Final verdict
Big Cartel and Zoho Sites cater to different user needs, making them suitable for distinct audiences.
-
Big Cartel (Overall Grade: 5.8/10)
is tailored for artists and small-scale sellers, offering a straightforward and affordable platform to set up an online store. Its simplicity and ease of use make it accessible for users without technical skills, but it lacks advanced features and customization options. Big Cartel is ideal for independent creators looking for a no-fuss solution to sell their products online. -
Zoho Sites (Overall Grade: 7.6/10)
provides a more versatile and feature-rich platform suitable for a broader range of website needs. With a diverse collection of templates, extensive customization options, and robust integration with other Zoho products, Zoho Sites is well-suited for businesses seeking a comprehensive website builder. Its higher learning curve is offset by detailed learning resources, making it a strong choice for users who need more control and functionality.
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Design functionalities & templates |
6.9 |
7.4 |
|
Ease of use |
8.0 |
7.0 |
|
Ecommerce |
6.2 |
7.4 |
|
Website Editors |
6.8 |
7.5 |
|
Product testing options |
5.9 |
8.8 |
|
Price |
7.8 |
8.6 |
|
Hosting quality |
5.0 |
8.0 |
|
Website speed optimization |
5.0 |
7.1 |
|
Plugins and integrations |
5.8 |
7.3 |
|
Marketing features |
6.2 |
7.6 |
|
Customer support |
5.4 |
8.3 |
|
Security |
7.3 |
8.1 |
|
AI capabilities |
0.0 |
7.5 |
|
User Management |
1.3 |
7.3 |
Best for ecommerce
6.2
7.4
Verdict
: Big Cartel is ideal for artists and small businesses, while Zoho Sites offers more comprehensive ecommerce features for a broader audience.
-
Big Cartel
: Tailored for artists and makers, Big Cartel provides a straightforward setup with essential ecommerce features like inventory tracking, sales analytics, and social media integrations. It is perfect for small businesses and independent creators who prioritize simplicity and affordability. However, in the Big Cartel vs Zoho Sites comparison, Big Cartel’s limited templates and customization options might be a drawback for more complex ecommerce needs. -
Zoho Sites
: Zoho Sites integrates with Zoho Commerce to offer robust ecommerce functionality, including product and inventory management, order management, and extensive payment processing options. It provides a range of customizable templates and advanced marketing tools, making it suitable for businesses looking for a more comprehensive ecommerce solution. Zoho Sites scores higher in most ecommerce aspects, making it a better choice for those needing more advanced features.
Best for informational & business websites
7.2
7.9
Verdict
: Zoho Sites is the better choice for creating informational and business websites due to its diverse templates, customization options, and comprehensive support. Big Cartel, while user-friendly, is more tailored for artists and small-scale sellers.
-
Big Cartel
: Big Cartel is designed with simplicity in mind, making it accessible for artists and small businesses. It offers customizable templates and essential features like inventory management and sales tracking. However, its focus on ecommerce and limited customization options make it less ideal for purely informational websites. With a score of 7.2, it’s a solid choice for those who need a straightforward, easy-to-use platform. -
Zoho Sites
: Zoho Sites excels with a score of 7.9, offering a wide range of customizable templates and a user-friendly visual editor. It’s suitable for various purposes, including blogging, photography, and business websites. The platform provides robust hosting, speed optimization, and extensive learning resources, making it a versatile and powerful tool for creating professional informational websites. When comparing Big Cartel vs Zoho Sites, Zoho Sites stands out for its flexibility and comprehensive feature set.
Detailed comparison
Design functionalities & templates
Design FunctionalitiesRepresents how well each platform allows for creative design and customization of websites.Score Components:
- Template Variety (30%): Range and quality of design templates.
- Customization (30%): Flexibility and options for design alterations.
- User Interface (20%): Ease and intuitiveness of the design process.
- Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Innovation (10%): Unique design features and tools.
