Are you thinking of starting an online store? Are you confused about choosing to use WooCommerce vs Shopify for your online store?
WooCommerce and Shopify are the two most common eCommerce platforms in the world, each with its own set of benefits and costs. It is critical for your success as a business owner to select the right online store for you need.
Which one of the two will best meet your specific requirements, WooCommerce or Shopify? Which of the two has the most features? Is WooCommerce a more cost-effective option than Shopify? Which one appears to be more appealing? Which option is more receptive? Is Shopify easier to use than WooCommerce?
See Also: Blogging vs Dropshipping: Which Is Better and Why?
Quick Review
WooCommerce vs Shopify – A Detailed Comparison
1. Ease of Use
WooCommerce integrates smoothly with WordPress, which is ideal for merchants who are already comfortable with the widely used blogging platform. To log in to WooCommerce, all users must first create a WordPress account.
In recent times, WooCommerce is now easier to install. Several hosting companies now offer both free and premium installations.
Each configuration module walks you through the details, such as shipping, product additions, taxes, and information about the company.
Your web hosting provider has a significant impact on the success of your WooCommerce business. However, the more plugins, themes, and additional features you attach to a site, the slower it will load. Nonetheless, WordPress remains a good choice for hosting your WooCommerce store.
WooCommerce auto-install and unlimited domain registration and SSL certificate are included in Bluehost’s specialized WooCommerce plans.
This is not a problem with Shopify’s eCommerce software to start an online store, you don’t have to become a Shopify specialist; anyone can quickly start an online retail company in minutes.
You’ll get a user-friendly dashboard immediately after you register, and you’ll be guided through all the key steps on your approach to creating your business and making it accessible.
Instead of developing a store from scratch, the platform provides you with an already functioning online shop structure. Anyone can tweak the elements that are always available, however the platform’s core functions immediately.
You can select from a variety of ready-made layouts (themes), so you wouldn’t need any design skills. The themes are also flexible in design, so your website will look great on smartphones and laptops.
You don’t have to deal with confidential credit card details because online transactions are performed for free. You can also sell your stuff on your Facebook connections directly.
With Shopify, you can manage your item catalog using a simple plugin.
Winner
Both WooCommerce and Shopify offer all the necessary features to get started in an easy way, but Shopify makes it easier to get started with.
2. Dropshipping
In the eCommerce market, dropshipping is the trend, and practically every other internet store is a dropshipping store.
WooCommerce is common with dropshippers because it makes it simple to install and integrate add-ons. You can simply locate add-ons that enable you to import products fast, fulfill orders directly from your site, and much more.
You may even set up your own eCommerce store and allow other merchants to sell on your site. The majority of these apps have similar features. WooDropship, YouDroop, DropshipMe, and others, with over 8000 active installations, stand out from the crowd.
Keep in mind that your vendor and supplier may have membership fees, minimum order requirements, and other expenses. When adding products to your dropshipping WooCommerce store, keep these in mind.
Shopify now has integration tools for several popular dropshipping marketplaces. Printify, Dropified, AliExpress, and Oberlo are just a few examples. You can benefit greatly from Shopify’s extensive features to expand your dropshipping business, regardless of whatever app you use for your Shopify store.
However, when creating your dropshipping website using Shopify, keep in mind that each of these product marketplaces has its separate shipping, membership fees, and other charges.
Syncee is a B2B dropshipping program that is accessible on both Shopify and WooCommerce, and it offers a robust suite of dropshipping tools for online retailers.
Shopify has a lot of useful extensions and add-ons that will help you operate a successful Dropshipping business. Here are a few of the most useful Shopify dropshipping extensions:
- Spocket
- Ali Orders AliExpress Dropship
- MIIUT – Unlimited Dropshipping
- CJDropshipping
Winner
The contest between WooCommerce and Shopify in terms of dropshipping is a tie. Both WooCommerce and Shopify provide amazing dropshipping tools.
3. Scalability
Both WooCommerce and Shopify can scale to accommodate enormous volumes of orders and traffic, but they’re not the same. Let’s see how scalability differs between these two eCommerce platforms.
