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What are the top 3 ways to build a free online store in 2025?
Having a professional online store is crucial for online visibility, credibility, and brand growth.
But, hiring a web designer and developer can be expensive, especially for small eCommerce brands.
What if I told you that building an online store doesn’t have to drain your budget?
Read more: My Top 5 Free eCommerce Tools.
Top 3 Ways to Build an Online Store For Free
Luckily, plenty of no-code tools with online store-building capabilities can help you set up and launch your online storefront entirely for free.
With the rise of free online digital tools, aspiring business owners can now establish their eCommerce platform without the upfront costs traditionally associated with web design.
In this guide, I’ll share the top three ways to create an online store for free using Canva, Google Sites, and Ecwid.
These tools offer user-friendly interfaces and essential features to help you launch your business online quickly and without financial strain.
So, what are the top 3 ways to build a free online store in 2024?
Read more: Top 10 Website Builders For Small Business.
How To Build an Online Store For Free With Canva?
You’ve probably heard of Canva, an online no-code graphic design tool that lets you design posters, logos, social media posts, marketing materials, and more effortlessly.
But did you know you can design and build a creative and professional single-page website for free with Canva?
And better yet, thanks to the seamless Canva Stripe connection, eCommerce teams can quickly launch an online store to sell their products and get their business off the ground.
Better yet, with Canva, you can design, list, and publish your online store in less than 15 minutes.
So, how can you build an online store store for free with Canva?
- Sign up or sign into your free Canva account.
- Search ‘Website’ in the search bar on Canva’s homepage and click ‘Website’ in the drop-down menu.
- Browse through the templates and pick one you like the look of (note: some templates are only available on Canva Pro and are not free).
- Click an eCommerce template you want to use, then select ‘Customize this template.’
And now you’re ready to customize your website template!
Canva’s drag-and-drop interface means you can easily edit, add, or delete website elements such as colors, text, menu items, and images.
Simply change the default content on each page, such as the text type, size, color, background color, graphics, and more, to your own personalized content.
Additionally, you can add or delete pages, replace and upload your own images, logo, or videos, or select images and graphics from Canva’s stock image library.
Once you’ve carefully customized each website page, you’re ready to start adding your products so website visitors can purchase your products!
You can do this by simply integrating your Canva website with the popular payment gateway Stripe.
To do this:
- Head over to Stripe.com and set up an account.
- Select ‘Product catalog’ on the left-hand side.
- Select ‘Add product’ and add each product’s details, images, and pricing.
- Click the ‘+’ icon, select ‘Payment link,’ and select your products.
- Customize your payment page options and after-payment options.
- Select ‘Create link’.
- Copy the URL product link.
- Head back to your Canva website and right-click the image of the product, text, or button describing the product you’re selling.
- Select ‘Link’ and paste the link you just copied.
And that’s it! Now, when your website is live, a customer can click on that image, text, or graphic, and it will take them to the payment page within Stripe.
They can then purchase that item directly from Stripe.
Simply repeat this process for all your products.
Note: Stripe is free to set up and use, but they charge 2.9% + 30c per successful transaction.
Read my in-depth guide here on how to use Stripe.
Once you’ve customized your website and added each product link:
- Preview your website on mobile and desktop to ensure it’s responsive across all devices.
- Select ‘Publish Website’.
- Customize your free Canva domain if you wish.
- Alternatively, you can connect an existing domain or buy a new one (Canva Pro users only).
- Select ‘Publish settings’ and add a website description.
- Click ‘Publish website’.
And that’s it! Your website is now live! It’s that easy to build an online store with Canva and Stripe.
Building an online store with Canva is an excellent free website option for eCommerce teams looking to utilize Canva’s wide selection of visually appealing templates and elements.
Canva is easy-to-use, affordable, and responsive across all devices.
By following the above steps, you can set up a visually appealing online storefront that represents your brand well!
Make sure to check out my in-depth video how-to guide on setting up an online store with Canva here
How To Build an Online Store For Free With Google Sites?
Google Sites is a popular free website builder that can be found within your Google Workspace account.
Many will know you can build a simple, responsive website with Google Sites. But did you know building an online storefront with Google Sites is also possible?
By embedding Ecwid, an eCommerce platform, you can list and sell up to 5 products on Google Sites completely for free.
If you haven’t already built a Google Sites website, follow the simple steps below:
- Login to Google Workspace and select Google Sites within your account.
- Select a Google Sites premade template.
- Customize the template by adding your unique images, text elements, and buttons to sections.
- Edit template colors to align with your brand.
- Embed other Google products, such as maps, docs, calendar, etc, to your website.
Check out this in-depth guide on how to create a website with Google Sites.
Okay, so once you’ve created your Google Site website, how can you build an online store for free with Google Google Sites?
