7 Best Ecommerce Platforms in Australia for Your Business

If you are running an ecommerce business, choosing the right ecommerce platform is one crucial step. Whether you are planning to start a small boutique, want to scale your brick-and-mortar business or need full control over every detail, it is the right ecommerce website builder that can make all the difference. It acts as the foundation of your success.

However, with so many platforms available, each offering its own blend of flexibility, features and pricing, it turns overwhelming to determine where to begin.

Keeping that in mind, let's review some popular ecommerce platforms you can look at as an inspiration while bringing your online store to life.

Our top picks for the best ecommerce website builders

Shopify: Best for businesses that want to sell across multiple channels- like social media, online marketplaces and in-person.

BigCommerce: Best for a high-volume store that needs customisable checkout, strong SEO tools and multi-currency support.

WebCommander: Best for businesses who need tailored solutions as it offers flexible customisation alongside full control over your store.

GoDaddy: Best for entrepreneurs who want to launch quickly and are looking for built-in marketing tools.

Squarespace: Best for creative professionals who need elegant templates and integrated selling tools.

Wix: Best for beginners as it brings drag-and-drop freedom with beginner-friendly tools.

WooCommerce: Best for WordPress integration. It offers developers unlimited customisation and control over hosting and data.

1. Shopify

Website: https://www.shopify.com/au

What makes Shopify stand out

Extensive app store: Shopify offers apps for everything from drop shipping to SEO to custom product builders- giving users unparalleled flexibility.

Ease of use: This platform is best known for its simplicity, as it allows individuals to set up their online store with no extensive technical knowledge.

Localised global selling: Businesses can sell in multiple markets with tailored storefronts, currencies, languages and taxes.

Multichannel selling: Shopify allows one to sell across multiple channels- including Instagram, TikTok, Google, Facebook and in-person through Shopify POS.

Plans and pricing

There are four pricing plans.

• Basic ($42 AUD/month)
• Grow ($114 AUD/month)
• Advanced ($431 AUD/month)
• Plus ($2300 AUD/month)

2. BigCommerce

Website: https://www.bigcommerce.com/

What makes BigCommerce stand out

Headless commerce architecture: BigCommerce allows teams to use headless integration to connect the BigCommerce backend with frontend technology.

Built-in support for sales channels: BigCommerce provides direct integrations with Amazon, eBay, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and more to sync, manage and handle orders across multiple channels from a single platform.

Multiple product and catalogue management: With BigCommerce, it gets easier to manage complex product catalogues as it supports unlimited product variants, custom fields, bulk editing and more, all from a user-friendly interface.

No additional fees: This platform doesn't charge any extra transaction fees, even if one uses third-party payment gateways.

Plans and pricing

There are four pricing plans.

• Standard ($29 USD/month)
• Plus ($79 USD/month)
• Pro ($299 USD/month) and
• Custom pricing and terms.

3. WebCommander

Website: https://www.webcommander.com/

What makes WebCommander stand out

Advanced ecommerce automation: WebCommander offers a powerful ecommerce automation tool that is out of the box, allowing businesses to automate all repetitive tasks while removing manual errors.

An all-in-one platform-no third-party plugin is needed: WebCommander comes loaded with productivity tools and ecommerce features. It reduces the need for dozens of plugins, simplifies setup, minimises long-term costs, and ensures smoother performance.

Built for growth: The scalable architecture of WebCommander allows a business to expand from a single ecommerce site to multiple sites, locations and customer segments with only a few clicks.

Customisable design system: WebCommander provides fast-loading pages without any costly design overhauls or heavy plugins.

Plans and pricing

There are four pricing plans.

• Startup (free)
• Professional ($15 AUD/month)
• Premium ($350 AUD/month)
• Enterprise plan for complex or custom needs

4. GoDaddy

Website: https://www.godaddy.com/en-au

What makes GoDaddy stand out

Affordable domain deals: It offers deep discounts on domain names, which makes it a budget-friendly starting point for building a brand.

All-in-one business bundles: GoDaddy offers everything from custom business email to web hosting to SSL certificates to online stores- all within one ecosystem.

Hundreds of templates: Users can pick from a bunch of ready-to-use templates that are easy to customise and built with ecommerce functionality in mind.

Massive customer base: It has over 20+ million customers worldwide with strong ratings on platforms and high reviews. This makes it one of the trusted names in the industry with a long-standing reputation and global infrastructure.

Plans and pricing

There are four pricing plans.

• Basic (C$13.99/month)
• Standard (C$17.99/month)
• Premium (C$22.99/month)
• Ecommerce (C$27.99/month)

5. Squarespace

Website: https://www.squarespace.com/

What makes Squarespace stand out

Built-in flexibility: Squarespace offers beautiful, professionally designed templates that users can use to create a portfolio or a local business site.

