WooCommerce versus Shopify. Shopify is currently the top eCommerce platform in
the entire world And WooCommerce is the fastest growing,
according to Builtwith.com. Choosing the right eCommerce platform is one of
the most important decisions an online business owner will make. So which
platform reigns champion? We've done some research and looked into what each of
these platforms have going for them. Keep watching to find out who comes out on
top. And if you need any help getting your platform set up, designed, optimized
or marketed, give us a shout at IWD Agency. Now let's start the showdown...
Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce platform which allows you to start, grow
and manage your online eCommerce store. Shopify is completely cloud-based and
hosted meaning there is never a worry about the technical aspects of managing
a website with web hosting security and caching. WooCommerce is an open source
eCommerce plugin built for WordPress. Since it's open-source there is freedom
to customize every aspect of the store and build custom extensions pretty
easily. Let's now discuss cost. Cost is one of the most important factors to consider
no matter what stage of the game you're in but especially as a new business
owner. Setup costs are not the only expenses to keep in mind. You also need
to account for variable costs that arise as well. Shopify has set pricing -
their basic plan starts at $29 a month. This plan gives you all the basics for
starting a new business. They do offer upgraded plans which come with advanced
features for scaling your business at $79 a month and 299 dollars a month. All
these features however are tied to each plan.
Each plan also includes a domain name a SSL certificate and web posting. If there
are additional third-party add-ons which at some point you will need but these
costs need to be kept in mind. Since WooCommerce is open-source it is a
freely available WordPress plug-in. However you will need extensions and
add-ons to set up your store. One advantage is that you can often find
free alternatives to paid extensions. Either way going the WooCommerce route
you will encounter other costs for a domain name SSL certificate and a
wordpress hosting account your hosting costs will also increase as your online
store grows outside of these general setup costs other costs to factor ins
include payment processing costs but Shopify and WooCommerce offer hundreds
of options they are either built in or integrated with their platforms Shopify
makes it very easy to accept and manage payments their terms however are not the
most pleasing Shopify offers their own payment solution powered by stripe
called Shopify payments Shopify's basic plan charges a two point nine percent
transaction fee plus 30 cents per transaction this is on top of the
payment gateway costs if it is preferred to use a third-party payment gateway an
additional two percent flat fee is charged on all transactions this
percentage decreases as you upgrade your plans for Shopify but these third-party
transaction fees are pretty steep WooCommerce on the flip side has no
transaction fees of their own which is quite the perk. The only fee is charged
by those by the payment gateways or banks another benefit is that any
company can create an add-on for WooCommerce which is then available to
any worker most merchants you can even develop your own add-on and customize it
however needed when it comes to usability Shopify and WooCommerce are
very different Shopify is pretty quick easy
and intuitive to understand and setup at least with a basic theme and framework
you create an account log in add your products and can pretty much be on your
way in a few hours as most of their key features are built in Shopify is fully
hosted so there is no need to install manage or update software you also don't
have to worry about security performance backups nor compatibility WooCommerce on
the other hand is way more hands-on time consuming to setup and requires more
technical knowledge and control this however does come with a lot more
customization possibilities across your entire site if you're familiar with
using WordPress you definitely have an advantage here since we're commerce is
self hosted it does require more maintenance to manage updates keep
backups and ensure your site is secure there are plenty of free and paid
plugins that can automate most of these tasks for you though as far as add-ons
there will always be a need for third-party tools regardless of which
ecommerce platform you go with analytics tools email tools tracking tools the
list goes on Shopify comes with an app store which offers hundreds of apps for
every feature you can think of to add to your store there are a mix of free and
paid options WooCommerce offers more than 50,000 free WordPress plugins which
are built specifically for WordPress sites these cover any and all features
imaginable from SEO to performance optimizations this list doesn't end with
WooCommerce you can even hire a developer to create your own add-on for
your site their customization options really are limitless and allow you to
build outside the box now what about support Shopify is fully
hosted so they control their software and they know their platform best they
go above and beyond with their support lines whether it be over the phone live
chat or email they even have quite the library of helpful guides along with the
community forum and a set wizard merchants are never left on their
own to troubleshoot or resolve issues that arise someone is available 24/7 and
information is very easily accessible WooCommerce takes more of the DIY
approach with help sections WordPress related forums along with the
WooCommerce community if you consider yourself technical you shouldn't have
any issues with their support as it is more suitable for people who don't need
trained advisors there is super helpful information out there you just have to
look for it so all in all who reigns supreme
well it really boils down to your stores needs if you're starting out and need
the basics to help you grow Shopify is the way to go if you're well established
growing quickly or have the development resources or knowledge to customize your
site and stay on top of maintenance and security then WooCommerce is for you
WooCommerce offers the freedom of open source while Shopify provides the
resources to quickly and easily get you up running and growing if you're still
unsure or need further insights get in touch we're here to help you figure out
what is best for you and your business needs whether you're just getting
started or are ready for that next step thanks for checking in if you have any
questions let us know and don't forget to click that subscribe button until
next time