Woocommerce vs. Shopify: Which is Best for Your Business? - Profici
Woocommerce vs. Shopify: Which is Best for Your Business?

Woocommerce vs. Shopify: Which is Best for Your Business?

There are a lot of things to think about when you are starting an ecommerce business, and deciding how to host your online store is one of the key aspects. Woocommerce and Shopify are two of the most popular options, and both give businesses the ability to showcase products, process orders and handle shipping from one place. Though Woocommerce and Shopify are similar, they do have some key differences, which we have taken a look at below.

What is Woocommerce?

Woocommerce is a plugin for WordPress, a popular content management system (CMS) for businesses. By adding Woocommerce to a WordPress website, a business can create a fully functional online store of any size, without having to move away from the WordPress platform. Woocommerce boasts a wide range of features and handles the management of products, payments, shipping and inventory.

What is Shopify?

Like Woocommerce, Shopify is a popular ecommerce option that allows businesses to set up and manage online stores. Whereas Woocommerce is added to WordPress, Shopify is a platform itself. It provides a wide range of features and tools, all of which are designed to help businesses create a professional, high quality and reliable online shop. Shopify is used by businesses of all sizes, ranging from startups to international companies. One of the main appeals of Shopify is that it’s easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of technical knowledge.

What are the Benefits of Woocommerce?

  • It’s Easy to Use – Woocommerce is a plugin for WordPress, which is well known for being easy to use. It boasts a straightforward set up, simple product management and a user friendly interface.
  • It Has Lots of Customisation Options – There are a lot of flexibility and customisation options available with Woocommerce, which allows businesses to tailor their website to meet their specific needs. Themes, extensions and plugins can all be added to create a unique website with a variety of capabilities, features and extensions.
  • Woocommerce is Scalable – Woocommerce is a scalable solution, which means that businesses can grow their website alongside the business. It works equally well for small startups with a handful of products, as well as large companies with a lot of inventory. As a business changes, Woocommerce can adapt and change also.
  • It’s SEO Friendly – Woocommerce has been created with SEO in mind, and it helps businesses to optimise their website using product pages, URLs, metadata and various other SEO elements. This is a key part of ensuring a business is found online.

What are the Cons of Woocommerce?

  • Extensions Cost Extra – Though Woocommerce is free, some extensions and features come at an additional cost. Depending on what a business needs, the costs could quickly add up, especially if themes and plugins are also needed.
  • There’s Limited Support – There is a large Woocommerce community and helpful resources available online, but the help from the Woocommerce team itself is somewhat limited. A lot of technical issues end up being solved by developers and consultants, which can be a pain for businesses.
  • Responsible for Website Maintenance – With Woocommerce, website maintenance is the responsibility of the user. Making backups, updating security and managing hosting all needs to be handled by the business.

What are the Benefits of Shopify? 

  • It’s Easy to Use – Shopify provides a user friendly interface and a simple setup process, making it accessible to users with very little technical knowledge. You can quickly launch your online store and start selling products.
  • Vast Range of Features – Shopify offers a comprehensive set of features for managing products, inventory, payments, shipping and more. It includes impressive functionalities such as abandoned cart recovery, discount codes and SEO optimisation.
  • Great Mobile Responsiveness – Shopify provides mobile responsive themes, ensuring that all online stores look great and function well on different devices. This is vital, as mobile commerce continues to grow and more people are solely using smartphones to browse online.
  • It’s a Reliable Platform – Shopify takes care of security, hosting and server maintenance, providing a reliable and secure environment for online stores. It offers regular backups and protection against threats, without too much input from business owners.

What are the Cons of Shopify?

  • It Can Be Costly – Though Shopify offers various pricing plans, it does come at a cost. Beyond the basic plan, additional fees are charged for transaction fees, credit card rates and premium features.
  • Customisation Limitations – While Shopify provides customisable themes and templates, extensive customisation may require coding knowledge or the assistance of a developer.
  • Lack of Full Ownership and Control – Shopify is a hosted solution, which means you don’t have full control over the underlying infrastructure. You rely on Shopify’s servers and technology, and there may be limitations on customisation or access to certain features because of this.

Which is Best for Your Business?

There is no right or wrong when you are choosing between Woocommerce and Shopify, as both have their advantages. It’s really a case of considering what works for you and your business, and how much control you want over your ecommerce store. Whereas some businesses enjoy using WordPress and want to add to that with Woocommerce, others prefer to hand everything over to Shopify. Whether you choose Woocommerce or Shopify, it’s important to remember that having a strong ecommerce website is a vital part of ecommerce success.

There are a lot of options when it comes to building a website, but Woocommere and Shopify are certainly two of the most popular options. Though they have a handful of key differences, both are fantastic choices for ecommerce websites. To find out more about having a website designed and developed for your ecommerce business, browse our website or get in touch with our expert team.