Top 15 Best Ecommerce Tools You Need To Be Using

Running an online store isn’t always easy, but it can yield impressive results when done right. The key? Using the right ecommerce tools.

Whether it’s marketing, website building, or customer service, these tools allow you to grow your reach and ultimately bring in more revenue. In this article, we’ll explore the features and pricing of some of the most useful ecommerce tools.

What Are Ecommerce Tools? 

Ecommerce tools are pieces of software that simplify online store management, helping with tasks like website development, inventory management, payment processing, order fulfillment, customer service, marketing, data analytics, and more. These tools can come in the form of apps, platforms, and plugins.

Ecommerce tools help you scale faster by spending less time on manual tasks and more time on strategic business functions. With access to the best tools out there, you’ll be empowered to establish a robust online presence, enhance customer experiences, and increase conversions. 

Why Should You Be Using Ecommerce Tools?

Building your own software and solutions is time-consuming, and not everybody has the expertise or desire to do so. Using ecommerce tools saves you time and money, and you don’t have to worry about making constant updates or adjustments. 

Some additional benefits of ecommerce tools include the following:

• Reaching more potential customers
• Personalizing the shopping experience
• Gaining insights into customer preferences and behavior
• Measuring the success of your marketing efforts
• Integrating all your tools and platforms
• Making more sales 
• Scaling your business as demand grows

The 15 Best Ecommerce Tools You Should Be Using

A quick Google search will reveal a daunting fact: you have thousands of ecommerce tools to choose from. Sorting through all these solutions can be exhausting and confusing, so we decided to make things a little easier for you! 

The 15 tools in this article are some of the most widely used ones for a reason—their effectiveness has been proven by countless ecommerce brands, including small, mid-sized, and large businesses. 

It’s ultimately up to you to evaluate tools and choose the right ones for your business, so remember to consider your needs and budget before selecting a solution. If a free trial is available, you may want to take advantage of it to get a sense of a tool’s functionality before committing.

And now, without further ado: 15 of the best ecommerce tools for website-building, marketing, and more.

Ecommerce Platforms

Before optimizing your ecommerce sales, you need an ecommerce store. There are several big names in this space—Wix, Magento, BigCommerce, and more—but this section will feature two of the most popular solutions: Shopify and WooCommerce. 

These platforms both allow you to build and manage your online store, setting the foundation for the other technology you’ll choose to use later. Let’s dive into the features and benefits of each website builder, as well as potential cons to consider. 

1. Shopify 

Shopify is an ecommerce platform used to launch, manage, and expand online selling across various channels. Because of its user-friendly drag-and-drop store creator, coding skills are unnecessary. Don’t worry though—even without coding know-how, you can still customize your store. 

There’s a reason 10% of U.S. ecommerce stores use Shopify: its versatility makes it ideal for both beginners and seasoned entrepreneurs, and it can facilitate online, in-person, and global sales. 

If you need additional functionality, just check the app store, which offers a variety of add-ons to expand store capabilities.

Key features of Shopify:

• Drag-and-drop builder
• Customizable templates
• Multi-channel selling across web, mobile, social media, and physical stores
• Management of products, inventory, payments, and shipping
• Suite of online marketing tools 
• Ecosystem of third-party integrations 
• Regular updates and enhancements 

Although Shopify provides all the tools needed to create and manage an ecommerce store, it doesn’t offer as many customization options as an open-source platform. If you prefer a more hands-on approach to website management, you might be better off going with WooCommerce.

Shopify pricing:*

• Basic: $29 per month
• Shopify: $79 per month
• Advanced: $299 per month
• Plus: Starts at $2,300 per month

* All pricing information in this article reflects annual billing rates unless otherwise specified. Pricing details are current as of May 2024.

2. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress, integrating with the popular content management system to give your website ecommerce functionality. Thirty-one percent of the top one million ecommerce sites are built using WooCommerce.

