Category: Ecommerce

Magento has long been a powerful ecommerce platform, especially for brands that needed deep customization and control.

But today, more store owners are looking for faster, leaner, and easier-to-manage alternatives.

Whether you’re frustrated with Magento’s complexity, rising development costs, or upgrade headaches, there are now plenty of strong alternatives available, ranging from user-friendly SaaS platforms to flexible open-source options.

My team and I researched and tested each platform’s pricing, features, usability, and support to create this ranked list.

Below, you’ll find our top recommendations for 2026, including what each platform is best at and how they compare.

Stan Store and Payhip are two standout options when it comes to selling digital products, especially for creators, coaches, and entrepreneurs.

Whether you’re building an audience on social media or growing a website-first business, both platforms aim to simplify the ecommerce process.

I’ve spent over 100 hours researching, testing, and comparing Stan Store and Payhip from a creator and ecommerce design perspective. After this deep dive, the recommendation is clear:

Stan Store is best for creators selling through Instagram and TikTok, especially those who want automation, link-in-bio functionality, and a streamlined mobile experience.

Payhip is better for sellers who want flexibility, are just starting out, or need tools like VAT handling and embeddable checkout for their own websites.

In this review, I’ll walk you through the core differences, including pricing, ecommerce features, templates, workflows, and more.

Payhip and Shopify are two well-known platforms that help people launch and grow online businesses. But how do they actually compare?

I’ve tested both platforms to bring you an in-depth breakdown based on key areas like pricing, features, design, ease of use, and more.

In short, Shopify is the better option if you want to build a branded, scalable online store, while Payhip is ideal for creators or sellers of digital products who want to launch quickly with minimal setup.

Let’s take a closer look at what sets these two ecommerce platforms apart.

If you’re running a Shopify store and looking for ways to collect and show customer reviews, you’ve probably come across Okendo. It’s one of the most popular apps in the Shopify ecosystem for reviews, loyalty programs, quizzes, referrals, and surveys.

But like a lot of tools built for growing ecommerce brands, the pricing can get confusing, especially once you move beyond the free tier.

I’ve spent a lot of time comparing Okendo’s different pricing options for clients, and in this article, I’ll walk you through what each plan offers, how the pricing actually works, and what you should be budgeting based on your store’s size.

I’ll also help you understand when it makes sense to upgrade and what features you might be missing out on if you’re trying to stay on the cheaper plans.

Let’s break it down.

Our in-house testing names Shopify as the best overall ecommerce platform for 2025, thanks to its $1/month promo and industry-leading sales features. We spent over 100 hours testing and comparing the performance, design options, and pricing of today’s most-used free ecommerce builders — and shortlisted the best ones for launching your store with little to no upfront cost.

From forever-free plans to extended free trials, I’ve broken down what each platform offers before you spend a dollar, along with the real costs to expect once your store starts to grow — like payment processing, domain names, and upgrade fees.

After 200+ hours of testing and analysing the latest features from both platforms, I can confidently say Squarespace is the better choice if you care about design, long-term features, and business scalability. Weebly is still fine for launching a basic site quickly, but it’s clearly in maintenance mode as Square shifts focus to other tools.

For anyone looking to start selling online without having to switch to a whole new ecommerce platform, Ecwid is a great option.

Unlike fully-fledged ecommerce builders like Shopify or BigCommerce, Ecwid thinks more like a plugin – something that lets you add a shopping cart and product catalog to your existing website, whether you’re using WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or even a basic HTML page.

I tested Ecwid across a bunch of different environments – including WordPress blogs, portfolio sites and basic business pages – to see how it stacks up when it comes to setup, ease of use, sales tools, customization and long-term viability.

This review breaks down everything I found, from the moment I set it up to its feature performance, so you can decide if Ecwid is right for your business goals.

Wix and Volusion are two well-known ecommerce website builders, but which one should you choose for your store?

I’ve tested both platforms extensively and compared their pricing, sales features, design flexibility, and more.

As a result of my testing, Wix is the better choice for most users — it’s easier to use, has better design tools, and includes a built-in blog for content marketing.

But Volusion does have strengths, especially when it comes to managing large product inventories.

Let’s walk through each platform in detail and see which one is the best fit for your ecommerce business.

If you run an online store and you’re wondering why your traffic isn’t converting, the problem probably isn’t your marketing — it’s your user experience.

A detailed ecommerce UX audit helps you spot the hidden friction points on your site and fix them, so customers can shop without frustration. In this guide, we’ll walk through what an ecommerce UX audit is, what to look for, how to make your website more user-friendly, and how the world’s biggest stores optimize for better conversions.

We spent weeks putting some of the top ecommerce platforms through their paces – whether you’re selling digital products like templates, ebooks, or courses, or churning out physical merch through print-on-demand.

Our research zeroed in on the things that matter most to creators: ease of use, super-quick get-up-and-go, mobile-friendly design, and tools that make it dead easy to sell without needing a tech team.

The platforms below are the best options for turning your audience into a solid income stream in 2026.

Top 5 Ecommerce Platforms for Creators

• Shopify – we’re still big fans for selling physical merch
• Gumroad – still one of the best options for digital products
• Podia – an all-in-one for courses and memberships that hits the spot
• Stan Store – if TikTok and link-in-bio sales are your thing
• Sellfy – super simple storefronts with no coding needed