W hat is the best for your store, WooCommerce or Shopify? What features and themes do they have? What platform is easier to handle? Which is cheaper: WooCommerce or Shopify? There are so many questions to ask when choosing between these two platforms. Here is the complete guide.
There are many platforms that offer online store builders, you may end up bumping into two of the top leaders in the e-commerce market today, Shopify and WooCommerce. These two have reached the top according to users’ rating and are in a long-term battle
So, you’re ready to launch your online store and looking for the right platform for your business.
Both of these e-commerce platforms are designed for users to have their own online store without the involvement of a design and development team.
What's the difference between WooCommerce and Shopify?
Shopify is a universal platform. Everything you need to start online sales is there and ready to use. You can create and publish your online store entirely through Shopify and use its handy features and apps. While it’s limited in customization and flexibility, it has everything a beginner needs.
Shopify is a standalone platform.
You can start quickly and have no problem with any hosting sites, etc. You get built-in tools to create, execute and analyze your Facebook and Google campaigns.
A comprehensive dashboard for orders, shipments, and payments. However, Shopify is a cloud-based solution that can limit your flexibility. It can be very difficult to customize Shopify-based stores for specific business needs.
WooCommerce is standalone e-commerce software. You can access the code and customize your store according to your needs, however, you will have to take responsibility for the technical aspects of your store. The main difference between WooCommerce and Shopify is that WooCommerce is free and open-source; it is a WordPress plugin. This means that you will need a hosted site with WordPress installed on it.
If you already know what WordPress is, then it’s a great tool, WooCommerce can be a pretty appealing option for you. However, if you’re still looking for the best way to build your online store, let’s take a closer look at Shopify vs WooCommerce comparison.
What you need to keep in mind when choosing and managing your online store.
When choosing between WooCommerce and Shopify, you should consider some key factors that will affect your online store performance.
Key Factors
- Available and necessary features
- Design and themes
- Customization
- User friendly
- Security
- Support
- SEO options
- Navigation
- Payment gateways
- Add-ons
- Pricing
Themes comparison between WooCommerce and Shopify
Design is an integral part of any online store, that can become the main incentive for the buyer to make a purchase.
Shopify offers 72 themes, 6 of them are free. For the rest, you will have to pay at least USD 160. They are all top-notch in terms of aesthetics, and some of them may allow you to take advantage of modern design features such as video backgrounds and parallax scrolling. Shopify templates are considered to be some of the highest quality e-commerce templates in the market.
You can also create your own templates in Shopify by accessing the theme code. Some themes may not be officially supported by Shopify. Therefore, before making any changes, you need to contact the third-party developer of the template to get help setting up and installing it. Each template has unique variations, so you can customize them the way you want and have many different color options. Plus, they are all mobile-friendly.
For a WooCommerce store, you can use any WordPress theme you like. For example, Storefront is the official open-source theme for WooCommerce. Flexible, simple, and easy to use WordPress theme with simple customizations. And it’s a free, yet reliable template for users. There are also many other premium and affordable themes from the WooCommerce range.
You will need to change the images on your own, create your own menu, select the number of products on the page, font, and color, display the products as a list of titles – and you’re done. If you want an original design, use the deep settings of the premium theme to create the look you want. There are many color and layout customization options available.
Comparison of WooCommerce and Shopify Features
Localization and languages.
Shopify uses the Langify app, which offers multiple languages and currency options for the store and checkout page for USD 17.50 / month or USD 210 / year.
WooCommerce uses the well-recommended WPML plugin to create a complete multilingual solution. It costs USD 79 the first year and USD 59 after that.
Integration with social networks.
Shopify integrates seamlessly with Facebook and Instagram. The Facebook and Pinterest apps in Shopify are free, and the Instagram integration app costs USD 14.95 per month (USD 179.4 per year)
With WooCommerce, you can get free Facebook plugins. You will have to pay for Instagram (USD 29 per year) and the Pinterest plugin (USD 79 per year).
