It all starts when Google looks at Android back in July 2005 and buys the company for 50 million$. That's nothing, considering that in 2016 it had already generated 22 billion$ in revenue. 

Ten years of unstoppable growth(2009-2018)

The statistics begin to count from the first quarter of 2009. At that time, Symbian, Nokia's operating system, was the owner and mistress of the market. However, Android only needed a year and a half to overtake iOS and half a year to unseat Symbian. By 2011, Android became the most used mobile operating system in the world, being the Samsung Galaxy SII its main spearhead (it managed to sell 3 million units in 55 days, 1.5 per second).

Samsung, in this sense, has played an important role in the dissemination and popularization of Android. In fact, if we look at the best-selling mobiles during the first years of the life of this operating system, we will discover that Samsung has always been very present:

• 2010: the second best-selling mobile, after the first iPhone, was the Samsung Galaxy S (20 million units).

• 2011: the best-selling mobile was the Samsung Galaxy SII (40 million units)

• 2012: Samsung Galaxy SIII repeats gold with 70 million units sold.

• 2013: the Samsung Galaxy S4 sold 40 million units that year.

Since its inception, Android has been the only operating system that has grown in terms of market share. Symbian, RIM, and other minority systems have disappeared from the face of the Earth or, at least, their presence is so insignificant that it is not even considered in the statistics. iOS, for its part, has remained stable, although its trend is decreasing. Although every year it has remained with a 20% share since 2014 it has suffered a significant decline.

And why does Android have such a large market share? Easy, because 1,300 manufacturers around the globe use Android on their smartphones. In fact, there are currently more than 24,000 models of all ranges, colors, and prices that add up, according to Google, more than 2,000 million active terminals.

1,300 manufacturers, 24,000 models, more than 2 billion devices worldwide. Why is Android a leader?

Apple is the only one that can launch devices with iOS, so the rest must either use Android (which is free) or develop their own operating system, something expensive and that does not seem too viable in the short and medium-term.

The growth is also reflected in sales and applications(2010-2018)

This growth has been accompanied by an exponential increase in the number of applications available on Google Play. Over time, the Android app store has become a global platform for developers to share their creations. In fact, there are more than three million Android apps available right now.

Growth of app store and google play(2009-2018)

However, Google Play is not as profitable as the App Store. Despite the fact that 70% of app downloads are made from Google Play, of the 33.4 billion dollars that the mobile app market has generated so far in 2018, Apple has remained with 22.6, while Google "only" with 11.8 billion.

A long future ahead

Android, as the headline of this article says, has literally eaten the market. It could be said with a margin of error of just 1% that it has a 90% market share. Nine out of ten mobiles that can be found in the world carry Android. Its trend, as can be seen in the first graph, has been increasing throughout history, and everything indicates that it will continue to do so.

Emerging markets like India will play a key role in raising this market share, and Google knows it. That explains the launch of Android One and Android Go, two sister versions of Android focused on terminals with less powerful specifications. Android has a market share of 92% in India, but we are talking about a country that has 1,324 million inhabitants of which only 300 million have a smartphone.

The future of Android is promising, and nothing seems to indicate that it will get worse with nine out of ten phones using it

The future is promising, and nothing seems to indicate that Android is going to plummet. However, there has been talked of Andromeda for a long time, a new Google project that seeks to combine the mobile, tablet, and desktop experience under a single operating system. Something like this is what Android needs to join the convergence and enter fully into the world of desktop software (especially considering that Chrome OS does not finish taking off).

Is this the future of Android? Will the day ever come when Andy gets off his smartphone and onto computers? Only time will tell. At the moment, we are toasting the 10 years of Android's life and for all those that lie ahead.

Choosing the best ecommerce platform is essential, as it will make inventory management and payment processing much easier.

In this article, we'll make a list of the best online sales platforms available today and talk about what to look for when choosing one for your store.

1:-Shopify - Best for Small Businesses

Shopify is one of the most popular shopping cart platforms, powering more than 500,000 businesses around the world. This online store builder provides all the necessary tools to create a fully functional eCommerce site, from performance analysis to SEO tools.

Setting up a website is easy with Shopify, as even beginners can create their own ecommerce site in minutes, all thanks to its intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

One great feature that is built into all Shopify plans is the abandoned cart recovery option. With this feature, users can reconnect with customers who leave products in their shopping cart without completing the sale.

