shop Review.
.....What Types Of Websites Can You Build With Shift4Shop?
.....Totally Free Reliable and Scalable eCommerce Hosting.
.....Online Store.
.....Website Builder, Content Management System (CMS).
.....Built-in Blog.
.....Targeted Email Marketing System.
.....Cart And Checkout.
.....Payment Processing.
.....Shipping.
.....Sales Tax.
.....High Security, PCI DSS, SSL.
.....Auto Followup After Purchases Via Email.
.....Recover Abandoned Carts.
.....Order Management Software.
.....Inventory Management Software.
.....Powerful eCommerce Marketing Software For Your Business.
.....Your Own Dedicated Support Team.
Are You Overwhelmed Yet? Don't Be.
.....Focus On Using The Features You Need Now.
.....There Is An Advantage To Having More Than You Need.
.....Video - Selling Online Quickly & Easily With Shift4Shop
.....More Videos - How To Use Shift4Shop eCommerce Platform.
Get In While You Can.
Digital Entrepreneurs Need The Best E Commerce Sites.
As a digital entrepreneur, you want the best eCommerce platform for your business that you can afford. You look at the market and can see that the best eCommerce companies include the big players like Shopify, BigCommerce, 3dCart, among others. These three are among the best eCommerce brands who were able to take a lot of market share and for a good reason. They excelled in E Commerce for both small and large business. For these top three firms, you had to pay at least $29 per month to access the basic features of their services and up to over $2,000 per month or more if you wanted the complete end-to-end enterprise plans with all the high end features which the major corporations use for their operations. This was the going rate among the leaders. All three were big hits. There was stiff competition at the top.
But then something happened.
3dCart a long time leader in E Commerce was acquired by Shift4, a leader in payment technology. Together they combined forces to form a new formidable E Commerce platform called Shift4Shop. The combination of the two companies, leaders in both E Commerce and payment technology, was a force to be reckoned with world-wide.
The new firm, Shift4Shop, came up with a strategy to target the leading country in E Commerce which is America. They began to offer free hosting and free domain names for its clients, every year. They pay for it, not you. But there is more, actually a whole lot more. On top of that, instead of charging over $2,000 per month or more for their end-to-end enterprise platform, they decided to offer it to you totally free of charge. You should know that the enterprise eCommerce platform is the cream of the crop and companies typically pay over $2,000 a month for it. And unbelievably, you can get it free if you meet a certain condition.
Oh my goodness, what condition is that?
The condition is that you are a US citizen as the owner of the US account. At this time, only US citizens can access these premium eCommerce features to use in their business, totally free. US accounts qualify. Any other nationality is unable to take advantage of this offer at this time. Don’t ask us why, we are just reporting what we see. If you think about it, America is the leading country in E Commerce and perhaps Shift4Shop's goal is to gain a controlling market share in this side of the world which naturally would affect the markets world-wide as they tend to follow America in technology. But the offer doesn’t just stop there and is not temporary for those who get in now. For them the offer is good for life. However there is no guarantee that the door will continue stay open for newcomers. The offer is open now, later it might not be.
To clarify, what you get is a free, enterprise-grade, unlimited end-to-end eCommerce plan, for life. Absolutely no cost to you for an end-to-end enterprise-grade plan with unlimited products, users, features, and bandwidth. This is the best free eCommerce platform you can get, anywhere. That is how good this offer is for US citizens. Not sure how long this offer will stand, it would be wise to take advantage of this now just in case they decide to withdraw the offer for future clients.
But what about those who are not US citizens?
Foreigners can still get the excellent service but will need to pay for it. It is reasonably priced at a good market value. And since the Shift4Shop platform is so rich in features, they would still win. We think the investment is well worth it. But if you are a foreigner and really want to get it free then ask yourself this, do you know any US citizens that you could partner with? Are there any US citizens at your company, work, or school? Or is one of your friends a US citizen? You could make an arrangement that the US citizen you know, to obtain the Shift4Shop platform account for free under his or her name. Then he or she can join with you as a partner in business. Just a thought to consider.
But what is the catch? How will Shift4Shop make money?
Shift4Shop's core competency is payment processing and they plan on making all of their money on the backend. Every online store must have a payment processor so your interests are aligned. By giving you an online store for free, you'll process more payments which allows Shift4Shop to make more money. And you will have the best website for online store processing.
