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In recent years, independent stations have become a new choice for cross-border e-commerce sellers, especially in the context of frequent account bans on traditional third-party platforms, and many sellers have turned to seek a lower-risk business model. The advantages of the independent website are obvious: easy to open a store, low sales commissions, closer customer connection, and the ability to provide consumers with a diverse and personalized shopping experience. However, how to choose an independent website building platform suitable for their own business has become the core issue that many sellers are concerned about.
This article will compare the top 10 best-performing independent website builders in 2024 from key aspects such as features, pricing, and sales channel integration, to help cross-border sellers find the right tool for themselves.
Independent stationIsn't a third-party marketplace (such as Amazon, eBay, or Etsy) when a merchant sells products or services through their own website. These websites usually run under the merchant's own domain name and are completely controlled and operated by the merchant. Brands like Allbirds are a prime example of a successful independent station.
Compared with third-party platforms, independent stations have the following significant advantages:
Independent station building platformIt is a system that supports the operation of online stores, providing a full range of functions from product management to order processing. The core features of these platforms typically include:
Independent stationIt is an e-commerce website created by merchants themselves, and each independent station is like an exclusive store, which is completely different from opening a store in a third-party mall such as Amazon. Stores in third-party malls need to comply with the rules of the platform, while independent stations have higherFreedom of customizationandOperational autonomy。 For example, you can design website layouts, set up unique customer experiences, and get your hands on user data directly.
Modern standalone website builders not only support basic online business needs, but also enable more features, such as:
PremiumIndependent station building platformIt usually provides a complete set of features to help sellers easily cope with diverse business needs and support the rapid growth of the business. These platforms provide a convenient path from 0 to 1 for cross-border e-commerce sellers, while guaranteeing the possibility of efficient operation and flexible expansion.
ShopifyIt is a well-known online e-commerce platform headquartered in Canada, which has become one of the most popular e-commerce solutions in the world since its launch in 2006. It is known for its user-friendly interface, which simplifies the complex website development process into an intuitive operation, making it easy for users to set up and manage an online store without programming knowledge. There's no need for technical expertise and big money to use Shopify. This independent website builder has all the tools you need to help you get your business started and expand.
Shopify not only helps merchants build an online presence quickly, but it also helps them grow with professional tools and multi-channel support. Whether you're a start-up or an established brand, Shopify is a trusted e-commerce website builder that helps merchants scale their business globally.
Shopify's core features
Wix eCommerceis made up of Israeli companiesWix.com Ltd.An online e-commerce platform designed for start-ups and small businesses, with the core idea of making it easy for users to create beautiful websites without programming skills.
Wix has a user-friendly interface and is suitable for small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses, especially those with smaller inventory. Its e-commerce tools support basic order tracking, online payment processing, multi-channel selling (premium plans), and more, as well as automated customer notification emails. However, for merchants with medium to large inventories or complex e-commerce needs, Wix's features may seem too simple to meet higher-level business needs.
Wix eCommerce's core features
Adobe CommerceAdobe Systems Inc., an American software company, is an open-source e-commerce platform that has been built by enterprises since its inception in 2008 with its powerful customization capabilities and flexibilityIndependent station, especially for large enterprises with unique business needs and development teams.
Unlike Shopify, which focuses on a user-friendly interface, Adobe Commerce is more geared towards technical merchants. It provides users with a highly customized platform that developers can leverage with its feature-rich tools and powerful programming capabilities to create an online store that perfectly matches the needs of their business. Additionally, with built-in features and third-party extensions, merchants can further expand the capabilities of their platform.
Core features of Adobe Commerce
BigCommerceis a U.S.-based e-commerce company that provides a strong platform for mid-to-large enterprises and fast-growing e-commerce entrepreneursSaaS platform。 It's especially great for those who want to buildIndependent stationthrough rich localization features and multi-currency support, it helps sellers easily achieve cross-border sales
Highlights of BigCommerce
WooCommerceis a powerful oneWordPress free e-commerce plugin, designed for sellers using WordPress. As an open-source platform, it has the ability to convert a WordPress blog into a complete e-commerce website with branding, product catalogs, and checkout capabilities.
WooCommerce is particularly well-suited for small to medium-sized eCommerce businesses. through itsUser-friendly interface and high flexibility, even users with no technical background can easily create and manage their ownIndependent station。 The core plugin is free, and merchants can choose to install free or paid extensions to enhance their functionality according to their specific business needs. This highly customizable feature makes WooCommerce such a popular website builder.
The core features of WooCommerce
PrestaShopIt is a tailor-made platform for start-up e-commerce businesses, known for its high flexibility and basic e-commerce features. It provides a simple, practical solution for online businesses that are just starting out, while allowing sellers to customize the website to their needs.