“Wishlists” help drive the sales of repeat customers.
“Wishlist” plugins in WooCommerce are free. They allow your store buyers to create their wishlists and then share them with their followers on social media. Share wishlists can introduce your store to an entirely new customer base.
On Shopify, you can buy the Wishlists app. The price ranges from USD 14.99 to USD 99.99 per month. There is also a free data plan, however, it is limited.
All the necessary plugins that complement your WooCommerce store and make it really effective can be found in the WordPress plugin directory.
Payment options: WooCommerce vs Shopify
Both platforms offer multiple online payment gateways.
When it comes to payment integration, Shopify offers a variety of payment options that you can use to accept payments from your customers. It has a Shopify Payments payment solution (powered by Stripe) that integrates all popular third-party payment gateways: PayPal, Amazon Payments.
Fees. If you receive payment through a third-party payment gateway, Shopify charges an additional 2% fee on each transaction on top of the transaction fee charged by the payment gateway. The price ranges from 2% to 0.5%, depending on your subscription plan. Credit card rates on Shopify start at 2.9% for the basic plan.
WooCommerce’s built-in payment processing allows you to accept payments via Stripe and PayPal by default, and they’re free. You can also integrate plugins to accept credit card payments, direct bank transfer, checks or cash on delivery, Authorize.Net, Amazon Payments, or Braintree. They are not free and will cost you a minimum of USD 79 per year.
Due to its easy access to WooCommerce’s large availability of plugins, you can find tons of WooCommerce payment gateways. It even supports many regional and less popular payment services.
Fees. In WooCommerce, you are only charged a transaction fee by your bank or payment gateway. No transaction fees for your store. If you have a small store, you can use Shopify Payments, which has the same credit card rates as Stripe / PayPal. If choosing a merchant account and using a third-party gateway is critical, you’ll save a lot of money with WooCommerce.
WooCommerce support vs Shopify support
The quality of customer service at Shopify is common knowledge – you get 24/7 access to a customer advisor should you have any problems or questions. You can contact support via open chat, email, or phone.
There is also an extensive knowledge base that as solutions to common user questions and problems.
As far as WooCommerce is concerned, you can get support on the WordPress forums or WooCommerce.com. Also, there are many blogs and forums online dedicated to WooCommerce topics.
You can get third-party support from specialized agencies for an additional fee.
Overall, WooCommerce is great for completely independent people and can resolve issues by themselves, but instead looking for answers online.
SEO WooCommerce vs SEO Shopify: What's the Best
In Shopify, you can edit all SEO settings, from the meta title to 301 redirects. Shopify doesn’t give you complete freedom in which URLs you choose. If you want a blog URL, you need to use a structure like / blog/news/. For pages with normal content, you will need to use the / pages/subfolder in the URL.
To enable advanced snippets in Shopify, you either need to buy an app or dive into your store code. This is the metadata that search engines use to understand the content of your page.
For WooCommerce, you’ll need some digital deep dive again. Or you can add a simple SEO plugin and there are great free options with advanced features. Many WP plugins are available for adding rich snippets, some of them even free.
WooCommerce enables more SEO to compete with others in your niche.
Shopify vs WooCommerce Dropshipping: What's the Difference?
Dropshipping is an online business where a store does not store items in a warehouse. It fulfills orders by purchasing products from third parties and shipping them to customers.
Dropshipping with Shopify. When you create a dropshipping business, your users will be able to view products, add them to their cart, and make payments just like any other online store. Shopify also offers integration apps for some of the popular dropshipping marketplaces like AliExpress, Printify, Oberlo, and more. However, each of these marketplaces has subscription fees, shipping, and other fees.
To enable advanced snippets in Shopify, you either need to buy an app or dive into your store code. This is the metadata that search engines use to understand the content of your page.
