Shopify Vs Woocommerce? Both are amazing Ecommerce Platforms that can help you set up a good online store. And the cherry on top? They’re both easy to use and navigate.
Now you must have a lot of questions running through your mind. Which Platform is better suited to my needs? What’s the package, the pricing, the features? There are so many factors that need to be taken into consideration before you decide which Platform will be ideal for your specific needs. Hopefully all of your questions will be cleared because we’re going to break down all of these factors step by step to help you make a final decision and clear up all of your confusions. So without any further ado, let’s get into it.
Before we jump in, let’s explore the strengths and weaknesses of each of these Platforms to give you an idea of what you’ll be working with.
lets compare Shopify Vs Woocommerce
Shopify Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Beautiful and eye catchy themes to let your online store shine.
- Doesn’t take much time to set up your online store.
- The Dropshipping feature makes the entire experience smooth and easy.
- You get your money’s worth as they have extensive Ecommerce tools that will help you launch an online store in next to no time.
Cons:
- Although it’s app store has extensive tools under its belt, if you end up using too many it could potentially slow the website down.
- More expensive than other alternatives such as Woocommerce.
- It is hard to have complete control over your site with Shopify.
Woocommerce Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The Woocommerce Plugin is free.
- Very easy to use.
- You have complete control over the customization of your site.
- It is very easy to integrate with WordPress.
Cons:
- Although the Plugin is free, you’ll still have to pay for a premium Plugin to get the best features and integrations for your store.
- You will have to end up managing all of the operations of your online store.
- There needs to be more tutorials set up for some of the complicated features, and especially for those who aren’t that tech savvy.
Now let’s get into the Individual features and what makes them stand out in each.
EASE OF USE
Shopify
Shopify is easy to use because everything is already set up for you. All you need to do is sign up and then let Shopify do the rest. The layout, design, templates, and site is already set up. You don’t even need to possess any coding skills. Once you’re on the main dashboard, you can start setting up your site and adding in your products. This is ideal for beginners because the hard work is already done for you. In that sense, Shopify is very easy to use.
Woocommerce
Woocommerce is also easy to use however there are a few exceptions. Setting up the store isn’t as easy as it is setting it up on Shopify. This is because Woocommerce is a WordPress Plugin and you need to get a hold of certain things before you can start working on Woocommerce. These include getting a domain name, signing up for a hosting account, installing WordPress and selecting a WordPress theme. If you’re a total beginner and not well versed with the basics, then this could prove to be a little complicated for you.
Who Wins?
Shopify is definitely the winner here. It is much easier to use and navigate for a total beginner. All you have to do is click the sign up button and you’re good to go. With Woocommerce, it’s just a bit more complicated especially for someone who’s new to this. Installing WordPress and setting everything up can be a bit of a hassle, however when you’ve crossed that step, Woocommerce is just as easy to use as Shopify.
DESIGN
Shopify
Shopify has around 60+ themes, most of which aren’t free. However the designs are sleek, visually appealing with amazing aesthetics and they will prove to be a great addition to your website to really make it stand out. They cost a lot but they’re worth it because presentation matters and the more visually appealing your online store looks the more likely it’ll attract a lot more customers. They’re also responsive on mobile devices and have different coloring options to choose from.
Woocommerce
With Woocommerce, you can design your site however you want it to as you are offered design flexibility at an affordable price. You can choose from 1000 free themes and can work with the WordPress themes too. The premium themes will be pricier though. There are also other marketplaces like ThemeForest that have a lot of Woocommerce compatible themes and Woocommerce in general has been designed in a way that it is compatible with lots of Industries and Markets. You can also make use of Woocommerce’s default theme called Storefront which is also free. It’s a creation that takes into account all of the elements of an Ecommerce store so you can opt for that as well.
Who Wins?
Shopify has some amazing themes but they are only limited to the Shopify theme store. Woocommerce on the other hand is an open source platform and there are lots of developers who are selling some amazing Woocommerce themes that work for just about any kind of Market or Industry.
FEATURES
Both Shopify and Woocommerce have all the essential tools and features to help you build a rock solid online store that sells. Here are some of its features that can help you decide which one you’d want to go for.
Shopify Features:
- Unlimited file storage.
- Inventory management.
- Unlimited range of products.
- More than 100 payment options.
- Social media Integration.
- Abandoned cart recovery.
- Discount codes.
- Ability to edit HTML and CSS.
- Dropshipping features.
- Has multiple languages.
Woocommerce Features:
- No restrictions on customization.
- Multiple payment options (PayPal and Stripe)
- Responsive on Mobile.
- Works with Current WordPress theme.
- You have complete control over your site.
