There are four major players in e-commerce website building service that offer shopping carts to online entrepreneurs. These services are fairly similar, and it can be tough for new entrepreneurs to determine just which services are worth their consideration. This article discusses the top four competitors in this field: Volusion, Shopify, BigCommerce, and My EZ Online Store. A closer look at price, features, ease of use, security, and customization can help entrepreneurs determine which type of service is right for them.

The Volusion E-Commerce Website Builder

Volusion has been in business for about 10 years, and headquarters are located in Austin, Texas. Their services range from $25 to $149 per month, not including domain name registration. They have a number of free templates, but their most processional templates can be purchased for a whopping $1000. Their number one complaint from customers is concerning bandwidth and the skittish connection that stores sometimes receive.

The Shopify E-Commerce Website Builder

Shopify is simpler to use than Volusion, but it does require users to learn the "Shopify code" which is a language (simpler than HTML) used to customize their sites. Prices range from $29 to $699 monthly. The biggest user complaint is the transaction fees that they take from total revenues, which hurt small businesses the most.

The BigCommerce E-Commerce Website Builder

BigCommerce is more of a marketing-company-turned-shopping-cart-service. Their layouts mainly focus on marketing products, rather than total user experience. But, they currently serve about 10,000 clients and claim to be a simple solution. They don't offer 24/7 customer service, and at the time of writing, weren't fully PCI compliant.

The My EZ Online Store E-Commerce Website Builder

My EZ Online Store is a new company that offer a free plan to any user. For those just trying out e-commerce or testing the system, it's possible to use their service for free as long as you don't mind the branding and subdomain on your site. Their plans are the cheapest of these four companies, ranging from $20 to $99, with similar features that don't seem to provide a reason for the lower cost. They integrate social media, Adsense, and allow for affiliate marketing if desired by the user.

Ultimately, the most cost effective option per SKU is My EZ Online Store. They also offer an affiliate product program that allows users to open a store full of affiliate products, while earning commissions on sales. This is a new model not yet tested with any of the other big sites.

To learn more about e-commerce website builders, check out My EZ Online Store.

About the Author:
Joshua Fuson is a highly successful entrepreneur and marketer, and worked with others in design and completion of multiple million-dollar ventures.