Best E-commerce Platforms for Clothing in 2023

This blog will reveal the best e-commerce platforms for clothing in 2023.

1. Magento
2. Shopify
3. Woocommerce
4. Bigcommerce
5. Prestashop

The U.S. retail e-commerce sales of apparel, footwear, and accessories are expected to surpass $136 billion in 2022, according to statista.com. Even, the high-end segment has bumped up their prices so many times this year. That is to say, despite the global economic recession, we witness the constant increase in revenue of the fashion sphere. 

It seems that selling clothes is fiercely competitive, but you will surely be in the black all time!

COVID 19 has been changing consumers’ behavior like never before. It makes today’s e-commerce no longer a buzzword but now the norm of our life. People have moved increasingly into the online sphere to trade-off. So if you are running a brick-and-mortar fashion store, it’s time for a makeover. You should switch your original business to the omnichannel model using an e-commerce solution. 

This article will show you recommended features of an e-commerce platform for clothing and our top best in 2022. So stay tuned, and let’s get started!

Disclaimer: This article’s list of best website builder for clothing brand is compiled and tailored to my taste and needs. Please take it as a reference.

I. Key features that a best clothing e-commerce platform should have

1. Support visual communication

“A picture worth a thousand words.”

When it comes to the most critical feature of an e-commerce platform for clothing, we think strong visualization should be the point of departure. Because the essential requirement when selling online is showing off all the best qualities of your products from various angles. And the visual tools below are the keys to doing that well:

• Image gallery: show multiple product images, videos in multiple sizes, spice up with eye-catching effects (Zoom In effect, Hover effect, and so forth).

Magento 2 Image Gallery is the ultimate solution for an aesthetic and visually appealing website. You can quickly and easily bulk upload and display unlimited product images/videos to the gallery in a matter of minutes. Moreover, creating and managing albums by categories and tags and showing them on relevant product pages is no longer a tricky balancing act.

• Shop by look: pin the product information in the product images (as a tooltip or popup) to provide a bold and unique shopping experience. 

Magento 2 Lookbook extension is a handy tool for you to showcase a collection of products within an image. The module gives you the freedom to create as many profiles and profile categories as you desire. Purchase it today to convert your customer shopping experience from normal to exceptional!

• Video display: display the video of your products to create an aesthetic that adds visual interest to your site.

Well communicating with your customer through visual elements is a surefire way to gain a sense of professionalism and trust from them. So choose a best website builder for clothing brand that supports you to make your website a real feast for the eyes!

Now you understand just why visual elements matter so much. So let’s move on to the next feature – advanced customizable options.

2. Advanced customizable options

Selling products online, in general, is a total drag. And selling clothes online has another layer of complexity. Let me explain why. Typically, you will craft a simple product page for one product on your catalog. But when selling clothes, you have to create multiple simple product pages for one product. That is due to the various product options, for example, the size, colors, or specific customization. In such a case, you need an ultimate solution!

Wouldn’t it be great if your e-commerce platform provided advanced product customizable options? Then, everything will be wrapped up on a product page. Super convenient for both sellers and buyers!

Magento 2 Custom Options extension offers a wide range of benefits by adding extra services and customizations to the original products. It allows you to mass assign templates to multiple products to save a chunk of time and effort. Furthermore, you can take complete control over the display of custom options with the smart dependency logic. Get it today to boost revenue and gain a competitive edge over others!

3. Social networks integration

In a highly digital landscape, social networks have become an ever more important aspect of your business. To clarify, 93% of online shoppers said social reviews and content influence their purchase decisions. So, if you want your products to explode with popularity, integrating the socials with your e-commerce platform may be a game-changer. However, what do I mean when saying “social media integration”? When you incorporate social media with your store, it’s possible to:

• Display social buttons on homepage and product pages.

• Allow people to share products on social media, which will enhance cross-promotions among channels. 
• Let users directly comment on product pages using their social accounts.
• Integrate social feedback.
• Use Facebook pixel for advertising. (Add a Facebook pixel to the header so that you can track who has visited your website. Then it’s easy to target the right audience for your Facebook ad campaigns).
• Offer social login options instead of creating a new account.

Magento 2 Social Login allows visitors to save time filling the registration forms by letting them register and log in to your website by social accounts. With this extension, store owners can increase registrations, improve user experience, and collect social profile information.