Shopify manages your store’s technical aspects, so you never have to worry about security, performance, and scalability. You can simply increase your Shopify plans as your business starts to develop.
Without having to concern about backups, upgrades, downtimes, and security, the platform can easily accommodate your growing business. As part of Shopify Plus subscription, they also provide enterprise services.
This eliminates the difficult element of growing, but it raises your business costs. Your costs will rise, and you’ll need to budget accordingly. The good news is that you won’t have to hire or run a technical team in-house, which will reduce your expenses.
On the other hand. WooCommerce is a self-hosted service, which means you’re in charge of your website’s upgrades, security, and backups. As your store’s traffic grows, your basic WooCommerce hosting package will run out of resources.
The good news is that because you have complete control over your website, you have a lot of alternatives for managing growth. From better resource management through caching to upgrading your hosting package to more powerful servers, we can help.
Your WooCommerce hosting prices will rise, but you will have better resource control and you will be able to ensure that you are not investing in services that you do not require.
To scale your WooCommerce store, you can choose a dedicated WordPress hosting service like LiquidWeb and WP Engine. Despite WooCommerce’s management, some business owners would rather have a hassle-free solution.
Winner
Shopify manages everything for you, your store scalability will depend on your web host provider.
See Also: Best Ecommerce Platforms To Build Your Store Online
4. SEO
One of the most effective ways to ensure that your customers find you is through SEO. You won’t make any sales unless they find you. It will be a waste of your time, effort, and money.
WooCommerce is developed with SEO-friendly code and is fully integrated with WordPress, including its excellent suite of SEO plugins. To tell Google what your website is about, you can go into detail and optimize product slugs, develop ALT texts for product photos, titles, extensive meta descriptions, and SEO descriptions.
The option to change your URLs to make it easier for search engine users to find your pages and the superb SEO recommendations and prompts throughout the development process are two of WooCommerce favorite SEO features.
Finally, because WooCommerce is hosted on WordPress, it provides you with additional SEO-specific choices overall. The main issue is that the speed of your site is mostly determined by the hosting you choose.
In the meanwhile, Shopify’s App Store has several SEO plugins. We appreciate the free SEO Booster, which evaluates your store and recommends repairs for any issues that are causing it to operate poorly.
Basic SEO information may also be easily added to your store using Shopify. For your photos, goods, and pages, you can add descriptions, optimize URLs, and titles, so make sure your photos are SEO-optimized as well.
Furthermore, Shopify is quick. Shopify provides its website owners with fast-loading pages because it is a hosted platform with a large infrastructure. As a result, your store will have a greater possibility of ranking well and converting clients.
WooCommerce and Shopify both include apps and integrations that can help you grow your business. Yoast, the WordPress SEO plugin, is really easy to use and provides amazing assistance — it’s like having your personal SEO expert on staff. Additionally, WooCommerce has a larger selection of SEO plugins than Shopify.
Winner
You have access to a large choice of outstanding SEO plugins with WooCommerce, as well as useful SEO guides and reminders. Shopify does not have as many SEO tools when compared to WooCommerce, which could limit your options in the long run.
5. Security
Any website should prioritize high-level security. It’s especially critical for online companies because you’re not only handling consumers’ cash but also their personal data
As a result, it’s not surprising that many merchants ask, “WooCommerce vs Shopify, which is better for security?”
With WooCommerce, you’re in charge of the majority of the security. To secure your site, you’ll need to use two-factor authentication, obtain your personal SSL certificate, set up your website security plugins, and be PCI compliant.
WooCommerce isn’t equipped with its own SSL certificate. You must obtain your own SSL certificate because it is part of WordPress, which is an open-source platform. However, you will have to purchase an SSL via a hosting provider, like Bluehost, which also offers a free SSL certificate when you sign up for a hosting plan.
On the other side, Shopify handles all updates and security concerns in the backend.
The platform comes with a free SSL certificate, which encrypts all data exchanged between you and your clients. The Shopify platform also runs on a PCI-DSS certified server, which is required to accept both credit and debit card information.
SSL certificate is included in Shopify. The small padlock icon that shows next to your URL indicates that. The following are the key advantages of having an SSL certificate.