PrestaShop offers a free self-hosted solution that merchants can download and install on any server. This model is perfect for businesses that value website autonomy.
Its basic features include a shopping cart and checkout system, but the real strength of PrestaShop lies in its modular design. Merchants can easily extend functionality or optimize the look and feel of their website with the plethora of modules and themes available in the PrestaShop community
PrestaShop's core features
SquarespaceOffering a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface similar to Wix, it was originally developed as a website building and hosting platform. With the rapid growth of e-commerce, Squarespace has expanded its functionality to include an e-commerce operations module. Users can easily add products, manage orders, set up payment and shipping options, and perform other e-commerce-related actions on their existing website
Squarespace's core features:
VolusionWhat started as a basic website builder has evolved into a full-featured e-commerce platform that has expanded its functionality as the demand for online sales has increased. Although Volusion offers website hosting, users still need to register and purchase a domain name through a third party, which can be a concern for some merchants.
For novice sellers, Volusion offers comprehensive e-commerce basics such as order processing, setting up recurring billing, inventory tracking, and product promotion. In addition, the platform supports the creation and management of customer accounts, which facilitates the optimization of the customer experience. Merchants also have the flexibility to add and manage taxes to suit the needs of different markets.
Volusion's core features
Shift4Shop (used to be called 3dcart)is a US-based e-commerce platform provider that acts as a one-stop-shopIndependent stationShift4Shop, a website builder, helps users easily build, customize, and manage their own online stores. The platform is known for its comprehensive functionality, high degree of customization, and support for search engine optimization (SEO). Shift4Shop provides merchants with an all-in-one solution, from product display, order processing, to customer relationship management. In addition, Shift4Shop supports a variety of integration options to connect with third-party apps and services, such as payment processors, email marketing tools, and accounting software.
The core features of Shift4Shop
GoDaddyIt is a well-known domain registrar and provides an easy-to-use e-commerce website builder to help users quickly launch their online store. Using artificial intelligence technology, GoDaddy automatically generates a customized website design based on the information provided by the user, which is suitable for tablet and mobile screens. While the platform is simple to operate and suitable for start-ups, it has a limited number of products to sell and may not be flexible enough for merchants who need to expand their business.
GoDaddy's core features
In the selectionIndependent stationWhen building a website, sellers need to evaluate a number of key factors to ensure that the platform they choose can meet their business needs while supporting future growth. Here are some key elements and recommendations to help you choose the best website building solution:
Platform fees are the first element of choice. Some platforms offer a free starter plan, while others may charge for more advanced features. As your business grows, additional marketing tools, automation features, and advanced customization options can become indispensable, and these are often included in paid plans.
An effective independent website platform should provide a high degree of design flexibility, allowing merchants to create a unique website based on the needs of the brand.
For merchants who lack a technical background, it is crucial to choose a platform that offers stable hosting services. Hosting services directly affect the loading speed of a website, the user experience, and the SEO effect.
Nowadays, consumers have diverse shopping channels, and e-commerce sellers need to sell products on multiple platforms such as Amazon, eBay, social media, etc.
The diversity and security of payment methods are the core links that cannot be ignored. The platform should support international payment methods (such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Alipay) and comply with security standards such as PCI DSS to ensure customer data security.
For novice sellers or cross-border e-commerce, technical support is very crucial. Choosing an independent platform that offers 24/7 customer support will ensure that issues are resolved quickly when encountered.
Independent station building platformIt is the core driving force of e-commerce websites, providing merchants with one-stop solutions such as product management, collection, and order tracking. Whether it's a start-up or a large brand, these platforms provide comprehensive support for their business operations. Here are the main advantages of choosing a dedicated website building platform:
Most merchants want to create an e-commerce website quickly with minimal technical knowledge. whereasIndependent station building platformAn intuitive drag-and-drop interface is typically offered, with no programming knowledge required to design websites, add products, and set up payment options. This means that merchants can build and maintain their own online stores independently, without having to hire additional developers, saving time and money.
The independent website builder platform has invested heavily in optimizing the payment experience, which not only improves the likelihood of customers completing the purchase, but also strengthens the security of payment. The platform supports a variety of payment methods, such as credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, etc., giving customers more choices and convenience. At the same time, these platforms often use advanced encryption technology to protect customers' payment information, enhance brand trust, and provide a stable foundation for online business.
From order generation to product delivery,Independent station building platformAbility to track and update the status of orders in real-time. The platform's automated management features help merchants quickly check inventory, process returns, and improve overall operational efficiency. In addition, the platform automatically sends order status update notifications to customers, providing customers with a transparent and efficient shopping experience.
A high-quality customer experience is the key to increasing conversions.Independent station building platformOffering professionally designed themes, combined with an easy-to-navigate interface, make every step of the way for customers to browse, search, and checkout. Whether customers are using desktops, tablets, or mobile phones, they can enjoy a consistent and fast shopping experience. A visually sound and easy-to-use website also reinforces the brand's professional image.
