WooCommerce vs. Shopify – Which Should You Choose?
If you're looking to set up a new online store, you might be wondering which e-commerce platform to choose. Shopify vs. WooCommerce? Which one comes out on top?
To get closer to something resembling the truth, you need to delve into the pros and cons of both systems.
In this post, I compare the two platforms in terms of price, ease of use, security, and many other relevant factors that can help you make an informed decision.
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1. What is Shopify?
Shopify is an “out-of-the-box” solution that’s very user-friendly, with built-inreports and statisticsand a wide variety ofsales channels.
It's a fast and highly effective solution for everything from very small startups to large international companies.
Their basic idea is to offer a solution that users—even those without technical skills or coding experience—can set up and run with ease.
When you choose Shopify, you get a hosted solution—so you don't need to purchase web hosting from another provider or install any software to get started.
Shopify is a paid cloud-based solution—in other words,a so-called“SaaS” (Software as a Service)solution.
For you, this means that you do not own the software you use, but instead pay a monthly fee to access it.
If you want to customize your solution beyond what the theme and system offer, you can code directly in Shopify. Shopify also offers a wide variety of apps through its App Store.
2. What is WordPress (WooCommerce)?
WordPress isopen-source software that you install on your own server.
If you have your online store built by an external provider, your web development agency will often offer you hosting. You can also install it on your server through a hosting provider.
WordPress is the world's most widely used CMS (content management system); it has been around for quite a few more years than Shopify and was originally a tool for blogs.
Since its humble beginnings, a vast number of extensions and add-ons have been developed, making it possible to use WordPress for many other purposes.
For example, there are a wide variety of plugins available for running an online store in WordPress. The most widely used of these is WooCommerce, which accounts for approximately 30% of online stores on the internet.
So what should you choose?
I've gained a lot of experience with both platforms over time, and now I know—which one gives you the most bang for your buck, which one is the most intuitive, which platform is the most secure—and much more.
Let me take it step by step.
3. Control Panel and User-Friendliness
Both Shopify and WordPress have a relatively simple control panel, and the setup process for both is quite similar.
Both have a main menu on the left side where you can access reports, orders, page setup, and a lot more.
The WordPress control panel
The page setup panel is also relatively similar in both systems.
There are a number of different plugins available for WordPress that allow you to design pages (known as page builders).
Here you'll find some of the most commonly usedpage builders.
WordPress comes with a page builder by default, but most themes offer a page builder with greater functionality and ease of use.
It's important that you research the market and see what others recommend.
Some page builders function as visual “drag-and-drop” solutions and are very easy to navigate. However, it’s important to keep in mind that they can affect the page’s loading speed, which can negatively impact both the user experience and your online store’s search engine optimization.
Shopify's dashboard
Shopify has a default page builder whose appearance remains consistent across themes, but its functionality and features may vary from theme to theme.
Shopify's dashboard is very intuitive and simple, so you can quickly get started editing your products, viewing your orders, and much more.
The WordPress control panel offers greater flexibility in customizing the panel's appearance and generally provides more options. However, this can also make the interface a bit more cluttered and confusing.
4. Pages and blog posts
When it comes to creating and managing pages and blog posts, WordPress is the clear winner.
WordPress is designed specifically for this purpose and therefore offers a wide range of options for organizing blog posts using categories and tags.
WordPress also offers versioning, which means that every time you save a blog post or a page, WordPress saves a “backup.”
This is where Shopify falls short, as it unfortunately doesn't offer the same features.
When it comes to managing collections and products, Shopify is a simpler and more intuitive system, which is undoubtedly because Shopify is a dedicated e-commerce platform from start to finish.
Shopify also offers automatedcollection sorting. This allows Shopify to automatically sort your collections based on prices, names, and tags.
If you need to create a page with a large number of products, this can save you a lot of time.
5. Price: Shopify vs. WooCommerce?
Of course, price is also a factor. So how much do Shopify and WooCommerce cost, respectively?
6. How much do Shopify's solutions cost?
Shopify Lite: $9
(about 60 kr. per month)
Allows the use of Shopify's "Buy" button and sales through Facebook.
