Why Selz shut down and what it means for your store

In 2021, Selz seemed to have a bright future. The cloud-based ecommerce platform, launched by Martin Rushe in 2013, caught Amazon's attention: the deal looked like a bet on competing with Shopify outside the marketplace. At the time, Selz served over 6,500 sellers with a combined turnover of about $75 million (according to the original WPExplorer review from 2020). A simple drag-and-drop builder, 20+ responsive themes, built-in payments, and a dedicated WordPress plugin made the platform ideal for content site owners who didn't want to deal with complex WooCommerce.

But Amazon didn't develop a Shopify competitor. Instead, the Selz team was reassigned to Buy with Prime, and the platform itself was wound down. By early 2023, Selz had completely ceased operations. The selz.com website no longer exists. If you were one of those 6,500 sellers, the question isn't "was this a good platform," but rather where to migrate your store now.

We tested five current alternatives for WordPress: from full WooCommerce control to cloud-based Shopify. Each option was verified on a live site in 2026: prices, plans, and limits are current as of June.

The video above: archival footage of the Selz interface as it was before shutdown. Below, five real replacement options with pricing, pros, and honest cons.

💡 Quick overview:

• Confirm Selz is closed: the platform ceased operations in March 2023, Amazon shut down the service
• Choose WooCommerce if you need full control over your WordPress store
• Consider Ecwid as the closest Selz alternative in terms of simplicity and built-in integrations
• Evaluate BigCommerce for a growing store with a large catalog (600+ products)
• Use Easy Digital Downloads for selling digital products: courses, licenses, files
• Switch to Shopify if you're ready to completely leave WordPress for a cloud platform
• When choosing, consider product type, projected revenue, and required customization level

Comparison table of Selz alternatives

1. WooCommerce: full control with no limitations

WooCommerce needs no introduction. According to WordPress.org data, the plugin has over 5 million active installations, and the latest update (v10.8.1) was released in May 2026. If Selz was an all-inclusive cloud service, WooCommerce is a construction kit: you get the foundation for free and build functionality with extensions for specific tasks.

The main advantage over any cloud solution is obvious: the data, design, and store logic are entirely yours. You choose the hosting, you configure backups, you control speed and security. No third-party company will shut down your store "for strategic reasons," as happened with Selz.

Pros:

• Full control over data, design, and business logic, all on your hosting
• Over 800 free and paid extensions in the official WordPress.org catalog
• Zero transaction fees: you only pay the payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, YooKassa)
• Huge Russian-speaking community, documentation, and ready-made snippets for any task
• Any product types out of the box or via extensions: physical, digital, subscriptions, bookings, courses

Cons:

• Steeper learning curve compared to Selz: basic understanding of WordPress and hosting is necessary
• Responsibility for hosting, security, updates, and backups falls on you
• Premium extension costs add up: a standard stack of 5-7 add-ons runs from $200/year (for comparison: the WooCommerce Bookings booking plugin alone costs $249/year on the WooCommerce site)

Pricing: the base plugin is free. Costs: hosting (prices depend on provider, starting plans from a few dollars per month), domain, and optionally premium extensions. The real cost of launching a small store fits within a modest annual budget (estimate based on entry-level hosting and one domain). Free extensions are sufficient for starting: payments, shipping, SEO, and caching are covered without investment.

🔗 WooCommerce on WordPress.org

2. Ecwid: the closest to Selz in spirit

Ecwid is a cloud ecommerce platform that, like Selz, integrates with WordPress through a lightweight plugin. According to the company's own data, the service is used by over 1.5 million sellers in 175 countries. If Selz attracted users with its simple builder and built-in buy buttons, Ecwid does the same thing but remains alive and actively developing.

In March 2026, Ecwid updated its plan lineup: a new Starter plan appeared at $5/mo for 10 products, and prices for higher tiers increased. The free 5-product plan no longer exists, replaced by the paid Starter. But functionally it became richer: 70+ templates, email support, store embedding on any site.

Pros:

• Plugin installs in a minute: the store appears on your existing WordPress site without coding
• Built-in integration with Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Google Shopping, and TikTok
• Automatic tax calculation, support for 50+ payment systems, mobile app for management
• No need to think about store hosting: all infrastructure is on Ecwid's side
• Multichannel: one catalog sells on the website, social media, and marketplaces simultaneously

Cons:

• Free plan no longer exists; Starter from $5/mo gives only 10 products (current plans on Ecwid website)
• Deep customization is limited compared to WooCommerce: logic is on the cloud side
• Vendor lock-in: the store lives as long as Ecwid lives (cloud risk similar to Selz)

Pricing: Starter $5/mo (up to 10 products), Venture $35/mo or $29/mo with annual billing (up to 100 products), Business $65/mo or $49/mo annually (up to 2,500 products, subscriptions, abandoned carts), Unlimited $149/mo or $119/mo annually (no limits, POS, priority support). All prices per Ecwid data as of June 2026. No sales commission on any plan.