- Blogging features.
- Lots of plugins (extensions) available.
- Shipping rates and taxes are adjustable.
There is nothing missing from either platform. Both have all of the essential features that an Ecommerce site needs to properly function and operate. Shopify has all the features present dedicated to making sure that the user experience is as easy as possible. Woocommerce is also equipped with all of the features to make your online store a success however since it’s an add on to WordPress, it makes it a bit difficult to configure.
Who Wins?
It’s hard to tell which Platform has better features than the other. Both Shopify and Woocommerce have the standard Ecommerce features so both can work well for you depending on what works for you.
PRICING
Shopify
The Shopify pricing is pretty straightforward. They have three major plans with the basic one starting from $29, then the Shopify plan starting at $79 and lastly the Advanced Shopify plan for $299 per month. All the plans come with different features. All these plans include a domain name, web hosting and SSL certificate. See which one works the best for you. There is a transaction fee that needs to be paid as well.
Woocommerce
Comparison for Shopify Vs Woocommerce is an open source software plugin. The plugin is free however there are additional costs that are carried out such as cost of the themes, hosting, domain name, any other extensions as well as an SSL certificate. You’ll need to pay a transaction fee as well. There is no fixed price when it comes to Woocommerce. Normally, a domain name costs $14.99, SSL Certificate costs $69.99, and web hosting around $7.99 / month. This is not cheap for someone who is just starting out. However there are several hosting companies who offer Woocommerce hosting plans and that helps to significantly lower the costs. Hosting providers can give you a free domain name, free SSL certificate and discounts on web hosting and this can help you set up an online store for less than $7.
Who Wins?
Woocommerce wins in this department. This is because it is very easy to find free alternatives for the paid extensions. There are so many free themes and add-ons available for Woocommerce that it turns out to be much cheaper than Shopify in terms of cost.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Shopify
Shopify offers excellent customer service. This is primarily because of its availability 24/7. Customers have help available whenever they need it via email, phone call and online chat.
Woocommerce
Since Woocommerce is a WordPress plugin, you can get the support you need through the WordPress forums. A lot of other forums have tutorials and step by step guides to help guide you through Woocommerce and it’s features. You can also create an account on Woocommerce.com and get the help and guidance that you need from there.
Who Wins?
Shopify has the best customer service because of their 24/7 availability. No matter what time the customer ends up having an issue and needs help, they can easily contact Shopify and they’ll reach out instantly. That puts them ahead of the game in terms of Customer Support.
SEO CAPABILITIES
Shopify
Shopify handles all of the basic SEO practices. However one of the downsides with Shopify is the fact that it doesn’t give you the complete freedom and control with choosing your URL. As long as you have a good content strategy for your site, you can guarantee that you will drive traffic to your site.
Woocommerce
Since WordPress is primarily a content creation Platform, you can already guess that it’s strong with the SEO side of things. You can easily add, edit content and meta information which will help your page rank higher with specific keywords. You can install Plugins like Yoast SEO which can help make your WordPress site highly optimized which will help your site rank higher in the search engines.
Who Wins?
In this case, Woocommerce wins because of the fact that it has more SEO tools and capabilities than Shopify.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
Shopify
Comparing Shopify Vs Woocommerce shopify has a lot of payment options to choose from. The major ones being Stripe, PayPal, Credit & Debit cards, Square and Apple Pay. The entire process is very simple. All you have to do is connect Shopify Payments with your bank account and you’re good to go. Also keep in mind that the different payment methods have their own transaction fees that you’ll have to pay.
Woocommerce
Woocommerce has different payment gateway extensions. You can add PayPal and credit card support via Stripe is free. There are also other payment options that you can choose from but they all come with a price.
Who Wins?
It’s a tie. Both have diverse payment options to choose from which makes your experience as smooth as possible.
CONCLUSION for Shopify Vs Woocommerce
So what have you decided by comparing Shopify Vs Woocommerce ? Both Shopify and Woocommerce are powerful Platforms that you can use to start your online store. At the end of the day it all comes down to your own goals, skill level and preferences. Shopify is very easy and simple to use. You can create your online store in minutes, you don’t have to install anything and setting up payments is also very easy. You can get started right away.
Woocommerce on the other hand is an open source platform and gives you full control over your site and where you want to take it. It costs much lower to start an online store with Woocommerce because there are so many Woocommerce hosting companies ready to help you out and make things convenient and cost effective for you.
If you want a cost effective solution and the freedom to control your site as per your liking, then go for Woocommerce. If you want the easy way out and something that will give you good returns in the long run, then go for Shopify. At the end, it’s all up to you. Hopefully this article helped you come up with a final decision.