Top Platforms to Sell T-Shirts Effectively Online

Choosing the best platform for selling t-shirts online

With so many eCommerce platforms available, choosing the right one for your business can feel daunting.

Each platform comes with unique features, benefits, and potential drawbacks. The key is to align your choice with your business objectives to ensure long-term success.

Many of these platforms seamlessly integrate with Tapstitch’s print-on-demand (POD) services, making it simple to start selling t-shirts without managing inventory or logistics. We handle the printing, packaging, and shipping, delivering directly to your customers.

If you’re ready to find the perfect platform for selling t-shirts online, let’s dive into an overview of the best options available.

Etsy

Etsy has earned a reputation as a reliable and popular eCommerce marketplace. While it’s widely recognized for showcasing handmade items and vintage treasures, it’s also a hotspot for print-on-demand products. Custom t-shirts, hoodies, and sportswear frequently rank among Etsy’s top-selling categories, making it a great choice for creative entrepreneurs.

Pros of Selling on Etsy:

• Massive pre-existing traffic: Etsy is a well-known destination for unique products, including apparel, wall art, phone cases, and more. With its established customer base, your t-shirts can quickly gain exposure.
• Huge buyer pool: With over 90 million active shoppers, there are countless potential customers looking for creative t-shirts and similar products.
• Beginner-friendly setup: Etsy’s platform is easy to use, making it a great choice for newcomers to eCommerce who want to start selling t-shirts with minimal hassle.
• Built-in marketing tools: Effective marketing is crucial for success, and Etsy offers convenient options like Etsy Ads. These campaigns can showcase your custom t-shirts in search results, categories, and other prominent sections on the site.

Cons of Selling on Etsy:

• Fees can add up: While Etsy doesn’t charge hosting fees, it does have costs for listings, transactions, shipping, and payment processing. These small fees can accumulate over time, so it’s essential to factor them into your pricing strategy.
• High competition: With countless sellers offering t-shirt designs, standing out can be challenging. To succeed, focus on defining your niche, creating standout designs, and investing in effective marketing efforts.
• Limited branding opportunities: Aside from customizing your store banner and product images, Etsy’s platform offers little room for unique branding. While this may be manageable at first, it could become an obstacle as your business expands.

Etsy is an excellent choice for newcomers to the eCommerce world. If you think Etsy aligns with your goals, check out this detailed guide on how to start a print on demand business on Etsy.

Pro Tip for Success

As your business grows, consider expanding through multichannel retailing by selling your t-shirt designs on additional marketplaces. This strategy can help you reach new audiences and diversify your revenue streams.

Shopify

With Shopify, creating your own online t-shirt store is simple and accessible. This eCommerce platform offers a diverse range of pre-designed templates, giving you the flexibility to customize your store to reflect your brand’s unique style.

While the ideal platform depends on your specific business goals, Shopify stands out as a top contender, offering unparalleled advantages that make it hard to ignore.

Pros of Selling on Shopify:

• User-friendly platform: Shopify is perfect for quickly launching your online store, even if you lack coding or design skills. Its intuitive interface allows you to create a store that aligns with your brand effortlessly.
• Extensive theme options: With a wide array of customizable themes, Shopify enables you to design a visually appealing storefront with just a few clicks, ensuring your shop stands out to customers.
• Rich app ecosystem: The Shopify App Store features thousands of apps and plug-ins to enhance your store’s functionality. From marketing tools to inventory management, these additions can help you optimize your t-shirt business and increase sales.

Cons of Selling on Shopify:

• Cost considerations: Shopify offers three main pricing tiers. While there’s a 3-day free trial and an initial offer of $1/month for the first three months, the regular subscription fees can be a significant investment as your business grows.
• No built-in traffic: Unlike marketplaces like Etsy or eBay, Shopify doesn’t come with a pre-existing audience. The traffic to your store depends entirely on your marketing efforts, though social media integration helps simplify promotion.
• Transaction fees: If you opt for a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, additional fees apply—2%, 1%, or 0.5%, depending on your plan. Be sure to check Shopify’s Pricing FAQs for detailed information on payment processing costs.

If Shopify feels like the right fit for your online store, check out our how to start a Shopify t-shirt business to get started successfully.

eBay

eBay stands as one of the giants in the eCommerce world—an international marketplace with a long-standing reputation. As one of the oldest and largest platforms of its kind, it’s a favorite among both buyers and sellers worldwide.

Pros of Selling on eBay:

• Simple setup: Getting started on eBay is straightforward. Create an account, register as a seller, and you’re ready to go. Plus, integrating with Tapstitch’s print-on-demand service ensures you have a limitless supply of t-shirts to sell without managing inventory.
• Massive audience reach: eBay provides access to a global marketplace with approximately 132 million active buyers. Its established reputation and trusted platform offer endless opportunities to reach customers and generate sales.

