With the global ecommerce sales reaching a staggering figure of $5.2 Trillion, there has never been a better time to launch an online store. However, with so many ecommerce platforms available it can become challenging for business to select the best one.
In this blog we will compare two giants WooCommerce and Shopify to determine which is the best ecommerce platforms specifically for start-ups!
WooCommerce Vs. Shopify – How are they different from one another?
Before we kick-off our comparison between the two ecommerce giants. We will start by covering the basics of these platforms to highlights the key features that makes these platforms stand-out from the rest.
Shopify: It is an all-inclusive eCommerce solution that makes building an online store easy for you by providing a payment gateway and managing inventory effectively and efficiently. With this highly-versatile platform, there is no need to fret over the technical aspects of managing the website such as security, web hosting, and more.
Image From Multilingual Press By AMERA P. SAFIRA
WooCommerce: it is an Open-source eCommerce plugin that is specifically designed for WordPress. It helps you benefit your business with a robust content management system that can be used for running an online store impeccably. As you all know, WordPress is counted among one of the well-renowned website builders powering forty-three percent of websites.
What Do Customers Look For In An E-commerce Platform?
A few things need to be considered when starting to build an eCommerce store. The below-mentioned factors will help you decide which platform is well-suited for your needs and requirements.
Comparison of Cost – WooCommerce Vs Shopify
Cost is one of the most essential considerations when it comes to eCommerce website owners. You need to evaluate the overall cost of starting an online store and keep in mind the costs for add-on software and services.
Involvement of cost in Shopify: Shopify makes it exceedingly easy for you to start an online store. The basic plan commences from $17 per month, you can upgrade it to the Shopify plan for $44, or an advanced plan for $266 a year. Each of these plans is inclusive of an SSL certificate and associated web hosting. It also comes with a branded subdomain of Shopify. However, if you want to use a domain name of your own, then a separate purchase needs to be made.
Image From Shopify
Involvement of cost in WooCommerce: It’s a self-hosted platform that is available as a free plugin. However, a domain name, SSL certificate, and a WordPress hosting account are required to initiate the process of building a WooCommerce store.
Ease of Use – WooCommerce vs Shopify
Shopify: It’s a fully-hosted platform which means you does not have to install, update, or manage the software every now and then. Neither do you have to worry about security, maintenance, and compatibility issues? As soon as you sign up for the Shopify account, you can choose a wide range of designs that are available on the Shopify themes. After that, you can customize and add products the way you want. With the availability of an intuitive drop-and-drag interface, you can manage all the inventory and pages instantaneously. Whereas, sometimes user experience limits the control of visitors. You can only use the design and development tools that are available on their marketplace.
Image From LitExtension
WooCommerce: Unlike Shopify, it is not a hosted platform. This means a WooCommerce plugin needs to be installed, updated, and secured. A wide range of free and paid plugins are available. When it comes to customizations, it is exceedingly flexible. You have full control of the entire platform. The biggest drawback of this platform is that it comes with a learning curve that requires hands-on experience.
Payment Method – WooCommerce vs Shopify
Shopify: Shopify offers various payment options that can be used by customers during checkout. It has its own payment solutions which are known as Shopify payments. However, Shopify offers an extra fee of 2 % on every transaction that customers make through third-party gateways. The fee can be reduced to 0.5 % if you pay for an Advanced Shopify plan every month. No other transaction fee except the credit card fee is accepted by Shopify. Here’s a quick guide on how you can set-up Shopify Payment for your online store.
WooCommerce: By default, WooCommerce offers Paypal and other associated stripe payments. Additionally, it supports other payment service providers like Amazon pay and Ali pay to provide win-win solution for online store.
Image From Store Pro By Lyn Wildwood
Adds on and Integrations – WooCommerce vs Shopify
Adds on and integrations of Shopify: Shopify always comes with a powerful API ( Application programming interface ) and store from where you can purchase third-party add-ons for your Shopify store. With hundreds and hundreds of applications in the Store, every feature can be covered that you would want to add to your store.
Image From Shopify
Adds on and integrations of WooCommerce: It’s an open-source platform that gives access to more than 59,000 plugins. These add-ons can be used for payment gateways, performance optimization, lead generation, and virtually any feature you can think of. Here’s a video from WPBeginner showcasing the top 17 WooCommerce Plug-ins for your online store.
Dropshipping – Shopify vs WooCommerce
Dropshipping with Shopify: Whenever it comes to building a dropshipping business, the front part of your website looks like any other online store. It becomes easy for your users to browse the products, add them to the cart, and make payments just like any other eCommerce store does. Here’s how Shopify dropshipping works:
Dropshipping with WooCommerce: It is one of the popular choices among many businesses. The flexible dropshipping plugins for your eCommerce store make the entire process easy to set up. Watch this video to know about some of the best Woocommerce plugins for your online store.
Scalability and Growth: Shopify vs WooCommerce
Scalability on Shopify: Shopify handles all the technical aspects of your store which means there is no need to worry about performance, scalability, or security. When you think your eCommerce business is growing you can simply upgrade your Shopify plan.
Scalability on Woocommerce: It holds you responsible for maintaining updates, security, and backups of your website.
Bottom Line – Which Is The Best eCommerce Platform For Your Business?
Both Shopify and Woocommerce provide the best eCommerce development solutions to your business but if you are looking for a highly effective yet budget-friendly option then WooCommerce is the optimum platform for you. On the other hand, if you want to run your online business in a hassle-free manner with infinite scalability, then go for Shopify.
However, we are well aware of the fact that selecting the right eCommerce platform for online business can be a daunting task. Hence, we recommend to consult a professional eCommerce development company for further guidance. They can help analyse your business requirements, aims and propose the eCommerce platform that best fits your business requirements
FAQs
1. Shopify vs WooCommerce – Which one is more popular?
WooCommerce is the best and most popular E-commerce platform that runs on top of WordPress.
2. Can I use Shopify with WordPress?
Shopify lite can be used with WordPress by simply installing the buy now button of Shopify. This implementation takes the users to the Shopify cart so that they can complete the checkout.
3. Should I move from WooCommerce to Shopify?
If we pay the utmost attention to creating a fully-functional store, then Shopify is the winner. But with WooCommerce, you might need to build a website if you do not already have one.