Shopify offers several popular payment options to choose from, including PayPal and Authorize.net. However, if you want to use a third-party payment processor, you will have to pay additional transaction fees.

To avoid these additional costs, you will have to use their built-in payment system called Shopify Payments, which has credit card fees similar to Stripe or Braintree.

Shopify has 24/7 phone support, online chat, and email support, ensuring your customers can get direct help from the team in a matter of minutes.

Pros:

• Provides tons of additional tools to help you grow your business online.

• Excellent customer support service.

• Built-in abandoned cart recovery tool.

Cons:

• Additional transaction fees may apply.

• A limited selection of free themes.

Prices and plans

Shopify has three plans available: Basic Shopify for $ 29 / month, Shopify for $ 79 / month, and Advanced Shopify for $ 299 / month. It also offers a 14-day free trial, allowing users to test the platform before choosing their plan.

Your starter plan includes options for gift cards, real-time shipping rates, unlimited bandwidth, and an unlimited number of products to sell.

If you want to get professional reports, increase the number of staff accounts and inventory locations, you can update your plan at any time.

Verdict

Offering ease of use, a collection of useful features, and many third-party integrations, Shopify is a great option for small and medium-sized stores that want to expand their business.

 2:-WooCommerce - An excellent platform for WordPress

Unlike the rest of the options that we will see, WooCommerce is not an independent eCommerce platform. It is a plugin built especially for WordPress.

WooCommerce does a fantastic job of adding eCommerce functionality to the platform and is one of our favorite options. It is an excellent choice for both beginners and professionals.

In addition, it integrates perfectly with the WordPress dashboard, which is very intuitive for those just starting out.

WooCommerce can handle all the basics, from posting items for sale to processing payments. Also, you can increase the functionality of the plugin through dedicated extensions, of which there are hundreds available.

For example, there are options to integrate almost all available payment processors or make use of email marketing tools.

If you're looking to build a simple WordPress-based online store, it's hard to beat WooCommerce's ease of use. However, taking the platform to its full potential requires multiple extensions to be added and managed.

Also, WooCommerce customer support does not own phones or email. You will have to submit a ticket first and wait for the team to answer your question via online chat.

However, this eCommerce plugin for WordPress offers many online guides and support forums, which provide information from professionals and regular users.

Pros:

• It integrates perfectly with WordPress.

• You can customize your store using dedicated WooCommerce extensions and themes.

• It has a huge community of users that can help you.

Cons:

• Adding advanced features requires multiple extensions.

• It is one of the most expensive options on this list.

Prices and plans

Although using WooCommerce is free, you must take into account additional costs, such as finding a web host, registering a domain name, obtaining an SSL certificate, and paying for the extensions you want to use.

Verdict

If you want complete control over customizing the design and functionality of your store, WooCommerce is the perfect eCommerce platform for you.

3:-BigCommerce - Best for Big Businesses

Another great platform for ecommerce sites is BigCommerce. Packed with unique tools and features, this website builder is a reliable choice for creating and managing medium and large businesses.

What makes BigCommerce great is the multi-channel selling feature, called Channel Manager. With this tool, business owners can connect their stores to different marketplaces while keeping inventory management tasks in one place.

BigCommerce comes with social media integration and helpful SEO tools, including microdata, custom URLs, page titles, and CDNs, to help you drive more traffic and rank higher in search engine results.

Like Shopify, BigCommerce also provides abandoned cart recovery, although this feature is not available on all of their plans.

Another advantage of using BigCommerce is that it has no transaction costs. However, it does have an annual sales limit, which will automatically update your plan if your sales exceed $ 50,000 for a year.

Pros:

• Advanced multichannel feature.

• Interesting options for SEO.

• The unlimited number of staff accounts.

• You do not need to pay any additional transaction fees.

Cons:

• Include an annual sales limit that could make some of your business decisions difficult.

• There is a small learning curve to follow to learn how to use its more advanced tools.

Prices and plans

BigCommerce offers four pricing options ranging from $ 29.95 / month to $ 299.95 / month, except for the Enterprise plan which comes with custom pricing that is totally dependent on the needs of your business.

The unlimited number of products you can sell, real-time shipping rates, and gift cards are some of the features you'll get with BigCommerce's Standard plan, which is totally suitable for businesses just starting out.

