You have a great idea for a clothing line, but you are not sure how to go about bringing it to fruition. You are not sure how much the materials to make the garments will cost, if you will need help with labor, warehousing your products, and where you will sell your clothing. Fortunately, there are a few platforms out there that can help you launch your clothing line without costing you too much money.
A decade or so ago, a person would have to know how to write code, or they would have to hire someone who knew how to write code if they wanted to start an e-commerce store. Today things are much easier for people who are trying to begin an online business because there are e-commerce platforms that use a basic formula for setting up a store.
Not only do they have templates for designing your store, but they can also help you advertise your product and take payments as well. Shopify is the most famous e-commerce platform. However, they are designed for larger businesses. There are a few platforms that are the best for someone who is just launching a business.
Ecwid
When you are starting your own business, it isn’t such a bad idea to take baby steps. Ecwid lets you stick your toe in the water by selling your first ten products for free before you have to pay anything. Some platforms will make you pay extra for transaction fees, but Ecwid will not. Once you do upgrade, you can get plans for as low as $15.
You will not have to worry about creating a new website just for your store on this platform because it is very easy to integrate with existing stores.
Squarespace
Squarespace is known for having great-looking templates. This is always important if you are selling a fashion item. They have plenty of templates to choose from. The administration functions are also very easy to use. Everything is included when you start an e-commerce store with this platform. You will not have to add widgets or a stat counter.
Squarespace is not the best place to advertise. Although they do offer share buttons, they do not have very many marketing tools, and there is no way to A and B test your product on this platform.
Square
If you sell tie-dyed shirts, Scarves, hats, and other homemade goodies at fairs, festivals, and pop-ups, you may want to try this platform. It will allow you to take payments for both online and in-person sales.
Square is easy to set up, but it does not give you theme choices the way that other platforms do. You will be responsible for creating your own website design or hiring someone to do it for you. You may want to consider that added expense before choosing this platform.
GoCentral by Go Daddy
Go Daddy is known as a domain name registrar. But you can set up a website there as well. They are easy to use and a good option for beginners. They have a large selection of website designs as well. They have a good selection of drag-and-drop tools, and it is easy to add images. You can integrate PayPal payments on GoCentral. They also offer abandoned cart recovery, so if people are not ready to buy your product yet, the system will save it for them for later.
GoCentral does not have an option for a blog. This is a significant drawback because blogging is a very important way to advertise your business. You should also note that domain names are not included in the price of the e-commerce web store.
Wix
Wix is one of the best platforms for starting an e-commerce store. They offer a low price of $23 a month. It is easy to use because of its drag-and-drop templates. It too has abandoned cart recovery. It also has a multilingual option so you can sell your clothes to anyone in the world.
You will not be able to remove ads from the site if you get the starter plan. They also have limited SEO capabilities.
Whether you are starting a t-shirt company, designing wedding dresses, or simply making unique face masks, finding the right e-commerce platform can be essential to your business. Most of these platforms have a free trial period, so if the first e-commerce platform simply doesn’t work for you, you should try a couple of others before giving up hope.
Your fashion designs deserve to be seen by the public. Finding the right platform for your particular style of clothing is important to your company’s success. Choosing a platform with good SEO capabilities that is user-friendly for your customers is the best way for your product to get noticed and purchased.
