(Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission on purchases made through those links)

If you’re thinking about starting an online business (good for you!) and you’re not sure what platform to use, it might help you to hear about my experience on the incredible ecommerce platform I’m currently using to sell my sustainable and handcrafted items. This website is powered by Ecwid (short for ecommerce widget) and I honestly think this is the best platform for launching an online business.

One reason Ecwid is great for starting an ecommerce business is because there’s a free plan. No free trial, but an actual Free plan. The Free plan allows up to 5 products and I had a small inventory at the time so it was the perfect starting point. A free plan lets you have an online store and advertising with Facebook, Google, Pinterest and Snapchat. It manages your tax invoices and connects with a lot of platforms like WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Squarespace and more! Unlike Etsy or other eCommerce platforms, Ecwid doesn't charge you any transaction fees.

When I had more inventory and had made a sale I felt comfortable upgrading to the Venture plan, which is the next affordable plan after Free. I had made a sale so I had the extra cash to invest! It’s $19/mo unless you pay annually in which case it’s $14.08/mo ($168.96 for the year) With the Venture plan I can have up to 100 products on this site, including digital products and gift cards. It has a few features the Free plan doesn’t like discount coupons, connecting your own domain name, Pay What You Want capability and TikTok advertising on top of the advertising already in the Free plan. There are also automated tax calculations, which is GREAT if you’re not a numbers person. It also connects you to Instagram shopping and Facebook shopping to widen those streams of revenue.

I’m currently still on the Venture plan but I’ve been saving money for an upgrade and should get there after a couple more sales! The next plan is the Business plan. It’s $39/mo or $29.08/mo, paid annually ($348.96). It has all the same features of the Free and Venture plans plus automated abandoned cart emails (very important!), an extra staff account, wholesale pricing, recurring subscriptions and UP TO 2500 PRODUCTS! Obviously this is a great plan if you have a lot of inventory or if you offer subscription services. The main reason I want to upgrade to the Business plan is to get the automated abandoned cart emails. Did you know carts are abandoned by almost 70% of shoppers? SEVENTY PERCENT. As of this writing I have NINE abandoned carts and would love a chance to turn them into sales. So, fingers crossed I can upgrade soon!

After Business, the final plan is Unlimited. It’s the costliest plan at $99/mo or $82.50/mo paid annually ($990.00). It has all the features of the other plans with a few differences: unlimited products, unlimited staff accounts, inventory tracking, dimensional shipping rates and POS support. Since I have yet to upgrade to Business, it’s going to be a while before I upgrade to Unlimited but I figure that’ll be the next step once I 1) have over 2500 products and 2) have some employees.

My experience using Ecwid has been great and I love that I can upgrade as my business grows, rather than paying more upfront than I can afford.

I hope this has been a helpful and informative read and wish you much luck with your online store! If you’d like our businesses to collaborate, send me an email at taliamulrich@gmail.com