Cons of Selling on eBay:

• High competition: As with any popular marketplace, you’ll face competition from other sellers offering similar products. To succeed, you'll need to create standout t-shirt designs and master pricing strategies to differentiate yourself.
• Fees can add up: eBay charges various fees, which can accumulate over time. Before committing, it’s important to familiarize yourself with eBay’s Selling Fees page to avoid any surprises.
• Limited control over policies: eBay has strict rules and policies that sellers must follow, including return policies and other guidelines. While this ensures consistency on the platform, it means you have less flexibility in managing certain aspects of your business.

If you're looking to sell t-shirts and generate income online, eBay is definitely a platform worth considering for your online store. Its vast reach and established trust among buyers offer great potential for success.

Wix

Wix is a user-friendly online store builder that provides powerful features and solutions, allowing you to manage every aspect of your t-shirt business with ease. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced entrepreneur, Wix offers the tools you need to build and grow your online store.

Pros of Selling on Wix:

• Easy customization: Wix is perfect for beginners, offering a simple drag-and-drop editor to customize everything, from your product pages to the shopping cart, with no technical skills required.
• Powerful marketing features: Wix includes built-in email and social marketing tools to help you expand your reach and connect with more customers.
• Strong SEO capabilities: Wix offers a solid SEO infrastructure to help optimize your online t-shirt store, driving organic traffic and improving your store’s visibility on search engines.

Cons of Using Wix:

• Wix branding on free plans: While Wix offers a free plan, it comes with certain limitations. Your domain will include "Wix," and Wix ads will appear on every page, including the favicon. To remove these, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.
• No analytics on free sites: If you want to track your t-shirt store's performance with tools like Google Analytics, you won’t be able to do so on the free plan. You'll need to upgrade to access these features.
• Limited template switching: Once you choose a Wix template, you can't switch to a completely different one. You can only modify the design within your chosen template or create a new site with a new template, which may require extra effort.

Wix provides an easy and straightforward way to sell online. Be sure to carefully review Wix's Pricing information to choose a plan that suits your needs and helps you grow your t-shirt business effectively.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a plugin for the free, open-source CMS WordPress, transforming your WordPress site into a fully functional online t-shirt store. With its wide range of customizable features, it’s a great option for those who want more control over their store's design and functionality.

Pros of Using WooCommerce:

• Highly customizable: WooCommerce offers a variety of themes, both free and paid, available through the WordPress Theme Directory and the WooCommerce Theme Store, allowing you to fully customize your t-shirt store’s appearance.
• Wide range of plugins: You can enhance your store with numerous free and paid plugins available in the official WordPress Plugin Directory and WooCommerce Extension Store, adding extra functionality to your online store.
• Effective marketing solutions: WooCommerce provides integrated marketing tools such as social media integration, email marketing, and promotional features, helping you effectively promote your t-shirt business.

Cons of Using WooCommerce:

• Extension, hosting, and domain costs: While WooCommerce itself is free, running a full online store requires purchasing additional extensions, paying transaction fees, and covering the costs for hosting and a custom domain.
• Not completely beginner-friendly: While WooCommerce is user-friendly, it does require some technical knowledge, especially when it comes to customization and troubleshooting.
• Limited plugin support: WooCommerce only offers support for its own products. For third-party themes, plugins, or hosting, you’ll have to rely on different support channels, which can make troubleshooting more complex.

If you already have a WordPress website and are looking for a cost-effective solution that gives you full control over your online t-shirt store, WooCommerce is an excellent option.

However, it’s important to note that WooCommerce comes with a steeper learning curve compared to other platforms, requiring more time and effort to master, especially if you're new to eCommerce.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a robust and intuitive website builder known for its easy-to-use visual editor. It allows anyone, regardless of technical expertise, to create a professional-looking website effortlessly, making it an excellent choice for building your online t-shirt store.

Pros of Using Squarespace:

• User-friendly: Squarespace’s simplicity is one of its key strengths. Just choose a template, make a few adjustments, add your content, and you’re ready to launch your t-shirt store.
• Industry-leading templates: With over 100 stunning templates, you can easily find one that fits your online store's style and branding perfectly.
• 24/7 customer support: Squarespace offers round-the-clock support through email and chat, ensuring you have assistance whenever you need it.

Cons of Using Squarespace:

• No multi-currency selling: Unlike some other platforms, Squarespace doesn’t offer an easy way to sell in multiple currencies, which can limit your ability to cater to a global audience.
• Page speed: While Squarespace sites can load quickly, the speed may vary depending on the amount of content on your site, potentially affecting the user experience.
• Limited extensions: With only 38 available extensions, Squarespace offers fewer options for adding extra features, which could limit your marketing and customization capabilities.

Despite its drawbacks, Squarespace is still an excellent platform for small print-on-demand businesses getting started.

If you don't require extensive features, it's an ideal choice. Squarespace’s pricing plans ensure you only pay for what you actually need, making it a cost-effective solution for launching your t-shirt store.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce offers a comprehensive solution for starting an online store, providing everything from web hosting to design tools for creating your storefront, along with a suite of marketing tools to help you grow your business.