6.9
7.4
🏆
Winner: Zoho Sites.
Zoho Sites offers a more diverse collection of templates and greater customization flexibility, making it the preferred choice for users who want more control over their website’s design.
Big Cartel provides a variety of free, customizable templates designed to ensure that online stores look appealing on all devices. These templates are geared towards artists, creators, and small business owners, offering features like high-quality product displays and adjustable product grids without the need for coding knowledge.
On the other hand, Zoho Sites offers a diverse collection of over 150 templates, thoughtfully categorized into industries like Restaurants, Architecture, Health, and more. Each template provides a pre-designed layout with responsive design for various screen sizes. Customization options include visual elements such as colors, fonts, and images, as well as the ability to modify layouts and content using the visual editor.
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Ease of use
Ease of useReflects the platform’s overall user-friendliness.Score
Components:
- Learning curve (40%): Quickness and ease of getting started.
- Interface design (30%): Simplicity and intuitiveness of layout.
- User guidance (20%): Quality of tutorials and support.
- Flexibility (10%): Adaptability to various user skills.
8.0
7.0
🏆 Winner: Big Cartel
. Scoring 8.0, Big Cartel is designed with simplicity in mind, making it particularly accessible for artists and small-scale sellers who may not have extensive technical skills. Zoho Sites, with a score of 7.0, offers a clean interface and logical workflows but might pose challenges for users requiring advanced features and seamless data integration.
Learning Resources
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites provides a wide range of high-quality learning resources for both beginners and advanced users, including a detailed beginner’s guide, comprehensive user guides, video tutorials, blogs, FAQs, community forums, and webinars. Big Cartel offers various support and learning resources, but they are not as extensive as those provided by Zoho Sites.
For ecommerce
EcommerceMeasures the platform’s effectiveness in supporting online business activities.Score Components:
- Ecommerce themes and templates (20%): Variety and design of templates.
- Product management (25%): Ease of managing and organizing products.
- Payment options (25%): Variety and convenience of payment methods.
- Ecommerce features (20%): Features for managing an ecommerce store.
- Integration (10%): Compatibility with external e-commerce tools and services.
6.2
7.4
Big Cartel and Zoho Sites both offer ecommerce capabilities, but they cater to different needs and audiences. Big Cartel is specifically designed for artists and makers, offering a straightforward setup process and essential features such as inventory management, sales tracking, and promotional tools. Zoho Sites, on the other hand, is a more general-purpose website builder that integrates with Zoho Commerce for ecommerce functionality.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Ecommerce themes and templates |
5.5 |
6.5 |
|
Product page customization |
6.8 |
7.0 |
|
Payment processing and commissions |
7.0 |
6.8 |
|
POS capabilities |
6.5 |
5.5 |
|
Payment gateways |
6.0 |
7.2 |
|
Product numbers |
4.5 |
6.0 |
|
Additional ecommerce features |
5.7 |
7.3 |
Big Cartel ecommerce features:
- Inventory tracking
- Sales analytics
- Social Media integrations
- Marketing tools
Zoho Sites ecommerce features:
- Product and Inventory management
- Order management
- Payment Processing
- Marketing and Promotions
- SEO and Analytics
- Security
Ecommerce themes & templates
Big Cartel offers around 20 templates, each specifically designed to cater to the needs of ecommerce stores. Zoho Sites offers a range of ecommerce website templates and themes designed to cater to various industries and business needs. These templates are customizable, allowing businesses to tailor their online stores to their brand and product offerings.
Product page customization
Big Cartel enables merchants to customize their product offerings with the Product Variants feature, supporting up to 150 variants per item, such as sizes, colors, and more. Zoho offers extensive product page customization options, allowing users to tailor the display of their products. This includes features like image galleries, sliders, and video integration.
Payment processing
Big Cartel supports payment processing through PayPal and Stripe, allowing a variety of payment methods including credit/debit cards and mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Zoho Sites, in conjunction with Zoho Commerce, offers robust payment processing capabilities and supports integration with multiple payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Square, facilitating secure online transactions.