This arrangement greatly aligns your interests with Shift4Shop.
Since Shift4Shop will only make money on processing fees, they only make money if you make money. That is why Shift4Shop is on your side. You’ll have a partner eager to support your business every step of the way because it is a win win situation. Now that is a situation you and your business certainly should want to be in. Consequently, you can have the best eCommerce store in the business if you really go after it.
There are many E Commerce platforms out there now and the task of evaluating them can be complex. What separates the best eCommerce platforms from the rest? Below we have listed notable features and compared them between brands. We viewed the highlighted green as positive and red as either neutral or negative. The more green you have, the better. Check it out. You’ll be surprised to see how compelling Shift4Shop is.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Comparing Features Between E Commerce Brands.
>>> Launch Your Premium eCommerce Store Now, Completely Free For Life.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Shift4Shop - Best eCommerce Platform Small Business.
Thousands of leading E Commerce businesses trust Shift4Shop to sell online including UPS Store, The Honey Baked Ham, Hammacher Schlemmer, Hickory Farms, and more. Many small business consider Shift4Shop the best CMS for eCommerce because the platform is an all-in-one E Commerce solution with more features than any of the competition. You get everything you need to operate your business. And for US citizens, you get it free for life.
***
Go Back To Table of Contents
***
And Shift4Shop Is The Best eCommerce Platform For Startups.
Startups are sometimes operating with very little capital. Money is tight and there is the pressure to keep the budget under control. But at the same time startups need to hit the ground running and they need all the tools in their hands if they want to succeed. And they need to attract additional investors so they can grow rapidly. As a result, Shift4Shop is the best eCommerce solution for this. It is free which doesn't hurt the startup's budget at all and also investors are more attracted to startups that have a compelling business plan backed by a reputable enterprise solution.
Launch Your Premium eCommerce Store Now, Totally Free For Life.
But what if the small business becomes a large company later?
That is also where Shift4Shop excels. You can scale up and grow your business. You can sell unlimited products, with no limits on product options or variants, and organize them in unlimited categories and subcategories. Shift4Shop can support high traffic with unlimited bandwidth and the server infrastructure handles even extremely busy periods. Trust us, you are not going to lose any customers based on heavy traffic.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Is this platform good for B2C business or B2B business?
Both. You can even do both at the same time and achieve both simultaneously, if you want. Do you want to expand into the wholesale industry? No problem, the platform has advanced B2B features along with its advanced B2C features. It’s all there, built into the core software. Shift4Shop is one of the best B2B eCommerce platforms. No need to experience the hassle of getting costly plugins or third party tools (but you can if you want).
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***But I am looking for specific features you haven't mentioned yet.
No problem at all, we will try to cover all the bases right here in this article. But if for some reason you don't find the answer here, then give Shift4Shop a call. They have great customer service and would be more than happy to answer any questions, no matter how complex. Below, we try to give a broad overview of the features Shift4Shop offers.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Shift4Shop Review.
Here we are going to take a step by step review of Shift4Shop's features, capability, and strengths. By the way, if you ever need help, you can always ask Shift4Shop. Don't want to do it all by yourself? Shift4Shop has third-party design experts that know Shift4Shop inside and out!
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***What Types Of Websites Can You Build With Shift4Shop?
You will have the best framework on eCommerce for any kind of business. It is that flexible. You can build any type of website for any purpose including the below:
- Dropshipping
- Print-on-demand products
- Apparel
- Furniture
- Electronics
- Books
- Downloadable ebooks
- Toys and games
- And much more…
Totally Free Reliable and Scalable eCommerce Hosting.
- You get 99.94% Uptime and 24/7 monitoring with multiple data centers that guarantee the performance and security of your online store.
- PCI certified eCommerce web hosting.
- Monthly transparent upgrades.
- 256Bit SSL certificate included.
- FTP access to files.
- Daily backups.
- IP blocking security feature.
- Powered by Cloudflare.
Online Store.
- Your online store will automatically process purchases online.
- Optimized for mobile commerce.
- You can run your online store from your mobile cell phone, anywhere in the world.
Website Builder, Content Management System (CMS).
- You don't need coding experience, because you get a non-technical way to create your website. But if you want to code, you can also do that.
- Responsive design, looks good on any device.
