In 2024, the ecommerce industry in Canada continues to thrive, with more businesses turning to online platforms to grow their customer base and increase revenue.
The digital revolution has made it essential for businesses of all sizes to adopt cutting-edge ecommerce platforms that offer the right mix of scalability, ease of use, and customizable features.
However, with the abundance of options, choosing the right ecommerce platform for your specific business needs can be overwhelming.
In this blog, we will explore the ten best ecommerce platforms in Canada in 2024, highlighting their key features, pricing plans, and who they are best suited to sell online and for. Read this blog to understand which ecommerce platform best suits your business needs.
Moreover, we will discuss how LinkLumin can help you build a cutting-edge ecommerce platform tailored specifically to your online business.
Table of Contents
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- Adobe Commerce (Magento)
- BigCommerce
- Wix eCommerce
- Squarespace
- Ecwid
- Shift4Shop
- Weebly by Square
- OpenCart
- How LinkLumin Can Help You Build a Cutting-Edge Ecommerce Platform
Shopify – The Best Ecommerce Platform for Canadian Businesses
Overview
Shopify continues to reign as one of the best ecommerce platforms in Canada and worldwide. This Canadian-based company understands the unique challenges and opportunities of running an ecommerce business in this region.
Shopify’s all-in-one ecommerce solution allows businesses to easily create and manage online stores, whether you’re just starting or looking to expand your existing ecommerce site.
Shopify’s platform is highly scalable, offering many e-commerce features that cater to small and large businesses. Whether you’re selling digital products, physical goods, or services, Shopify offers the flexibility to tailor your online store to your business model.
Their robust infrastructure ensures your store remains fast, secure, and reliable, even during peak traffic.
Key Features:
User-friendly interface:
Shopify’s intuitive dashboard enables even non-technical users to build a fully functional online store. The drag-and-drop store builder makes designing your site a breeze.
Abandoned cart recovery:
Shopify provides an automatic cart recovery feature that emails customers who abandoned their shopping carts, helping you recover potentially lost sales.
Comprehensive marketing tools:
Built-in email marketing, SEO, social media integration, and access to Google Shopping allow for streamlined marketing efforts directly from the Shopify dashboard.
Seamless payment processing:
Shopify Payments supports over 100 payment gateways, allowing customers to pay in various currencies. You also benefit from zero transaction fees if you use Shopify Payments, which saves you costs in the long run.
SEO and analytics:
Shopify has built-in SEO tools that help you optimize your store for search engines. Their in-depth analytics give insights into traffic, sales, and customer behavior, helping you make data-driven decisions.
Pricing:
Shopify offers several pricing plans, starting from CAD 39 per month for the Basic Commerce Plan, which includes essential features to run a small ecommerce business, all the way to CAD 399 per month for the Advanced Commerce Plan, designed for larger, high-volume ecommerce stores that need advanced analytics, shipping discounts, and multi-store management.
Who is Shopify Best For?
Shopify is ideal for small businesses looking to start selling online easily and larger companies needing a scalable and robust solution. Its user-friendly interface and powerful features make it one of the best ecommerce platforms for businesses of all sizes and industries.
WooCommerce – The Best Open Source Ecommerce Platform
Overview
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform that operates as a plugin for WordPress, turning the basic features of your existing WordPress site into a fully functional ecommerce website.
Since it’s built on WordPress, WooCommerce inherits the content management system’s flexibility and SEO-friendly structure, making it one of the most powerful options for businesses looking to start selling online without giving up control over their website builder.
One of WooCommerce’s major draws is its extensive customization capabilities. Businesses that require tailored functionality and specific integrations can greatly benefit from its open-source architecture, which allows developers to modify the code and extend the platform’s capabilities using plugins and third-party tools.
Key Features:
Customizable design:
WooCommerce offers free themes and premium templates to help you create a unique and engaging storefront. The platform also integrates seamlessly with page and website builders, like Elementor, giving you complete control over the design.
Endless customization options:
WooCommerce is incredibly a flexible platform. Using various plugins, you can add advanced ecommerce features like subscription services, memberships, product bundles, and more.
Wide range of payment gateways:
WooCommerce supports over 100 payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.Net, allowing customers to pay using the most convenient method.
Inventory management:
WooCommerce’s intuitive inventory system allows you to keep track of stock levels, manage multiple product variants, and enable automated notifications when stock is low.