For WooCommerce, you’ll need some digital deep dive again. Or you can add a simple SEO plugin and there are great free options with advanced features. Many WP plugins are available for adding rich snippets, some of them even free.
WooCommerce enables more SEO to compete with others in your niche.
WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which is Cheaper?
Shopify has a much more traditional pricing structure. It has a sliding scale of packages that offer users several different functions. Lite for Basic Shopify for USD 29 / month, Shopify for USD 79 / month, and Advanced Shopify for USD 299 / month.
WooCommerce is more flexible. While WooCommerce is free, it comes with additional costs including hosting, domain name, and security.
To run a WooCommerce store, you need a domain name, SSL certificate, and a WordPress hosting account.
Hosting – USD 3.95 / month – USD 47.4 per annum
SSL Certificate – USD 49.00 per year / may be free depending on the provider
Domain – USD 2 to USD 20 per year
Dropshipping with WooCommerce. With WooCommerce, you can install extensions that make order fulfillment easier. You can easily find extensions that will allow you to instantly import products, fulfill orders from your website, and more. You can even create your own e-commerce marketplace so other sellers can sell items on your site. Your supplier may have minimum order requirements, membership fees, and other fees.
While with Shopify you can immediately use your brand new e-commerce store, WooCommerce will require more optimization and proper planning and strategy depending on your business plan and goal.
How long does it take to install WooCommerce and Shopify?
Shopify will let you get your store up and running faster than WooCommerce. With WooCommerce, you will need more time to set up:
- Choose a hosting
- Buy a domain for your store
- Upload to cms WordPress site
If you have limited technical skills or starting from scratch to test, Shopify is the best option.
WooCommerce requires more hands-on skills to set it up. If you’re willing to spend more time with more technical control, WooCommerce is worth a try.
The WooCommerce Setup Wizard can help you with the basics, but it doesn’t answer more complex questions, As their model is assumed that you have a higher level of technical knowledge.
If you’re starting out selling online, Shopify sets up faster. Despite its limited scalability and functionality, it is fast and easy. If you already have a WordPress site or want to write the code yourself, give WooCommerce a try.
What is better WooCommerce or Shopify?
It depends on your expectations and goals, location of your business, and your level of technical expertise. Both WooCommerce and Shopify have many pros and cons that are relevant to you only. If you have basic technical knowledge and are familiar with WordPress and want to put more personal effort into your site, then WooCommerce is definitely your best bet. If you want to work and test if you actually like it, with limited functionality, then Shopify is better for you.
What's the difference between Shopify and WooCommerce?
Shopify is a cloud e-commerce service. WooCommerce is a WP plugin that installs on top of a WordPress website. Shopify has everything you need to start selling online, ready to go. Although it is limited in customization and flexibility, it is good for beginners. You start quickly and have no problem with any hosting platforms, etc. however keep in mind, the moment you stop your subscription in Shopify, your store will be gone.
WooCommerce is an open source standalone e-commerce software, it is a WordPress plugin. You can access the code and customize your store to suit your needs, but you must take responsibility for the technical aspects of your store, including the hosted website with WordPress installed on it.
If you already know what WordPress is, then great, WooCommerce can be a pretty appealing option for you.
Summary
Shopify is for you if you want a comprehensive all in one easy solution. This platform contains all the e-commerce features you need to quickly start, run and grow your business. You can create and publish your online store entirely through Shopify and use its handy features and apps. While Shopify takes a back seat in customization and SEO, it boasts 24/7 support that regular WP doesn’t offer.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin. So, you need a WordPress site. You can install the WooCommerce plugin for free, and in a few clicks you will have an online store ready to go. Its design includes a presentation ecosystem that allows you to take advantage of powerful additional features like sticky cart, pricing tables, or top product reviews. WooCommerce is free but may require additional costs including hosting, domain name, and security.
Shopify is not a content management system and is optimized for selling products only. If you want to add a lot of rich content to your site like videos, carousels, and more, along with the stuff you want to sell, then consider WordPress.
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