Shopify is currently the top eCommerce platform in the entire world and WooCommerce is the fastest-growing, according to Builtwith.com.
Choosing the right eCommerce platform is one of the most important decisions an online business owner will make.
WooCommerce vs. Shopify Which platform reigns as the champion?
We've done some research and looked into what each of these platforms has going for them.
Keep reading to find out who comes out on top. And if you need any help getting your platform set up, designed, optimized or marketed, give us a shout at Appscrip.
Now let's start the showdown...Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce platform which allows you to start, grow and manage your online eCommerce store.
Shopify is completely cloud-based and hosted meaning there is never a worry about the technical aspects of managing a website with web hosting security and caching.
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin built for WordPress. Since it's open-source there is the freedom to customize every aspect of the store and build custom extensions pretty easily.
WooCommerce vs. Shopify pricing
Cost is one of the most important factors to consider no matter what stage of the game you're in but especially as a new business owner.
Setup costs are not the only expenses to keep in mind. You also need to account for variable costs that arise as well.
Shopify has set pricing - Their basic plan starts at $29 a month. This plan gives you all the basics of starting a new business.
They do offer upgraded plans which come with advanced features for scaling your business at $79 a month and 299 dollars a month.
All these features however are tied to each plan. Each plan also includes a domain name, an SSL certificate and web posting.
If there are additional third-party add-ons which at some point you will need but these costs need to be kept in mind.
Since WooCommerce is open-source it is a freely available WordPress plug-in.
However, you will need extensions and add-ons to set up your store. One advantage is that you can often find free alternatives to paid extensions.
Either way, going the WooCommerce route you will encounter other costs for a domain name SSL certificate and a WordPress hosting account.
Your hosting costs will also increase as your online store grows outside of these general setup costs other costs to factor include payment processing costs
But Shopify and WooCommerce offer hundreds of options that are either built-in or integrated with their platforms.
Shopify makes it very easy to accept and manage payments. Their terms, however, are not the most pleasing.
Shopify offers its own payment solution powered by stripe called Shopify payments
Shopify's basic plan charges a 2.9% transaction fee plus 30 cents per transaction this is on top of the payment gateway costs if it is preferred to use a third-party payment gateway
An additional 2% flat fee is charged on all transactions this percentage decreases as you upgrade your plans for Shopify But these third-party transaction fees are pretty steep
WooCommerce on the flip side has no transaction fees of their own which is quite the perk. The only fee is charged by those by the payment gateways or banks.
Another benefit is that any company can create an add-on for WooCommerce which is then available to anyone and most merchants, You can even develop your own add-on and customize it however needed
WooCommerce vs. Shopify Usability
When it comes to usability Shopify and WooCommerce are very different Shopify is pretty quick e asy and intuitive to understand and set up at least with a basic theme and framework.
You create an account login add your products and can pretty much be on your way in a few hours as most of their key features are built-in
Shopify is fully hosted so there is no need to install manage or update software you also don't have to worry about security performance backups nor compatibility
WooCommerce on the other hand is way more hands-on time consuming to set up and requires more technical knowledge and control.
This, however, does come with a lot more customization possibilities across your entire site
If you're familiar with using WordPress you definitely have an advantage here since Woocommerce is self-hosted it does require more maintenance to manage updates keep backups and ensure your site is secure
There are plenty of free and paid plugins that can automate most of these tasks for you.
Though as far as add-ons there will always be a need for third-party tools regardless of which eCommerce platform you go with analytics tools, email tools tracking tools the list goes on
Shopify comes with an app store which offers hundreds of apps for every feature you can think of to add to your store there are a mix of free and paid options
WooCommerce offers more than 50,000 free WordPress plugins which are built specifically for WordPress sites these cover any and all features imaginable from SEO to performance optimizations this list doesn't end
With WooCommerce you can even hire a developer to create your own add-on for your site, their customization options really are limitless and allow you to build outside the box
WooCommerce vs. Shopify support
Shopify is fully hosted so they control their software and they know their platform best they go above and beyond with their support lines whether it be over the phone live chat or email
They even have quite the library of helpful guides along with the community forum and set wizard merchants are never left on their own to troubleshoot or resolve issues that arise someone is available 24/7 and information is very easily accessible
WooCommerce takes more of the DIY approach with help sections WordPress related forums along with the WooCommerce community.
I f you consider yourself technical you shouldn't have any issues with their support as it is more suitable for people who don't need trained advisors there is super helpful information out there you just have to look for it
So all in all who reigns SupremeWell it really boils down to your store's needs if you're starting out and need the basics to help you grow Shopify is the way to go
If you're well established growing quickly or have the development resources or knowledge to customize your site and stay on top of maintenance and security then WooCommerce is for you
WooCommerce offers the freedom of open source while Shopify provides the resources to quickly and easily get you up running and growing
if you're still unsure or need further insights, get in touch we're here to help you figure out what is best for you and your business needs whether you're just getting started or are ready for that next step
Thanks for reading this article if you have any questions let us know and don't forget to subscribe to our blog for more such updates.