SEO benefits:
Since WooCommerce runs on WordPress, your store will automatically benefit from WordPress’s well-known SEO capabilities. Additionally, numerous plugins designed to enhance your store’s SEO ensure that your products rank higher in search engines.
Pricing:
WooCommerce is free, but businesses may need to pay for premium themes, additional plugins, and hosting services. These costs can range from a few dollars a month to several hundred, depending on the complexity of your ecommerce site.
Who is WooCommerce Best For?
WooCommerce is perfect for businesses already using WordPress or those looking to have complete control over the design and functionality of their ecommerce store.
It’s also a great choice for businesses that require advanced customizations or unique features that may not be available with more rigid platforms.
Adobe Commerce (Magento) – The Best Ecommerce Platform for Large Businesses
Overview
Adobe Commerce, formerly known as Magento, is a leading ecommerce platform designed for enterprises and large businesses with complex requirements.
It offers a highly flexible, scalable solution that can handle many products, high traffic, and advanced customization needs. Adobe Commerce’s powerful feature set makes it one of the best ecommerce platforms for businesses looking to manage multiple stores, automate business processes, and integrate with other enterprise systems.
Magento’s open-source nature allows businesses to customize every aspect of their store, from the product catalog to checkout processes and customer journeys.
This flexibility requires technical expertise, so it’s often recommended for businesses with in-house development resources or outsource to a Magento-certified development agency.
Key Features:
Advanced ecommerce features:
Adobe Commerce offers some of the most advanced ecommerce features on the market, including complex pricing rules, customer segmentation, personalized product recommendations, and flexible product types (physical, digital, and bundled).
Multi-channel selling:
Adobe Commerce enables you to manage multiple online stores from a single dashboard and integrate with leading marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping.
Automated sales tax:
Adobe Commerce’s automatic tax calculation feature makes handling taxes easy. This feature supports regional tax rules and facilitates global online selling more.
B2B ecommerce:
Adobe Commerce offers advanced features for businesses selling to other businesses, including custom quotes, bulk ordering, and tailored pricing for different customer groups.
Security and performance:
Adobe Commerce is designed with enterprise-grade security features and performance optimizations, ensuring your site remains fast and secure, even during high traffic.
Pricing:
Adobe Commerce has two main options: Magento Open Source, which is free to use but requires more hands-on management and hosting, and Adobe Commerce, which is the fully managed and licensed version.
Pricing for Adobe Commerce starts at around $22,000 per year, making it a high-cost but high-value solution for large businesses.
Who is Adobe Commerce Best For?
Adobe Commerce best suits large enterprises or businesses with complex ecommerce needs. Its flexibility, scalability, and powerful B2B features make it the go-to platform for large stores or companies that operate in multiple countries or regions.
BigCommerce – The Best Ecommerce Platform for Growing Businesses
Overview
BigCommerce is a fully hosted, scalable ecommerce solution known for its flexibility and growth-oriented tools.
With built-in features for multi-channel selling, search engine optimization, and marketing, BigCommerce makes it easy for growing businesses to expand their operations and reach a broader audience.
The platform especially appeals to medium to large ecommerce businesses looking to scale up without encountering the limitations of smaller website builders.
BigCommerce’s feature set includes advanced ecommerce features such as abandoned cart recovery, dynamic pricing, and in-depth analytics.
The platform also integrates with popular apps and services, including Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, and social media channels, allowing businesses to sell across multiple channels and platforms.
Key Features:
No transaction fees:
Unlike many competitors, BigCommerce does not charge transaction fees, which can significantly reduce costs for businesses processing high sales volumes.
Multi-channel integration:
With BigCommerce, you can easily sync your ecommerce website with other platforms, like Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and Instagram, allowing you to manage all your sales from one place.
Abandoned cart recovery:
BigCommerce’s automated cart recovery feature helps you recover lost sales by sending customers reminders to complete their purchases.
Payment gateways:
The platform integrates with over 65 customers, offering them various payment options.
SEO and marketing tools:
BigCommerce is known for its strong SEO features, helping businesses optimize their sites for search engines and drive organic traffic. The platform also has built-in marketing tools for email campaigns, promotions, and discounts.
Pricing:
BigCommerce offers three primary pricing tiers, starting from $29.95 per month for the Standard Plan, which includes all the basics needed to run an ecommerce store.
