In this day and age, your business needs to have a website. Not only does a website make things easier for your local customers but also for your international or long-distance customers. By having a website, you can save costs on things such as advertising. If you want to bring your business online, you can start a free e-commerce website.
An e-commerce website is a website that allows you to sell your products or services online. Examples of e-commerce websites include Amazon South Africa, Takealot and BobShop.
For small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), having a website can elevate your business. Using any technology can secure your business for the future and increase your customer base leading to more sales and profit.
In this article, we look at the platforms that allow you to build a free e-commerce website in South Africa.
WordPress
One of the most popular blogging platforms in the world is WordPress. The platform hosts over 478 million sites. The platform does require a little bit of technical skills but is very easy to use once set up.
You can access the WordPress dashboard from any computer or mobile device. The dashboard gives you access to your site, website stats, premium themes and development tools and plugins.
Features of WordPress:
- Large library of themes and custom templates that you can choose from. These themes and templates are made by designers to ensure that they are top quality.
- You will be able to perform all tasks on your website without the help of a developer.
- Every WordPress-generated code follows the W3C standards. This means your website will work correctly in your current browser and be compatible with future versions.
- You can use WordPress for building a website or as an RSS reader and news aggregator.
- You can also implement functions such as comments, ratings, file uploads, social media, widgets, SEO integration and SEO tools.
Pricing for WordPress:
There are six plans available on WordPress. The plans are:
Free plan – The plan is free to use for anyone but there are restrictions to some functions.
Personal plan – This plan will cost you $4 per month ($48 for the year). You get a free domain for one year and an ad-free user experience.
Premium plan – This is the most popular WordPress plan. It costs $8 per month ($96 for the year). You get a free domain for the year plus support from the WordPress team and unlimited themes.
Business plan – The business plan costs $25 per month ($300 per year). It also gives you a free domain for one year and a range of features aimed at businesses.
Commerce plan – The commerce plan is the best option for building an online store (e-commerce store). It costs $45 per month ($450 per year). With this plan you also get a free domain for one year and a range of features to help you build a strong e-commerce store.
Enterprise plan – This plan is used by many top companies such as Slack, Meta and Salesforce. Its costs start at $25 000 per year. It has a range of features including generative artificial intelligence and 24/7 support.
Note: You can use WooCommerce as the e-commerce plug-in for WordPress.
Google Sites
Google Sites is Google’s website creation tool. The tool is compatible with Google’s Workspace tools such as Docs, Sheets and Slides. Any project that you do, can be moved from your Google drive into the website you are creating.
Features of Google Sites:
- Simple to use and you can rearrange or delete what you don’t need easily.
- After building your website, you can change its look and feel using the editing tools.
- Great for building a website for a work project that involves charts and tables.
- Although it does not have full functions for e-commerce, Google Sites has templates which utilise Pay Now buttons and simple storefronts.
- As mentioned before, the Google Sites tool is free to use for everyone.
Square
Square allows you to build an online store quickly and efficiently. The platform has a free plan that uses a website builder to get your online store built right away. The company also has a point-of-sale tool which is designed for different kinds of businesses. This can include retail, restaurants and beauty stores.
Additionally, Square has tools for invoicing, online payments, online ordering and scheduling.
Square pricing:
Free plan – The free plan allows you to sell in person and online. It has no set-up fees or monthly fees. You only pay when you take a payment.
Plus plan – On this plan, you can get advanced features for restaurants, retailers or appointment-based businesses. It costs $29 per month (will also include processing fees). You can upgrade or cancel at any time.
Premium plan – The premium plan allows you to build a plan that meets any complex operations. The plan has custom rates and processing fees depending on your business needs and eligibility.
To get a quote for the custom plan, click here to get in contact with the sales team.
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce website builders. There are over 5 million stores that use Shopify. Shopify e-commerce websites and integrations allow you to sell unlimited products through your online stores, major marketplaces and social platforms.
Additionally, you can accept payments easily with Shopify payments or use other payment gateways such as PayPal.
Shopify pricing:
Free plan – Shopify has a free plan that you can use. It requires no credit card when you sign-up and you can upgrade anytime you want.
Basic plan – The basic plan costs $25 per month ($19 per year). With this plan you get 24/7 support, POS lite, 10 inventory locations and localised global selling. You can also try the plan for free first before you purchase. Best for solo entrepreneurs.
Shopify plan – The Shopify plan costs $65 per month ($49 per year). This plan gives you the same benefits as the basic plan including five additional staff accounts. Ideal for small businesses.
Advanced plan – The advanced plan costs $399 per month ($299 per year). This plan includes 15 additional staff accounts, and you get custom reports and analytics. Great for businesses that are growing.
Plus plan – The Plus plan costs $2300 per month on a 3-year term. This plan has unlimited staff accounts and allows you to sell wholesale/B2B. The plus plan is ideal for complex businesses.
These are just a few of the platforms you can use to build an e-commerce website for free. The best thing about these platforms is that as your business grows, you can upgrade your free plan and get even more features.
Having an e-commerce website has many benefits, including:
- Low costs.
- Wider customer reach.
- Easy way to boost sales.
- Affordable marketing tools.
- Easy to use even as your business grows.
- Competitive edge over other businesses.
With the rise of m-commerce, there is no reason not to benefit from having an online presence. If you believe that your business is ready to be transformed into an e-commerce website, pick the right platform for you and get started.
