5 Best E Commerce Platforms in Calgary to Grow Your Business

In the modern world, the Internet is one of the most reliable and easiest ways a business can sell their products and services. Online selling is a breeze nowadays thanks to the proliferation of e-commerce platforms.

These platforms provide a huge range of features like inventory management, website building, and accounting that can simplify and optimise almost every process a business must do to stand out from its competition on the Internet.

So if you’re planning on starting or growing a business in Calgary, make sure to try out these amazing e-commerce platforms!

Table of Contents

• How much does it cost to build an e-commerce website?
• How We Chose
• 1. Wix
• 2. Shopify
• 3. Squarespace
• 4. Ecwid
• 5. BigCommerce

How much does it cost to build an e-commerce website?

The average cost to build an e-commerce website in Canada for SME businesses is $3,000. Please take note that the price greatly varies depending on factors such as domain name cost, website hosting fees, and plugins for payment processing and additional features.

How We Chose

Features offered – We picked those that can offer a wide range of sales and marketing tools, like SEO and inventory management.

Customisation options offered – We also chose those that can provide a good range of customisation options when it comes to website building and payment options.

User-friendliness – We assessed whether these platforms can be easily learned even by those who are new to the e-commerce space.

Stability and security – We also examined whether these platforms have any reports of crashing or slowdowns. We also checked whether they have robust security features like SSL certificates.

Customer support – We also looked at whether these e-commerce platforms have active support teams who can assist clients whenever they need them. We also assessed whether they respond quickly to calls and emails.

Price fairness – We also considered whether their prices are fair given the features and customisation options they offer.

1. Wix

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wix (@wix)

Website: https://www.wix.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wix

Business hours: 24/7

Wix is a website builder and e-commerce platform that helps users produce professional-looking websites even if they have no coding or website design experience.

This website builder has more than 900 free customisable templates that you can use to quickly design a website with minimal effort. It uses a drag-and-drop site editor, so users can freely add or remove products and services from their websites whenever they want.

Furthermore, Wix also has plenty of features to bolster a business’ marketing and e-commerce capabilities, like a built-in SEO tool, support for abandoned cart recovery, and recurring payment options like PayPal.

Access to their most advanced features will cost you $44 per month, and it already includes everything discussed earlier, with a couple more features added like third-party app integration and SSL encryption.

Customer Reviews

Amazing how little work I need to put in to make an amazing website

“Using Wix is easy there is no learning curve. I find it truly amazing how little work I need to put in to make an amazing website. You will have people think the website was made by a professional not by yourself in a short amount of time. Thats how good the websites turn out.”

-Md A., GetApp Reviews

The platform is very user-friendly and their support staff are well trained

“Wix creates a powerful platform for web design which is accessible to everyone, even if you don’t know much about programming and/or design. The platform is very user-friendly and their support staff are well trained.”

-Stephan Hauman, Trustpilot Reviews

2. Shopify

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shopify (@shopify)

Website: https://www.shopify.com/ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopify

Phone number: +1-888-746-7439

Business hours: 24/7

Shopify is an e-commerce platform built that provides a range of services to make online transactions easier, like a marketing suite, POS system, and management apps.

One of the key features Shopify has is its site setup service, which allows clients to build an online store easily through the use of their templates. It has no bandwidth or data limitations, so users are free to add as many products and services to their sites as they want.

Furthermore, they offer an extensive list of marketing tools, like SEO and social media integration, that can help businesses reach their target audiences faster. 

Clients can use these features with minimal effort with the help of Shopify’s integrated AI assistants like Sidekick, which can write detailed product descriptions with nothing more than a couple of SEO keyword inputs.

Customer Reviews

Very user friendly, which is really helpful when you have a large team

“We love that is is really use to use, to manage the products and check the orders. It is very user friendly, which is really helpful when you have a large team. The checkout process is pretty straight forward and works great. And you get a lot of that and analytics easily. ”

-Natasha B., GetApp Reviews

The best e-commerce software

“Shopify is super easy to use and for me, it is the best e-commerce software because of its user-friendliness and variety of options. Shopify might seem pricey at first, but it includes all the options you need to make a professional shop and you don’t need any IT skills to build it.”