Website Editors
Website EditorsEvaluates the platforms’ website building and editing capabilities.Score Components:
- Customization tools (40%): Range and power of editing features.
- Editor usability (30%): User experience within the editor.
- Design flexibility (20%): Freedom in layout and design changes.
- Update and maintenance ease (10%): Simplicity of updating and maintaining the site.
6.8
7.5
🏆
Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites, with a score of 7.5, offers a user-friendly website builder that enables both businesses and individuals to create professional, responsive websites without coding skills, through its drag-and-drop interface. It offers customizable templates, SEO tools, social media integration, and ecommerce features, along with connectivity to other Zoho applications for enhanced functionality.
Big Cartel’s website builder editor, scoring 6.8, is designed with simplicity in mind, catering primarily to artists and small-scale sellers. Users can easily customize their online store’s look and feel without needing advanced technical skills, thanks to its user-friendly interface. The editor allows for the customization of themes, addition of products, and setup of different pages like home, about, and contact pages.
Mobile editor/app
7.5
5.5
🏆
Winner: Big Cartel
. Both Big Cartel and Zoho Sites offer mobile editing capabilities, but they cater to different needs and skill levels. Big Cartel’s mobile app allows users to manage their online store directly from their mobile device. Key features include the ability to add and edit products, process orders, check inventory, and view store statistics. It provides a convenient way for store owners to keep their business running smoothly on-the-go, without the need for a computer. The interface is user-friendly, ensuring that even those with minimal technical skills can easily navigate and make use of its functionalities. However, website design changes can only be made on the desktop version.
On the other hand, Zoho Sites does not have a dedicated website editor app. Users can edit the visual aspects of the mobile version of their website, such as font size, color, background, and shadow, but they cannot change the content through the mobile interface. This limitation makes Zoho Sites less versatile in terms of mobile editing compared to Big Cartel.
In summary, Big Cartel is the winner in this category due to its more comprehensive mobile editing capabilities.
Product testing options
Product Testing OptionsAssesses the options for trying out platform features before commitment.Score Components:
- Trial quality (40%): Extent and usefulness of the trial or free version.
- Feature accessibility (30%): How many features are available to test.
- Trial duration (20%): Length of the trial period.
- Ease of transition (10%): Smoothness of moving from trial to paid plans.
5.9
8.8
Overall Result
:
Zoho Sites Wins
. Zoho Sites scores 8.8 in product testing options, significantly higher than Big Cartel’s 5.9. Zoho Sites offers a 15-day free trial with access to all features of each plan, providing a comprehensive testing experience. On the other hand, Big Cartel offers a free plan with limited feature testing and no trial version.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Free Plan |
Yes | Yes |
|
Trial Duration |
No |
15 days |
|
Testing Premium Features |
Limited with free plan |
All features during free trial |
|
Money Back Guarantee |
No |
Yes (30 days for monthly, 45 for annual) |
Price
PriceLooks at the cost-effectiveness and value for money of each platform.Score Components:
- Plan value (40%): What each pricing tier offers.
- Transparency and clarity (30%): Clearness of pricing structures.
- Flexibility of plans (20%): Range of options to suit different budgets.
- Hidden costs (10%): Additional expenses not included in the plan.
