I have tried many, many ecommerce platforms over the years. While all of them have their positives and negatives there are three that I prefer above all others. Yahoo Merchant Solutions, X Cart, and ShopSite. I'm not dissing the other solutions that are out there like Volusion or OSCommerce, I just happen like these better.

I started using Yahoo back when it was called Yahoo Stores. My medieval weapons and swords store, A Squared Armory, is built on the Yahoo platform. I think it is the best ecommerce solution for those just starting out. You can easily build a decent Yahoo Store with no knowledge of HTML which is a huge bonus for newcomers. You can also get as advanced as you want by creating your own pages and uploading them. I used a third party HTML editor to create all of A Squared Armory and the same level of customization is possible using Yahoo's build in editor called Store Builder.

Yahoo Merchant Solutions has database upload functionality and partnerships with many other companies to help you build quickly and get your site out there. Adding things like a blog or managing your email marketing is very simple with Yahoo as many features come as part of the merchant solutions package.

If you're just straight up building your store using the built-in templates X Cart is as easy as Yahoo. It quickly gets complicated when you start customizing but if you're comfortable with HTML you'll be able to change the entire look of your store rather easily. X Cart runs off Smarty PHP which is daunting the first time you see it but nothing to get worked up about. What makes X Cart complicated is the system of includes it uses to build pages. There can easily be fifteen includes being called on a single page and it is sometimes difficult to figure out which files to alter when you are making changes.

Once you get the hang of it, it becomes pretty simple although not always intuitive. X Cart also has excellent database functionality which saves a ton of time when adding products or making changes. My tapestries and wall decor store, The Tapestry Standard, is built on X Cart. FinestShops is a very good X Cart provider.

ShopSite also builds pages using includes but it is a bit more intuitive than X Cart in my opinion. It also has the most simple database functionality of all three. The interface is so simple I thought I was missing something the first time I logged in. Everything is laid out in a very logical style that makes customization much easier. You have the option of making changes to existing templates or creating your own, so any level user can create a professional-looking store.

Having said all that, ShopSite is most expensive of the three. It is absolutely worth the money, but maybe not the best solution for a first-time ecommerce seller or someone just learning HTML. My sports merchandise and accessories site, Sports Collectibles Store, is built on ShopSite. Lexiconn is an excellent ShopSite host.