4. SEO

Do you want to stay ahead of your competitors on Bing, Google, or any search engines? If the answer is yes, find a platform offering powerful SEO features. That will help you bypass the algorithm and ensure your ranking on the search engine result page. 

However, the question is, almost all e-commerce platforms boast that they are SEO friendly, but only a few make clear what SEO-friendly features are. So let me point out some of them:

• The availability of quality SEO plug-ins
• Keyword-rich URL (the URL contains your focused keyphrase).
• Allow you to set up 301 redirect

Read more:  Magento 2: 301 Redirect Setup Techniques

• Automated XML sitemap to make your website more crawlable
• Robot.txt control
• Fast page speed
• And many more.

5. Security

Cybercrime is now a global issue on the internet, and the realm of e-commerce is no exception. Selling online requires you to take an eye on the firewalls, payment gateways, encryption, and backups to avoid credit card fraud or scamming. So it’s vital to choose a provider who has a solid commitment to security.

Read more: 15+ Best Magento 2 Payment Gateways For Your Store

6. Marketing tool

People, by nature, love discounts. So why not choose an e-commerce solution that goes with vital marketing tools to steer your visitors along your sales funnel? 

• Upsell (suggest customers upgrade the products to a more expensive version or buy more complementary accessories and add-ons for their products.)
• Cross-sell (selling related or complementary products.)
• Voucher/coupon code
• Flash sales: discount your products in a time-sensitive offer
• Special price (for different customer groups/store views)
• And many more

7. Accept multiple payment methods

Giving your customer a frictionless payment process can avoid leading to a steep drop-off at checkout. Especially when selling products across the border, the diversity of payment methods and payment gateways is even more critical.

Magento 2 Admin Payment Method is a handy tool for your online store to create and manage your order within the admin dashboard. You can replace the limitation of traditional payment methods in Magento 2 and make it easy to manage your business.

8. Dedicated technical support

How do you define dedicated customer service? 24/7 support, through a direct phone call rather than the live chat or tickets, the staff attitude. Bingo, if you said all of the above! Dedicated support is mandatory for every admin, so carefully consider this feature before making the final decision.

II. Best e-commerce platforms for clothing in 2022

1. Magento

Did you know that Magento is the way to go of many renowned fashion brands in the world?

Read more: 40+ most famous companies that use Magento 2022

Because of the high customizability and scalability, merchants avail it to create a unique e-commerce platform on their own. This feature-rich platform facilitates the admin with strong marketing, promotion, and conversion tools. In addition, you lie the power to integrate it with other sales and social media channels like Amazon and Facebook just as quickly. There are tons of extensions and plug-ins to enhance your site capability in the Magento official marketplace. Another feature worth mentioning is that Magento has a large and active user community where you can find useful support and documentation. 

However, there’s still a big “BUT.” Developers create Magento for developers, so it may pose some challenges for those who do not tamper with code. And while the Community Edition is free (just pay for the hosting), the Enterprise Edition may break the bank with the total cost up to $125000 per year.

All in all, Magento is a scalable long-term solution. But that doesn’t mean start-ups and small businesses should not use the platform. You can lower the cost by using the CE and installing other third parties’ affordable extensions.

Founded in 2018, Magezon has helped thousands of businesses acquire more customers and identify their areas of store improvement. Let our robust Magento 2 extensions make a revolution for your store today without breaking the bank. Feel free to contact us via [email protected] and our social channels.

2. Shopify

Shopify intensely focuses on the POS system, which is irresistible to ignore if you are ambitious to be an omnichannel seller. 

If you don’t know, POS stands for point of sales, allowing merchants to manage their store online and offline within one back office. From the customer standpoint, they are also free to place orders, track the shipping process, or make a payment from different POS within one customer account. So, for example, they can buy a dress online and then pick it up in-store. Read more about the omnichannel to arm yourself with the knowledge.

The user-friendly interface from the backend and easy-to-navigate websites are also a strong signal of Shopify. They bring a far better experience for both the admin and customers. With 24/7 phone support, Shopify is a great all-rounder for those who often have trouble with the backend, no matter which parts of the world you are in.

