Introduction: why your e-commerce platform choice matters
Picking the right e-commerce platform determines how easily you serve customers, scale operations, and control costs. The UK market is vast, worth about £413 billion in 2024, with mobile generating 64% of revenue and over 81% of people buying online. In such a competitive landscape, the e-commerce platform you choose will shape your performance, your image, and your margins from day one.
A strategic decision with wide-ranging impact
Simply comparing prices or feature checklists is not enough. Your e-commerce platform underpins catalogue management, stock control, payments, and order tracking. It also defines the customer experience. Slow pages, glitches, or security concerns reflect directly on your brand, even when the cause lies in the underlying software.
Reputation and trust start with reliability
Customers judge your store by how smoothly it runs. Reliability depends on robust hosting, secure payments, intuitive interfaces, and responsive support. Treat these as non-negotiables, because they sustain trust and repeat business.
Core criteria for selecting an e-commerce platform
Scalability and performance
Your site must keep pace with growth. Stores that load in under two seconds see conversion increases of around 20%. Voice search is rising, so performance and structured content matter more than ever. Scalability is not only about traffic, it is also about catalogue depth: your e-commerce platform should handle variants, new ranges, and merchandising rules without slowing down.
Security and compliance
Protect data and reassure buyers. Look for PCI-DSS–compliant payment flows, strong customer authentication where required, and built-in fraud controls. If you need a refresher on the standards, see our guide to PCI DSS and this primer on electronic payments.
User experience and design
Shoppers make snap judgements. Clear navigation, credible social proof, and mobile-first layouts inspire confidence. Most buyers read reviews before purchasing, so your e-commerce platform should make ratings easy to collect and display.
A practical comparison of leading e-commerce platforms
Shopify, simplicity and speed to market.
As a hosted, all-in-one service, Shopify bundles hosting, security, and updates. The admin is easy to learn and the App Store covers most use cases. You trade some flexibility for reliability and speed. Pricing is subscription-based, and you rely on Shopify’s infrastructure—something many startups and D2C brands accept in exchange for focus and pace.
PrestaShop, control and deep customisation.
Open-source flexibility appeals to teams that want ownership and fine control. It handles complex catalogues and French-origin projects particularly well. You or your agency manage hosting, maintenance, and security. Many premium modules add cost, yet the payoff is tailored functionality.
WooCommerce, the WordPress ecosystem.
If you already run WordPress, WooCommerce offers unmatched content and SEO flexibility. Initial costs can be low, but you take responsibility for updates, performance optimisation, and security hardening. It is ideal for small to mid-sized stores and content-led commerce.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud, enterprise scale.
Cloud hosting, advanced merchandising, and deep CRM, marketing, and service integrations make it a good fit for large catalogues and omnichannel operations. Expect higher licence and implementation costs, plus more structured rollouts, in exchange for scale and governance.
Commercetools, headless and API-first.
For brands building custom experiences across many touchpoints, a composable, microservices approach provides freedom. It requires strong engineering, careful integration, and a larger upfront investment, but delivers long-term agility for ambitious roadmaps.
Magento, now Adobe Commerce, power and breadth.
From open-source builds to Adobe’s cloud edition, Magento suits complex catalogues, multi-store, and multi-currency models. It offers rich extensions and deep customisation, but you need experienced developers and robust hosting to reach peak performance.
Sylius, a modern open-source framework.
Built on Symfony, Sylius targets projects that demand clean architecture and composable design. It is excellent for B2B and bespoke flows, provided you have an in-house tech team or a skilled integrator.
Hyvä, the fast front end for Magento.
Hyvä is not an e-commerce platform but a modern theme stack for Magento that dramatically improves Core Web Vitals and perceived speed. It upgrades UX without a full back-end rebuild, ideal for Magento merchants chasing front-end gains.
Online transaction fees, explained in plain English
Payment costs affect margins, so it is essential to understand the components. Most providers charge a fixed fee per transaction, often around £0.25 to £0.30, plus a percentage of the order value, typically 1.4% to 2.9%, with extras for currency conversion or certain payment types. Shopify offers tiered pricing within Shopify Payments, where higher plans reduce the percentage. PrestaShop and WooCommerce do not charge transaction fees themselves: you pick a payment gateway and negotiate rates. PayPal, for example, applies a percentage plus a fixed fee per transaction. Actual tariffs vary by provider, volume, country, and risk, so review them carefully.
If you run subscriptions or high volumes, negotiate. Consolidate volumes across brands where possible, choose the most efficient mix of methods, and compare PSP proposals side by side. For help choosing a provider, start with our guide on selecting a PSP.
Connecting your e-commerce platform to payments that convert
Your e-commerce platform and your payment service provider should work seamlessly together. A strong PSP unlocks card payments, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and instalments such as Klarna or Floa. These options reduce friction and increase conversion.
Advanced features go further. Monext’s Smart Display, for example, shows only the most relevant methods for each context—by country, basket size, or delivery choice—creating a faster path to purchase. Payment by link can close one-off sales or bespoke quotes without a full checkout. If you use WooCommerce, here is a quick primer on adding a gateway.
Sector nuances you should plan for
- Travel brands need smooth international payments and reassurance for high-value baskets.
- Fashion must handle returns elegantly and deliver personalised experiences.
- Ticketing and sports must absorb traffic spikes on release days.
Start with these realities, then select the e-commerce platform and PSP features that fit.
Pitfalls to avoid
Do not underestimate hidden costs such as themes, extensions, maintenance, and integrations. Plan your data migration early, including customers, orders, and catalogue structures. Never ignore mobile performance, as most revenue now comes from phones. If cart abandonment is an issue, review our tips to recover sales from abandoned carts and this analysis of how payment methods influence conversion.
How to identify the best platform for your project
There is no single “best” tool, only the best fit for your sector, budget, and growth goals. Build a clear requirements brief covering catalogue size, payment preferences, integrations, and international needs. Trial the admin, create products, and place test orders. Assess support quality and languages. Shopify, for instance, offers 24/7 support, while PrestaShop relies more on community and partner networks. Consider vendor roadmaps and R&D investment as well, because your e-commerce platform should meet tomorrow’s needs, not just today’s.
Market trends shaping your shortlist
Headless and composable architectures continue to gain ground, giving brands freedom to design experiences across web, apps, and in-store. Sustainability now influences both buying decisions and vendor selection, with platforms increasingly communicating carbon goals. Social commerce is maturing, and wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay continue to grow. Your e-commerce platform should integrate smoothly with CRM, ERP, marketing tools, and inventory systems through stable APIs and a strong app ecosystem.
Conclusion: build on strong foundations
Choosing an e-commerce platform is a strategic investment. Shopify accelerates launches, PrestaShop offers control, WooCommerce wins for content-led stores, Salesforce Commerce Cloud powers enterprise scale, and composable players like Commercetools unlock innovation. Magento and Sylius handle complex, bespoke needs, and Hyvä upgrades Magento’s front end. Monext integrates with all major platforms, bringing secure payments, relevant methods, and conversion-oriented features to your checkout.
Want a refresher before you shortlist vendors? Explore electronic payments explained and, for WooCommerce users, how to add a gateway in minutes.
