Are you an entrepreneur looking forward to taking your business to the next step? Probably, your business is doing great already, and you want to expand your territory by moving it online, targeting a global audience. Congrats on your new venture!!
No wonder you want the best eCommerce platform for your online store. We know you might have already come across the two most popular eCommerce platforms, Shopify and WooCommerce.
Choosing the right eCommerce platform is crucial to run a successful business online. However, there is no one correct answer for the right platform. Both Shopify and WooCommerce have their pros and cons.
You need to weigh your business needs and the various features of these eCommerce platforms before finalizing the appropriate one. As you understand your business needs and the most suitable business model, you can pick the right platform effortlessly.
In this blog, we are breaking down every detail of Shopify and WooCommerce. We will compare both platforms by taking each of their features, pros, and cons. Thus, At the end of the blog, you can pick the most appropriate eCommerce platform for your business for sure.
Shopify vs WooCommerce: Detailed Overview
Let’s be clear with the fundamentals first before moving onto the in-depth comparison of these two popular eCommerce platforms.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an eCommerce platform that allows businesses to create an online store, accept payments and manage their inventories easily. More so over, you can get started with your online store immediately without even worrying about the technical aspects of website management, like web hosting, security, and more.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is not exactly an eCommerce platform. It is an open-source eCommerce plugin that turns your WordPress application into an eCommerce store. All you need is to install the WooCommerce plugin on your WordPress, and your online store is good to go.
Furthermore, you can customize your online store because of its open-source nature. Ultimately, it allows you to use WordPress, the most popular content management system, to run your online store.
As you are clear with the basics now, let’s get straight to the detailed comparison of these two eCommerce platforms.
Shopify Vs WooCommerce: A Detailed Comparison of Features and Functionalities
1) Ease of Use
● Shopify
Shopify comes in handy for setting up your online store effortlessly. You will get step-by-step guidance once you create an account. Shopify takes care of the hosting, and you can even play around with your online store before publishing it. You need not have any technical expertise to get started with Shopify.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce requires you to do a few steps in advance, like installing, updating WordPress on your website, and installing the plugin. Of course, it could be overwhelming for beginners.
However, with hosting providers like Bluehost, you can install WordPress and WooCommerce automatically.
Winner - Shopify: You don’t need any technical expertise, and anyone can get started with Shopify almost immediately. Thus, Shopify is the clear winner here.
2) Product Presentation
● Shopify
Shopify offers various options to create product descriptions, upload images and allows users to zoom in on the pictures. With Shopify, you can also add product videos quickly. Plus, you can also add extra display options, like augmented reality demos, 360-degree images, and product reviews. Shopify has around 200 apps in the product options category.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce also provides pretty much all options that Shopify offers. Right from creating product descriptions, uploading images, zoom feature to add extra display options, WooCommerce has it all like Shopify. WooCommerce has around 100 product page extensions.
Also, both Shopify and WooCommerce enable you to enhance your product pages through their vast library of apps. As WooCommerce is operating within your WordPress theme, some images or galleries will not play straight away.
Winner - Draw: Both Shopify and WooCommerce are excellent in offering product display options. So, let’s conclude it is a draw.
3) Payment Options
● Shopify
Shopify comes with various payment options that you can utilize to receive payments from customers. The platform has its own payment solution, Shopify payments (powered by Stripe), and also allows third-party payment gateways.
But the problem here is that Shopify charges an extra 2% fee on every transaction made via third-party payment gateways. It is on top of the transaction fees charged by the payment gateway. You can reduce the charges by 0.5% by opting for an advanced Shopify plan.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce offers support for many regional and local payment services. Any payment company can create add-ons for WooCommerce and offer support.
As a self-hosted platform, you will pay only transaction fees of your payment gateway or your bank. Thus, if you are an established business and using a third-party gateway is crucial for you, you can save money using WooCommerce. But if you are a small business and can use Shopify Payments, which has the same credit card rates as Stripe/PayPal, it makes no difference.
Winner - Draw: Both of the platforms have multiple payment options. It is up to the business to choose the most appropriate payment gateway option for their brand. So, again a draw.
4) Price
● Shopify
Price is a crucial factor to consider for any eCommerce website owner. You have to examine the cost of various plans and keep an eye on variable costs for add-on services and software.
| Basic Shopify | Shopify | Advanced Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $29 per month | $79 per month | $299 per month |
As you can see, the basic plan starts with $29 per month, allowing you to get started instantly. All of the above plans include a domain name, SSL certificate, and web hosting.
Even with the basic plan, you get enough features to set your online store. You can add unlimited products, 2 user accounts, unlimited storage, and more. However, the basic plan does not include third-party tools and add-ons. So, as you expand your business, you may soon need to upgrade your basic plan.
Payment processing fees are on the higher side when you use external payment gateways. But, if you are just getting started and want to use the Shopify payment solution, then the fees are comparable to popular platforms like Stripe and Braintree.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an eCommerce plugin for WordPress. Though it is an open-source WordPress plugin available for free, you will still need a domain name, SSL certificate, and a WordPress hosting account.
Initially, WooCommerce may look like a cost-effective option as it is an open-source plugin. But, you will need extra features, web hosting ($5-$15 per month), the domain name (around $10 per year), premium themes ($59 one-time), plugin, and custom coding, which will add up to the cost. So, it may cost you more than Shopify.
