WooCommerce or Shopify? A Complete Comparison for Online Store Success

An attractive and user-friendly eCommerce platform can attract potential shoppers and users. And why not? Users can get an enhanced buying experience with simple navigation and effective features.

Do you want to upgrade your eCommerce store or start a new one? Then, you must be well-versed in affordable platforms packed with efficacious features. If you're also interested in pursuing a career in business analytics in the US, gaining insights from this eCommerce comparison can improve your decision-making skills.

Out of all the platforms available in the market, WooCommerce and Shopify are two popular ones that you can consider to build a sustainable and scalable webpage.

Having set features, both platforms have pros and cons that must be weighed before deciding.

Let's dive deep and understand the differences so you can choose the best option for your business. And help you stay ahead of the competition and scale your store effectively.

What is WooCommerce?

As an open-source downloaded platform, WooCommerce can help build WordPress-based eCommerce websites. The best part is that you run your website into a fully functional website with the platform.

Furthermore, it has simple features, through which users can manage their online stores. You can download the plugin from WordPress for creating a website. Also, you don't need to bother about the interface as it is beginner-friendly.

To start the platform, you don't have to be an IT expert; features like product management, sales reports, and flexible payment terms are available. If you want to create a website by using an e-commerce platform, you can choose Woocommerce.

Pros and Cons of WooCommerce

With WooCommerce, you can access it at no cost. It allows you to showcase any products or services offered on your website. Being open-source software, you have the flexibility to modify the designs to suit your preferences. Additionally, the platform is mobile-friendly and can be optimized for eCommerce stores.

The best thing is that you can select any theme from thousands of beautiful themes to make your store look attractive. It is also very flexible since you do not have to commit a long time to a contract. The tool has been made for WordPress, so simply point your hosts to it. And you can turn your site into an e-commerce store with the platform.

WooCommerce requires frequent updates to ensure your site remains glitch-free, but these updates can be troublesome for a user. Also, it is not user-friendly for entry-level.

The platform is really difficult to learn with other e-commerce sites. It might be a bad option for builders less savvy than others in technology. Self-hosted websites are definitely sure to find a host.

You get it free if you own a WordPress-hosted site; otherwise, you can buy a plan. Compared to the other e-commerce platforms, WooCommerce does not support calls and emails. When you don't have any form of support, it is impossible to address an issue with a website.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a very popular and easy-to-use e-commerce site that allows small businesses to create online stores. It is a SaaS-based platform. It also serves to integrate your product information, operational activities, and customers into one system that combines all the sales avenues. A stable cloud-based hosted platform that's what people will tend to rely on—Shopify. It can be retrieved using several compatible devices so that you can even run your business from a remote place. Having that, it combines various technologies for adjusting the work of your company. You can rely on the platform due to its reach.

Pros and Cons of Shopify

The innate interface and user-friendly design make it the first choice for online stores. You can quickly launch an e-commerce store with a platform. Additionally, it offers third-party integrations, such as form plugins to collect customer data and improve the shopping experience, which means there are many options for customized features for your site.

Every Shopify plan has a unique cart recovery feature that reminds customers that they have left the cart unbilled and can return to it to complete the purchase. Shopify offers twenty-four-hour customer service, which helps connect better. The platform provides competitive shipping rates with discounts, and you can easily sell your unique products or services through this channel.

Shopify offers limited free themes, so you can only choose from a few. It's a setback for people who look forward to good designs and themes for e-commerce stores. Though Shopify excels in e-commerce store functionalities, it is average in blogging.

The content marketing feature is unimpressive compared to other platforms. While there is no transaction fee for Shopify payments, you must pay extra if you integrate with the third-party payment provider. Also, the plans may be pricey for startups or beginners. The plans can be highly-priced compared to Wix.

Points of difference: WooCommerce vs. Shopify

Points of difference can give you a fair idea about the two platforms. Learning them will help you make an informed choice.

1. Features

As a content management system, WooCommerce is solid because it offers content support out-of-the-box. Besides, you are able to promote every type of product: digital downloads or physical goods. You can use its open source and produce a website that looks like you want. For it, you are able to add any feature your site wants to be.

Plus it has over 400 different extensions and the tools I'm used to. It's so easy for a person to come on and find products all because of tags and attributes. Other prominent features are product sorting, integrated payment, and location customization.

You can create an online store using Shopify storefront themes and customization. Recover Abandoned Cart and Parent Gateways Integration Feature is there for you to utilize it.

You will get a store management feature that enables you to modify the store as per your desires. SEO efforts by Shopify to help you perform the right way Through its analytics features, you can check visitor data and a lot more.

2. Cost

Web hosting and domain names do come with a cost. However, WooCommerce itself is free to download. Other plans provide additional features that allow you to scale your website with extra extensions. Shopify has pricing plans, and you can choose depending on your site preference. If you wish to add high-tech features, you can choose an advanced plan.

3. Ease of use

WooCommerce is a great choice for those who want plenty of customization options, even though the initial setup is quite easy. That said, users who aren't familiar with WordPress and its coding standards might take some time to get used to its interface.

On the other hand, Shopify provides a more user-friendly setup and integrates well with various tools for e-commerce sites. Both platforms are strong in terms of usability.

4. Plugins and Extensions

There are 800+ WooCommerce extensions and 50,000 WordPress plugins to enhance your WooCommerce e-commerce store. You can build the best website interface with these extensions. On the other hand, more than 8000 apps are available in Shopify app stores. Both platforms support third-party tools such as online form builders to optimize your store’s performance.

5. SEO

You can expect basic marketing features and built-in SEO customization with WooCommerce. However, some plugins also offer added functionality. Shopify offers comprehensive marketing tools and SEO support, with which you can scale your website. However, SEO features are available with limited customization.

6. Customization

You can customize your WooCommerce website with thousands of themes. Most users opt for third-party customization for the site. Shopify offers 200 official templates with different third-party options. However, customization options may be limited to the plan you choose.

7. Security

Users have to look into the security part of the WooCommerce platform. You can choose the best security plugins and update software with time. In addition, regular maintenance tasks are foremost to keep your site up-to-date. Shopify offers automated security updates, so you don't have to worry about security updates on your site.

8. Customer support

WooCommerce has awesome community support and uses WordPress documentation. There isn't any real support but there is paid support based on plans. Shopify, on the other hand, provides 24/7 customer support through email, chat, and telephone. You can also use community forums to find answers to web problems.

Using Shopify, you can collect valuable customer feedback to improve your store’s experience. Check out this Shopify Store Feedback Form for an easy setup.

Which one should you choose?

WooCommerce is great with flexible pricing and whatnot. You can also upgrade your hosting plan to add more server resources. The platform offers good scalability with low operational costs.

Shopify offers an ideal hosting solution for startups as it is self-hosted. It provides advanced eCommerce features that handle all business types' online transactions.

Additionally, it offers multi-channel integration and 24/7 support. However, other platforms come with their share of pros and cons. It's essential to choose a platform that suits your website’s needs.

Co-Author

Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, Cloud & AWS savvy, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies. His 12+ years of experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and SaaS applications.