Pros of Using BigCommerce:

• Wide range of features: BigCommerce offers built-in options like blogging, coupons, discounts, gift cards, and advanced reporting tools, making it a versatile platform for managing your t-shirt store.
• No extra transaction fees: BigCommerce doesn’t charge additional transaction fees on any of its plans, allowing you to keep more of your earnings.
• Valuable resources: As your business grows, BigCommerce provides a variety of resources to help you scale and succeed.
• Comprehensive marketing solutions: With both built-in tools and third-party app integrations, BigCommerce provides world-class marketing features to help you effectively promote and sell your t-shirts online.

Cons of Using BigCommerce:

• Limits on annual online sales: BigCommerce imposes sales limits based on your plan. If your store exceeds those limits, you’ll need to upgrade to a higher-tier plan.
• Limited free themes: BigCommerce offers only 12 free themes, which may not be as modern or visually appealing compared to those from other platforms.
• Expensive abandoned cart recovery: The abandoned cart recovery feature, essential for marketing, is not included in the Standard Plan. You’ll need to upgrade to the more expensive Plus Plan to access it.

BigCommerce is a powerful platform with a variety of built-in features that would typically require additional costs elsewhere, making it an attractive option for those looking to sell custom t-shirts online.

However, keep in mind that as your store grows and reaches a certain level of annual sales, you will need to upgrade your plan to accommodate the increase in revenue. Despite this, BigCommerce remains a solid choice for businesses looking for a comprehensive, all-in-one solution.

PrestaShop

PrestaShop is an open-source platform that offers full control for setting up and managing your online store. It’s ideal for those with technical knowledge.

Pros of Using PrestaShop:

• Feature-rich platform: PrestaShop offers a vast array of modules and templates in its Add-Ons Marketplace, allowing you to tailor your store and enhance traffic while fostering customer loyalty.
• Comprehensive marketing tools: Utilize built-in SEO, email campaigns, and coupon features to effectively boost your marketing efforts.
• Diverse payment options: With over 120 payment gateways, including the PrestaShop Checkout module, you can easily manage various payment methods for a fee.
• Data-driven insights: Leverage PrestaShop Metrics to gain valuable insights, improving operational efficiency and driving profitability through advanced statistics.

Cons of Using PrestaShop:

• Requires technical expertise: While PrestaShop is user-friendly, setting it up and fully utilizing its features requires some technical knowledge. For the best results, a certain level of expertise is essential.
• Costly add-ons: PrestaShop offers many paid add-ons, and using them to their full potential can quickly increase costs.
• Limited scalability: For small stores, PrestaShop works well, but as your business grows, you may need to hire a professional developer to scale effectively.

While PrestaShop itself is free, there are other costs involved in running your online store. These include expenses for a domain name, hosting provider, payment solutions, and any additional features you may need to fully equip your store.

Tapstitch API

API stands for Application Programming Interface. It allows an application’s data and functions to be accessible to external third-party developers, enabling the creation of custom features and automation.

The Tapstitch API offers a powerful way to develop custom functions, automate workflows, and streamline repetitive tasks. It's an excellent tool for both individual merchants and businesses with coding expertise who want to enhance their t-shirt selling experience.

Pros:

• Seamless integration. Tapstitch API easily integrates with custom websites or third-party platforms, allowing for continuous development.
• Highly customizable. Create custom functions to enhance your website or platform’s capabilities.
• Time-saving automation. Automate repetitive tasks like adding products, saving time and effort.
• Scalable. Tapstitch helps businesses manage orders efficiently, even as they grow.

While the Tapstitch API is designed for everyone, having software development skills is essential for maximizing its potential. However, you can always hire a professional to implement it for you.

Sell t-shirts online with Tapstitch

These top-tier eCommerce platforms integrate seamlessly with Tapstitch, giving you access to a virtually unlimited supply of t-shirts that you can sell to a global audience.

To make your design process easier, we’ve curated a diverse collection of high-quality t-shirts in the Tapstitch Catalog for customization.

With our easy-to-use Product Creator (formerly Mockup Generator), you don’t need to be a professional artist to design stunning t-shirts. Simply create your designs, and once they’re ready, you can instantly generate realistic mockups to showcase on social media or anywhere else.

Start designing your custom t-shirts with Tapstitch today!

Closing thoughts about the best websites to sell t-shirts online

Choosing the best platform for selling t-shirts can be daunting, but after reading our guide, you should have a clear understanding of the variety of options available.

Each of these eCommerce platforms and marketplaces is a top contender, with unique benefits, drawbacks, and features that cater to different needs.

There is no single “best” platform for selling shirts online—what works for one business may not work for another. Your decision will depend on your personal needs, technical expertise, and the audience you're aiming to reach.

When selecting the platform for your online store, the more you know, the better your chances for success. Be sure to dig deeper into the platform's features and policies to ensure it aligns with your goals and is a great fit for your custom t-shirt business.