With a self hosted eCommerce solution you need to download the software, install it in your server, and then you take charge of maintaining, upgrading and making any changes needed.
This can be a good option for small to medium sized businesses looking to create a branded online store.
Some examples of self-hosted eCommerce platforms are WooCommerce, Magento, Prestashop and OpenCart. If you are technically minded person or have someone to build and manage your site, a self hosted eCommerce site is highly customisable.
Furthermore, you can move your eCommerce website if you outgrow your provider or find a better alternative elsewhere.
Advantages of Self Hosted eCommerce solutions
Price of the software – many are free.
Ability to customise and scale as necessary.
Wide amount of community help.
Disadvantages of Self Hosted eCommerce solutions
It can be expensive to set up as you will probably need to hire a website developer.
Self Hosted eCommerce summary
Magento, OpenCart, Prestashop and WooCommerce are leading self-hosted eCommerce solutions.
Magento Open Source is free to download but will require hosting somewhere.
WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin. There is a charge for some add-on functionality.
Prestashop is a good option for selling globally. It is free to download but there is a charge for add-on functionality.
OpenCart benefits from an easy-to-use interface and plenty of templates.
Self hosted may be a good option if you are willing and able to maintain the software side of your store, or pay a developer to do so.
Read about Hosted eCommerce Solutions