Ecommerce Software Can Solve Your Store’s Biggest Challenges

Ecommerce has evolved from a simple concept focused on secure online transactions into a major driver of global business. Today, it’s a multi-trillion-dollar industry — and it’s still growing. Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2025–2029) of 8.02%, resulting in a projected market volume of $5.89 trillion by 2029, according to Statista.

If you’re looking to start selling online, there’s no better time to dive in. Whether you’re an entrepreneur launching a new small business or expanding an established enterprise, getting your ecommerce website strategy in place now is critical for long-term success.

The first step? Finding the right ecommerce software or website builder to power your storefront and support your growth. Ecommerce software includes the tools and platforms that make it possible to build, manage, and scale an online business — often with drag-and-drop design capabilities, integrations from an app store, and a companion mobile app for managing sales on the go.

In this guide, we’ll break down some of the top ecommerce software options — and help you find the best fit for your business needs and level of technical know-how.

• BigCommerce

• Salesforce Commerce Cloud

• Shopify

• Adobe Commerce Cloud

• commercetools

What is ecommerce software?

Ecommerce software is technology that enables businesses to sell products or services online. It provides the tools needed to build and manage an online storefront, handle transactions securely, track inventory, process orders, and support marketing, customer service, and cart recovery features.

Whether you're starting a small online shop or scaling a global enterprise, ecommerce software is the backbone that powers digital sales and helps streamline operations across multiple sales channels — often with built-in tools, integrations, and tutorials to help you get up and running quickly.

Best ecommerce software solutions

There are hundreds of ecommerce platforms on the market, and with enough time, resources, and technical expertise, you could even build your own.

But when choosing a platform, it’s critical to first understand your business’s specific needs. After all, you wouldn’t buy a rocket ship just to drive to the grocery store, and you also don’t want to end up under-equipped for the journey ahead.

You need ecommerce software that not only meets your current requirements but also supports your long-term growth and scalability.

Here’s a look at some of the top ecommerce software solutions available today, including a quick overview of important features to help you compare:

Each of these platforms offers different strengths depending on your goals, technical resources, and target market. In the next sections, we’ll break down what each one excels at to help you find the best fit for your business.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is an open architecture ecommerce platform that combines the flexibility of open-source solutions with the simplicity, security, and scalability of SaaS at a lower TCO than other platforms. Designed to help businesses grow on their terms, BigCommerce offers open APIs for easy customization, a robust partner ecosystem, a multi-storefront feature for managing multiple brands or regions, and advanced B2B capabilities with tools like B2B Edition. With Catalyst, its modern composable storefront technology, BigCommerce also provides faster development, greater design flexibility, and enhanced site performance, making it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes, from fast-growing startups to global enterprises.

Pros:

• Catalyst storefront technology offers greater flexibility, faster development, and better ecommerce site performance

• Open APIs and extensive third-party app marketplace for easy integrations and customizations

• Robust native functionality with advanced B2B features through BigCommerce B2B Edition

• Multi-storefront capabilities for managing multiple brands or markets from a single backend

• More than 135 payment options, including PayPal and support for foreign currencies, with no additional transaction fees

• Over 1,200 agency partners and 600 tech partners to help customize your ecommerce store

• Ability to sell direct-to-consumer (DTC) and business-to-business (B2B) on the same platform

• 24/7 expert customer support and professional services

• Lower TCO than any other platform, with the average customer breaking even just eight months after launch and seeing a 211% ROI by their third year on the platform

Cons:

• Pricing tiers are based on annual revenue, which can increase costs as your ecommerce business grows

• Smaller selection of free templates and apps compared to some competitors

• May require a learning curve for beginners without prior ecommerce experience

Brands like Inhaven and Sarah Raven are prime examples of how BigCommerce powers business growth. Inhaven, a B2B company specializing in hospitality-grade home goods, leveraged BigCommerce’s B2B Edition and API-first flexibility to launch in just three to four months and achieve double-digit revenue growth quarter over quarter​. Meanwhile, Sarah Raven, a leading gardening brand, adopted BigCommerce’s Catalyst storefront solution to simplify complex product management and boost mobile conversions, resulting in an 18% increase in revenue and a 40% drop in cart abandonment.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud (Demandware)

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a scalable SaaS ecommerce platform designed for enterprise-level brands that need to manage sales across digital and physical channels through a single, unified solution. Integrated with the broader Salesforce Customer Success Platform, it offers strong CRM and marketing automation capabilities, making it a fit for companies already using the Salesforce ecosystem.

The platform supports complex ecommerce operations and provides tools for personalization, AI-powered recommendations, and omnichannel selling. However, it often requires advanced development resources and long onboarding timelines, especially for customizations and integrations.