Verdict

With tons of useful tools, BigCommerce might not be the best solution for small online stores. Their cheapest Premium plan alone is more expensive than most of the competitors.

However, BigCommerce is one of the best online sales platforms for large-scale companies and businesses. It has advanced analytical tools and helps you handle bulk orders and shipping options with ease.

4:-3dcart - More payment options

3dcart is a website builder that offers over 200 pre-built features and no transaction fees. However, if you are an absolute beginner and have no prior technical knowledge of using platforms of this type, 3dcard may not be the best solution for you.

For example, the interface is not very visually appealing, its operations are a bit difficult to understand, and customizing your store requires a lot of effort. In general, if you're looking for a simpler solution, you'd better look elsewhere.

Despite all this, 3dcart has a ton of blogging tools built-in, which help users increase their SERP rankings by sharing useful articles or other pieces of content. Additionally, your blog section will also match the theme of your site, giving the entire site a consistent look.

3dcart also partnered with Zapier, an automation tool that allows you to customize your eCommerce website with more than 1,000 third-party applications, such as HubSpot, Zendesk, and Mailchimp.

What's great is that 3dcart offers more than 160 payment gateways, which is more than what other online sales platforms have to offer. These payment methods are also integrated into your store, which means that you won't need to modify a single line of code to activate them.

In terms of help and support, the 3dcart team is really helpful and ready to assist you via online chat, email, phone, or social media.

Pros:

• Supports more than 160 third-party payment gateways.

• Excellent customer service.

• Hundreds of built-in tools and features.

Cons:

• Customizing the design of your website requires knowledge of HTML or CSS.

• There is no support for mobile applications.

Prices and plans

In addition to a 15-day free trial, 3dcart offers five pricing plans ranging from $ 19 / month to $ 299 / month.

If you are looking for one of the more affordable options on this list, choosing the Startup Store plan may be the right solution in the first place.

However, if you want more advanced features like opinion polls or have up to five email accounts, you should start with the Basic Store plan.

Verdict

Although it doesn't offer as much usability and creative control as Shopify or Zyro, 3dcart is a reliable option for those who want to start their business at a lower price, as well as many payment options and useful blogging tools.

5:-Big Cartel - Best for Artists

Big Cartel is cloud-based e-commerce software, designed for creative freelancers and artists. Anyone can start their online store for free and sell up to five products with this platform.

Building eCommerce stores with Big Cartel is relatively straightforward: just choose a theme, upload your product images, add prices, and you're all set.

Its click and drag customization tool make it easy to shape your website the way you like it. However, if you want to modify the site further, you will need some basic programming knowledge.

In comparison, Big Cartel's list of available tools is pretty basic compared to Shopify or BigCommerce, for example. It's also missing some essential selling tools, like customer login options and product reviews.

To unlock additional features such as the sale of digital products or access to analytics tools, you will need to use third-party extensions and plugins, which you can find here.

Big Cartel doesn't support as many payment gateways as other online sales platforms on this list - only Stripe and PayPal are available. It is also not PCI compliant, which means that eCommerce store owners will have to follow operational standards when processing card payments from their website.

Pros:

• Offers a free plan for those who are just starting out.

• Includes a huge selection of free themes.

Cons:

• A limited number of products that can be sold.

• It lacks some features and tools compared to others.

Prices and plans

There are four payment plans on Big Cartel, ranging from $ 9.99 / month to $ 29.99 / month. These Premium plans include tools like Google Analytics, automatic sales tax, theme code editing, inventory tracking, and large-scale editing.

The only difference that distinguishes each plan is the number of products you can sell. For example, when you choose their highest-priced plan, you will be able to sell up to 500 items.

Verdict

Big Cartel is a great solution for artists who want to sell their products or services and don't care about some of the limitations that the platform brings.

6:-Volusion - Best for dropshipping businesses

Volusion is one of the oldest shopping cart platforms in the business, allowing you to sell both digital and physical products. It offers many free themes that feature industry-focused designs.

This platform offers a dropshipping tool that helps you find thousands of products, compare retail and wholesale prices, and add your picks with just a few clicks.

Additionally, Volusion enables users to sell anywhere using its fabulous mobile app, which allows them to update prices, take product photos, and check inventory from their phones.

Volusion's inventory and analytical tools are a great addition to the overall package, as they give you deep insight into your eCommerce store, helping you better manage and scale your business as needed.