Key features of WooCommerce:

• Free open-source software
• Complete ownership of store and data
• Compatibility with various hosting providers
• Customizability through plugins and themes
• Active community support and resources

WooCommerce offers significant advantages for WordPress users, but those without prior experience with the platform may find the learning curve steep. If you don’t have web development experience (or a development team), a standalone ecommerce platform like Shopify might be a better fit. 

WooCommerce is free to use, but you’ll have to pay hosting fees and other fees associated with website ownership.

Marketing and Promotion

As you promote your products, attract customers, and increase sales, marketing tools help you keep things organized and measure your success. Of course, marketing is an enormous category, encompassing everything from advertising to social media and beyond. In this section, we’ve chosen just a few tools that will have a big impact on your marketing success. 

3. MailChimp for Email Marketing

Mailchimp helps businesses personalize and automate their email and SMS marketing campaigns. With AI-powered automations, you can create tailored campaigns based on behavioral data. MailChimp makes it easy to craft on-brand content using generative AI tools and templates while targeting customers with advanced logic. 

Key features of MailChimp:

• AI-powered automations and generative AI tools
• Personalized emails and SMS 
• Performance analysis tools and A/B testing
• Pre-built, customizable flows 
• Centralized audience insights
• Unified calendar for planning and sending campaign content
• Automated or custom tags for outbound emails
• Over 300 integrations

MailChimp pricing depends on the number of contacts you have. The prices below are for up to 500 contacts.

• Free: $0 per month
• Essentials: $13 per month
• Standard: $20 per month
• Premium: $350 per month

Not sure about MailChimp? Klaviyo and tinyEmail are other great options to explore.

4. Norton Shopping Guarantee for Trust-Building 

Norton Shopping Guarantee with Package Protection by EasyPost is a free Shopify and WooCommerce app that builds trust with shoppers, increases conversions, and minimizes shipping issues. The app allows you to add trust badges to your website, reassuring visitors that your store has been verified by a trusted third party. With a shopping guarantee and package protection, Norton Shopping Guarantee safeguards buyers and helps them feel confident about their purchases. 

Key features of Norton Shopping Guarantee:

• Conversion-boosting trust badges 
• $1,000 purchase guarantee
• $100 lowest price guarantee
• $10,000 identity theft protection
• Package protection in case of loss, damage, or theft

Learn more about Norton Shopping Guarantee here or install it on your Shopify store for free.

5. Ahrefs for Search Engine Optimization and Website Health

Ahrefs is an all-in-one toolset that optimizes your online presence for search engines. You can conduct comprehensive competitor analysis, audit and optimize your website, and uncover valuable keywords that your customers are searching for. The platform also helps with generating content ideas, identifying link-building opportunities, and tracking your ranking progress over time.

Key features of Ahrefs:

• Competitor analysis 
• Website audit and optimization tools 
• Keyword research functionality 
• Content and link opportunities discovery 
• Keyword rank tracking 

Ahrefs pricing:

• Free version available with limited access
• Lite: $108 per month
• Standard: $208 per month
• Advanced: $374 per month
• Enterprise: Custom

Not sure about Ahrefs? Semrush and Moz are other great options to explore.

6. Loomly for Social Media Management

Loomly is an all-in-one social media management tool that simplifies the process of creating, scheduling, and tracking social media content. The platform facilitates seamless collaboration within teams and offers robust campaign tracking features to help you achieve your social media goals.

Key features of Loomly:

• Post creation and scheduling across multiple channels
• A library of over five million royalty-free photos and videos 
• Customizable approval workflows, feedback tracking, and post previews 
• Campaign tracking and performance reports 
• Built-in video and image editing tools
• Integrations with Canva, Unsplash, and Google Drive
• Social analytics to measure growth, engagement, and demographics 
• Unified inbox for community management

Loomly pricing:

• Base: $32 per month
• Standard: $60 per month
• Advanced: $131 per month
• Premium: $277 per month

Not sure about Loomly? Hootsuite and Buffer are other great options to explore.

