Introduction
Online shopping is the new way of shopping in today’s world. With the invention of internet, people can order any product they want from any part of the world at the click of few buttons. Equally easy it has become to sell your products to customers located in faraway towns, cities and even to other nations by setting up an online store for your business.
However, choosing the right eCommerce platform is critical to creating a successful online business that survives the ever-evolving market needs and continues to grow with time.
WooCommerce and Shopify are two of the most popular options available in the market for the creation of online ecommerce platforms. Both platforms have their pros and cons, and the best choice will depend on your specific business requirements.
We have compared both platforms on various parameters to help you make an informed decision for setting up a successful online business.
What is WooCommerce and Shopify?
WooCommerce: WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. It is designed to help small to large-sized merchants to build and manage their ecommerce business stores.
It offers extensive customization options through codes, plugins, extensions etc and has a global developer support problems to solve your problems quickly and efficiently.
Shopify: Shopify is a user-friendly ecommerce platform that enables businesses to create and manage online stores from ground. It provides end-to-end support from starting to managing your online business store.
Shopify provide a host of tools for selling products and services online, with features like secure checkout, shipping automation, and integration with various sales channels. The easy-to-use interface has made it one of the most popular ecommerce platforms globally.
Parameters for comparing WooCommerce vs Shopify
A. Ease of Use
WooCommerce – WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, which means you need to have a WordPress site to use this ecommerce store platform. If you are already familiar with WordPress features, you will find WooCommerce quite useful for starting your online business. However, setting up WooCommerce can turn out to be a little bit more technical, especially if you are new to WordPress. You will have to handle different business things like hosting, security, data backups and other similar things yourself. There are vast number of plugins, extensions and add-ons to support your WooCommerce store.
Shopify – Shopify, on the other hand, is a fully hosted platform. This means everything is taken care of for you by the platform, right from hosting to security to backup of your data. The setup process is easy to understand, and you can have your store up and running in a few minutes. Shopify’s user interface is simple and user-friendly, making it ideal for beginners without technical knowlegde.
B. Cost
WooCommerce – WooCommerce is free to start but there are costs associated with running a WooCommerce store. You will have to pay for hosting, domain name, and any additional plugins or themes you might want for your business needs. These expenses can increase your overall business cost, but they also offer flexibility in choosing the combination of services.
Shopify – Shopify has a simple pricing structure with different plans starting from $29 per month. This includes hosting, SSL certificates, and other essential features. However, there are additional costs if you want to add premium themes and apps to your online store. Shopify also charges transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments.
C. Customization
WooCommerce – Being an open-source platform, WooCommerce will provide extensive customization options. You have complete control over the design and functionality of your store. There are hundreds of plugins and themes available, allowing you to tailor your store to suit your exact business needs. However, for good customization, you will need technical knowledge.
Shopify – Shopify also offers a wide range of customization options, but not as diverse as WooCommerce. You can choose from a variety of available themes and apps to enhance your store for a better user experience. Shopify’s drag-and-drop builder will make it easy for you to customize your store without any website coding knowledge. However, if you are looking for advanced customizations, you might need to hire a developer for your store.
D. Performance
WooCommerce – Performance will be dependent on your hosting provider. WooCommerce can handle large traffic and transaction flow with the right hosting provider like HostGator or Bluehost. However, you will need to optimize your site for speed and performance, which can be a bit challenging if you do not have sound technical knowledge.
Read our guide on the 5 Best WooCommerce Hosting Providers.
Shopify – Shopify is a fully hosted solution and thus offers a better performance experience to the business owner. Shopify takes care of all the technical aspects of your business, ensuring a smooth run without technical snags even during high-traffic periods. This makes it a reliable choice for businesses expecting a significant traffic inflow.
E. Security
WooCommerce – Security is your responsibility with WooCommerce. Considering the rising cyber-attacks, you will need to ensure your hosting provider offers robust security features. Additionally, you will need to manage SSL certificates, backups, and security updates. There are plugins available to help with the security of your store. However, with WooCommerce it is your responsibility to stay up to date with the security upgrades of your website.