Pros:

• SaaS solution with built-in hosting, security, and maintenance

• Unified commerce experience across digital and in-store channels

• Deep integration with the Salesforce CRM suite

• AI-powered personalization and product recommendations

• Multi-storefront capabilities for global and segmented selling

Cons:

• Typically high total cost of ownership, especially for enterprise implementations

• Customization and third-party integrations can be complex and resource-intensive

• Requires experienced developers and often agency support to manage ongoing improvements

• Less agile for smaller or fast-growing businesses compared to other platforms

When The Beer Bat, a rapidly growing drinkware brand, was choosing between BigCommerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud, the team ultimately went with BigCommerce. Despite Salesforce's promise of enterprise features, the founders felt it wasn’t the right fit for their size and growth trajectory. As Beer Bat’s president shared, “We got a lot of pie in the sky from Salesforce, but we were never going to be big enough for them.”​ Instead, BigCommerce offered a more scalable, user-friendly platform that empowered the business to expand internationally and grow revenue by 115% YoY.

Shopify

Shopify is a leading SaaS ecommerce platform known for its ease of use, quick setup, and sleek mobile-friendly designs. Designed primarily for small and medium-sized businesses, Shopify also offers an enterprise-level solution, Shopify Plus, to support growing brands looking for more advanced capabilities.

The platform boasts an extensive app marketplace and strong uptime performance, and it takes care of security, hosting, and PCI compliance. However, its architecture can be limiting for brands with complex product catalogs, advanced B2B needs, or international growth plans — often requiring third-party apps or workarounds to achieve flexibility and scalability.

Pros:

• Strong brand recognition and a vast global user base, with over a million stores hosted worldwide

• Over 4,100 integrated apps for added features and functionality

• 70+ professional, responsive themes for a clean storefront design

• Handles security, PCI compliance, and hosting for you

Cons:

• Catalog limitations: 100 SKUs per product and only three options per product

• B2B functionality is limited and typically requires additional apps or custom development

• Additional transaction fees apply unless using Shopify Payments

• Less flexibility and customization for complex or hybrid business models

Coco Republic, a global furniture and homeware brand, initially operated both Shopify and Adobe Commerce across different regions but found both platforms lacking in scalability and catalog control. According to CIO/CTO Jack Kiefer, Shopify “lacked the desired catalog structure control and necessitated integration with Shop Pay,” making it a poor fit for their enterprise needs. Ultimately, Coco Republic migrated to BigCommerce to unify their global operations and better serve their trade (B2B) customers​.

Adobe Commerce (Magento)

Formerly known as Magento, Adobe Commerce is a powerful open-source ecommerce platform geared toward large businesses with advanced development resources. It offers a wide range of features including real-time inventory management, multi-store functionality, SEO tools, and Progressive Web App (PWA) support. It also benefits from pre-built integrations with Adobe’s suite of marketing and content tools, making it a compelling choice for teams already invested in the Adobe ecosystem.

However, Adobe Commerce requires significant development expertise and infrastructure to maintain, and the cost of ownership can be high, especially when factoring in third-party developers, security, and custom feature builds. The platform’s extensibility is a strength, but it often comes at the expense of speed, agility, and simplicity.

Pros:

• Open-source flexibility — if you can dream it, you can build it

• Deep integration with Adobe Experience Cloud and marketing tools

• Thousands of extensions available via the Magento Marketplace

• Progressive Web App (PWA) capabilities for fast, mobile-friendly experiences

Cons:

• High total cost of ownership due to hosting, maintenance, and development needs

• Requires ongoing support from experienced developers

• Security patches and platform updates must often be managed manually

• Complex setup and infrastructure, with longer time to market

TradeTools, an Australian hardware retailer serving both B2C and trade customers, previously ran a headless site on Magento. However, rising platform costs and development overhead made Adobe Commerce unsustainable. “Magento was much more expensive, especially when we were up for renewal. It had doubled from what we initially signed for,” explained Mark Vourlides, Marketing and Ecommerce Manager at TradeTools. After migrating to BigCommerce, they reduced costs, improved checkout UX, and saw a 31% increase in revenue and a 25% increase in order volume within the first year.

commercetools

Headquartered in Germany, commercetools is a cloud-native, headless commerce platform built entirely around a 100% API-first, microservices-based architecture. As a pioneer in composable commerce, commercetools is designed for businesses that want complete control over their tech stack and are equipped with strong developer resources.

Because the platform requires most ecommerce functions to be custom-built and maintained, implementation often demands significant time and technical expertise. This flexibility comes with trade-offs, including a slower speed to market and limited accessibility for non-technical users.