Built-in marketing suite: Promoting a business is easy with Squarespace as it includes email campaign builder, SEO tools and more features.

Best for creative businesses: This platform is ideal for photographers, designers, fitness coaches, artists and influencers, giving users the power to make an emotional impact.

AI-powered website creation: Be it in suggesting domain names or generating customised website templates, Squarespace incorporates AI tools to help businesses launch their sites faster.

Plans and pricing

It offers four pricing plans.

• Personal (A$17/month)
• Business (A$28/month)
• Commerce- Basic(A$37/month)
• Commerce- Advanced (A$62/month)

6. Wix

Website: https://www.wix.com/

What makes Wix stand out

AI website builder: The intuitive AI website builder can create a fully personalised website depending on a simple text prompt.

Wix studio and enterprise solutions: Wix studio offers enhanced design flexibility, collaboration features, and scalability, whereas Wix Enterprise provides solutions to organisations that provide high-volume performance and white-glove support.

Built-in branding tools: The free logo maker and design tools can create a complete visual identity with custom colour palettes, fonts and branded assets- right within the platform.

All-in-one business toolkit: From ecommerce to scheduling to CRM and automation to analytics, Wix is a comprehensive platform.

Plans and pricing

There are four plans available.

• Business Elite ($159/month)
• Business ($36/month)
• Core ($29/month)
• Light ($17/month)

7. WooCommerce

Website: https://woocommerce.com/

What makes WooCommerce stand out

Open source and fully customisable: Developers get full access to the codebase to create unique, brand-specific experiences with no limitations.

Scalable for any size business: From small startups to growing businesses to large enterprises, the platform is suitable for any size business.

Built-in WooPayments system: This allows you to accept all major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more directly from your site alongside multi-currency.

Multichannel selling capabilities: This platform allows businesses to easily sync and sell across multiple platforms to grow audiences.

Plans and pricing

The core WooCommerce plugin is free to use. (It can charge for using ecommerce features, payment gateways, premium plugins and themes and website hosting.)

What are ecommerce platforms?

An ecommerce platform is software that is used to help businesses set up, manage, and operate an online store. From product displays to payment processing to order management, it handles everything. It mostly relies on technology and digital platforms, including websites, mobile apps and social media.

Types of ecommerce platforms

Choosing the right ecommerce platform fully depends on the size, goals and requirements of your business.

There are several types to consider,

Hosted platforms: Easy to use and quick to set up. They include everything you need.
Open source platforms: Highly flexible and ideal for businesses that look for scalability and custom features.
Enterprise platforms: These are built for large businesses with high traffic and complex needs.

Features that define the best ecommerce website builders

What defines a top-tier ecommerce platform are the following,

• User-friendly interface
• Design flexibility and customisation
• Payment processing that supports multiple payment gateways
• Built-in SEO and marketing tools
• Real-time analytics and reporting
• Security and reliability
• Robust product and inventory management

How do you select the right ecommerce website building platform?

At the very beginning, you need to start by defining what you are selling, your target audience and your future growth plans.

Next, you need to evaluate the amount you are willing to spend monthly and annually, considering costs such as platform fees, transaction charges, themes, extensions, hosting and more.

When considering a platform, prioritise user-friendliness so that you can manage your day-to-day operations with no heavy coding knowledge.

Check customisation and design flexibility so that you can create your store in a way that reflects your brand identity. Also, evaluate whether a platform supports several secure payment gateways alongside a smooth, conversion-optimised checkout experience.

Make sure the platform comes with strong security measures like SSL, data encryption and PCI compliance. Note that too many third-party integrations can end up slowing your store down. So, opt for those that don't rely heavily on third-party apps.

How much does it cost to build an ecommerce website?

The cost of building an ecommerce website highly depends on the platform you pick and the level of customisation you need. There are some platforms that charge a monthly subscription fee, such as $15 for basic plans and $250 for more advanced features.

Also, there are some platforms that offer a core set of features for free but take charge of advanced functionalities. You also need a custom domain name that cuts a yearly charge.

What about enterprise ecommerce websites?

Enterprise ecommerce websites are fully designed for large-scale businesses that look for advanced features to handle large traffic volumes and complex operations. These platforms are built to support multi-store functionality, global selling, custom integrations, and huge data management. Also, they offer advanced security and compliance features alongside enterprise-level solutions.

Top ecommerce platforms used by online stores today

Here is a neat list of top ecommerce platforms that are being used-

• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• WebCommander
• GoDaddy
• Squarespace
• Wix
• WooCommerce

Wrapping up

Once you explore all these popular options, you will find the perfect balance of flexibility, scalability and ease of use. Overall, the key is to align your choice with your goals, budget and technical comfort. So, are you all set to take the leap? Find the perfect platform today!