The Pro Plan costs $299.95 monthly for larger businesses, including additional features such as Google customer reviews, advanced segmentation, and priority customer support calls.
Who is BigCommerce Best For?
BigCommerce is ideal for businesses looking to scale and needing a platform to grow with them. Its robust feature set and lack of transaction fees make it one of the best options for medium—to large businesses.
Wix eCommerce – The Best Ecommerce Website Builder for Small Businesses
Overview
Wix is a versatile website builder that has rapidly expanded its ecommerce capabilities over the past few years.
Known for its simplicity and affordability, Wix eCommerce is one of the best options for small businesses or entrepreneurs looking to quickly and easily set up a visually stunning online marketplace or store.
Wix’s drag-and-drop builder makes designing your site straightforward, even without coding experience.
Wix is a great choice for businesses that value design flexibility and ease of use. The platform provides a wide selection of free themes and customizable templates perfect for creating a unique brand identity.
While it may not offer the same depth of features as Shopify or BigCommerce, Wix excels in helping small businesses start selling online without the complexity that larger platforms may introduce.
Key Features:
Drag-and-drop website builder:
Wix’s intuitive builder allows you to customize your site easily, dragging and dropping elements to design a storefront that reflects your brand.
Customizable templates:
Wix offers over 500 industry-specific templates, with many options tailored specifically to various types of ecommerce platforms and websites.
Mobile optimization:
Every Wix site is mobile-responsive, ensuring your ecommerce store looks great on all devices.
Payment gateways:
Wix supports various payment options, including Stripe, PayPal, and Square, as well as other local payment providers.
Marketing tools:
Wix comes with integrated email marketing tools, SEO optimizations, and social media integrations, making it easy to promote your store.
Pricing:
Wix’s e-commerce plans start at CAD 27 per month for the Business Basic Plan, which includes essentials like unlimited bandwidth and the ability to accept online payments.
For more advanced features, like multiple currencies and automated sales tax, the Business VIP Plan costs CAD 49 per month.
Who is Wix Best For?
Wix is perfect for small businesses or entrepreneurs who want an easy-to-use platform to set up their online store quickly. It’s also great for creative businesses that need a visually appealing storefront without sacrificing simplicity.
Squarespace – The Best Ecommerce Solution for Creative Businesses
Overview
Squarespace is widely recognized for its stunning, design-focused templates and intuitive website-building tools. It is one of the best ecommerce platforms for creative professionals, including artists, photographers, and designers.
Its sleek, minimalistic design templates are ideal for businesses looking to create an aesthetically pleasing ecommerce website that stands out from the competition.
Squarespace also offers a variety of ecommerce features that make it a solid choice for selling online.
With built-in inventory management, flexible shipping options, and multiple payment gateways, Squarespace ensures you can manage every aspect of your store from one place.
Additionally, its intuitive design and easy-to-use interface mean you don’t need a developer to launch and manage your site.
Key Features:
Award-winning templates:
Squarespace provides a collection of visually stunning, responsive templates perfect for showcasing products and building a strong brand.
Integrated marketing tools:
Squarespace includes features like email campaigns, social media integrations, and promotional banners to help you promote your store effectively.
Product management:
Easily manage inventory, create product categories, and offer variants like sizes and colors.
Payment options:
Squarespace integrates with Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay, offering customers several ways to check out.
SEO and analytics:
Squarespace includes a robust set of SEO tools to help your store rank on search engines, as well as detailed analytics to track traffic, sales, and customer behavior.
Pricing:
Squarespace’s ecommerce plans start from CAD 33 per month for the Basic Commerce Plan, which includes unlimited products, integrated accounting tools, and the ability to sell gift cards.
The Advanced Commerce Plan costs CAD 65 per month, including additional features like abandoned cart recovery and advanced shipping.
Who is Squarespace Best For?
Squarespace is ideal for creatives and small businesses that value beautiful design and simplicity. It’s perfect for those who want to build a visually striking ecommerce website without needing advanced technical skills.
Ecwid – The Best Ecommerce Solution for Integrating with an Existing Website
Overview
Ecwid is a unique ecommerce platform that allows you to add an online store to your existing website, whether built on WordPress, Wix, Joomla, or even Facebook.
This makes it one of the most flexible and user-friendly online selling options for small businesses looking to start selling online without the need to build a new website from scratch.
Ecwid is perfect for businesses that want to add ecommerce capabilities to an existing site without going through the hassle of migrating to a new platform.