Shopify is straightforward in price. But, WooCommerce is flexible, and you can choose your own hosting.
Winner: Draw - Shopify and WooCommerce have multiple price packages. So, it is up to your cost preferences. Hence, there is no clear winner here.
5) Integrations and Add-ons
● Shopify
Third-party tools like email marketing software, analytics tools, etc are crucial to growing your eCommerce platform. Shopify comes with a powerful API and an App Store that allows you to buy third-party add-ons for your Shopify store.
Shopify has many apps in the store offering several features you can add to your store. For instance, Shopify has integrations with OptionMonster that will allow you to grow your email list and reduce cart abandonment. It even has apps for SEO, product reviews, discounts, and more.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin built on WordPress. Hence, it gives you access to around 55,000 free WordPress plugins and many other paid plugins.
You can leverage these add-ons to add payment gateways, lead generation, SEO, or any other feature you need. WooCommerce offers a lot more integrations and add-ons than Shopify. Most third-party tools and service providers have plugins to integrate with your WooCommerce store.
Moreover, you can hire a developer to create an integration or plugin for your website. It is pretty straightforward to customize WooCommerce than Shopify, whereas customization is tedious on Shopify.
Winner - WooCommerce: You can customize your website with Woocomerce effortlessly as you can integrate third-party tools, unlike Shopify. So, Woocommerce leads the game here.
6) Dropshipping
● Shopify
When you build a website for your dropshipping business, the front-end is similar to any online store. Your customers can browse the products, add them to a cart, make payments like any other eCommerce store. You can place the customer’s order for shipping, depending on your vendors.
Shopify offers several integration apps for various dropshipping marketplaces like AliExpress, Oberlo, Printify, and more. However, each of these product marketplaces has its membership and shipping charges. You have to consider all charges before building your dropshipping website with Shopify.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce allows you to install extensions that help you fulfill your order precisely. You can find many extensions that help you import products instantly, fulfill orders from your website, and more.
With WooCommerce, you can create your dropshipping website, allowing other vendors to sell on your website. Thus, WooCommerce is quite popular among dropshipping businesses.
However, your supplier and vendor may have minimum order requirements, membership fees, and other charges. Consider all charges before adding products to your WooCommerce dropshipping store.
Winner - WooCommerce: As WooCommerce comes with several extensions for importing products and fulfilling orders, it works wonders for dropshipping. So, WooCommerce wins here.
7) Scalability
● Shopify
Shopify manages all technical aspects of your online store, allowing you not to worry about performance, security, and scalability. As your business starts growing, you can upgrade your Shopify plans, depending on your needs.
Its robust infrastructure allows you to handle your growing business without worrying about downtimes, backups, updates, or security. It also offers enterprise services as part of the Shopify Plus plan. Though it is highly beneficial, you need to take care of your expenses.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a self-hosted platform, and hence you have to handle maintenance, backups, and security of your website. Your starter WooCommerce hosting plan will run out of resources once your store starts getting more traffic.
However, you have many options to manage growth as you can take charge of your website. You can manage your resources better with caching to upgrade your hosting plan to more powerful servers.
Of course, your WooCommerce hosting costs will increase. But, you will have better control of resources. You need not pay for things your business doesn't need. It is advisable to use a managed WordPress hosting provider like WP Engine or LiquidWeb to scale your WooCommerce store.
Winner - Shopify: Since Shopify has a robust infrastructure, it can handle any load even as you grow your business. So, our vote goes for Shopify here.
8) Support
● Shopify
As a fully hosted platform, Shopify has control over its server. Thus, you can find solutions for any problems you may face with Shopify. It provides 24/7 support through live chat, phone, email, etc.
Users can fix things by themselves by utilizing the extensive documentation, how-to guides, video tutorials, and forums of Shopify. It also has a directory of Shopify Experts that you can hire if you need some additional support or in case of third-party integration.
● WooCommerce
WooCommerce also has extensive documentation, tutorials, and guides that will help you solve issues. The platform also has support forums where you can get help from other WooCommerce users and experts.
Since WooCommerce is a self-hosted platform, you need to rely on your hosting provider’s support for server issues. However, you can approach the WooCommerce team for support regarding themes and extensions. Plus, you can find developers to fix problems with your WooCommerce store immediately.
Winner - Shopify: Shopify offers 24/7 support. You can reach the team in case of any problem. So, Shopify is the winner here.
Final Thoughts
Shopify and WooCommerce are two popular eCommerce platforms today, offering multiple features and functionalities. We don’t want to name one platform as the best as they have their set of advantages and disadvantages.
We have cleared the air by listing out their several features and even compared them for you. You can use this blog as a handy guide and refer to them quickly in case of any doubts regarding the eCommerce platforms, Shopify and WooCommerce.
However, always consider your business needs, preferred payment methods, and your customers before choosing the eCommerce platform for your brand. So, there is no right platform; it is all about the most suitable platform for your business. And, of course, only you can decide on that.
If you feel overwhelmed to build an eCommerce store all by yourself, you can hire a reputed eCommerce website development company. No worries. You are already at the right place. Cypherox Technologies is a top-notch eCommerce website development company that has uplifted the online presence of many businesses by delivering a robust eCommerce store. Feel free to reach us for further queries and concerns.