When it comes to pricing, the cost based on the subscription model is quite affordable. Specifically, the Shopify basic plan is $29/month, the Shopify plan is $79/month, and the Advanced Shopify is $299/month. They all ensure essential e-commerce functionalities, but the more expensive the plan, the more features it goes along. So, depending on your business’s unique needs, consider a suitable one. Other than that you can avail of the 14-day free trial before making the purchase.

However, you have to take advantage of the Shopify built-in payment system to avoid transaction fees. Also, the platform will take you 2.6-2.8% each transaction for credit card payment (the U.S. credit card rate and it may be lower in other areas). 

3. Woocommerce

Woocommerce comes into being as an open-source plugin for WordPress-based websites. It is the best fit for switching from a WordPress content-only to a fashion e-commerce site. The store builder stands out from the crowd with its vital SEO feature (integrate one of the best SEO plugins – Yoast SEO from WordPress) and highly customizable storefront. The list below are some recommended add-ons for a Woocommerce-based store selling clothes:

• Magic Zoom Plus +: support product image zoom that allows your customers to see every tiny detail of your products. Use it to bring the image to life and show off the best quality of your products.
• Customer Reviews: review is an integral piece of a customer’s purchase decision. The Customer Review plugin is another powerful marketing tool that builds your customer trust and turns new customers into repeat ones. 
• Image Photo Gallery Final Titles Grid: this 4 in 1 plugin lets you display your images as a gallery in different sizes and impressive animation effects. Download it today to get more eyeballs on your website and draw people’s attention.

Explore more plugins in the WordPress plugin market.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, but that is not very true. Because Woocommerce is free for WordPress, and the add-ons in the marketplace are at reasonable prices.

4. Bigcommerce

As the name speaks for itself, Bigcommerce is one of the leading e-commerce platforms and is typically compared with Shopify for the same functions in analytics, POS, hosting, security, and social integration. But that doesn’t mean the two website builder for clothing brand are alike. 

Bigcommerce prebuilt themes and templates support you a lot in creating an intuitive website without coding skills or the help of a designer. The platform is also renowned for its advanced analytics and reporting functionality, along with its well-rounded sales features. Suppose this is your first time using an e-commerce platform, and you are afraid of missing a step in the dark ocean of many configurations from the backend. In such a case, consider Bigcommerce for its easy-to-understand tutorials and documentation.

Speaking of the pricing, Bigcommerce offers you three pricing models that are Bigcommerce Standard ($29.95 monthly), Bigcommerce Plus ($79.95 monthly), and Bigcommerce Pro ($299.95 monthly). The good news is that there is no transaction fee. And it’s such a bargain that you’ll get 10% if you pay upfront the Plus and Pro plan for a year. Last but not least, do not forget to make the most out of the 30-day free trial before placing an order (more generous than Shopify, which just offers a 14-day free trial). 

5. Prestashop

Aside from the SaaS version, Prestashop also provides you a hosted version, providing users with various model options.

Saas version stands for software as a service. To get access, you will pay an ongoing monthly/yearly subscription for the provider.

A hosted version is a highly customizable open-source platform that is installed and rented by a hosting company. And you have to pay for the hosting service.

The Prestashop open-source platform gives you various customizable options. That means it’s you who is in the driving seat to make your website feel unique—for example, setting up products, creating internal search engine tools for better navigation, and configuring different payment methods. Also, the platform stands out with its over 1500 themes and many other templates to customize from the official marketplace.

When it comes to SEO, it’s effortless to set up the meta title and meta description for products to make them rank high on the search engine result page. Also, you can download the Google rich snippet add-on in the Prestashop marketplace for larger exposure to buyers. 

Unlike the tier subscription of Shopify or Bigcommerce, the cost to use Prestashop is free. However, the underlying pricing you have to pay for is the monthly hosting fee (from Shopify recommended third parties) or themes and modules if you want to fine-tune other aspects of your business.

So,…Which One?

If you land here, you must have the answers for yourself. 

Depending on your business’s unique needs, choose an e-commerce platform that resonates with your fashion brand:

• Start-ups and small businesses with a shoestring budget: Magento community edition, Shopify basic, Prestashop are the way to go because it’s free or offers a reasonable monthly subscription (and the hosting fee is affordable).
• Large business or long-term scalability: consider Magento EE, Advanced Shopify, etc., which are highly customizable and go with robust features. 

So, the question is not if you should use that e-commerce platforms, but how. Take careful planning to get right, and you will be well on your way to e-commerce success!

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