If you need help with your site, Volusion has a 24/7 support team that can be reached by phone. However, this is not included in their lowest price plan.

Pros:

• It offers features specifically focused on dropshipping.

• Impressive analysis tools.

• Transparent inventory and marketing system.

Cons:

• There are no specific tools for blogs.

• It can be a bit slow at times.

Prices and plans

Volusion offers a 14-day free trial and four hosting plans ranging from $ 29 / month to $ 299 / month.

Unlimited products and unlimited bandwidth, an automatic tax calculator, and synchronized inventory come with every plan. However, to use third-party gateways, you must get at least the Volusion Startup plan.

Verdict

If you want to start a dropshipping business, where analytical tools are essential for you, then Volusion is worth a try.

7:-OpenCart - Best for International Sales

The best way to describe OpenCart is to say that it is between WooCommerce and PrestaShop in terms of power. It offers many more ecommerce features than the first, but it lags a bit behind the second.

Where OpenCart shines is in the dashboard experience. It's intuitive, modern-looking, and provides all the information you need to stay on top of your store's performance at a glance.

In addition, customizing your OpenCart store is easy thanks to the platform's module system. It's not as intuitive as modern page builders, but it's pretty easy to understand even if you've never built an online store before.

Also, OpenCart comes with multiple currency and language options. For example, with other popular online sales platforms like WooCommerce and PrestaShop, you would need to use a separate plugin for that.

OpenCart is an excellent option if you are looking for a platform that is easy to use and that simplifies the page creation process. It may not have as many features as other online sales platforms, but it is more than enough for a small business to flourish.

Pros:

• Amena for beginners and intuitive.

• Many gateway options and built-in SEO features.

• An active community.

Cons:

• It doesn't offer as many built-in features as other online sales platforms.

• Many OpenCart themes look a bit dated compared to modern standards.

Prices and plans

OpenCart is a self-hosted platform that you can download for free. However, you need to find a provider to host your store and purchase a domain name before you start.

Verdict

With its built-in multi-language and currency tools, OpenCart is a more suitable option for business owners who want to focus on international sales.

8:-osCommerce - Lots of free plugins

osCommerce shares many similarities with other online sales platforms that we have reviewed so far. For example, it's easy to set up and you don't need experience with online sales platforms to start your first store.

The first time you start osCommerce, you will notice that its panel looks a bit dated. Despite that, it contains a lot of standard and advanced functionalities, more or less on the same level as AbanteCart.

osCommerce also has the clear advantage of having a very active community, as well as thousands of free extensions and themes. That gives you an advantage when it comes to customizing your store.

In our experience, osCommerce works wonders for small businesses. However, its performance begins to decline when you have an extensive product catalog. In some cases, this may be due to poor web hosting performance, but it seems to be a common theme on the platform.

Leaving that aside, osCommerce is one of the best online sales platforms if you are looking to set up a small online store.

Pros:

• Setting up an online store is simple and fast.

• It has thousands of free extensions.

• There is a huge community of users ready to help.

Cons:

• The platform does not allow for growth to scale as well as we would like, so it is not a good option for large stores.

• The dashboard looks somewhat outdated.

Prices and plans

This open-source e-commerce solution is free to download and use. However, you do need to get a hosting plan and domain name, and some of the extensions and themes are priced too.

Verdict

osCommerce allows its users to set up a highly customizable and expandable online store with thousands of plugins to choose from. It also has a large and active community that can help you set up and maintain your site.

9:-CubeCart - For those looking for simplicity

CubeCart proves that appearances can be deceiving. The first time you log into the platform dashboard, it looks pretty simple. However, you have many options for work.

The platform offers all the functions necessary to operate a successful eCommerce store, from product management to sales tracking. However, it doesn't stop there; you can use CubeCart to send basic email campaigns to your customers, which is a great way to get more sales.

It's the little details like these that make the CubeCart such a great platform. Another notable example is the basic image editing tools that you can use from the administration panel. It's not Photoshop or anything like that, but cropping and resizing images can help you enhance your product pages.

CubeCart also supports plugins and themes. There aren't that many options available, but the platform is good enough for small and medium stores.

This platform offers many quality features that other similar programs do not offer. However, since it doesn't provide as many extensions, we recommend it primarily for small businesses.

Pros:

• Easy to use platform with many additional functions.

• Open source and free to download.

Cons:

• Extension selection is nothing to write home about.