So it's not exactly an online store, but rather a sales channel that can be used, for example, on another website or on various social media platforms.
Shopify Basic: $29
(approximately 190 DKK per month—plus a 2.0% deduction from the purchase price for each order)
Shopify Basic lets you build and run an online store; you can have two accounts and, like the plans listed below, you get Shopify's 24-hour support.
Shopify: $79
(approximately 525 DKK per month—plus 1.0% of the purchase price deducted from each order)
This package offers expanded reporting, gift cards, and the option to add up to five accounts.
Shopify Advanced: $299
(approximately 1,990 DKK—plus 0.5% of the purchase price deducted from each order)
Offers an advanced, editable report and the ability to calculate shipping rates from a limited number of providers.
Shopify Plus: Prices start at $2,000
(approximately 13,330 DKK per month)
This solution varies and is subject to negotiation depending on the size of the company.
Please note that Shopify apps are often subscription-based and are therefore included in your monthly expenses.
You also need to factor in a fee for your payment system—and this applies to WooCommerce as well.
7. How much do WordPress’s solutions cost?
As mentioned earlier, WordPress is a piece of free software. However, that doesn’t mean it’s completely free to run an online store using the system.
Here are some of the things you may incur expenses for:
Hosting
You need to host your online store on a server, where you pay a fee based on the amount of space your online store uses. The price can vary significantly depending on the solution and provider.
Examples of hosting providers:
Unoeuro
One.com
Hostgator
If you choose to have Amplify build your online store, we offer a support and hosting package.
You can always call one of our tech experts at70 60 50 28, and let us help you choose the right online store solution.
Themes There are quite a few free themes out there, but it’s rare for the free ones to really make a difference.
It's important to build an online store on a solid foundation, just like a house. The theme should be user-friendly and compatible with WooCommerce.
Plugins
In many cases, you'll need to purchase additional plugins to add the necessary functionality to your online store.
Integrations
The ability to integrate is often more of a “nice-to-have” than a “must-have.” However, some integrations can save you both time and money.
8. Topics: Shopify vs. WooCommerce
Shopify offers 10 free themes and about 60 paid ones. All of the themes are mobile-friendly and stylish.
In addition, Shopify offers one hour of free development from one of their developers. You can use this to customize your theme to suit your needs.
You can find all of Shopify's themes here
It's also possible to use third-party themes in Shopify; just keep in mind that, as a general rule, Shopify does not provide support for these themes.
You can find third-party themes onThemeForest, among other places.
WordPress offers a huge selection of themes that can be found all over the World Wide Web.ThemeForestis once again a great platform for finding a theme. Otherwise, a Google search will take you a long way.
9. Mobile-Friendliness
All of Shopify's official themes are responsive, which means they scale up and down depending on screen size and device.
The most popular WooCommerce themes are also responsive, but that's no guarantee. In most cases, however, you can find out whether a theme is responsive or not by reading the description.
Both Shopify and WooCommerce let you access their control panels from your phone. There, you can edit, delete, and add products and collections.
10. E-commerce functionality
So which of these platforms performs best when it comes to e-commerce?
Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to that question.
WordPress offers far more options, but it requires significantly more setup and maintenance. In most cases, both systems will be able to meet your needs using plugins or custom code.
So unless you've reinvented the wheel when it comes to online store plugins, there's a very good chance that someone has already created a plugin that's both compatible with and works well on both systems.
As of May 12, 2019, Shopify has terminated its partnership with Mailchimp due to a disagreement regarding the handling of its users' data.
You can read Shopify's statement on the matterhere.
However, there are some really good alternatives to Mailchimp.
For example, Klaviyo, which claims that its users who have switched from Mailchimp have seen a 46% increase in total revenue.
Read more about Klaviyo as an alternative to Mailchimp here.
You can easily and conveniently set up Facebook Messenger, Instagram Shopping, and Facebook Shopping in Shopify. These are built-in sales channels and therefore do not need to be installed as apps. This is unlike WordPress, where they must be installed separately.
In addition, Amazon and eBay are also options in Shopify; however, this is not yet available in Denmark.
If your online store has many product variations, Shopify may not be the best solution, as it only supports up to 100 product variations.
