I need a little advice! I will be building a website that has an integrated shop within it and I was wondering what would be the best option. Looking through previous threads, Ecwid seems to be a favourite. I just don’t want to invest in paying for a system then find myself limited in terms of the design of it.
The appearance of the website is very important, I would like to have something similar to this website: http://www.hardgraft.com/
The relationship between the website and the running of the shop is seamless. What e-commerce system is more ‘flexible’ in regards to what it looks like?
Great questions. Ecwid is a solid choice since it is free up to 10 products. It also allows you full control over it’s CSS. It doesn’t give you any control over the structure of the HTML however so there will be some limitation there. Since it is free you can sign up and give it a try to see if it will fit your needs. Another perk is that it can be embedded into Webflow.
If keeping your site on Webflow isn’t a must, then Shopify and BigCommerce might be options. They give you full control over the HTML and CSS. They are more pricey but they do have free trials so you can take a look. You will have to get familiar with their template syntax; Liquid and PHP.
I am a Shopify and BigCommerce development and design partner so If you are interested in those options let me know and I can help you out.
It really depends on the features you need now and the features you think you are going to need in the future.
Questions to ask:
How many products are you going to sell, how many categories and sub
categories?
How many payment methods do you want to offer?
What kind of shipping information do you need?
What markets are you selling too and do you need to be able to sell
in multiple currencies?
Support for Gift Cards, gift certificates, discount codes?
Do you also have a brick and mortar store?
If so what POS and inventory system do you use?
What credit card processor are you going to use? (Paypal, Stripe,
Braintree, ect)
And most importantly are all the features above available in the
country you are operating out of?
Hope this helps you navigate the world of e-commerce,
"If keeping your site on Webflow isn’t a must, then Shopify and BigCommerce might be options.
What do you mean by this? Do you mean that I build the site in Webflow then export it to Shopify or BigCommerce?
Also, taking it to another level, is there any system where there is a CMS with an E-Commerce system inbuilt? A bit like Wordpress and WooCommerce I guess. My client will want to change the content as well as have control of the shop.
That is what I mean. Starting at the Webflow personal plan you can export your project. This will give you a zip file with all of the HTML, CSS and JS files that make up the project. From there you can integrate your project with any system that allows you to modify HTML, CSS and JS.
Both Shopify and BigCommerce are hosted e-commerce / CMS systems. You can create blogs and allow clients to change content on their pages from the site dashboard. The hosting and security is handled by them.
You can also use self hosted solutions. Like you mentioned, Wordpress and WooCommerce, Magento
For some clients I have used Modx and miniShop2 extra.
Maybe I am a bit late but I found one good solution on http://www.finestshops.com/ . Magento management allow me to focus on my business than on site issues. + it helps me avoid DNS problems.
My name is Ben and I help with product research here at Webflow. We’ve been thinking a lot about how we can build an Ecommerce platform inside Webflow. We’d love to get your input on what you think we should tackle first.