The World Wide Web has changed the way we communicate, connect and shop. E-stores and applications are popping up by the dozen, offering people easier, quicker and safer alternative to retail stores. These days, you don’t have to open up a shop in a mall to sell clothes, the latest fashion apparel is but a click away from shoppers, via online stores. Building an online clothing store is not an easy task, you need a reliable platform, a steady market base, and ample exposure to ensure success. Common eCommerce features allow you to add multiple filters, track shopping carts (both current and abandoned ones), create catalogs, apply coupon codes, and secure multiple payment gateways with SSL certificates for safer, faster transactions. If your looking to market your drop shipping site you can find title loans online to cover these upfront costs!
Here are some of the best website builders for clothing stores that you might want to check out.
Shopify
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Shopify a one-stop solution for entrepreneurs who want to build a comprehensive apparel e-store. The platform takes care of all the technical aspects of website development giving you ample time to concentrate on running and promoting the business. The on-site editor is well-organized with all the customization tools arranged neatly on the dashboard. Shopify has a collection of over 50 templates, themes and store-front designs appropriate for all kinds of clothing stores, under the ‘Clothing and Fashion’ category. The pastel-shades, minimalistic appeal of the themes like Artisan and Prestige look very millennial and chic. You can customizethese templates for mobile devices and desktops alike. The premium themes come with better editing options;they’re trendy, intuitive and surprisingly cheap making Shopify one of the best website builder platforms.
Shopify has recently collaborated with Oberlo, a marketplace where you can find all kinds of trending apparels from exporters, and can import them into your Shopify store. Shopify’s interface comes with a drop-down menu with a tool for creating product catalogs, categorizing the different articles of clothing and arranging them in sub-divisions, integrating shopping carts, syncing the details with each product, adding various payment options. The system enables quick placement of orders, hassle-free checkouts, a solid customer support and SEO tools to track the store’s visibility. Shopify also comes with powerful after-sale support and shipping solutions making your life easier.
Wix
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Wix is another popular choice for website development with over 77 million users in 190 countries. It is an all-in-one platform with solid e-commerce support that supports both small and large-scale clothing stores online. Select a template from a collection of over 20 eye-catching, vibrant fashion and apparel designs. There are specially designed layouts on women’s clothing. The platform gives you valuable insights on product placement, arranging the catalog and fixing the price according to the current market rates. Wix also allows you to preview the web page before you post it, furthermore, you can even make real-time changes on the page after you have posted it.
The e-commerce functionalities of Wix run smoothly across all platforms and devices. You can install third-party extensions from the App Store, like Mailchimp and FAQ section to build better customer relations and get more reviews. The paid plan comes with hosting and domain registration facilities as well. Insert images, add videos, create product catalogs, arrange them in sub-categories, integrate shopping carts, add discount coupons, multiple payment gateways- creating an online store has never been this easy! What’s more, your clothing store is protected against online threats, the transactions are encrypted using SSL security so that the personal information of customers is not lost even after abrupt cancellation or abandoning the cart midway.
Tribe
Tribe is a free eCommerce store software that is self-hosted, customizable, and highly secure. It is built using the open-source Laravel framework and facilitates creating scalable online stores with no recurring fees. Ideal for an online fashion and apparel brand, Tribe has got an edge above the SaaS-based offerings available in the market. It supports entrepreneurs to set up online sales channels at no cost whatsoever. The software comes pre-integrated with APIs like Stripe, PayPal, Google Analytics, AfterShip, MSN Translator, MailChimp, and many more to achieve business agility & innovation. With eCommerce functionalities like multilingual, multi-currency, and easy tax management, Tribe empowers businesses to scale up in the global market. The intuitive drag and drop CMS editor simplifies and eases store setup and management. Furthermore, in-built POS opens up opportunities for omnichannel selling by bridging physical stores with the online channel.
