When it comes to setting up and managing an online store, any suggestions and tips that make the process easier and efficient are highly appreciated. Thankfully, a lot of free eCommerce tools and solutions are out there that are specifically designed to help online business owners survive in this competitive world.
With a huge number of both free and paid tools for online stores, it is difficult to consider which tools are useful for an online store or eCommerce website and how they can help businesses succeed. That is the reason, I have created a list of the best tools to help online store owners improve overall productivity.
Free eCommerce Tools – Set Up Your Online Store Quickly
Below are some free eCommerce tools that are readily available and very easy to set up to boost your business effectively.
- WooCommerce
- WooCommerce Themes
- OpenCart
- 123ContactForms
- PageSpeedInsights
- Google Keyword Planner
- Hotjar
- MailChimp
- Canva
- ZenDesk Chat
- Google Analytics
1. WooCommerce – Empower WordPress with eCommerce
If you are using WordPress as your current content management system and want to build an online store, then WooCommerce is made for you. It allows you to integrate an online store into your existing website instead of starting over a separate one.
It is a WordPress plugin that helps small businesses take their business operations online for easy and quick online selling.
Key Features
- Highly customizable
- Seamless integration with WordPress
- Large library of plugins and themes
- Robust user community and support
- Built-in payment processing
2. WooCommerce Themes – Style Your Store
Right after setting up WooCommerce to run your online store, you may need to choose a theme to make it work properly and present your products in a great way. Luckily, there is a large number of freebies on the platform.
As a result, you can use them to keep your online store up and running effectively. You can also use Google Search to find free WooCommerce themes for your eCommerce website or online store.
Key Features
- Variety of designs
- Mobile responsiveness
- Regular updates
- Easy customization
- Support for WooCommerce features
Read Also: How to Build a Website with Wix
3. OpenCart – Flexible eCommerce Solution
OpenCart is a PHP-based online store management system. It supports a variety of languages and currencies to entertain more customers across the globe. It is a free-to-use and open-source eCommerce platform with lots of themes.
Moreover, you can have your hands on different payment gateways and shipping methods so you can sell your products worldwide without hiring an SEO agency or facing troubles.
Key Features
- Multi-store management
- Multiple payment gateways
- Strong user community
- Free and open-source
- Simple user interface
4. 123ContactForms – Create Stunning Forms
When setting up an online store, you may need to create numerous forms for a variety of purposes. It is the place where 123contactForms comes in handy. It is a free eCommerce tool for online stores to create appealing and professional-looking forms.
Not only contact forms, but you can also use it to create surveys, questionnaires, sign-up forms, event registration, order forms, etc. The best thing about 123ContactForms is that you can also get stats for forms created for your online store.
Key Features
- Drag-and-drop form builder
- Customizable templates
- Responsive design
- Real-time notifications
- Integrations with other tools
5. PageSpeed Insights – Check Site’s Performance Instantly
Since page loading speed is one of the vital aspects of an excellent user experience, Google has provided a useful free tool PageSpeed Insights to help you get quick page speed insights for your online store.
It allows you to check different contents of your online store and offers best practices to make your store faster for both mobile and desktop devices.
Key Features
- Free tool
- Detailed performance reports
- Mobile and desktop insights
- Suggestions for improvement
- Google-backed reliability
6. Google Keyword Planner – Unlock Right Keywords
If you are running an online store and haven’t heard about this tool, you should check it out. It is a free keyword research tool and helps you find the best-performing and most relevant keywords to stand out in Google SERPs. You can learn about the average searches made for keywords that you are about to use in your SEO or digital marketing solutions.
It is the best place to find popular keywords that are relevant to your niche, industry, or products. You can also use it to find the right keywords to bid for eCommerce PPC campaigns.
Key Features
- Free to use
- Comprehensive keyword data
- Integration with Google Ads
- Supports SEO and PPC campaigns
- Detailed performance metrics
7. Hotjar- Helps in Data-Driven Decisions
Hotjar is a free e-commerce analytics solution designed for online stores designed with Shopify and WooCommerce. It provides useful data and insights into which Internet marketing channels bring more leads and sales.
It also gives suggestions about which product descriptions need improvement and who you target the most to enjoy better conversion rates.
Key Features
- E-commerce focused analytics
- User-friendly interface
- Trend identification
- Integration with popular platforms
- Good data visualization
8. MailChimp – Elevate Email Marketing Game
Having an effective newsletter system is one of the best ways to drive more traffic to online stores. For this purpose, you may need to use an email marketing system. Most of such systems are paid but MailChimp offers free access to its amazing email marketing features if you have less than 2000 subscribers.
You can send 12000 emails each month with this popular and result-driven email marketing solution without paying a single penny. That is the reason, MailChimp is on our list of best free eCommerce tools for online stores.
Key Features
- Email marketing automation
- Comprehensive analytics
- Free tier available
- Integrates with many platforms
- User-friendly interface
9. Canva – Design Made Simple
You cannot run an online store effectively without creating awesome, appealing, and convincing visuals. Don’t worry about the matter because Canva is here to help. It is an excellent free graphic design tool with thousands of free editable templates and design features.
From social media posts and product catalogs to blog banners and short promotional videos, you can design almost any kind of stuff with it.
Furthermore, you can sign up for the premium version of Canva to enjoy a huge range of professional-looking templates and graphic design tools.
Key Features
- Easy to use interface
- Wide range of templates
- Collaboration features
- Free and easy to use
- Integrates with other tools
10. Zendesk Chat – Instant Customer Support
Modern consumers are more likely to buy from online stores with real-time interaction features like live chat. They want their questions answered immediately to make informed buying decisions. If you are also looking for a live chat feature for your online store, then Zendesk Chat is here to lend you a helping hand.
You can use the free version of Zendesk chat for your store to entertain your customers effectively.
Key Features
- Real-time chat support
- Integration with Zendesk Suite
- User-friendly interface
- Customizable chat widgets
- Great for customer engagement
11. Google Analytics – Accurate Business Insights
Google Analytics is one of the best and most popular analytics tools around the world. It is highly recommended by experts to see how your customers spend time in your store and understand their behavior.
This tool provides you with a clear picture of how your online store performs and what marketing efforts are generating better ROI. In this way, you can fix common eCommerce mistakes.
Moreover, data provided by this analytics system can also be used to develop intuitive marketing campaigns to reach the target audience more effectively.
Key Features
- Free to use
- Comprehensive data analysis
- Customizable reports
- Integration with other tools
- Highly reliable and secure
Ending Note
These are the details about the top 11 free eCommerce tools that can help you take your online store to an advanced level. The only thing that matters is your dedication and potential to bring the right changes at the right time. In this way, you can take the lead and achieve the targeted goals.
The tools mentioned in this blog post are not entirely free as some of them feature premium plans for ultimate perks. You should set a budget plan and try to unlock advanced features by purchasing them without breaking the bank.