- Head over to Ecwid and create a free account to list up to five products for free (if you have more, you must upgrade to a paid plan).
- Select ‘Catalog > Products > Add new product.’
- Click ‘Upload images’ to upload your product images for your first product.
- Enter product details like SKU, product description, weight, price, etc.
- Enable ‘Product availability’.
- Select ‘Options > Add new options’ to add different colors or material options, and then select the pricing for each product option.
Repeat these steps to upload and customize your individual products.
- Select ‘Payment’ from the left-hand menu.
- Connect multiple payment methods applicable to your store (Stripe, PayPal, AfterPay, etc).
- Under ‘Payment,’ select ‘Shipping’ and set up shipping methods such as free delivery, conditional free delivery, flat rate, etc.
Next, you must customize your online store. To do that:
- Click ‘Configuration > Design’ on the left-hand sidebar.
- Select the image size, aspect ratio, background image color, and layout of your products.
- Select to hide or show the price, SKU, image, buy now button, etc.
- Select the type of product page layout you desire, image gallery thumbnails, and sidebar items.
- Customize storefront navigation options and colors.
Once you’re happy with your products and storefront, you’re ready to embed your storefront onto your website!
- Click ‘Overview > Custom website > Learn more.’
- Select ‘Copy code to clipboard’.
- Head back to your Google Sites website.
- Select the ‘+’ icon at the bottom of the page to add a new online store page.
- Name your new page (for example, ‘Store’).
- Click ‘Insert > Embed’.Select ‘Embed code’, then paste the code.
- Click ‘Next > Insert’.
And there you go! You have successfully embedded your Ecwid online store onto Google Sites.
Make sure you add a product to your cart to see how it looks on the checkout page and preview your new online store page to ensure it’s responsive.
Once you’re happy with your online store, click ‘Publish’ and your store will go live.
If you already use Google Sites and want to start selling a handful of products for free, I highly suggest using this option to create your own storefront.
By using the Ecwid Google Sites integration, you can completely transform your Google Sites website into a fully functional online store in a matter of minutes.
Check out my step-by-step Google Sites online store tutorial here.
How To Build an Online Store For Free With Ecwid?
Another way to build a free online store is by using Ecwid as a standalone online store builder.
Ecwid is an impressive online store builder that allows you to build, launch, and manage your online store with ease.
And guess what? The platform offers a completely free plan that includes a free domain name and the ability to upload a maximum of 5 products.
To build an online store for free with Ecwid:
- Sign up and sign into your free Ecwid account.
- Add your business details and select ‘Proceed to dashboard.’
- Add and edit individual products, payment options, and billing options (the same steps described above for creating an Ecwid storefront with Google Sites).
- Create and customize your Ecwid storefront from scratch using the no-code editor (also the same method as shown above).
- Alternatively, choose one of Ecwid’s 30+ free themes and customize it to your liking.
- Add relevant sections, images, colors, and other content specific to your brand.
- Once you’ve added and edited relevant sections, click ‘Save & Publish’.
- To view your live website, head back to your Ecwid dashboard and select your website URL.
This is the same method as building an online store with Google Sites (before you actually embed your products onto Ecwid).
However, this method involves using Ecwid as a standalone website builder.
Ecwican also integrates with many website builders and content management systems such as Wix, Weebly, WordPress, Squarespace, and more.
For small businesses with just a few products, Ecwid is an affordable online store builder
Alternatively, if you already have a website with another website and want to make a splash in the world of eCommerce, Ecwid is the way to go!
Best Free Online Store For You?
So, which is the best way to build an online store? Well choosing the best platform to build a free online store largely depends on your specific needs, business type, and technical ability.
Canva is easy to use, offers various professional and beautiful templates and stock images, and easily integrates with payment providers.
I recommend using Canva to build your free online store if you’re already familiar with the platform or for teams focused on design and brand image.
Google Sites is the best online store builder for local businesses as you can easily integrate other Google Apps like Google Maps and online stores like Ecwid.
This is also a strong choice for teams after a straightforward one-page website that supports a fully functional online store.
But if you’re looking for a dedicated eCommerce solution and want to manage your products, inventory, payments, and shipping, I suggest using Ecwid as a standalone online store.
Ecwid is also ideal for businesses that already have a website and want to dip their toes into eCommerce.
Additionally, Ecwid is a great option for growing teams as it offers paid plan options.
Stews Final Thoughts
And that wraps up the top 3 ways to build a free online store!
Ultimately, the best choice depends on the level of customization needed, your specific business needs, and whether you already have an existing website.
Regardless of your choice, you can get your professional online store up and running completely for free using these three methods above.
So, go ahead and pick the option that best suits you, and let me know what you think below!
Thanks so much for reading.