Prices and plans

Although CubeCart is free to download, you need to choose your own hosting plan and a custom domain name.

Verdict

CubeCart is one of the best open-source online sales platforms available with many small but powerful features like its amazing image editing tools.

If you have a small business and are looking for a simple e-commerce solution, you should consider purchasing CubeCart.

10:-Joomla! - Total control and flexibility

Although Joomla! It usually appears in the lists of the best CMS, you can also use it to make your online store. All you have to do is install an extension, similar to how you would configure WooCoomerce with WordPress.

Based on community feedback, J2Store is one of the best free extensions out there. However, there are other options to consider as well. As with WordPress, more technical knowledge is needed to get the most out of the platform. However, that brings more freedom to build your eCommerce store according to your personal needs.

In general, Joomla! it's easy to use and learn, and it's one of the most popular rivals to WordPress.

Pros:

• Multiple free shopping cart extensions available.

• It gives you total control and flexibility over your online store.

Cons:

• Some of the free extensions are very limited.

• It may lack dedicated functionalities in contrast to a full ecommerce platform.

Prices and plans

Joomla! is an open-source content management system, which means that you will have to get web hosting and a domain name. However, when it comes to their ecommerce extensions, most are free.

Verdict

If you want WordPress-like flexibility, choose Joomla! it is a great alternative. This CMS offers many impressive built-in tools, thousands of extensions, multilingual features, and a caring community.

However, Joomla! It is not a dedicated ecommerce platform, which means that it is not as intuitive and easy to understand as other options on this list.

What characteristics to look for in an online sales platform?

E-commerce is a great way to earn money online. It doesn't matter if you sell physical or digital products, there are many ways to take advantage of these types of sites.

To create a fully functional site, you should look for these essential features when choosing your e-commerce platform:

• Easy to use. Online sales platforms that offer usability make it easy for users to build, edit, and manage their sites.

• Design. Having a well thought out web design is essential to make your products stand out and customers stay longer on your site. A proper eCommerce platform should also make its templates customizable, giving users the freedom to fully adjust their site design.

• Site building functions. Large online sales platforms offer additional features for blogging, email marketing, and SEO, which can help you take your online business to the next level.

• Integrations. Third-party plugins and extensions can help expand your business online, providing you with more options for managing your website.

• Customer assistance. Make sure the platform you choose includes technical support and tutorials on how to build and maintain your online store.

• Value for money. Choose a platform that offers the pricing plan that best suits your business and budget.

However, these are just the basics when it comes to good e-commerce practices.

Here are some other characteristics to consider when looking for the best online sales platform for your business:

• The ability to configure product categories. If you sell more than one type of item, you need to keep things organized. Not only will this help you manage your inventory, but it will also greatly improve the user experience on your website.

• Product page customization options. You should be able to create unique pages for each product that contains complete information and still look great.

• Promotions and discounts functionality. Customers love promotions, and they are a great way to make upsells.

• Support for multiple payment processors. Many people like to use their preferred payment processors, so offering multiple options is a great idea.

• Analytical information. The more you know about your customers, the more you can optimize your store to increase conversions.

Keep in mind that the best eCommerce platform for startups might not be ideal for a sole proprietorship. That is why it is important that you research which is the best eCommerce platform for you before choosing a particular one.

conclusion

Nowadays it is easier than ever to create an online store, but that does not mean that all online sales platforms are the same. It is important to choose the option that best fits the ideas, objectives, and budget of your business.

However, there are many other options to choose from depending on your specific needs and requirements. Here's a quick rundown of what we've covered so far:

• Shopify - Lots of robust features and third-party integrations, incredibly popular platform.

• WooCommerce - one of the most popular WordPress eCommerce plugins out there.

• BigCommerce - another popular e-commerce platform designed specifically for large companies.

• 3dcart - offers a wide variety of payment options and other robust marketing features, but requires a basic understanding of HTML and CSS to be used.

• Big Cartel - an eCommerce platform for artists.

• Volusion - one of the oldest online sales platforms in the business, known for its dropshipping features.

• OpenCart - offers built-in multi-currency and language tools, focuses on international selling.

• osCommerce - known for its huge library of free plugins.

• CubeCart - a simple eCommerce platform, offering many high-quality features and useful image editing tools.

• Joomla! - a popular CMS that offers a lot of flexibility in terms of customization.