One of the easiest ways to get a profitable website up and running is to use web-based site builders with built-in shopping carts. You don’t need to have CSS skills, PHP skills or any kind of web design skills. You also don’t need to setup your own merchant account and handle payment processing.
All this is taken care of and handled for you. All you need to do is choose how you want your website to look, put your products up on the internet and begin selling.
Different kinds of web based site builders are better for different kinds of people. For example, some shopping carts are designed for people with zero web experience. These are point and click and allow you to use templates to get your site up as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, some shopping carts are designed with all kinds of complex customization options built in. You can create your own API and design your store to look however you want it to look.
Here are the 10 top web-based site builders, along with a description of each and who should use them.
Builder #1: Shopify
Site: http://www.shopify.com
Shopify is one of the largest and most successful site builders and shopping carts on the web.
One of the things that makes Shopify truly special is its designer community. When you sign up for Shopify, you get 5 free templates to choose from. These 5 templates are decent, but nothing to write home about.
However, unlike other platforms Shopify is highly customizable. Design firms have gone out of their way to create Shopify designs, as well as Shopify templates. You can easily find stellar shop designs by professional designers, as well as find designers who can revamp your shop for you from the ground up.
Shopify has their own marketplace, where people can shop from all of Shopify’s products. This is a great way to get initial traction and get your first few sales.
Here’s an example of what a Shopify store might look like.
Builder #2: Blinkweb
Site: http://business.blinkweb.com
BlinkWeb is a quick and easy way to get started in internet marketing. It only costs $1 to get started and is $14.95 a month after that.
BlinkWeb offers a few unique features that other site builders don’t. For one, it offers easy integration for a few key features, including Google AdSense to display ads and Google Maps to show addresses in visual form.
BlinkWeb can construct websites that look like static sites, as well as blog websites. For information marketers, BlinkWeb even has a site template for salesletters.
Builder #3: Internet Based Family
Site: http://www.internetbasedfamily.com
Internet Based Family is a website builder geared towards family-oriented people who want to make an internet income.
One thing that Internet Based Family does spectacularly is give you a wide range of templates to choose from. In fact, you can choose from over a thousand different templates to use with your site. You also have access to over 2,000 stock images that Internet Based Family has gone and licensed for you.
That means creating a great looking site becomes extremely easy. Internet Based Family also includes a calendar feature and an eBay listing feature, in addition to the standard shopping cart features.
Builder #4: Tripod
Site: http://www.tripod.lycos.com
Tripod is one of the oldest website builders in the history of the internet. They’ve been around since 28.8k dialup internet, when most people still connected through AOL. In the early days, it was how a lot of people got their first websites up.
Today, Tripod has changed a lot. Instead of designing tacky looking HTML websites, you can now design full fledged online shops that have stellar design.
Builder #5: Etsy
Site: http://www.etsy.com
Etsy isn’t technically a website builder. Instead, it’s a selling platform similar to eBay, except it specializes in hand made arts and crafts.
However, Etsy does allow you to create your own store on their platform. You take your own images and arrange them however you see fit. You can “feature” your own items to put them front and center to show your clients what you’re making.
Etsy features an eBay-style review system and has thousands of buyers ready and waiting to buy new and unique products.
Builder #6: Yola
Site: http://www.yola.com
Yola is a website builder combined with online store that has several membership levels.
Its most basic membership level is free. One thing that’s unique about Yola is that they provide free phone support for all levels of membership, even free members. If you need any help getting your site up and running, just give them a call.
Their service is extremely affordable, especially since they’re priced per year. They provide just about everything you could want from a website builder, including WYSIWYG editing, blogging, SEO and more.
Their eCommerce store requires you to have the silver level of membership and costs an additional $19.95 a month.
Builder #7: Moonfruit
Site: http://www.moonfruit.com
Over two million websites have been built using Moonfruit. Moonfruit is a very intuitive and graphically appealing design interface for making websites.
Everything in the Moonfruit interface works through drag and drop. It’s WYSIWYG to a whole new level. You can do just about everything you can do with CSS in Moonfruit’s interface, without any coding skills whatsoever.
Moonfruit’s shopping cart system allows you to integrate with both eBay and PayPal.
Builder #8: Jimdo
Site: http://www.jimdo.com
Jimdo is one of the easiest to use e-commerce platforms on the web. Not only do they have the standard payment processing gateways, but they also have a built-in inventory management. They have built-in order management systems that can help you make sure all your orders are fulfilled on, as well as a very easy to use interface.
Jimdo also comes with a wide array of website tools. You can embed a Google Maps, insert any HTML code you want, build forms, add YouTube videos, integrate with social media, upload files and more.
Builder #9: Webs
Site: http://www.webs.com
Webs features many professional business templates, as well as integration with both Clicky and Google Analytics.
They have an eCommerce shopping cart feature that integrates nicely with both PayPal and 2CheckOut.
Webs offers both a free version and a paid version. The free version has mandatory ads, while the paid version doesn’t. On the paid version, you can host your own ads and make money with Google AdSense.
Builder #10: Web Node
Site: http://www.webnode.com
Web Node has two different versions: The basic (free) version and the professional version. The primary difference between the free version and the professional version is that the professional version includes more templates.
Web Node is a great way to get started with building websites and shopping carts, though it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles.
These are the ten top web-based site builders that also have included shopping carts.