- Google AMP-enabled product pages for near-instant loading.
- Deferred JavaScript and CSS so each page loads even faster.
- Free & premium themes. Can pick from existing themes and customize.
- Unlimited space to store anything including photos.
- Add products easily, including using CSV files.
- Can quickly create any type of page for eCommerce that your website needs, including product pages, categories, landing pages, and more.
- Industry-leading website design software tool lets you create and lay out text and images right on your home page, blog, or other content pages so you can build your website exactly as you envision.
- They have a WYSIWYG editor (what you see is what you get). You can move and edit all your blocks as needed, so you have total freedom to adjust your design and edit your content until you're satisfied. No need to guess how it will look - the finished result is right in front of you as you work on it directly.
- Home page carousel with featured products.
- Fully mobile-friendly store design.
- Easily one of the best free online store website builder for eCommerce.
Built-in Blog.
- You can create content to attract clients.
- These capabilities of the blog is considered one of the best eCommerce blogs there is.
- Carries over all your blog's earned SEO authority to the rest of your online store, making this one of the best eCommerce platform SEO for marketing.
Targeted Email Marketing System.
- You can have newsletters emailed to your members, drip campaigns, abandoned cart notifications, and much more.
Cart And Checkout.
- You get seamless, bug-free checkout.
- Includes both customer accounts and guest checkout.
- Customers have their own shopping cart and can view and edit their cart at any time and also save it for later.
- Shareable, customizable wish lists.
- Can offer digital gift certificates.
- Create the perfect gift registry.
- You can let customers haggle with make-an-offer ability.
- Loyalty programs that awards points for every purchase.
Payment Processing.
- You can process Paypal, Credit Cards, Masterpass, eChecks, Bitcoin, and even handle financing. Also supports over 160 alternative payment providers around the world.
- Includes a powerful and versatile point-of-sale (POS) system for in-person transactions.
Shipping.
- You'll enjoy real-time shipping rates.
- Connect your store to several carriers including USPS, Canada Post, UPS, FedEx, and more international carriers. You can print pre-filled labels right from your dashboard.
- Set up custom shipping types including free shipping (with or without a threshold), flat rate, local delivery, and more.
- Send tracking numbers, "Out for Delivery" updates, and delivery confirmations to ease customers' shipping concerns.
Sales Tax.
- You can set tax rates based on your location.
- Makes it simple to set up the correct tax rates for orders in every state, province, and country in the world, including VAT when required. Set tax rates based on your location, customers' locations, or other criteria to ensure you charge the correct amount on every order, every time.
- Supports full integration of your online store with Avalara, a popular third-party tax software solution, including AvaTax for real-time calculations.
High Security, PCI DSS, SSL.
- Your clients payment data is safe as the platform meets rigorous security standards.
- PCI compliance includes 256-bit SSL encryption, regularly-scheduled security tests, and numerous other best practices regarding the safety of your customers' personal and payment data.
Auto Followup After Purchases Via Email.
- You can have timed emails sent to the client after order, showing that you're interested in maintaining a relationship with them.
Recover Abandoned Carts.
- Your client forget his/her items in the cart? No worries, the platform remembers everything, even if client leaves unfinished.
- Automated emails to customers with abandoned carts, and can include a discount as an incentive for the customer to complete their purchase.
Order Management Software.
- Your client orders get processed from beginning to end. Keeps you organized and makes order processing easy.
- Complete tool set for processing orders.
- For new orders you can have push notifications to your email or phone.
- Automatic status updates sent to the email address clients entered at checkout.
- Print shipping labels right from your dashboard. Makes shipping labels a breeze by letting you print them directly from the customer's order, a valuable time-saver.
- Print labels for popular shipping carriers like UPS, FedEx, USPS and more.
- RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) system makes it simple to process returns and exchanges. Smooth returns and increase satisfaction with store credit.
- Subscription service that will automatically place a new order for the customer when the time comes. Recurring orders provide a consistent source of income and improve customer loyalty to your brand.
- CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) software.
- Maintains customer accounts and records.
- You can make support available to customers via a configurable ticket system.
- CAPTCHA for CRM to eliminate the occurrence of spam.
- Advanced organization with eCommerce automation rules.
- Robust pre-orders system let customers pre-purchase products before the release date.