🔗 Ecwid on WordPress.org🔗 Ecwid website

3. BigCommerce: headless commerce for WordPress

BigCommerce is an enterprise platform offering headless integration with WordPress through an official plugin. According to company data, the platform serves over 60,000 online stores. The idea is separation: catalog, cart, checkout, and inventory management live on BigCommerce servers, while the frontend is built on your WordPress site.

This approach solves WooCommerce's main problem: with a large catalog (600+ SKUs), a store on cheap hosting starts to slow down. BigCommerce handles the load, while WordPress is only responsible for content and design. For former Selz users who outgrew a simple catalog, this is the logical next step.

Pros:

• Enterprise-level scalability: 600+ SKUs without speed degradation, server-side rendering on BigCommerce's side
• Zero transaction fees on all plans
• Built-in SEO tools and Core Web Vitals optimization
• Free SSL and cart hosting on the platform side
• Multichannel sales: Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Google Shopping

Cons:

• WordPress plugin requires configuration: headless architecture is more complex than a direct plugin like Ecwid
• Plans are higher than WooCommerce or Ecwid for entry level
• Annual revenue above $50,000 forces a switch to a more expensive plan (Plus $105/mo), per BigCommerce pricing grid

Pricing: Standard $39/mo (up to $50K annual revenue), Plus $105/mo (up to $180K), Pro $399/mo (up to $400K). 15-day free trial. With annual billing: $29, $79, and $299/mo respectively. Prices per BigCommerce data as of June 2026.

🔗 BigCommerce on WordPress.org🔗 BigCommerce website

4. Easy Digital Downloads: for digital products

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is a dedicated WordPress plugin for selling digital products. According to WordPress.org statistics, the plugin has over 50,000 active installations, and the latest update (v3.6.8) was released in late May 2026. If you sold ebooks, courses, software licenses, music, or video on Selz, EDD is built specifically for this, unlike universal WooCommerce and Ecwid.

EDD's monetization model has changed: instead of purchasing individual extensions, annual packages now apply (previously prices started at $99/year per extension, according to archival data). The core plugin remains free and includes the full digital distribution cycle: file uploads, link protection, download tracking.

Pros:

• Complete digital distribution cycle out of the box: license key generation, download limits, file protection
• Free core with main digital store functionality
• Dozens of payment gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Authorize.net
• Detailed analytics per product: sales, conversion, refunds, buyer geography
• Integration with Dropbox and Amazon S3 for delivering large files

Cons:

• Physical products are not supported whatsoever
• Plan packages are sold as annual subscriptions: the most affordable Extended Pass starts at $159/year (prices per official EDD page, full price $399/year)
• Community is smaller than WooCommerce: finding a developer for a specific task is harder

Pricing: base plugin is free. Extended Pass $159.60/year (1 site, full price $399), Professional Pass $209.65/year (2 sites, licensing, marketplace, full price $599), All Access Pass $349.65/year (3 sites, all extensions, full price $999). Prices per EDD data as of June 2026 with discount. All plans include free updates and support for one year.

🔗 Easy Digital Downloads on WordPress.org🔗 Easy Digital Downloads website

5. Shopify: if you're ready to leave WordPress

Shopify is the largest cloud ecommerce platform in the world, serving over 4 million stores. By business model, it's the closest analog to Selz: an all-in-one cloud service where you pay a monthly subscription and get a ready-made store with hosting, SSL, cart, and payments. The difference is that Shopify didn't shut down; it became the industry standard.

For WordPress, there's the Shopify Buy Button plugin, but its capabilities are limited: you embed products or a cart on a WP site, while business logic lives on Shopify servers. Full integration at the WooCommerce or Ecwid level won't happen. Essentially, it's a compromise: content and SEO stay on WordPress, while commerce goes to the cloud.