7.8
8.6
Zoho Sites offers a wider range of pricing options, including a plan specifically for agencies, while Big Cartel focuses on simplicity and affordability, making it a great choice for small businesses and independent creators.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Free |
Gold ($0/month): The Gold plan is free and allows up to 5 product listings with one image per product. It includes features such as free customizable templates, the ability to sell online and in person, multiple payment options, real-time stats, product variant groups, and sales tax autopilot. |
No offering at this amount. |
|
$0-$10 |
Platinum ($9.99/month): The Platinum plan increases the product listing limit to 50 and allows up to five images per product. It adds features like the use of a custom domain, template code editing, Google Analytics, ads support, inventory tracking, the ability to offer discounts and run promos, bulk editing, and shipment tracking. Value for price: 7.5 |
Starter ($8.00/month): Offers basic features suitable for small websites, including 5 pages, 500MB storage, 10GB bandwidth/month, SSL hosting, domain connection, ad-free experience, and more. Ideal for personal blogs or small business websites. Value for price: 6.5 |
|
$15-$25 |
Diamond ($19.99/month): The Diamond plan further extends the product limit to 500 with the same benefits as the Platinum plan, including advanced Google Analytics reporting, ads with audience targeting, and priority customer support. Value for price: 8.5 |
Pro ($23.00/month): Upgrades significantly on the Starter plan, offering 50 pages, 100GB storage, unmetered bandwidth, 50 forms, and advanced features like social share button, audio player, comment box, scheduled blog post, and dynamic content. Best suited for professional sites that require more resources and functionalities. Value for price: 8.0 |
|
$30+ |
No offering at this amount. |
Agency ($32.00/month): Tailored for agencies managing multiple sites, providing a bundle plan that offers significant savings and flexibility. Includes all Starter features with the option to add Pro features as needed. Value for Price: 9.0 |
location. As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their
websites.
Hosting quality
Hosting
qualityExamines the reliability and performance of the hosting solutions.Score Components:
- Uptime (40%): Consistency and reliability of website availability.
- Speed (30%): Loading times and performance.
- Bandwidth and storage (20%): Sufficiency of resources provided.
- Data centers (10%): Quality and distribution of hosting infrastructure.
5.0
8.0
🏆
Winner: Zoho Sites
Zoho Sites provides more detailed and transparent information about its hosting services, including a 99.9% uptime guarantee and 12 global data centers. On the other hand, Big Cartel does not provide specific information about its hosting services, including the type of hosting, uptime, and location of data centers. Therefore, Zoho Sites is the winner in this comparison.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Do they offer hosting? |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Data Centers: |
Not disclosed |
12 globally: Canada(Montreal and Toronto), US(Quincy and Dallas), India(Mumbai and Chennai), Australia(Sydney and Melbourne), China(Beijing and Shanghai), Japan(Tokyo and Osaka) |
|
Type of hosting: |
Not disclosed |
Managed Hosting |
|
Uptime: |
Not disclosed |
99.9% |
|
Uptime Guarantee: |
No |
Yes, 99.9% |
Website Speed Optimization
Website Speed OptimizationEvaluates optimization of website loading timesScore Components:
- PageSpeed Score (30%): Google’s score indicating performance optimization.
- Loading Time (30%): The average time until a website is fully interactive.
- Mobile Optimization (15%): Optimization effectiveness for mobile devices.
- Resource Optimization (15%): Optimizing images, scripts, and other heavy resources.
- CDN Usage (10%): Use of CDN to enhance speed across geolocations.
5.0
7.1
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
Zoho Sites has a clear strategy for speed optimization and has implemented various performance optimization techniques, while Big Cartel does not disclose any specific information about its speed optimization strategies or Core Web Vitals improvements.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Focus |
Not disclosed | Regular testing and updates |
|
Performance Tools |
Not disclosed | Optimized code and libraries, Cache balancing |
|
Key Strategies |
Not disclosed | Regularly testing and implementing updates |
|
Load Times |
Varies depending on optimization | Below 2-5 seconds average |
|
Page Speed Scores Range |
Varies depending on optimization | 70-80/100 average |
|
Core Web Vitals Improvement |
Not disclosed | Implementing various performance optimization techniques |
Zoho Sites has a clear strategy for speed optimization, which includes regularly testing and implementing updates, using optimized code and libraries, and balancing cache. The platform has implemented various performance optimization techniques to improve Core Web Vitals. The load times for Zoho Sites are below 2-5 seconds on average, and the average PageSpeed score ranges from 70-80/100.