Pros:

• Headless and composable by design, offering ultimate flexibility

• Supports both B2B and direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling on a single platform

• Extensive developer tools for customization and scaling

• Microservices architecture allows for modular upgrades and rapid innovation

Cons:

• Requires a team of experienced developers for setup and ongoing maintenance

• Sellers are responsible for PCI compliance and infrastructure management

• Limited out-of-the-box functionality, which may slow down time to launch

• Less accessible to business users without technical support

Types of ecommerce software

Ecommerce platforms aren’t one-size-fits-all. Some offer out-of-the-box simplicity, while others provide deep customization and control — but require more time, technical skill, and resources. Choosing the right type of software depends on your business goals, budget, team structure, and how quickly you want to get to market.

Below are the most common types of ecommerce software, along with what to expect from each in terms of flexibility, scalability, and complexity.

Open-source ecommerce platforms.

An open-source solution provides all the materials needed to build your own platform, but you have to do the assembly. These platforms are highly customizable, usually with plugins or other add-ons, and can be bent to do anything reasonable, but they also require a certain level of skill and expertise to deploy and manage. Examples of an open-source ecommerce solution are WordPress’s WooCommerce or Adobe Commerce.

Choose an open-source solution if…

• You have developer resources at your disposal

• You need customization options beyond the ecommerce functionality of other platforms

Self-hosted ecommerce platforms.

Self-hosted software is purchased from a third party, but is hosted by the company on their own on-premise servers. This gives them full control of real-time data and security, but also comes with higher burdens for maintenance and costs.

Choose a self-hosted solution if…

• You want things done your way

• You can maintain, host, and ensure security of the platform on your own

SaaS ecommerce platforms.

SaaS is a cloud-hosted application in which the software is delivered over the internet. This is often found with ERPs, payment gateways, or PCI compliance. There’s little maintenance work on the client side and most SaaS work well within even complicated tech stacks. Examples of SaaS ecommerce software would be Wix, Squarespace, Ecwid, or Volusion.

Choose a SaaS solution if…

• You don’t have extensive developer experience

• You’re fine with sacrificing customization for ease of use

Ecommerce PaaS solutions. 

PaaS delivers cloud components to certain applications, providing a framework for developers to work off of. Instead of a specific software, PaaS provides the building blocks to streamline the development of multiple applications that can be run simultaneously.

Choose a PaaS solution if…

• You want someone to build a base foundation, but want to customize ecommerce functionality yourself

Headless commerce solutions.

In headless software, an ecommerce platform’s front-end and back-end are decoupled from one another, with each existing as its own system before being integrated with the other. This offers maximum flexibility to bring a bespoke approach to a store.

Choose a headless solution if…

• You want to customize every piece of your experience

• You have extensive developer experience or a team of developers at your disposal

Key features to look for in ecommerce software

The right ecommerce platform should do more than just help you launch a store, it should support long-term growth, streamline operations, and create seamless customer experiences. While every business has unique needs, there are core features that most companies should consider when evaluating ecommerce software. These capabilities can make a big difference in how effectively you scale and compete in today’s digital landscape.

Scalability.

The purpose of any business is to grow, either in service or in sales. You want your ecommerce platform to be able to handle whatever growth comes your way. How well can your ecommerce platform react to increased sales? Can it handle sudden increases in traffic? What about a flurry of purchases? Can your logistics solution manage a significant increase? A good platform should be able to scale easily to future proof yourself against your own success.

User-friendly interface.

A user-friendly interface is essential, not just for your customers, but for your internal team. Look for ecommerce software with intuitive dashboards and easy-to-navigate workflows that empower non-technical users to manage day-to-day operations without heavy reliance on developers. A well-designed user experience (UX) reduces training time, boosts productivity, and helps your business stay agile as you scale.

Mobile optimization. 

Mobile commerce is now a dominant force in the ecommerce landscape, in fact, mobile commerce sales accounted for 57% of total retail ecommerce revenue worldwide in 2024, according to recent data. A mobile-first design approach is essential to capturing and converting this growing base of on-the-go shoppers.

Your ecommerce platform should offer mobile-optimized templates and responsive themes right out of the box, ensuring a seamless experience across devices. Look for platforms that provide real-time mobile previews and support advanced options like Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to deliver fast, app-like functionality. A strong mobile experience helps increase conversions, reduce friction, and keep customers engaged wherever they shop.

SEO optimization.

Strong search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities are essential for driving organic traffic and making your products discoverable. Look for ecommerce platforms that include built-in SEO tools such as customizable URLs, meta titles and descriptions, image alt text, and schema markup support. These features help your pages rank higher and appear more attractive in search results.

Page speed and clean code structure also play a major role in SEO performance, especially since Google now factors Core Web Vitals into its rankings. A modern platform should load pages quickly and deliver a smooth on-page experience.

