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09/20/2021
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Christian Rentrop
heise Download Content Team
Your own online shop: shop systems in comparison
Create your own online shop quickly and easily
If you run a small business or want to market your own products, you can hardly avoid having your own online shop these days. Ready-made web shop systems make it much easier to get started. We introduce some providers.
💡 The most important thing in brief
Online shop systems are the easiest way to create web shops. Thanks to many templates, the shop can be set up and adapted quickly, even by beginners.
An online shop helps to acquire new customer groups: customers who would never have entered the store due to physical distance can now shop.
Regular customers who are already convinced of the quality of the range or the products can order around the clock. That boosts sales.
Shop systems are already available for little money, the costs are of course tax deductible and should be amortized quickly through the increase in sales.
To the list: ➤ Overview of shop systems
There are few things that can inspire your own business as much as your own online shop. It significantly increases the reach of every business, can open up new customer groups and market your own products online. Therefore, all types of businesses can benefit from having their own online store. From the organic farm with homegrown honey to small boutiques and specialty shops to entrepreneurs who want to sell an interesting new product to men (or women). An online shop enables regular customers to order products without having to visit the store and, of course, outside of business hours. And with a global reach, it's easy to reach entirely new customers who would otherwise never have set foot in the store or found out about the product.
With finished shop systems to success
However, solo business people or owners of very small businesses often shy away from going online. They fear technical overhead, considerable costs and high maintenance effort. However, that is no longer true. Of course, you have to think a little about the logistics before launching an online shop, but ready-made shop systems, so-called web shop kits, can take care of everything else. A whole range of providers are vying for the favor of start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses: They promise easy commissioning of a web shop for a relatively low - and of course tax-deductible - monthly fee. And that should pay for itself quite quickly, since such a shop, properly set up, can increase sales enormously.
Online shop systems: how does it work?
Providers of ready-made online shops usually offer ready-made shops that are adapted to the user's requirements with the help of a so-called template. This means that the provider always offers the same shop system below the surface as SaaS (Software as a Service), which, however, has very clear visual differences. This is not relevant for the shop customer later, but for the shop operator it is: The ready-made online shops can only be adapted to one's own needs to a certain extent, as is the case with the homepage construction kits, for example. that many hosting providers offer. This is exactly why it is important to take a look at the functions, templates and other technical properties in advance in order to decide on the right provider. By the way: Self-installable shop systems hosted on your own servers, such as WooCommerce for Wordpress or Magento, are much more flexible, but also require significantly more technical and administrative effort. This is exactly why web shop kits are particularly suitable for users who simply want to bring their business online and sell products here - without having to deal with the technology.
Your own online shop: what to look out for?
Basically, it doesn't matter which web shop provider an entrepreneur chooses: the basic functions - product lists, shopping cart, user accounts, payment systems and so on - are available everywhere. However, it makes sense to create a list of the desired features in advance. If specific functions - such as vouchers and special offers - or special payment methods (e.g. ordering and paying online and picking up in the offline shop) come up in the course of this self-analysis, the individual providers should be examined more closely. As a rule, however, there are cheap or even free entry-level tariffs and test months that allow users to put the shop through its paces first. But be careful: Depending on the provider and tariff, it may be that functions - such as statistics or additional employee accounts - only appear in the higher price ranges. Even if there is a desire for a specific template design, the applications should be compared exactly.
Check payment systems and functions
Some providers - such as Shopify - offer numerous payment systems such as credit cards, PayPal, bank transfers and so on, but charge fees for them. Of course, these must be factored into the product price from a business point of view. At up to 3 percent, these are considerable additional costs, especially for rather high-priced items: Here it can happen that the product is more expensive online than in the shop - and then can no longer stand out from the extreme competition on the Internet. Speaking of competition: It is always useful when a shop system helps to place your own products in price search engines and price comparisons*. This increases the range – assuming a good price – enormously. It also makes sense to take a look at the possibility of integrating third-party functions, such as your own payment systems or shipping services.