Winner
Shopify has a clear advantage here. Because it’s a hosted platform, you don’t have to worry about security. Shopify is PCI-DSS compliant and comes with an SSL certificate. However, with WooCommerce, you’ll have to obtain SSL and set up PCI-DSS compliance on your own.
6. Marketing Tools
Any firm that wants to succeed must expand. Marketing tools can assist your company in doing just that, allowing you to connect with new clients and customers. But which platform allows you to make the most noise about your company?
Email Marketing
WooCommerce expects you to use the blog on your WordPress website for content marketing.
WooCommerce doesn’t have a lot of marketing tools built in. When customers make a purchase, automated emails are sent out to utilize them for branding and informing consumers about additional products.
However, using an email marketing provider like MailChimp and integrating an email opt-in form, which allows you to send tailored email campaigns with ease, is your best option.
Shopify has excellent Advertising and marketing tools. Your website will be easily found on all major search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, due to the built SEO tools.
Shopify has also teamed up with Google to provide you with advertising cash for a fresh AdWords account on a routine basis. Using tools like Seguno and Constant Contact, you can conduct a variety of email campaigns with Shopify.
The email collection form is really straightforward. Although it does the job and connects with all of the major email providers, most eCommerce firms choose to search the app store for a more suited add-on.
Integrations with social media
WooCommerce also enables you to reach out to your consumers wherever they are to increase the likelihood of credit card conversions. This includes Facebook and Google Ads, Amazon, and eBay.
You can connect your store to eBay, Instagram, and Amazon for $79 using WooCommerce, but you can also run promotions on Facebook for free.
Shopify designed a voucher coupon generator to assist you to market your brand on various social media platforms.
Shopify enables multichannel selling, allowing you to link your business to Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, eBay, and Pinterest, ensuring that your marketing strategy is in good hands. Product tagging on Instagram has also been implemented by Shopify, which allows you to link straight to your product page.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Abandoned cart recovery is functionality that Shopify offers that WooCommerce does not. This is vital to consider when deciding between WooCommerce and Shopify because it allows clients to finish an abandoned order without having to fill out their information again.
It also sends them a polite email reminder to complete the sale. To have an abandoned cart feature is like repairing a leakage in your pipeline — sales won’t fall through the cracks!
Winner
This round is won by Shopify. It provides a diverse set of marketing tools, including multichannel selling, that enables you to reach out to millions of people on social media. WooCommerce, on the other hand, uses extensions for its marketing capabilities.
See Also: 17 Best Social Media Management Tools For Your Business Growth
7. Hosting and Domain
One of the most significant differences between WooCommerce and Shopify is in terms of hosting. WooCommerce, on the other hand, is self-hosted, but Shopify is not. Let’s look at each one in more detail.
Because WooCommerce is inextricably linked to the WordPress platform, you will be in charge of finding a web hosting solution. However, since the high security and performance requirements of eCommerce sites, you must be selective in your selection.
While there are many high-quality hosting providers to pick from, choosing one that provides WooCommerce hosting is your best chance. This ensures that the server environment is optimized for the needs of an eCommerce website.
The following providers, in my opinion, offer the most dependable WooCommerce hosting options. The following are a few that we strongly suggest:
Domains
Domains aren’t included with WordPress, just like they aren’t with web hosting. As a result, you will have to buy one of these separately.
However, they are quite inexpensive, and many web hosting firms offer domain registration services. If you want to get all of your hosting and domain management done in one spot, SiteGround is the only web host that does it.
Shopify’s servers host all of the Shopify websites with the exception of Shopify Lite customers, the firm guarantees unmetered bandwidth and fast speeds, as well as several payment card industries (PCI) compliance and security capabilities.
Don’t worry if you’re afraid of losing control of your store because Shopify manages all server configurations and hosting. Even though there is no way to customize your hosting and storage space to meet your current needs, Shopify has you covered.
Whether your store is new and only gets a few dozen visits per day or is a thriving marketplace with hundreds of daily customers, your servers are ready to take the load. The only issue you should be concerned about is your data.