Advanced SEO capabilities like 301 redirects, canonical tags, and integrations with tools like Google Shopping and Google Analytics are also key. Platforms like BigCommerce offer robust native SEO functionality out of the box, helping merchants maximize visibility without relying on third-party apps or custom development.

Integration capabilities.

Your ecommerce platform should work seamlessly with the systems your business already relies on — from CRMs and ERPs to email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and Klaviyo. Integration capabilities are crucial for streamlining operations, syncing data, and creating a unified customer experience.

Look for platforms that offer open APIs and pre-built integrations, allowing you to connect with third-party tools without extensive custom development. This flexibility can accelerate your go-to-market timeline and reduce costs over the long term.

Platforms like BigCommerce stand out with a robust app marketplace and open ecosystem, making it easy to connect to a wide range of business-critical tools — including inventory management, shipping, accounting, and marketing automation solutions — all without sacrificing performance or scalability.

Payment processing options.

A flexible, secure payment experience is key to driving conversions — especially for global businesses. Your ecommerce platform should support local currencies, digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and Buy Now, Pay Later options such as Afterpay or Klarna to meet customer expectations.

Look for platforms that offer PCI-compliant integrations with leading gateways and no added transaction fees. BigCommerce gives merchants access to 65+ payment providers worldwide, offering the freedom to choose the best fit for their business without compromising on security or user experience.

Includes web hosting.

For growing businesses, built-in web hosting can be a game changer. Most SaaS ecommerce platforms include managed hosting, which removes the burden of server management, uptime monitoring, and bandwidth planning — so your team can focus on selling, not infrastructure.

Managed hosting typically comes with automatic updates, performance optimization, and critical security features like SSL certificates and PCI compliance. It also offers built-in scalability to handle traffic spikes during peak seasons without requiring manual intervention.

When evaluating ecommerce platforms, look for hosting capabilities such as content delivery network (CDN) support, fast server response times, and uptime guarantees of 99.9% or higher.

BigCommerce, for example, provides enterprise-grade, high-performance hosting as part of its all-in-one solution — giving businesses the reliability and speed they need to grow with confidence.

Security measures.

Security isn’t just a technical checkbox — it’s a foundational part of earning customer trust and protecting your business. Your ecommerce platform should provide enterprise-grade security features that safeguard data, ensure safe transactions, and minimize risk.

Look for platforms that are PCI DSS compliant, include SSL certificates for encrypted connections, and offer built-in DDoS protection to defend against traffic-based attacks. A secure checkout experience is critical for protecting payment information and reducing shopping cart abandonment, while fraud detection tools can help identify and block suspicious activity in real time.

Equally important are regular software updates, data backups, and system monitoring to keep your storefront running securely around the clock.

BigCommerce delivers on all fronts, offering PCI-compliant hosting, automatic platform updates, and advanced security infrastructure that meets the standards of global enterprise brands — all included with your subscription.

Omnichannel/multichannel support.

Today’s shoppers expect a seamless experience wherever they browse and buy — whether it’s on your website, a social media app, or a third-party marketplace. While multichannel selling means listing products across multiple platforms, omnichannel commerce takes it a step further by connecting those channels for a consistent, integrated customer journey.

Your ecommerce platform should make it easy to sell on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart, as well as social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. For retailers with physical locations, integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems are key to unifying online and offline operations.

Look for tools that centralize inventory, order management, and product data across all channels to reduce manual work, avoid overselling, and ensure a consistent brand experience. A solution like Feedonomics — a full-service feed management platform — can help you optimize and automate product listings across hundreds of channels, increasing visibility and improving conversion rates.

Platforms like BigCommerce offer native omnichannel integrations and partner with Feedonomics to help merchants scale across channels with speed and accuracy — all from a single backend.

Customer support.

Even the best ecommerce platforms can run into challenges, which makes dependable support a must-have. Look for solutions that offer 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, or email, so your team can get help exactly when they need it.

A strong support experience should also include a robust knowledge base, active community forums, and in-depth developer documentation to empower both business users and technical teams. For larger or fast-scaling businesses, dedicated account managers or priority support options can provide an extra level of service and strategic guidance.

BigCommerce stands out with award-winning, around-the-clock support, including onboarding assistance, technical troubleshooting, and professional services — all designed to help merchants succeed at every stage of growth.

The final word

Choosing the right ecommerce platform is one of the most important decisions you'll make for your business. The ideal solution should align with your goals, support your team, and scale with you as you grow.

Whether you need ease of use, advanced customization, or powerful B2B features, the right platform will help you build, manage, and expand your online presence with confidence.

Ready to explore the power of BigCommerce? Book a demo today.

FAQs about ecommerce software