On the other hand, Big Cartel does not disclose any specific information about its speed optimization strategies or Core Web Vitals improvements. The load times and PageSpeed scores for Big Cartel vary depending on optimization and website complexity.
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Plugins and integrations
Plugins and integrationsMeasures the range and effectiveness of additional plugins and integrations.Score Components:
- Variety of options (40%): Range of available add-ons.
- Integration smoothness (30%): Ease of integrating plugins into the site.
- Quality of plugins (20%): Functionality and reliability of the options.
- Custom integration capabilities (10%): Support for custom or third-party integrations.
5.8
7.3
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites.
Zoho Sites scores 7.3, offering a diverse range of plugins and extensions spanning various categories like marketing, design, social media, SEO, payments, and more. Big Cartel, with a score of 5.8, offers a variety of apps and integrations to enhance ecommerce store functionality, including marketing, shipping, and store management tools. However, the total number of direct apps and integrations is around 27, which may be fewer than other platforms offer.
While Big Cartel’s integrations enable store owners to automate marketing efforts, streamline shipping processes, boost customer engagement, and gain deeper insights into their store’s performance, Zoho Sites extends its website features through integrations with Zoho’s suite of applications and third-party services, rather than traditional plugins. This approach allows for a versatile and customized website building experience.
Marketing Features
Design FunctionalitiesRepresents how well each platform allows for creative design and customization of websites.Score Components:
- Template Variety (30%): Range and quality of design templates.
- Customization (30%): Flexibility and options for design alterations.
- User Interface (20%): Ease and intuitiveness of the design process.
- Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Innovation (10%): Unique design features and tools.
6.2
7.6
🏆
Overall Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites offers a more comprehensive set of marketing features, including blogging, which is not available on Big Cartel. Both platforms offer SEO tools, email marketing, social media integration, analytics and reporting, and ads and promotions.
| Marketing Features |
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
SEO Tools |
|
|
|
Email Marketing |
|
|
|
Blogging |
|
|
|
Social Media Integration |
|
|
|
Analytics and Reporting |
|
|
|
Ads and Promotions |
|
|
Customer Support
Customer supportEvaluates the quality and availability of support options.Score Components:
- Response time (40%): Speed of support responses.
- Support quality (30%): Effectiveness and helpfulness of the support.
- Availability (20%): Range of support channels (phone, chat, email).
- Resource richness (10%): Quality of self-help and educational materials.
5.4
8.3
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
. In the comparison of Big Cartel vs Zoho Sites, Zoho Sites takes the lead with its comprehensive 24/7 customer support available through live chat, email, and phone. The platform also offers a robust knowledge base and community forum, ensuring users have access to reliable and prompt assistance at any time.
Big Cartel, on the other hand, provides customer support from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm EST, through a smaller team of twelve members. While it offers essential support for its users, the limited hours and smaller team size may not be sufficient for those needing immediate assistance outside of business hours. Zoho Sites’ extensive support options and availability make it the superior choice for customer support in this comparison.
Security
SecurityLooks at the platforms’ security measures and data protection.Score Components:
- Data protection (40%): Safeguards for user and customer data.
- SSL and encryption (30%): Implementation of secure connections.
- Compliance (20%): Adherence to industry security standards.
- Regular updates (10%): Frequency of security updates and patches.
7.3
8.1
🏆
Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites has a higher security score of 8.1 compared to Big Cartel’s 7.3. Zoho Sites provides secure private data storage and protection through advanced encryption and access controls. The data is stored in highly secure data centers and is regularly backed up to ensure its safety and availability. The platform uses SSL encryption to protect data transmission and offers two-factor authentication for added security. Additionally, Zoho Sites regularly updates its software to address any potential vulnerabilities.
Big Cartel also emphasizes the protection of private data through comprehensive measures such as SSL encryption for all shops and custom domains, and strict data processing protocols in line with data protection legislation. However, it’s important to note that while Big Cartel facilitates secure payment processing via third-party PCI-compliant gateways like PayPal and Stripe, it does not achieve PCI compliance on its own.
