Native eCommerce and Third Party eCommerce Comparison

We offer two eCommerce solutions, native eCommerce and third party eCommerce. In this article we explain the differences between our two solutions to help you determine which one is the best fit for your business.

Native eCommerce

Native eCommerce brings the full design flexibility of the Website Builder platform into your eCommerce store. It is a great option for those with smaller stores that use Stripe or PayPal as their payment gateway. To learn more about it, see Native eCommerce Overview.

This solution is a good fit for those who want:

• Design flexibility. Design a unique shopper experience that stands out with customizable product pages, cart and checkout flow; and by creating your own store template without coding, downloading, or installing anything extra.

• Smaller stores. Great for store owners who have a small number of products.

• Stripe or PayPal. Accept payment for your products using Stripe or PayPal. At this time, Stripe and PayPal are the only payment gateways available.

• Native experience. Design, configure, and manage your store using the native Website Builder editor you already know.

• Fast launch. With our simple set up flow there is no configuration of multiple apps and plugins. You can have your store up and running in a matter of minutes.

• Improved performance. Shoppers will enjoy fast loading product pages and checkout.

Features

Following are features currently available:

• Fully customized store and product pages

• Product catalog management

• Product options and variations

• Product categories and subcategories

• Cross-store tax settings

• Customized shipping rules

• Product SEO optimization

• Discount and promo codes

• Paid memberships

• Pre-made store templates

• ... And more!

Limitations

The initial launch of native eCommerce has some limitations. We plan to address these in the near future to provide you with an even better eCommerce experience.

Some actions that cannot currently be performed:

• Add an “On sale” label to a product

• Multilingual stores

• Add third-party shipping providers

• Refunds directly from the store (currently, this can only be done through Stripe or Paypal)

• Subscriptions for products and services

Features Coming Soon

As we continue to invest in native eCommerce, we plan to add the following features in the near future:

• Membership with store login

• Automated tax management

• Automated shipping rates

• Inventory management

• Abandoned carts

• Subscriptions for products and services

• Refunds directly from the store (currently, this can only be done through Stripe or PayPal)

• Custom fields in the product catalog

• Import products from a CSV file

• .... And more!

As these features are released we will update our documentation so you can learn more about how to use them.

Third Party eCommerce

Third Party eCommerce is a great solution for those with larger stores that need to use advanced eCommerce features. To learn more about it, see New Store Overview.

Third Party eCommerce is a good fit for those who want:

• More payment gateways and third party shipping solutions. You need to use local payment gateway and third-party shipping integrations.

• Social channel integrations. You want to leverage additional sales channels, such as Facebook Marketplace, Google Shopping, Instagram, and more.

• External integrations. You need multiple integrations with external services to run your store, such as integrations with billing software, CRMs, and more.

• In store sales. You require an in-store Point of Sale (POS) to synchronize your online and on-premise transactions and inventory.

FAQs

Can I migrate my third party store to a native store?

Currently, migration from one solution to the other is not supported.

Will third party eCommerce be supported long-term?

Yes, third party eCommerce is a strong partner and many Website Builder customers achieve great results using it.

Are native stores optimized for SEO?

Yes, native stores load quickly, are optimized for mobile, and are rich with content. To best optimize your store for SEO, you can edit the product title, meta description and URL handle of individual products.