Shopify – Shopify will take away the hassle of handling the security of your website on your own. Shopify provides SSL certificates in all plans and ensures PCI compliance, which is crucial for processing secure payments. Shopify will also take care of updates and backups for your business, making it the go-to platform for secure business setup.
F. Support
WooCommerce – Support for WooCommerce comes from the WordPress community and various third-party developers. There are several technical forums, tutorials, and documents available to help with your technical and general support requirements.
However, there is no in general dedicated support team for your store unless you have purchased a premium theme or plugin that includes a support feature.
Shopify – Shopify offers 24/7 customer support through phone call, email, and live chat support. They also have a lot of support documents, guides and tutorials available on their platform to resolve the customer queries.
This is a significant advantage for new business owners requiring assistance during the initial days of setting up an online business. Additionally, Shopify also has community forums for discussion on various issues. However, you will not be provided any support by Shopify in respect of third-party apps integrated on your Shopify webstore.
G. SEO
WooCommerce – Since WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, it benefits from WordPress’s strong SEO features. You can use various SEO plugins like Yoast SEO to optimize your store to rank higher on search engine results. This will also give you a lot of control over your SEO settings.
Shopify – Shopify also offers good SEO features but is not as flexible as WooCommerce. You can edit meta tags, add alt text to images, and create SEO-friendly URLs. However, some advanced SEO features will need buying additional apps which will increase your overall costs of running the online store on Shopify.
H. Payment gateway
WooCommerce – On WooCommerce, you do not have to pay any additional fee over and above the transaction fee levied by payment gateways. Also, you have the flexibility to link your webstore to various third-party platforms. For instance, the transaction fees for WooPayments for credit and debit cards issued is USA is generally 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Popular payment gateways used for WooCommerce users are PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.net. You can also make use of WooPayments which support multi-currency payments allowing you to accept orders globally.
Shopify – Shopify also offers good SEO features but is not as flexible as WooCommerce. You can edit meta tags, add alt text to images, and create SEO-friendly URLs. However, some advanced SEO features will need buying additional apps which will increase your overall costs of running the online store on Shopify.
I. Dropshipping
WooCommerce – WooCommerce supports dropshipping through various plugins like AliDropship and WooDropship. These plugins integrate seamlessly with the WooCommerce store. The SEO capabilities and its integration with WordPress allows you to grow and run your dropshipping business successfully.
Shopify – Shopify is known for its dropshipping capabilities. The user-friendly interface of Shopify will make it easy for you to manage a dropshipping business. It integrates with popular dropshipping apps like Oberlo and Spocket, making it easy to find and sell products without holding inventory. The Shopify dropshipping store appears similar to a regular ecommerce webstore to the user visiting the website.
J. Scalability
WooCommerce – WooCommerce is more user friendly when it comes to scalability. You can add unlimited number of products and record order and track the growth of each individual product. If you select the best web hosting provider, a good domain name and customize your platform for SEO optimization, you e-commerce can grow exponentially. If you go for WooCommerce Enterprise, you also get a Custom Success Manager.
Shopify – With Shopify, as your online business requirements grow, you can scale your server requirements to suit the growing demand. This is helpful if you want a hassle-free focus on business and not looking after the technical aspects of your online store. The scalability, security, backup of growing database and the performance of the store is entirely looked after by Shopify. However, with Shopify, you lose the control over the backend infrastructure support of your webstore. While it has lots of scalability options, it will put significant burden on your business profits.
WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Quick Comparison
| Comparison | Shopify | WooCommerce |
| Pricing | The cost of using Shopify also depends on the pricing plan you choose. The basic plan starts at $29 per year. Plus, it includes more expensive apps. | It’s free to install. The cost of using WooCommerce will depend on the hosting and domain registration fees you pay to your web hosting provider. It becomes even cheaper if you already have a WordPress site for your store. |
| Usage | Can be used by beginners easily. | Requires some technical expertise. |
| Quality & Performance | Shopify may be a better choice if you’re looking for a fully-managed platform with consistent performance and scalability. | WooCommerce may be a better choice if you’re comfortable with server management and want to take advantage of the performance optimizations available through the WordPress ecosystem. |
| Security | Shopify is limited to built-in security features. | With WooCommerce, you can take advantage of the security plugins and extensions. |
| Payment Methods & Transaction Fees | Includes a wide range of built-in payment gateways and easy integration with third-party payment gateways. 2% transaction fees for third-party payment gateways. | Zero transaction fees. It also includes a large library of payment gateways, including many regional and niche payment options. |
| Add-ons | Shopify’s app store may offer more curated options and easier integration with Shopify Payments. | WooCommerce’s marketplace may offer more flexibility and customization options |
| Subscriptions | Limited to built-in subscription capabilities. | You can make use of the WooCommerce Subscriptions extension plus other plugins in the WordPress Ecosystem. |
| Customization | A large app store and easy-to-use customization options. | WooCommerce stands out here with its many themes, templates, and plugins to customize your online store. |
| SEO Compatibility | Limited to built-in SEO features | You can implement your own SEO strategy and use many plugins and tools in addition to built-in features. |
| Support Options | 24/7 support and a dedicated help center | Community support and the many resources available through the WordPress ecosystem. |
| Customer Relations Management | Built-in CRM system. | You can use third-party CRM systems or implement your own CRM strategy using the many CRM plugins and tools available through the WordPress ecosystem. |
| Reports | Easy-to-use reporting options. | Using WordPress and its many reporting plugins to customize and enhance your reporting capabilities. |
| Which one will you choose? | Shopify | WooCommerce |
Conclusion
Both WooCommerce and Shopify are excellent eCommerce platforms, but each platform caters to a different set of business needs with varied features.
Shopify is perfect for those who want an all-in-one easy-to-use solution. This platform is user-friendly, reliable, and offers excellent customer support due to its large customer base. Shopify takes care of the technical aspects of your store, allowing you to invest your time in running and growing your business.
On the other hand, WooCommerce can be ideal for users wanting complete control over their ecommerce store and do not mind handling the technical complexity related to the management of their ecommerce store. This also allows you protection against predatory practices of SaaS platforms. The ability to customize your store according to your choice, making it suitable for businesses with dynamic business requirements and move it across hosting service provider with ease.
Planning to start your online business with WooCommerce or shifting it from Shopify to WooCommerce and have unanswered questions, let our expert WooCommerce development team guide you.
Also Read: WooCommerce vs Magento: A Comprehensive Comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
A. Which platform is cheaper between WooCommerce and Shopify?
• WooCommerce can be cheaper initially since it is free to start. However, costs will increase once you start adding the cost of hosting, themes, plugins, and other features. Shopify has a clear pricing structure, but additional apps and themes can cause increased outflow in Shopify as well.
B. Which platform is better for SEO website?
• WooCommerce offers more flexibility with SEO due to its ease of integration with WordPress.
• Shopify also has good SEO features but is less flexible compared to WooCommerce.
C. Which platform is more popular amongst users?
• As per BuiltWith, amongst the top 1 million websites globally, Shopify has a share of 24% and WooCommerce has a share of 14%.
• Shopify Plus holds another 6% of the market share amongst the 1 million sites.
D. Can I switch from WooCommerce to Shopify or vice versa?
• Yes, you can switch platforms. However, switching the platform includes migration of your data from one platform to another which can be challenging and may cause loss of data in transition. There are tools and services available in the market to help with the migration process.
E. Do I need technical knowledge to use WooCommerce and Shopify?
• WooCommerce requires some technical knowledge, especially for setup and maintenance.
• Shopify is designed for users without technical skills, making it easier to use for a small or new business setup.
F. Which platform is better for large businesses?
• Both platforms can handle large businesses, but Shopify’s hosting solutions and excellent performance may make it a more reliable choice for high-traffic business ecommerce stores. WooCommerce can also manage large stores with the right hosting and optimization.