Its seamless integration lets you quickly turn your blog, portfolio, or business website into a fully functional ecommerce store.
Key Features:
Seamless integration:
Ecwid integrates with most major website builders and platforms, allowing you to add ecommerce functionality to your existing website.
Multi-channel selling: With Ecwid, you can sell digital products on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay in addition to your main website. Ecwid offers a free plan with up to 10 products, making it ideal for small businesses starting out.
Mobile-friendly design:
Your Ecwid store will automatically adjust to look great on smartphones and tablets.
Flexible payment options:
Ecwid integrates with over 50 payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square.
Pricing:
Ecwid offers a free plan that includes basic ecommerce features and allows you to list up to 10 products.
For businesses looking to grow, Ecwid offers premium plans starting at USD 19 per month, which include additional features like multi-channel selling and abandoned cart recovery.
Who is Ecwid Best For?
Ecwid is best for businesses that already have a website and want to add ecommerce capabilities without the need to rebuild their site from scratch. It’s also great for small businesses and startups looking for a cost-effective way to start selling online.
Shift4Shop – The Best Free Ecommerce Platform
Overview
Shift4Shop is a robust e-commerce solution that provides a free plan for businesses to use Shift4 for payment processing essential e commerce features.
Previously known as 3dcart, Shift4Shop offers a comprehensive set of ecommerce features, including customizable templates, advanced SEO tools, and a wide range of payment options. The platform appeals to small businesses looking to minimize costs without sacrificing functionality.
Unlike other leading e commerce platforms that charge a monthly fee, Shift4Shop’s free plan allows you to build and run your ecommerce store without any upfront costs, as long as you use Shift4’s payment processing service.
Key Features:
Free plan with no monthly fees:
If you use Shift4 for payment processing, you can access all of Shift4Shop’s features without paying a monthly subscription fee.
Advanced ecommerce features:
The platform includes various features such as product variants, SEO tools, and advanced inventory management.
Customizable templates:
Shift4Shop offers a variety of professionally designed templates that can be customized to fit your brand.
No transaction fees:
Unlike many competitors, Shift4Shop does not charge any transaction fees on your sales.
Built-in SEO tools:
Shift4Shop’s advanced SEO features help you optimize your store for search engines, ensuring that your products rank well.
Pricing:
Shift4Shop’s core offering is free if you only use Shift4’s payment processing platform as a service. If you prefer a different payment gateway, paid plans start at $29 monthly.
Who is Shift4Shop Best For?
Shift4Shop is an excellent option for small businesses and startups that want to minimize costs while accessing a wide range of popular ecommerce platforms and features.
Its free ecommerce plan makes it a standout option for cost-conscious businesses.
Weebly by Square – The Best Ecommerce Platform for Simple Stores
Overview
Weebly by Square is an affordable and user-friendly ecommerce platform ideal for small businesses, hobbyists, and entrepreneurs looking to start selling online.
Weebly’s simple drag and drop make-and-drop interface allows users to create a professional-looking ecommerce website without coding knowledge. The platform’s integration with Square also makes it a great choice for businesses using Square for payment processing.
Weebly is perfect for small businesses that want a straightforward, no-frills solution for their online store.
While it may not offer the same advanced features as Shopify or BigCommerce, it provides everything you need to run a small ecommerce business without breaking the bank.
Key Features:
Easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface:
Weebly’s website builder is incredibly user-friendly, allowing beginners to create a fully functional store.
Integration with Square:
If you already use Square for in-person payments, Weebly easily integrates your online sales and offline sales channels.
Mobile-friendly design:
All Weebly stores are optimized for mobile devices, ensuring customers have a seamless experience on smartphones and tablets.
Inventory management:
Weebly’s inventory management system automatically updates stock levels as products are sold, helping you keep track of your inventory.
Free themes:
Choose from various professionally designed templates that are fully customizable.
Pricing:
Weebly offers a free plan, but to access ecommerce features, businesses must subscribe to the Pro Plan, which starts at $12 monthly. The Business Plan, which includes advanced ecommerce tools, costs $25 per month.
Who is Weebly Best For?
Weebly is ideal for small businesses, hobbyists, and individuals who want a simple, cost-effective solution for their online store. It’s also a great option for businesses that already use Square for payment processing and want to integrate their own online store and offline sales channels.
