The 5 Best E-commerce Platforms in the UK: Who Should You Choose?

In the modern era, everybody is moving forward to step into the digital world. Almost every offline business is shifting towards online transactions as the customer finds it more convenient to shop online. So do you know what this online process of carrying out business activities are known as? In the business language, it is referred to as e-commerce. E-commerce came into existence a few years back but still, there are people who are not totally aware of the working and role of e-commerce. So, if you are the one wanting to know everything about e-commerce, this blog is a must-read for you.

On this page

Table of Contents

Let’s get started:

All about e-commerce:

Basically, e-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services and the transmitting of funds or data over an electronic network, primarily the internet. These business transactions occur either as business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer, or consumer-to-business.

Usually, people do use two common terms that are e-commerce and e-business. Are these two terms the same? The terms e-commerce and e-business are often used interchangeably. The term e-tail is also sometimes used in reference to the transactional processes that make up online retail shopping. Earlier there were only two common online business apps i.e. Amazon and eBay. But now there are hundreds of online business apps available only because of the vast technology.

E-commerce has made life easier. Everything is available under one roof. From clothing to grocery everything is available online and you can make a transaction anytime anywhere. But now the question arises how do e-commerce works?

Working of e-commerce:

E-ommerce is a process powered by the internet, where customers can access an online store to browse through, and place orders for products or services via their own devices.

When you place an order, your web browser will communicate back and forth with the server hosting the online store website. Data pertaining to the order will then be relayed to a central computer known as the order manager then forwarded to databases that manage invention levels, a merchant system that manages payment information, and a bank computer before circling back to the order manager. After the order is validated, the order manager will notify the store’s web server, which will then display a message notifying you that your order has been successfully processed. The order manager will then send order data to the warehouse or fulfillment department, in order for the product or service to be successfully dispatched to you. At this point tangible and/or digital products may be shipped to you, or access to a service may be granted.

Hopefully, with the above-mentioned information, you are clear about what actually e-commerce is and how it works. With a number of e-commerce platforms available in the UK, it has become the most difficult task to choose the right platform to shop online. But you need not worry, here is an ultimate guide to the types of best e-commerce platforms in the UK:

Top 5 e-commerce platforms in the UK:

• WooCommerce – WooCommerce is a highly flexible and customizable e-commerce platform that operates as a plugin for WordPress. It offers a wide range of features and extensions, allowing businesses to create fully functional online stores tailored to their specific needs. With WooCommerce, users have full control over their online store’s design, functionality, and payment options. Additionally, being integrated with WordPress, WooCommerce benefits from the extensive ecosystem of themes, plugins, and support available within the WordPress community.
• Shopify– The topmost and the most popular platform in the Uk is Shopify. This is because it is the easiest to set up and customize. Their large range of themes and apps mean you can create a unique online store with pretty much no coding knowledge. They also make it incredibly easy to start accepting credit card payments with Shopify Payments. Plus, they can even help you start selling offline with Shopify POS.
• EKM– It was founded in 2002 and was the first cloud-based eCommerce platform in the UK. On the surface, EKM is quite similar to Shopify, but since they’re 100% UK-based, they tend to be a bit more attuned to UK business needs. They offer an all-in-one e-commerce platform that includes everything you need to sell online, from your own domain name to the ability to take payments.
• Big-commerce– It offers three solutions for businesses looking to build on an online shop. For small businesses, their standard solution offers: “A sophisticated platform for increasing sales, streamlining your business and expanding to new channels.” Larger businesses can opt for their Enterprise solution which offers an “e-commerce platform with superior reliability and advanced tools for running your whole business.”
• Big Cartel– Big Cartel is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the UK with a particular focus on artists. They have: “nearly a million makers, designers, musicians, and other artists using Big Cartel to build a unique online store and run acreative business.”
• Magento– Magento is arguably the most powerful of the e-commerce platforms on our list, but that comes at a cost. Their top-tied plans cost far more than the competitors, but in return allows you near-total control over how your site looks and behaves.

Being an unbiased reader, on the basis of the reading I might go with Shopify- the most popular and the topmost e-commerce platform as you can easily set up this app and can customize it anytime. It also offers a large range of themes and apps that can help you to create a unique online store.