It should be noted, however, that there are quite a few apps that can get around this, but in some cases, this can increase the loading time.
Shopify is an all-in-one solution that lets you quickly create a beautiful and user-friendly online store.
In contrast, WordPress with WooCommerce requires a bit more hands-on experience or basic knowledge to get started. On the other hand, it offers you the option of more extensions.
11. Which platform is best suited for search engine optimization?
Your online store needs to be optimized for search engines so that it appears in Google and other search engines.
There are a multitude of factors that determine your ranking on Google. However, there are a few key differences between the search engine optimization options available through WooCommerce and those available through Shopify.
In WordPress, you have greater control over your URL paths, which can be an advantage when it comes to creating shorter and simpler URLs.
In addition, WordPress lets you useYoast SEO,one of the most widely recognized SEO plugins on the market. Yoast analyzes your page’s SEO and then provides a step-by-step guide on how to optimize it.
With Yoast SEO, you can also customize how your page appears in search results.
Shopify has a built-in version of this snippet preview, but unfortunately, it doesn't generate a list of steps for optimizing your pages.
Here's achecklistto help you optimize yourShopify online store for search engines.
Shopify has a number of apps that offer a service very similar to Yoast.
The platform is generally strong in SEO, and it comes with an SSL certificate installed by default, which is essential for ranking well in search results.
A couple of other handy features are that Shopify automatically generates XML sitemaps and automatically suggests 301 redirects when a page's name is changed.
12. Safety and Maintenance
Shopify is the clear winner here, as the system is a dedicated online store platform, hosted and maintained by Shopify.
In other words, Shopify ensures that the system is always updated to the latest version.
In WordPress, on the other hand, you are responsible for keeping the system up to date and secure.
It's important to keep an eye on:
- To ensure that your WordPress version is always up to date
- That your theme has been updated to the latest version
- That your server is set up correctly
- Make sure all your plugins are updated to the latest version
In the worst-case scenario, a security breach could result in your site being hacked.
What often happens when plugins or themes are updated is that hackers can use the new, updated code to identify bugs or vulnerabilities in the unupdated code. In other words, the updated code acts as a guide to the flaws in the previous code.
They then use a computer to scan all sites that use that specific plugin or theme. If the computer finds a WordPress site that hasn’t been updated, it exploits the vulnerability to gain access to the site and injects malware into it.
Some WordPress plugins may contain malware when you download them. This is because (unlike Shopify) they are not hosted in a closed and tested environment. This means that anyone could have created the plugin you’re installing.
Therefore, be sure to check how many users are using the plugin you want to install and when it was last updated.
Of course, it's important that you also protect your site by using a strong password.
For example, you can use your email address as your username, and in that case, it's a really good idea to have a password that's a complete jumble of characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, punctuation, and numbers.
Shopify is also committed to helping you resolve any malware attacks.
Shopify online stores are always SSL-certified, which means your customers access the site over a secure connection. An SSL certificate should definitely be installed on a WordPress site as well, but it isn't installed by default.
If your website or online store isn't SSL-certified, call us today at70 60 50 28to learn more about why it's important to get certified.
13. Support
Shopify offers24-hour chat support in all of its plans, with the exception of Shopify Lite.
Here you can find help choosing apps, guides on how to change your settings, and much more.
The service you receive via chat is top-notch, and you can attach screenshots to illustrate any issues.
You will then receive a follow-up email containing the entire conversation, which you can reply to later if you have any further questions.
Shopify also has a very comprehensive help center with video guides, support forums, blogs, and a very well-documenteddeveloper portal (support forum for developers).
Unfortunately, WordPress does not offer support; however, there are plenty of forums and video tutorials created by users—and they also have a support page with documentation, support forums, blogs, and so on.
WordPress is generally much better documented than Shopify because it has such a huge user base. The downside is that it can also be difficult to find answers to your questions.
In general, I always recommend that you familiarize yourself with your platform, your theme, and your plugins. Video guides can be an easy way to learn more about these topics. This will help you better understand why things might go wrong.
14. Integrations
There are many integrations available for both Shopify and WordPress (WooCommerce).
Integrations for accounting and shipping are especially handy—and they can save you many hours, aka money.