Startups considering launching their online store or retailers with brick and mortar businesses can use Tribe for a hassle-free digital expansion. Clean navigation, customizable template, attractive UI/UX provides a great customer experience ensuring buyer engagement on the website. Additionally, features like product reviews, social media integration, discount & coupons, reviews, and ratings, make Tribe the perfect website builder for an online clothing store. The cherry on the cake is that this free eCommerce solution allows you to sell unlimited products without charging any transaction fee. Tribe is thus among the best options for new eCommerce store launches to begin their journey.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an ecommerce website builder that caters to the large-scale establishments or growing start-ups that want an international exposure. Its features are tailor-made to suit your apparel business. From the collection of over 100 professional themes, customizable layouts to state-of-art graphics and stunning templates, you get it all here. With BigCommerce you can integrate various products under one store or create multiple stores in one account- and manage it all in one place. It lets you add important product attributes like color and size options on the clothing catalogues. What’s more, the platform is now mobile-friendly, i.e. you can access your store on the go, anytime, anywhere.
BigCommerce makes your life a lot easier. The intuitive interface is responsive, robust and extremely user-friendly. You can build a web page, preview it and publish it in a few hours max. The readymade layouts are chic and stylish. BigCommerce also helps you in the promotional campaigns such as creating newsletters, CTA buttons, email marketing solution to gain more subscribers. You can integrate your online store into platforms like eBay, Amazon, Google Shopping and Facebook to attract more people. Other e-commerce functionalities allow you to add multiple filters, track shopping carts (both current and abandoned ones), create catalogs, apply coupon codes, and secure multiple payment gateways with SSL certificates for safer, faster transactions.
Volusion
Volusion is a multipurpose website builder that is suitable for all business models and stores, especially clothing stores. The store builder, like any other on our list, is dependable and durable. You can build the web pages as you want, customize it to your liking and then publish it in a few clicks. The interface is clutter-free, loaded with editing tools and works on a drag and drop WYSIWYG framework. Volusion even provides free web hosting and domain registration services that save you a lot of trouble.
The e-commerce functionalities of Volusion include in-house design services, custom packages, add-ons and free access to premium quality templates. Other marketing services like SEO support, free CMS, PPC, shopping feeds, social media marketing and analytic tools are also available at your disposal. Here, you can set up multiple stores, feature multiple products in multiple catalogs, and add several vaiants like size and colour options on product pages. Next, arrange themany way you want, integrate and track multiple shopping carts at once, and integrate multiple payment options with SSL certifications.
Volusion also comes with Google AdWords support and MailChimp newsletter extension that lets you get back to potential customers who have visited your store but abandoned the transaction midway.
Weebly
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Weebly is easily the most user-friendly platform in the market today. It has the perfect mix of simple and sophisticated features, something to keep both the beginners and experiences e-commerce professionals happy. The interface is intuitive and does most of the work for you. Many fashion and apparel templates and themes are available for free. These readymade designs are super stylish and in accordance with the latest fashion trends of the market. Weebly layouts are great for building contemporary and modern-day fashion stores.
Moving on to the e-commerce features, Weebly allows you to link blogs, add images, videos and text info in the catalogs. The tax calculator and GPS feature allow you to track and charge customers according to their location. It also helps you handle refunds, calculate discounts, and shipment charges. You can add multiple products to multiple stores and manage it all under one account. You can even manage multiple shopping carts, offer discount coupons, integrate multiple payment gateways and still ensure the security of the transactions via SSL certifications.
Website Testing And Maintenance Is Critical
When it comes to users, people are unpredictable. This has always been true but is even more so in the modern world of advanced web browsers and mobile devices. The best statistician can have a perfectly designed study with impeccably selected test subjects, meticulously tweaked variables, and an elegant hypothesis that flows cleanly from a precise problem statement, but a faulty website will invalidate even the best experimental design. Making use of automated testing software like Testrigor can effectively manage the testing needs of your website.
Effective testing helps you understand where you can incorporate fixes when doing maintenance. So it is vital to do some research on how to maintain the site you’ve designed.
Which Website Builder Should You Choose For Your Online Apparel Store?
We would recommend Shopify as a credible choice for both budding businessmen and established ones. The platform is user-friendly, has all the necessary tools required for website development and excellent ecommerce support, what more do you need?
Read more eCommerce and tech articles at Cliché Magazine
Images provided by Pixabay CC License, Shopify, Big Commerce, Volusion, Weebly and Wix