Business Management

Running a business isn’t all about optimizing your website and attracting new customers. For these activities to run smoothly, you also need to get your behind-the-scenes processes organized. 

The business management tools below are designed to keep teams on track, preventing important deadlines or tasks from flying under the radar. 

7. Slack for Team Communication

Slack is a collaborative platform that streamlines communication and workflow management for teams. It’s the perfect way to stay in touch with your employees throughout the day, even if you’re a fully remote company. Whether you prefer real-time chat, audio and video communication, or collaborative huddles, Slack provides flexibility to work according to your preferences.

Key features of Slack:

• Real-time chat, audio and video clips, and live huddles
• Organization of workspaces into channels
• Consolidation of tools and apps into one platform
• Automation of routine tasks using generative AI 

Slack pricing:

• Free: $0 per month
• Pro: $7.25 per active user, per month
• Business+: $12.50 per active user, per month
• Enterprise Grid: Custom

8. Trello for Project Management

Trello is a task and project management platform that brings together all your tasks, teammates, and tools in one centralized location. With Trello's simple yet powerful interface, you can create boards, lists, and cards to gain clarity on tasks, track progress, and make nothing falls through the cracks.

Key features of Trello:

• Boards for organizing tasks and projects 
• Lists to categorize tasks into different stages
• Cards containing relevant project information 
• Tools for meeting organization, onboarding processes, and brainstorming sessions
• Centralized resource hub

Trello pricing:

• Free: $0
• Standard: $5 per user, per month
• Premium: $10 per user, per month
• Enterprise: $17.50 per user, per month

Sales and Logistics

Your checkout process makes a huge difference in whether users convert or abandon their carts, and shipping makes a big difference in whether customers buy from you again. With the right sales and logistics tools, you can create a consumer experience that drives conversions and keeps people coming back. 

9. Stripe for Payment Processing

Stripe is a payment processing platform that provides millions of companies worldwide with a fully integrated suite of tools to accept payments, send payouts, and streamline financial processes. From handling payments and managing revenue operations to launching new business models, Stripe offers comprehensive solutions to meet a variety of business needs.

Key features of Stripe:

• Global payment acceptance; over 135 supported currencies and payment methods
• Optimization tools to increase authorization rates and improve checkout conversion
• Support for recurring revenue models
• Multiparty payment and payout capabilities

Stripe costs 2.9% + 30¢ per successful charge for domestic cards. Businesses with high sales volume businesses can negotiate a custom pricing package.

10. Zoho Inventory for Inventory Management

Zoho Inventory is an inventory management solution that helps businesses manage inventory, fulfill orders, and streamline operations. From managing warehouses and controlling stock to tracking products with barcode and RFID systems, Zoho Inventory has a wide range of features to simplify inventory management for ecommerce businesses.

Key features of Zoho Inventory:

• Multichannel selling capabilities
• Low stock alerts and inventory level adjustments
• Creation of item groups and product bundles 
• Dropshipping and backordering support
• Management of stock across multiple warehouse locations
• Stock tracking using barcode and RFID technology
• Warehouse-specific report generation

Zoho Inventory pricing:

• Standard: $29 per organization, per month
• Professional: $79 per organization, per month
• Premium: $129 per organization, per month
• Enterprise: $249 per organization, per month

11. EasyPost for Shipping, Tracking, and Returns

EasyPost is a shipping API that saves businesses time and money by giving them access to discounted rates from domestic and international carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and more through a single integration. Using data-backed optimization, you can improve on-time delivery metrics and reduce costs for every shipment, while also easily creating labels and ensuring accurate deliveries.

Key features of EasyPost:

• Multi-carrier access with a single integration
• Shipping rate discounts of up to 88%
• Data-backed optimization to save money and improve on-time delivery metrics
• Automatic shipping label creation 
• Real-time shipment updates 
• Address verification 
• Shipping insurance 
• Free carbon-neutral shipping 

EasyPost is free when you ship up to 120,000 packages per year; Enterprise pricing is available upon request. 