A deep understanding of customer behavior and sales trends is an important means of driving business growth. majorityIndependent station building platformAll have built-in data analysis tools that provide detailed information on customer shopping habits, best-selling products, traffic sources, and more. This data allows merchants to optimize their products and marketing strategies to maximize sales performance.
Ensuring website security and complying with industry regulations are core requirements for e-commerce operations. HotIndependent station building platformSupport payment industry security standards such as PCI DSS to ensure that customers' payment information is protected. By choosing a professional platform, merchants can easily ensure website security and compliance without worrying too much about technical issues.
Standalone breaks through the geographical restrictions of physical stores, allowing merchants to sell products to customers around the world around the clock. Most platforms offer multi-language support, currency conversion, and international shipping capabilities, which help cross-border e-commerce sellers easily reach global markets and increase sales opportunities.
Increase the traffic of independent sitesIt is the key to the success of cross-border e-commerce. Here are a few proven drainage strategies to help your unique website attract more visitors and increase conversions.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important way to improve the organic ranking of independent standing in search engines such as Google. The key is to optimize your website's content, meta tags, and URL structure to make it search engine friendly and optimize around keywords that your target customers are likely to search for. For example, if your independent website sells handmade leather goods, make sure to include keywords such as "handmade leather bags" and "custom wallets" in your product pages. In addition, publishing high-quality blog content on a regular basis not only provides value to customers, but also improves SEO rankings by embedding relevant keywords, thereby attracting more potential customers to your unique site.
Paid advertising is fast forIndependent stationAn effective way to drain traffic. Whether it's Google ads or social media ads, precise targeting can significantly increase conversions. For example, if you sell children's toys on your own website, you can set your target group as "Parents with young children" in your Facebook ads and run appealing creatives. This targeted advertising strategy can effectively increase the click-through rate of ads and the number of visits to independent sites, thereby driving sales.
Social media platforms are a powerful source of traffic, and when used correctly, they can be significantly improvedIndependent stationexposure and visits. Engage potential customers by creating interesting, interactive content. For example, posting creative short videos on TikTok that showcase the unique features of a product to attract the attention of the younger generation; Or build a customer community on Facebook to share useful information and engage with users to enhance customer stickiness and brand trust. Good social media operation can bring long-term user growth and a stable source of traffic to independent websites.
When managing multiple accounts for advertising, content publishing, or community engagement, it's important to ensure that the accounts are independent.DICloak Fingerprint ViewerBy creating a completely independent browsing environment, the association between accounts is effectively prevented, thereby reducing the risk of account banning. This feature is especially important for cross-border e-commerce, social media marketers, and users who need to operate with multiple accounts. With DICloak, you can easily manage multiple accounts and ensure smooth and efficient operations.
Let's say you're managing a brand and have multiple accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for promotion and publicity. useDICloak Fingerprint Viewer, you can set up a separate browser environment for each account, thereby reducing the risk of social media platform bans due to similar fingerprints on devices.
Independent stations provide cross-border e-commerce sellers with opportunities to operate flexibly, reduce costs, and directly obtain customer resources. By choosing the right website builder and using tools like a fingerprint browser, sellers can avoid operational risks, improve efficiency, and grow their business. This guide gives you a clear direction to succeed in the independent e-commerce space.
Overseas independent websites refer to e-commerce websites built and operated by merchants in the international market, which are independent of third-party e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon, eBay, etc., and merchants can fully control the design, content, marketing strategy and customer data of the website. Unlike e-commerce models that rely on third-party platforms, overseas independent websites are usually not restricted by platform rules, which allows merchants to adjust their operational strategies more flexibly to meet the needs of different markets.
As the world's leading independent Saas service provider, Shopify, unlike other platforms, mainly adopts a monthly pricing model, and merchants can choose to purchase the corresponding store operation plan (before free trial) according to their different needs for the functionality of the platform. Currently, Shopify offers the most popular plans in Basic, Advanced, and Premium.
Let's start with service providers from overseas. Recently, investopedia, a financial information media platform in the United States, took stock of the top 10 most popular e-commerce independent website building platforms, which are BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Magento, Shopify, Smoolis, GoDaddy, Square Online, 3dcart, and Weebly
Self-built and independent websites are actually different from third-party e-commerce platforms, and belong to an independent website sold by cross-border sellers. If you have to talk about the difference, self-built websites will be more inclined to refer to self-developed websites, or whole site customization, while independent websites refer more to cross-border SaaS template website building.
Independent station collection methods are mainly PayPal, credit card collection, COD, offline, overseas local payment collection. As for the policy of each collection channel, you can consult the relevant official personnel.