Selling online asks more of a builder than a brochure site does: real checkout, fair fees, inventory and room to grow. We weighted selling tools, payment costs, scalability and design to separate true stores from builders that merely bolt on a cart.
Reviewed by M. HALLORAN·Updated MARCH 2026·How we vet
Tools compared6
Criteria weighted5
Last reviewedJune 2026
Paid placements0
How we ranked the field
For ecommerce we weight the depth of selling and checkout tools, payment options and transaction fees, and how far each platform scales, then judge design and value. See the full rubric →
Selling and checkout tools25%
Payments and fees20%
Scalability20%
Design20%
Value15%
01
RANK
★ Editor’s Choice
Shopify
Best for serious online stores
Shopify is built for selling first, with the deepest checkout, inventory and multichannel tools and a huge app store. It is less of a general website builder and you pay extra to skip Shopify Payments, but for a real store it is the benchmark.
When you want a complete website and a store in one tool, Wix delivers both, with commerce on the Core plan and up. It does not scale like Shopify for large catalogs, but for small to midsize shops it is flexible and capable.
Squarespace pairs the best looking storefronts here with solid selling tools, and the Core plan waives transaction fees. It is better for curated, lower volume catalogs than for a sprawling inventory.
On the Commerce plan WordPress unlocks WooCommerce, the most flexible and extensible store engine of the group. That power comes with the most setup and maintenance, so it rewards those willing to manage it.
Webflow Ecommerce lets a designer build a fully custom store with clean code, ideal for brand led catalogs. Its selling features are thinner than Shopify and there are fewer apps, so it suits design first stores.
Hostinger bundles an AI builder, hosting and a store at the lowest intro price here. The toolset is simpler and renewals rise sharply after the first term, so it fits a budget first launch.