For Shopify users, you can download the ShipBlink-EasyPost API free here. 

Analytics and Optimization

Measuring your performance keeps your ecommerce store from stagnating. As you dig into your data, tracking metrics like conversion rate, cart abandonment rate, and average order value, you’ll uncover inefficiencies and find ways to improve. And it’s all possible because of analytics and optimization tools. 

This section includes a few go-to analytics and optimization tools, including the single most important one for any ecommerce store: Google Analytics 4.

12. Google Analytics 4 for Website Metrics

Google Analytics 4 gives you visibility into all your website’s data. It can require some time to learn how to access and interpret this data, but when you do, you unlock a treasure chest of essential customer insights. These will guide your marketing efforts, helping you anticipate customer behavior, improve marketing ROI, and make more strategic decisions.

Key features of Google Analytics 4:

• Data collection, organization, visualization, and analysis
• Machine-learning-powered insights 
• Easy-to-use interface and shareable reports 
• Predictive user behavior modeling
• Reporting and cross-platform attribution
• Integration with other Google solutions

As mentioned above, the learning curve for Google Analytics 4 can be steep. However, it’s worth taking the time to become an expert, as the platform offers a wealth of features and capabilities for data analysis and optimization.

Google Analytics 4 is free to use.

13. Optimizely for A/B Testing

Optimizely offers three solutions: Orchestrate (for content creation), Experiment (for website testing and experimentation), and Monetize (for customized commerce). This section will focus on Experiment, which enables A/B testing. By constantly testing new website changes and adjusting accordingly, you’ll optimize for conversions and customer retention.

Key features of Optimizely:

• A/B testing 
• Low-code/no-code experiments
• Gradual feature rollouts
• Audience segmentation and personalization
• AI predictive audiences
• Statistical significance calculations and confidence intervals
• Experiment lifecycle management; test plans and roadmaps
• Detailed reports and analytics
• User behavior and preferences tracking

Optimizely pricing is available upon request.

Customer Service

Great customer service leads to five-star reviews, repeat customers, and fewer chargebacks. In short, your customer interactions can’t be overlooked. As your business grows, stay on top of customer questions, complaints, and requests by automating with customer service software. 

14. Zendesk

Zendesk is an AI-powered customer service solution. With a focus on delivering personalized experiences, Zendesk allows businesses to build strong relationships and drive customer loyalty through meaningful connections.

Key features of Zendesk:

• Messaging capabilities and voice support 
• AI and automation tools, including AI agents
• Help center for self-service support 
• Ticketing system 
• Agent workspace
• Data privacy and protection measures 
• Routing and intelligence capabilities 
• Analytics and reporting 
• Workforce engagement management 
• Quality assurance 

Zendesk pricing:

• Support Team: $19 per agent, per month
• Support Professional: $55 per agent, per month
• Support Enterprise: $115 per agent, per month

15. Gorgias

Gorgias is an AI-driven customer experience platform used by over 15,000 ecommerce brands to streamline support and improve customer interactions. By consolidating customer conversations, channels, and tools into one unified helpdesk, Gorgias increases support efficiency and effectiveness. 

• Helpdesk functionality
• AI and automation tools
• Integration with over 100 apps 
• Voice and SMS communication channels

Unlike Zendesk, which charges by agent, Gorgias uses a per-ticket pricing model. The prices are as follows:

• Starter: $10 per month (monthly billing only)
• Basic: $50 per month
• Pro: $300 per month
• Advanced: $750 per month
• Enterprise: Custom

Find the Right Ecommerce Tools for Your Business

Automating crucial ecommerce processes will save you time and money, reduce errors and inconsistencies, and ultimately increase sales. While many of the best tools require an upfront investment, they’ll pay off in the long run (and often in the short run). Best of luck in your ecommerce journey!

P.S. If you run a Shopify store and want more great tool ideas, check out our guide to the 15 best Shopify apps.