OpenCart – The Best Open Source Ecommerce Solution
Overview
OpenCart is a powerful open-source e-commerce platform that gives businesses a high degree of control over their online store. Its open-source nature allows businesses to customize every aspect of their web store, from the product catalog to the checkout process.
This makes it one of the most flexible options on the market, especially for businesses that require specific functionality or integrations.
OpenCart is an excellent choice for businesses with development resources or those willing to work with an agency to build a fully customized ecommerce website.
With thousands of themes, extensions, and modules, OpenCart can be tailored to virtually any business model.
Key Features:
Highly customizable:
OpenCart’s open-source architecture allows unlimited customization, making it a flexible option for businesses with unique needs.
Thousands of extensions:
OpenCart offers a wide range of extensions and modules, including payment gateways, shipping methods, and marketing tools, that can be added to enhance your store’s functionality.
No transaction fees:
OpenCart does not charge transaction fees, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses with high sales volumes.
Multiple store management:
OpenCart allows you to manage multiple online stores from a single dashboard, making it ideal for businesses with more than one ecommerce site.
Multi-currency and multi-language support:
OpenCart supports multiple currencies and languages, making it a great option for businesses that sell internationally.
Pricing:
OpenCart is free to download and use, but businesses must pay for hosting security and any additional modules or themes they wish to use.
Who is OpenCart Best For?
OpenCart is best suited for businesses that need a highly customizable and flexible ecommerce solution. It’s a great option for companies with development resources or those willing to invest in customization.
How LinkLumin Can Help You Build a Cutting-Edge Ecommerce Platform
At LinkLumin, we understand that building a successful online store requires more than just choosing the right platform. It involves creating a seamless, scalable, engaging customer experience that differentiates your brand.
That’s why we offer tailored ecommerce solutions to meet your online business’s needs.
Here’s how LinkLumin can help you build a cutting-edge ecommerce platform:
Custom Ecommerce Website Design
We specialize in creating fully responsive, mobile-optimized ecommerce websites that look great and are designed to convert visitors into customers.
Whether you need a full ecommerce website builder, simple storefront or a complex, multi-channel ecommerce solution, our team can deliver a site that meets your unique needs.
Advanced Ecommerce Features
From abandoned cart recovery to multi-channel sales integration, we ensure your site has the advanced features to drive sales and boost customer engagement.
We also offer integrations with popular marketing tools like Google Shopping to help you reach a wider audience.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Our expertise in SEO ensures that your ecommerce website ranks well in search engines, driving organic traffic to your site.
We implement the latest SEO best practices, from on-page optimization to content marketing, to ensure your store stands out.
Secure Payment Processing
At LinkLumin, we understand the importance of security in ecommerce sites. That’s why we implement the latest security measures to protect your customers’ data and ensure secure payment processing.
We integrate with multiple payment gateways to provide customers with various payment options.
Ongoing Support and Maintenance
We don’t just build your site and leave you to figure things out. We offer ongoing support and maintenance to ensure your ecommerce site continues to perform at its best.
Our dedicated customer support team is available for phone support and technical assistance whenever needed.
Scalable Solutions for Growth
As your business grows, so should your ecommerce platform. At LinkLumin, we design scalable ecommerce solutions used to grow your business, ensuring you never worry about outgrowing your platform.
Custom Integrations and API Support
If you need specific functionality that’s not available, we can build custom integrations and APIs to extend your platform’s capabilities.
We can make it happen if you need to integrate with your existing CRM system, accounting software, or inventory management tools.
Benefits of Partnering with LinkLumin
Partnering with LinkLumin means you’ll have a team of experienced professionals working to create a world-class ecommerce software solution tailored to your needs.
Let us help you take your online business to the next level in 2024.
Conclusion
Choosing the right ecommerce platform is crucial to the success of your online business.
The ten best ecommerce platforms in this guide offer a wide range of features and pricing options, catering to different types of ecommerce platforms, businesses, and industries.
Whether you’re a small business owner looking for an affordable solution or an enterprise-level company needing advanced functionality, there’s a platform for everyone.
If you’re ready to take the next step in building your ecommerce website, let LinkLumin help you craft a full custom domain name solution that delivers exceptional performance, scalability, and design.
With our expertise in ecommerce, we can create a solution that helps you achieve your business goals and stand out from the competition.
Contact LinkLumin today and start your journey toward a successful online business!