- Expandable integrations.
- Sync with eBay, Amazon, Google Shopping, Social Media, etc.
Inventory Management Software.
- You can add, edit, manage, and track products.
- Unlimited product images, dynamic zoom, embedded video.
- Upselling and cross-selling tools so you can offer upgrades to purchases.
- Product comparison module lets customers compare up to 4 products side-by-side.
- Detailed stock counts, stock alerts, and out-of-stock settings.
- Purchase Order system automatically generates Purchase Orders when your stock falls below a configurable level.
- Barcode scanning.
- Sell digital downloads.
- Sell gift certificates.
- Built-in review system makes it easy for customers to review your products.
- Can allow clients to contribute their own questions and answers.
- Offer discounts and promotions.
Powerful eCommerce Marketing Software For Your Business.
- You get all the best tools to sell more and build customer loyalty.
- The best SEO in the industry.
- Free domain name registration. Important note, this only applies to new domain names that are initially registered by Shift4Shop. If you already have an existing domain name before joining and wish to use it, you can, but you would continue to pay for the domain name.
- Customizable meta tags, page titles, and H1 headings.
- Customizable URLs structured for SEO.
- Customizable image ALT tags.
- Page speed optimized.
- SEO-friendly navigation with breadcrumb links.
- Google Analytics integration.
- Let your customers sign up to become affiliates and earn a referral commission on the sales they bring in.
Your Own Dedicated Support Team.
- You have immediate help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round.
- Hundreds of articles, videos and support resources.
Are You Overwhelmed Yet? Don't Be.
No need to worry if you cannot use everything now. Instead, we suggest you just focus on what you need right now and use those.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Focus On Using The Features You Need Now.
Yes, there are so many features. That is why many consider this the best eCommerce CMS available and you get all the best eCommerce tools right at your fingertips. But that is what you get with an end-to-end enterprise-grade plan with unlimited products, users, features, and bandwidth. Instead of feeling swamped with a massive end-to-end enterprise platform and thinking this is too much, you should just take it and use it for whatever needs you have at the moment. You don't have to use everything, just what your business calls for the time being. It is really simple, just focus on the features that you can use now and employ them into your business. Are you a startup and just need to blog for now? Then just use the blog feature. Or are you just a small eye glass company with less than 100 eye frames, looking to sell your products? No problem, simply use the online store along with the POS system features to meet your need.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***There Is An Advantage To Having More Than You Need.
Perhaps you are a small firm currently. But what if things starts to really get rolling and your business traffic starts to boom upward with high demand? Suddenly, your firm is getting larger. You realized that you are understaffed and will need to start hiring more. But one thing you won't need to worry about is your E Commerce platform. It will be humming along regardless of how heavy the traffic has become. The orders will still be efficiently and methodically processed as always. At that point, you will probably begin to want to use the additional features already built into the platform. Need to add a newsletter? No worries, it is available to use. Want to increase physical mailings? No problem, the platform got that feature ready too. Do you have a brick and mortar beer and wine retail store and need to do POS transactions? The platform is able to do that too by integrating with POS software to allow you to handle orders face to face, anywhere.
You get the idea, the tools are there and your business will not have to pause to look for expensive plugins or arrange for complex development coding for a new process. It will most likely be already available. Just look under the hood or simply head over to the special red phone and give Shift4Shop a call to help you understand what tools you already have and save the day.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Video - Selling Online Quickly & Easily With Shift4Shop.
More Videos - How To Use Shift4Shop eCommerce Platform.
Want to see more videos to learn how to use the platform? Check them out here.
*** Go Back To Table of Contents ***Get In While You Can.
We are not sure how long this offer will last. Their strategy is unique and it looks like the goal is to increase market share. Once they reach a certain level they might revert to normal fees which can be expensive. At that point, only those already in can enjoy their E Commerce platform free for life. You can sell anything. We immediately grabbed ours and are currently developing plans to build it. Why not be one of them? Get in while you can. Your digital entrepreneurship can thrive and grow without limits. With the best free eCommerce website builder, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Check it out now below.
Launch Your Premium eCommerce Store Now, Totally Free For Life.
***
Go Back To Table of Contents
***
***
Go Back To Table of Contents
***
Also - Like us? Why not click on our Free Newsletter to get timely updates in your inbox.
Member discussion