Pros:

• Best-in-industry ecommerce toolkit: abandoned carts, multichannel retail, Shopify POS
• 8,000+ apps in the App Store: any feature can be added via extension
• Built-in Shopify Payments, Shopify Shipping, Shopify Markets for international sales
• Free SSL, unlimited bandwidth, and hosting

Cons:

• 0.5-2% transaction fee if not using Shopify Payments (per Shopify terms, not available in all countries)
• Deep customization requires knowledge of Liquid, Shopify's proprietary templating language
• Vendor lock-in is stronger than with Ecwid: Shopify controls the entire stack from hosting to payments

Pricing: Basic $39/mo, Grow $105/mo, Advanced $399/mo. Three-day free trial. 25% savings with annual billing. Additional 0.5-2% fee when using third-party payment gateways instead of Shopify Payments. Prices per Shopify data as of June 2026.

🔗 Shopify website

What to do if your store was on Selz: migration plan

If you're one of those 6,500 sellers who lost their store when Selz shut down, here's a step-by-step action plan:

Step 1. Export your data. If you still have access to Selz backups or exports, start by downloading your catalog and customer list. No access? Restore your catalog manually: product descriptions, images, prices. Even partial recovery is better than starting from scratch.

Step 2. Choose a platform based on product type. Physical products with a catalog up to 100 items: Ecwid (simpler) or WooCommerce (more flexible). Digital products: Easy Digital Downloads. Large catalog with growth plans: BigCommerce. Ready to completely leave WordPress: Shopify.

Step 3. Launch iteratively. Don't try to migrate everything in one day. Set up the store framework, add 10-20 top products, configure payments and shipping. When the basic funnel works, add the rest of the catalog and improve the design.

Step 4. Set up 301 redirects. If you had a separate domain for your Selz store, configure redirects from old URLs to new WordPress pages. This preserves SEO weight and doesn't lose customers coming through old links.

Step 5. Notify your customers. Send an email blast to your list: new store address, what changed and why. People who bought from you on Selz need to know where you are now.

⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions

Can I restore a Selz store in 2026?

No. The Selz platform completely ceased operations in March 2023. The selz.com domain doesn't respond, servers are shut down. If you didn't export your data before closure, recovery is impossible. Amazon didn't provide migration tools after shutdown.

What's better for a former Selz user: WooCommerce or Ecwid?

For the closest experience to Selz, go with Ecwid: cloud backend, simple WordPress plugin, built-in payments and taxes. Minimal barrier to entry. WooCommerce gives more control but requires confident WordPress skills. If on Selz you just added products to an existing site, Ecwid will feel native. If you built a full-featured store with customization, WooCommerce.

Ecwid's free plan is gone. Is there a free alternative?

Yes, WooCommerce. The plugin core is free and will stay that way. You only pay for hosting and domain. For a small catalog (10-20 products), the WordPress + WooCommerce combination on budget hosting costs less than any paid Ecwid plan. Downside: you configure everything yourself.

Is Shopify suitable for a WordPress site?

As an additional sales channel, yes, through the Buy Button plugin. As a full replacement for WordPress + WooCommerce, also yes, but that means leaving WordPress as a commercial platform. The content site stays on WP, the store lives on Shopify. For a blog selling 5-10 products, this setup is overkill and expensive.

What should I do if I had more than 100 products on Selz?

Look at BigCommerce (headless, handles 600+ SKUs without speed drops) or WooCommerce with good hosting (VPS, prices at higher tiers from hosting providers). Ecwid on the Business plan holds up to 2,500 products (see Ecwid pricing), but with a large catalog the management interface becomes less convenient than competitors.

Which plugin is best for selling digital products?

Easy Digital Downloads. It's built specifically for digital distribution: license keys, file protection, download tracking, Amazon S3 integration. WooCommerce can also handle digital products via extensions, but EDD does it out of the box with fewer steps.

Which platform is right for you: final breakdown

Quick selection matrix:

• Catalog up to 20 products, want simplicity: Ecwid Starter or WooCommerce on budget hosting
• Blog with store, 20-100 products, "set and forget": Ecwid Venture (see pricing above)
• Need full control, willing to configure: WooCommerce, free, flexible, no vendor risks
• Large catalog (300+), growth plans: BigCommerce Standard, later Plus (see pricing above)
• Digital products, licenses, courses: Easy Digital Downloads (Extended Pass, see pricing above)
• Ready to leave WordPress and pay for convenience: Shopify Basic (see pricing above)

The Selz shutdown is a painful but useful lesson. When a platform controls hosting, code, and data, you risk everything. WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads eliminate that risk: even if their developers vanish tomorrow, your store keeps running. With Ecwid, BigCommerce, and Shopify, the risk is lower than with Selz (these are mature public companies), but it exists. Choose with your eyes open.