Keep an eye on GDPR and general terms and conditions
Online shops naturally collect considerable data: in addition to the customer's address and contact details, their payment details and, of course, the products ordered. Therefore, online shop operators have a very special duty of care when it comes to data protection. Any problems should be prevented by means of a legal data protection declaration and general terms and conditions, most providers do not provide any assistance here. Data protection itself is of course guaranteed, but it definitely makes sense to rely on a provider based in Europe so that you have a contact person at hand in case of an emergency.
Shop systems in comparison
In the following, we present providers of online shop systems that can be used to create web shops for small and medium-sized companies without any prior knowledge.
Shopify: Scalable and powerful
Shopify is a provider exclusively focused on web shops. The various tariff models allow excellent scalability: from bloggers who offer a small product portfolio to growing large companies, all user groups will find the right offer at Shopify. A 14-day test version of the system gives you a free start. However, there is no free plan. Even Shopify Lite, which is offered as a supplement to an existing website, is relatively expensive at 10 euros per month. Analytics or performance reports are only available from the standard tariff for more than 70 euros per month. In return, however, users receive an extremely reliable infrastructure from the web shop specialist. Many functions and a sophisticated theme design characterize the provider.
There is also the option of setting up your own domains and international prices. Despite relatively high fees, Shopify allows sales in up to 5 languages and 133 currencies, making it ideal for web shop providers who want to enter the international market directly, especially since a fraud analysis is included in all tariffs. The only point of criticism: Shopify's headquarters are not located in the EU, but there is an Irish branch that is responsible for European matters. This is not a problem, it must be communicated to the customer in any case.
➤ Shopify
from €27.00 / month
Jimdo: Elegant and simple
Jimdo* has made a name for itself as a website builder for small entrepreneurs and the self-employed. Of course, a web shop system is also offered for sale as part of this offer, which is just as light-footed and simple as the regular Jimdo kit. Small special functions such as Instagram integration, social media marketing or a local pickup function help to market products effectively. The legal text manager, which ensures GDPR compliance, is also practical, but increases the monthly price a little. Jimdo also promises that no sales fees will be charged: 100 percent of the sales go to the operator of the web shop. In terms of fees, Jimdo is a good choice, at least in the VIP tariff, which costs around 40 euros, thanks to design analysis and unlimited storage space. The themes are clean and modern, and numerous payment systems are supported, as well as the ability to use a free shipping option.
The wizard, which helps users to create a new web shop in no time at all, is praiseworthy. The results are to be proud of. As usual with Jimdo, the possibility of making your own adjustments to the design and functions is relatively limited. Especially for boutique operators and small suppliers of elegant things - for example from the handicraft sector - this is an ideal opportunity to set up a stylish web shop quickly and easily.
➤ Jimdo*
from €15.00 / month
1Blu: Inexpensive all-round package
If you are looking for a cheap entry into the online shop and may not yet have a website, you will find an extremely interesting offer with the German hoster 1Blu*: For less than four euros (!) per month there is the web construction kit “Business”, where It is a website construction kit with a web shop function. In addition to unlimited subpages, over 190 design templates and your own DE domain, there is plenty of storage here. E-mail accounts are also on board. This makes the kit ideal for small business people who want to "go online" in one go and don't yet have a web presence.
As is usual with weaving kits, processing is largely free of obstacles. Of course, the 1Blu system is not quite as sophisticated as dedicated shop systems when it comes to shop-specific functions: The shop functions are integrated as so-called widgets, but they support almost all relevant payment systems. For a very small price, there is therefore a pleasant website all-round package that offers the shop "on the side".
➤ 1Blu*
from €3.90 / month
Wix: Modern web shop with numerous functions
The Israeli Wix is usually mentioned together with Jimdo, and that's no wonder: both systems are now very similar. Wix also has a practical wizard that can be used to conjure up a web shop with just a few clicks. This can then be filled and adjusted according to taste. As with Jimdo, the very elegant, modern themes are interesting with Wix. However, Wix stands out again because it has a sophisticated little inventory management system including stock levels, order overview and collections. In addition, numerous payment providers are supported. Wix itself also offers a payment system, for which processing fees are due. Third-party providers such as Paypal, Stripe, Pinwheel or SumUp can be integrated if required.