AI Capabilities
AI capabilitiesMeasures the effectiveness of AI-driven features and tools.Score Components:
- Automation efficiency (40%): Impact of AI on streamlining processes.
- Personalization (30%): AI-driven customization for users or customers.
- AI-Assisted design (20%): Role of AI in website design and functionality.
- Data analysis (10%): Use of AI in interpreting user data and analytics.
0.0
7.5
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Personalized Design |
|
|
|
SEO Optimization |
|
|
|
Customer Behavior Analysis |
|
AI-backed product recommendations based on customer interactions |
|
Sales Predictions |
|
AI-powered sales forecasting tools |
|
Inventory Management |
|
|
|
Content Generation |
|
AI assistance in creating and optimizing site content |
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites, with a score of 7.5, utilizes AI to enhance the ecommerce experience and content generation. Its AI features focus on customer behavior analysis, personalized shopping experiences, sales predictions, and content generation.
Big Cartel, on the other hand, does not have any AI capabilities. This makes Zoho Sites the clear winner in this category.
User Management
User ManagementAssesses the platforms’ capabilities in managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility.Score Components:
- Role Customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and
permissions. - Ease of Management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users.
- Access Control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user
levels. - Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently.
1.3
7.3
🏆 Winner: Zoho Sites
. Zoho Sites offers more flexibility in user management compared to Big Cartel.
- Big Cartel allows only one user to build and edit a website. This might be limiting for larger teams or businesses that require multiple people to manage their website.
- The number of users who can edit a Zoho Sites website and their access levels depend on the chosen plan. The Free Plan allows only the owner to edit, while paid plans like Pro, Business, and Enterprise offer access for up to 10, 25, and 50 users respectively. Zoho Sites provides four access levels: Admin, with full editing rights and user management; Contributor, who can edit content and create pages but not manage collaborators; and Author, limited to editing text content without access to settings or user management.
Unfortunately, there are no user roles tables available for both platforms.
Additional Features
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
SSL Certificate |
|
|
|
Custom Domain |
|
|
|
Free Custom Domain Included |
|
|
|
International Domains |
|
|
|
Mobile Responsive |
|
|
|
Page Speed |
|
|
|
Website Builder Mobile App |
|
|
|
Convert a Website To An App |
|
|
|
Website Analytics |
|
|
|
Multilingual Sites |
|
|
|
Multiple Users |
|
|
User Feedback
User feedback on Big Cartel highlights its simplicity and affordability as key advantages, making it a popular choice for small businesses and startups looking to establish an online presence quickly. Users appreciate the ease of setting up and customizing their online stores, the flat monthly fees without per-item charges, and the platform’s intuitive design and mobile management capabilities. However, limitations in features compared to more comprehensive platforms, restricted customization options, and lack of advanced integrations or inventory management for specific items are noted drawbacks. Despite these concerns, Big Cartel is praised for its cost-effectiveness and user-friendly approach, particularly for those new to e-commerce or with smaller inventories.
Zoho Sites receives mixed reviews, with users praising its user-friendly interface, extensive template library, and seamless integration with other Zoho products, which simplifies website development and management for small businesses. However, some users express dissatisfaction with its limited design flexibility and the inability to create custom features. Overall, Zoho Sites addresses the need for cost-effective website solutions, particularly for those without coding knowledge, offering a one-stop-shop for building and managing websites with varying degrees of customization and integration with other business tools.
The making of this blog
We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.
FAQ
Which platform is better for artists and small-scale sellers, Big Cartel or Zoho Sites?
Can I use Zoho Sites for ecommerce?
Is Big Cartel or Zoho Sites easier to use?
Which platform offers better customer support, Big Cartel or Zoho Sites?
How do Big Cartel and Zoho Sites compare in terms of pricing?
Which platform is better for building a website with no coding knowledge?
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