Bookkeeping
For bookkeeping, we at Amplify always recommend that you set up IEX’s integrationwith your accounting software. IEX offers integrations with most accounting software, and they work with both Shopify and WooCommerce.
The integration ensures that your orders are automatically posted to your accounting software, making it easy for you or your accountant to prepare annual financial statements or simply get a quick overview.
Shipping Module
At Amplify, we generally recommend setting up an integration with a shipping module. You simply choose the solution based on your preferred shipping carrier.
For example, if you have an agreement with UPS, you won't be able to use Danish modules such as Pakkelabels or Smartsend. However, you can use Webshipper.
As part of its “advanced solution,” Shopify offers free setup with your own shipping agreement if your shipping carrier is one of the following: USPS, UPS, FedEx, or Canada Post.
This is also possible with a Shopify or Shopify Basic plan if the plan is paid for on a quarterly basis; however, this must be arranged with Shopify via their support chat.
WordPress offers various plugins for this purpose; it can certainly be a more affordable solution than, for example, shipping labels.
However, please be aware that if any problems arise with the plugin, you will not be able to receive support. You may end up having to pay for professional help (which can quickly become expensive).
15. Payment System
Both platforms support most payment systems, such as Quickpay, Klarna, ePay, and Stripe.
The payment system determines which card types your online store supports. Please note that not all systems support mobile payments, such as Mobilepay.
In Denmark, online security is very important to users, so we always recommend that you use the payment system’s3D Secure checkoutrather than Shopify’s or WordPress’s built-in checkout.
The user will be redirected to an external link on the payment system's domain. Finally, you must verify your identity using an SMS code sent to your cell phone.
16. In a nutshell
So which of these heavyweights will take the gold, the glory, and half the kingdom?
Unfortunately, the answer isn't that clear-cut.
The reality is that we’re dealing with two highly capable contenders that share many common features and have relatively few differences. Your choice depends on what’s most important to your business.
Good Reasons to Choose Shopify
- Shopify is a very simple and user-friendly system that you can set up quickly. It doesn't take much to become an expert with the system.
- Shopify is a dedicated e-commerce platform and comes standard with a range of features that an online store needs. This makes it very simple to set up. In contrast, with WordPress (WooCommerce), you have to install and configure many of these features yourself.
- Hosting is included with Shopify, so you don't have to worry about setup, optimization, or maintenance. If your site is down, you can check their status page to see if it's due to a server error.
- Shopify is undeniably the more secure option of the two, since Shopify ensures that the store is always updated to the latest version. This means you don't have to worry about maintaining the site. If a problem does arise, it's Shopify's responsibility to fix it.
- Shopify has amazing support that's always there when you need it.
- Shopify's dashboard is simpler and more user-friendly than WordPress. This makes the day-to-day management of your site run more smoothly.
- You can quickly and easily try Shopify for 14 days so you can see for yourself if the system is right for you. You’ll have full access to the entire system. To use WordPress, you’ll first need a domain and hosting, and you’ll have to install and set up WordPress before you can test it.
- Shopify makes it easy to sort collections by tags, prices, and more.
Good Reasons to Choose WordPress (WooCommerce)
- WordPress is open-source software and can therefore be downloaded free of charge.
- WordPress is a much more versatile platform, so you can build any type of website, complete with an online store.
- WordPress has the undisputedly best CMS, which offers versioning, archiving, and sorting of your pages and blog posts.
- WordPress offers a wider selection of themes and plugins, both paid and free. This can help you add more functionality to your site. Shopify’s app store is a bit more limited.
- It's a little easier to optimize your online store for search engines in WordPress.
- You can add an unlimited number of product variants. Shopify has a limit of 100 variants per product, but this can be worked around by adding apps.
- You have more options for adding e-commerce functionality than Shopify.
- WordPress is a more widely used platform and, for that reason, is much better documented.
- WordPress is a more affordable solution than Shopify.
Get help with your SEO strategy
A good start is half the battle. A bad start is… well, not good. If you don’t have the resources to develop a well-thought-out SEO strategy, feel free to send me an email at seo@amplify.dk or reach out to one of my colleagues at info@amplify.dk.
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