Thanks to the "Wix Invoices" function, the creation of invoices is also not an issue: invoices can be paid online with a click and appear in a professional guise, and they are also stored in the Wix system. In terms of price, Wix is on a similar level to Jimdo and offers many practical functions for shop operators. This makes the provider well suited for small companies that are simply looking for their way into online business life.
➤ Wix
from €20.23 / month
Shopware: Web shop start without lock-in effect
Shopware is actually known as a provider of a "large" web shop system that is aimed at extensive use in large companies. However, there is now also a so-called "Starter Edition" that is hosted in the cloud. This makes Shopware interesting for small and medium-sized companies, especially if they have growth potential. Because Shopware actually acts as a "big" provider of self-hosted shop solutions, web shop operators can create the shop in the provider's cloud, similar to Jimdo, Wix and Co. This eliminates additional hosting costs and technical overhead. However, the possibility of scaling is particularly interesting: the existing shop can be transferred to the large solution if required, which means that, unlike other providers with shop modules, there is no locked-in effect: Shopware is almost infinitely scalable. As one of the few providers, Shopware also offers Apple Pay as a payment system and all well-known logistics companies for shipping.
The operation is just as easy as with the other providers. If you rely on Shopware, you can set up a shop without paying any monthly fees. Instead, Shopware receives a 3 percent share of the shop's sales. In the Advanced tariff, which is subject to a fee, this proportion is reduced to 1.5%, with the relatively high-priced Professional Edition only 0.5 percent commission is due. Despite this fee schedule, Shopware is interesting, especially for companies that expect the online shop to be very successful.
➤ Shopware
from €0.00 / month
Host Europe
Host Europe* offers its web shop function either like 1Blu as an addition to the website kit or as a Wordpress-based shop. In practice, this means that users have the choice between a website with a very simple shop function or a Wordpress system with a WooCommerce shop. This makes the provider interesting for two user groups at the same time, whereby the WordPress shop system can of course be scaled much better and, if necessary, transferred. However, Wordpress including WooCommerce is also associated with a certain learning curve and technical knowledge, while the “small” shop can be created quickly and easily using the website construction kit. Unfortunately, the systems are not compatible, i.e. a simple upgrade is not possible. Host Europe offers modern themes and numerous practical helpers in both tariffs.
Entrepreneurs who want to decide on one of the offers should first consider a precise requirement profile: Should a website with basic eCommerce functions be created as simply as possible? Or should a powerful and scalable shop system be established? In both cases, Host Europe, as a proven web hoster, is a good contact.
➤ Host Europe*
from €4.99 / month
Create free webshop
Of course, there are also ways to create web shops without any monthly fees. However, not with the well-known modular system providers, even supposed free offers such as that of Shopware are unfortunately not free of charge due to the sales commission, the costs are only charged based on performance. If you want to put your business online for free, you have to do a little research on the technology. With WooCommerce there is an online shop system that is just as interesting as it is diverse and powerful, which can be easily set up with a Wordpress account or in a Wordpress installation. But here, too, certain basic knowledge of the underlying technology is necessary in order to operate the shop optimally. Especially since WordPress is also subject to a fee when using your own domain, either by the web host or by WordPress.
Another free alternative is the open source web shop Magento, which now belongs to Adobe. However, the free version is technically demanding and not suitable for beginners.
Conclusion
It doesn't matter which shop system entrepreneurs choose: the step into the Internet always involves a little effort, but it can also generate enormous sales. Providers like Wix and Jimdo show that complete shops can be launched with little maintenance. This is recommended for smaller operators, but it quickly reaches its performance limits. If you want more, play it safe with Shopware and Shopify: The necessary scalability is available here if the web shop goes “through the roof”.
➤ Back to the list: Shop systems in the overview
* Links marked with an asterisk are affiliate links for which we may receive a commission. This does not increase the purchase price!
Editing & updating: heise download team
(Christian Rentrop)
