Ecwid Review 2019: everything you need to know about this ecommerce platform

Buyers’ perception of ecommerces improves year after year. Currently, more than 7 out of 10 consumers (71%) believe that better offers can be obtained by buying online, according to nChannel data. In fact, more and more brands and companies decide to invest in e-commerce, and not all do so with the help of WooCommerce, Cart66 or Shopify.
Ecwid has broken into this competitive market niche to simplify the process of creating an online store. Founded in 2009 by Ruslan Fazlyev, this platform has specialized in adding virtual stores to existing websites – but this is a very short definition of the power of Ecwid!
In the following lines, you will find an in-depth analysis of Ecwid, with its main features, examples of websites designed with this platform and much, much more.

What is Ecwid, an interesting alternative to WooCommerce to implement an online store?

“Start selling online for free in 5 minutes”. This is the web slogan of the Ecwid platform, born to simplify the creation and implementation of online stores on websites previously designed with WordPress, Joomla, and other CMS.
Although it lacks the popularity of WooCommece or the glamour of Shopify, Ecwid’s customer base is not small: 1.5 million merchants in more than 150 countries. Its platform is also available in 45 different languages.
In many ways, Ecwid is not a direct competitor of Bigcommerce, Shopify or Volusion. While these platforms focus on creating ecommerces from scratch, Ecwid is a solution designed for brands and companies with an established website, in which they want to incorporate a marketplace.
Another key indicator of Ecwid’s commitment to quality is customer service. In addition, to live chat, users can contact the Ecwid team with a web form (support.ecwid.com/hc/en-us/requests/new). For the most frequent queries and doubts, Ecwid has designed a Knowledge Base (support.ecwid.com/hc/en-us) with a list of very useful topics.

What are the main features of Ecwid?

Rapid implementation across multiple platforms

After doing an analysis of Ecwid, one of the most positive surprises is to discover its easy implementation in virtually all CMS in the market: WordPress, Joomla, Wix, Drupal, and so on. Its implementation is fast and it has abundant informative material: guides, support, API documentation, etc.

Easy to administer

It is not necessary to have previous experience in ecommerces management to develop with Ecwid. Once the platform has been implemented, adaptation to its intuitive interface is quick. From the same it is possible to track orders, knowing the status of products with a single click.
Stock management is also simple. It is possible to configure each of the product cards with parameters such as sizes, colors or categories, activating promotional prices or discount coupons for a limited time in an easy way. With Ecwid it is possible to manage the payment methods without problems, applying the rates of the transport company or the corresponding taxes.

100% consumer friendly

Ecwid is a platform that prioritizes the user experience above all else. So much so that it offers very fast and easy checkout processes, designed to make transactions as fast as possible (in the ShopApp function, only one step is required).
Ecwid also has an intelligent calculator, which allows customers to know in real time what the shipping costs will be. It uses geolocation technology. But this platform not only detects the location of customers but also their language, automatically translating titles, cards and other texts of the store to almost 50 different languages.
On the other hand, it incorporates the wishlist function, perfect for customers who like to create lists of favorite items, for later consultations or purchases. Without a doubt, one of the most positive aspects of this Ecwid analysis.

Payment gateway

Ecwid is also exceptional in accepting payments. In addition to allowing payments via PayPal without commissions (except for the e-payment itself), Ecwid accepts countless payment gateways, such as Sage, Stripe or 2Checkout, not to mention credit card payments or cash payments.

Best value for money

Ecwid’s price is also considerably cheaper than competitors like Shopify. But what are the different plans and quotas available?

  • With the Venture Plan, your customers pay 15 dollars a month, with attributes such as Facebook Shop, Instagram Store or responsive version.
  • With the Business Plan, the fee is up to 35 dollars a month but includes the option marketplaces.
  • With the Unlimited Plan, customers enjoy all the above benefits, with the addition of POS (Point of sale) functionality by paying a fee of $99 per month.

If the hiring is annual, these prices are reduced significantly. Whichever plan is chosen, Ecwid does not charge any transaction fees to its customers.

POS Functionality

Following Ecwid’s analysis, point-of-sale (POS) functionality is another star feature of this platform. Due to the importance of omnichannel sales, the integration of Ecwid with a company’s different points of sale is essential. In this way, it is possible to process conversions from the website, social networks, physical stores and other points of sale. Ecwid can also process offline payments from credit cards or cash.

The possibility of creating an ecommerce app

Another unique feature of Ecwid is ShopApp, a function designed to design a mobile app and send it to the App Store or Google Play. For mobile consumers, the use of this application facilitates navigation and allows you to make more agile purchases with the help of Apple Pay. It is also possible to synchronize store stock with ShopApp.
In view of the above, it’s not surprising that it’s easy to find examples of stores in Ecwid, such as Way Of Life Food, Les Fermes Valens or Buttonworks. This platform has boosted its popularity among brands and entrepreneurs, and everything seems to indicate that it will continue to grow in 2019!

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ECN Team
E-Commerce Nation is The 1st B2B Web Media about E-Commerce in Europe. The team of E-Commerce Explorers help businesses to reach new potential market through delivering useful content. Let us know in comment if you enjoyed this content.