-Annelies W., GetApp Reviews

3. Squarespace

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Squarespace (@squarespace)

Website: https://www.squarespace.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squarespace

Business hours: 24/7

Squarespace is a website building and hosting company that lets their users create fully customisable websites and online stores in a matter of minutes. They make this process easy with the help of their drag-and-drop feature and various website templates that can fit different needs.

All websites created via Squarespace are automatically given a domain name and SSL certificate without any additional fees.

A unique feature Squarespace has is the full integration of their e-commerce platform into all plans they offer. This means that even basic users can already access most of their tools, like their marketing suite and POS system.

All users can also sell an unlimited number of products without any bandwidth or storage limitations.

For their higher-tiered plans, like Basic and Advanced Commerce, they also include a couple more features to make online transactions easier, like abandoned cart recovery and 0% transaction fees.

Customer Reviews

Helps you grow your business in an edgy and very appropriate way

“I love that’s its platforms that helps you grow your business in an edgy and very appropriate way. They have amazing templates to choose from.”

-Tonny S., GetApp Reviews

Glad I am using them for my business needs

“I have been quite pleased with my experience with SquareSpace and am glad I am using them for my business needs.”

-Rachel W., GetApp Reviews

4. Ecwid

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ecwid by Lightspeed (@ecwid)

Website: https://www.ecwid.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecwid

Business hours: 10:00 PM – 9:00 AM MST (MON-FRI)

Ecwid is an e-commerce platform founded by Ruslan Fazlyev in 2009. They offer a wide range of features that users can mostly access for free.

A key feature you can get for free is their online store creation service, which gives you the ability to quickly design a website, include payment and shipping options, and add up to five products for sale.

If you prefer their paid plans, Ecwid can offer you more advanced features and services, like the ability to sell directly on social media sites like Facebook and online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.

Furthermore, their paid plans also have additional features like abandoned cart recovery and multilingual support for your online store, which can translate your product descriptions into 53 different languages.

Customer Reviews

Easiest, fastest and most complete solution for an instant online businesses

“ECWID is the easiest, fastest and most complete solution for an instant online businesses. It is underestimated the power of this platform. Every time I need to change, do or add something, I can do it. How many times have you used a software that has this? Even for international use it is amazing, plus it syncs with the best apps and plugins out there. Seriously the best!”

-Ivan M., GetApp Reviews

Ecwid has made my e-commerce website business experience so easy

“Ecwid has made my e-commerce website business experience so easy. Now I can track all my earnings, shipping and product inventory very easily. As I didn’t have much experience of creating a eCommerce website by my own, but Ecwid has made is so simple I have made my professional website and started earning. Thanks ecwid”

-Roshan P., G2 Reviews

5. BigCommerce

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by BigCommerce (@bigcommerce)

Website: https://www.bigcommerce.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigCommerce/

Business hours: 24/7

BigCommerce is an e-commerce platform developed primarily for SMEs. Started in 2009, they offer a wide range of services, including online store creation, marketing tools, web hosting, and online security.

Its online store creator has a drag-and-drop feature that lets users add, remove, or modify their store’s products and services. Users are free to add as many products and services as they want, as BigCommerce’s plans come with unlimited bandwidth and storage.

Furthermore, any online store made with BigCommerce can enjoy seamless integration with modern payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay. All transactions made through them have zero transaction fees.

They also offer an extensive list of marketing tools, like email marketing and social media integration. 

You can try out their services with their free 14-day trial offer.

Customer Reviews

Very suited for any store from simple to sophisticated

“BigCommerce is a dedicated ecommerce platform and is thus very suited for any store from simple to sophisticated. The system has an abundance of features and a growing number of apps (plugins) that are available to increase the functionality. Support is excellent and you can actually call them up and find a very helpful and knowledgeable person at the other end.”

-David G., GetApp Reviews

BigCommerce has been instrumental in our development since day 1

“BigCommerce has been instrumental in our development since day 1. To TYLER’S, BigCommerce isn’t just a SAAS platform, they’re coaches, mentors, friends, and counselors. We’re best at being a specialized retailer and have spent 40 years navigating the physical store side, but are still fairly young and new in the online world. BigCommerce helps us understand the mechanisms to be more competitive in the ecommerce space, which spills over into our stores through implementations directed towards an omnichannel experience. They know our goals and resolutions and even in the worst case scenario of not knowing the answer to something, they find someone who does. ”

-Justin D., G2 Reviews