If you're new to the world of e-commerce, you'll have to make a lot of important decisions during the process of setting up and running your store. These choices could have a significant impact on your store's success. One of the most vital decisions, in the beginning, would be to choose an e-commerce platform.
While most new online store owners prefer to hire an ecommerce development agency to build their store, these two simple
eCommerce platforms virtually eliminate the need to write a single line of
code. These platforms make all aspects of e-commerce easier to manage, from
product listing to inventory management, shopping carts to payment collection.
WooCommerce and Shopify are two of the most widely used e-commerce
platforms today. As a result, they're a popular choice for most new online
stores. However, knowing that these platforms are trendy makes it easier to
choose one over the other, especially if you are new to e-commerce.
We compared both of these platforms based on various factors such as
features, design, ease of use, payment options, fees, and more. By the end of
this write up, you'll have a good idea of what's best for your e-commerce
store.
Let's take a quick look
at what WooCommerce and Shopify are before we compare them.
What is WooCommerce?
To comprehend WooCommerce, you must first understand WordPress. It is
one of the most popular Content Management System, with an estimated 29 percent
of all websites on the internet using it. However, while WordPress makes
creating a website extremely simple, it was never designed with e-commerce
stores in mind.
Although you can use WordPress to create an online store, it is
primarily a platform for creating websites and sharing content. WooCommerce
enters the picture at this point. It's a WordPress plugin that adds e-commerce
functionality to a WordPress site. WooCommerce allows you to add features like
inventory management, product pages, shopping carts, payment, and shipping to
your WordPress website.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a one-stop-shop for creating online stores. It enables you
to create an online store from the ground up, even if you have no prior coding
experience. With Shopify, you can sell various products, including physical
goods, digital downloads, drop-shipping, and even services.
Furthermore, through its POS devices, your Shopify store can be
integrated with a physical store. Shopify is a great option if this is your
first time creating an online store and you're looking for a simple all-in-one
e-commerce platform. You can also hire a reputable Shopify web development company to
build your online store exactly how you want it.
Let us now compare
these platforms to help you decide-
Features
Due to its open-source design, WooCommerce is well-known for its
flexibility. You can download a variety of custom plugins, themes, and other
items created by developers from around the world. With Shopify, you don't get
nearly as many options. It also comes with many valuable features, including
built-in blogging, one-click refunds, and more.
However, due to its open-source nature, WooCommerce is slightly more
technical than Shopify. To create a world-class store with WooCommerce, you'll
need to invest a significant amount of time and money. On the other hand,
Shopify comes with built-in features like unlimited products, cart abandonment
recovery, 100+ payment options, discount codes, and more.
Several Shopify's free features are also available at a cost in the
WooCommerce plugin store. While WooCommerce's customization and flexibility are
admirable, Shopify has more built-in features and, more importantly, doesn't
require any technical knowledge.
Themes
and Design
You'd undoubtedly want your online store to be visually appealing. As
previously stated, WooCommerce is an open-source platform for which thousands
of free and paid themes are available. You can create a WooCommerce theme from
scratch. You can purchase any child theme for $39 and add extension bundles
starting at $69.
Shopify has its theme store, with over 60 paid and free themes to choose
from. The themes are more polished and professional because it is a one-stop
e-commerce platform. In Shopify, you can also create themes from scratch for your online store. Premium themes start
at $140 and go up from there. While this may appear to be an expensive
investment if you are on a tight budget, consider it a one-time investment that
will help you generate more revenue in the long run. Shopify offers different pricing plans for your online store. You can choose the
best according to your store needs.
So, compared to Shopify, WooCommerce offers far more options in themes
and design, including DIY themes. Shopify, on the other hand, has more polished
products that are fully compatible with its platform.
Ease
of Use
WooCommerce and Shopify are both extremely user-friendly, which is one
of the main reasons for their popularity. Everything is primarily simple and
convenient, from setting up your account to managing your store's day-to-day
operations. However, because WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, you'll need to
take a few extra steps before you can use it.
You must first purchase a domain name, sign up for hosting, and
install WordPress before installing the WooCommerce plugin and using it. For
getting things streamlines, people would have to rely on WooCommerce experts.
Shopify, on the other hand, is much easier to use because it is a
subscription-based platform. All you have to do is go to Shopify.com, create an
account, and start using it.
Payment
Options and Fees
You will, of course, need to provide a payment option for your
customers for them to pay for their purchases. You can choose from over 100
payment options on both platforms. PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Credit Cards, and
Debit Cards are some of the most popular options. The transaction fee will be
determined by the gateway you choose.
With Shopify's basic plan, for example, there is a 2% fee on
third-party gateways. By purchasing a more expensive plan, the transaction fee
can be reduced. You can use Shopify's payment gateway, which doesn't charge any
transaction fees. However, this is only available to merchants in the United
States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
WooCommerce has a significant advantage here because there are no
transaction fees. While your payment provider and the bank will still charge
you, WooCommerce does not charge a transaction fee. So, if you think your
online store will sell many products, WooCommerce will be a less expensive
option.
When it comes to the costs of using these platforms, Shopify offers
fixed monthly fees starting at $29 per month. WooCommerce is a free wordpress
plugin, but you will need to pay for a domain, hosting, and any additional
features your store may require, such as an SSL certificate and extensions.
Shopify provides all essential features, such as a free domain, hosting, and
SSL certificate.
Customer
Support
If you run an online business, you should have easy access to
professionals who can assist you with your problems. Both WooCommerce and Shopify
provide customer support in a variety of ways. To help you find answers to
questions, the WooCommerce website has a variety of tutorials, guides, FAQs,
documentation, and more.
There are also support forums available where you can get answers from
other WooCommerce users and experts. However, please remember that support is
limited to the WooCommerce plugin and does not cover issues with WordPress,
hosting, or any custom theme or extension you may have purchased. On the other
hand, Shopify provides support via phone, email, and live chat 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
They also have an extensive knowledge base, tutorials, forums, guides,
and more on their website. Because Shopify hosts your online store and themes
and extensions can only be purchased through their official website, they
support anything and everything related to your store.
SEO
After you've created your online store, you'll need to work on SEO so
that more customers can find it through search engines. Because WooCommerce is
an open-source platform, you have more flexibility in changing meta
descriptions, page titles, and other elements to improve search engine
rankings. You also have access to a number of WordPress SEO plugins, such as
Yoast.
Even Shopify's App Store has some excellent free and paid SEO tools.
Shopify stores are also known to be faster because they use dedicated servers.
The speed of your WooCommerce store is determined by the hosting service you
choose. Google is known for rewarding websites that load faster with a higher
ranking.
Conclusion
As you can see, WooCommerce and Shopify each have their own set of
advantages and disadvantages. As a result, the comparison isn't really about
which platform is the best. It's all about what works best for you and your
online store. The best option is to try to use both platforms. Shopify offers a
30-day money-back guarantee, while WooCommerce provides a free trial.
So, try out the platforms for yourself to better understand what works
best for you. Additionally, while you can create an online store using either
platform, you will be in safer hands with Shopify Plus Development Company.
This will ensure that you always have professional developers to rely on for
your online store's success.