From the hosting CMS dashboard and control panel, you can easily manage and alter your databases and content with WordPress. You don’t have that choice with Shopify. The best you can hope for is a CSV export of your site’s data. Even then, it won’t be able to record everything.
Winner
Shopify servers provide both the hosting and domain when compared to WooCommerce where you will have to purchase a web host and domain name.
8. Page Speed and Performance
Both WooCommerce and Shopify provide options for building a fast-loading store.
You’ll be in charge of optimizing your store with WooCommerce. This includes things like selecting a reputable hosting provider and setting up a content delivery network (CDN). Your store can load extremely fast if you invest in good hosting.
Because Shopify manages your hosting, you’ll have to rely on its performance optimization. It also has a CDN to speed up global load times.
Winner
Both systems allow you to construct a fast-loading store. But shopify stole the show here.
9. Integrations and Add-ons
Shopify includes a robust app store and API where you can purchase third-party Shopify add-ons. There are hundreds of apps in their shop that cover every functionality you’ll need for your store.
They provide integrations with services such as OptinMonster for lead creation, which helps you expand your email list and prevent cart abandonment. Apps for product reviews, countdowns, SEO, coupons, countdowns, product reviews, and more.
Both free and premium apps are available in Shopify’s app store. Free applications are frequently produced by third-party providers with their own pricing structures, and they just connect your store to their APIs. Paid add-ons are priced differently, and most apps have monthly subscription options.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that is open source. This grants you access to over 55,000 free WordPress plugins as well as a large number of premium plugins.
Payment gateways, performance optimization, lead generating and practically any other function you can think of may all be added with these add-ons.
WooCommerce has a lot more connectors and add-ons than Shopify because of the low barrier of entry. Almost all third-party services and applications have their own plugins that interact smoothly with your store.
You can also engage a developer to build a plugin or integration specifically for your website. It’s crucial to remember, though, that WooCommerce is much easier to customize.
Winner
Having gone through the process of integrating a WordPress plugin and submitting an app to the Shopify store, I can say that both WooCommerce and Shopify are great in this regard.
However, WooCommerce edges Shopify due to the ease of customization of WooCommerce and the plethora of plugins available.
10. Features
While there is some freedom, it is limited to what Shopify permits you to do. Let’s take a look at the rest of the features:
- The subdomain that is available for free
- A drag-and-drop website builder is available
- Unlimited file storage and an SSL certificate
- GDPR compliance features built-in
- 24/7 customer support around the clock
- You can sell on eBay, Amazon, Instagram, and Facebook with the built-in multichannel selling feature
- Credit card payments are accepted
WooCommerce is a self-hosted WordPress plugin. This effectively means that all of your files are stored on your server, and you have complete control over every part of your shop, including the development of custom extensions.
WooCommerce does not include a subdomain, and the SSL certificate may be purchased separately. The file storage is determined by the web host you use.
However, it also offers the following features:
- Payment processing built-in
- Development of open-source software
- A wide range of designs and customization possibilities are available.
- A large library of addons and plugins is available for additional benefits
- Integrating with marketing tools is simple
- PayPal and Stripe are both accepted
However, if you want to integrate your store with eBay, Amazon, or Facebook, you’ll have to pay $79 to WooCommerce. You’ll also need to assess your WooCommerce marketing methods for GDPR compliance. You’ll also need to assess your WooCommerce marketing methods for GDPR compliance.
Winner
This category comes out to be a tie; both platforms offer great and amazing features.
See Also: Need to Promote Your Content? Try These 11 Awesome Free (or Almost Free) Content Marketing Tools
11. Transaction fees and Payment methods
Both Shopify and WooCommerce offer a diverse selection of payment methods. For a store owner, this is a bonus. Customers, on the other hand, will have the option of choosing whatever works best for them.
Some payment options may be inconvenient for you, while others may be unavailable to your clients.
The following are the most prevalent methods of payment used by shoppers:
- Debit and credit cards are accepted
- Pay with Google/Apple
- Stripe
- PayPal
Transaction fees also apply with Shopify. Confirm and comprehend the fees, which differ from one plan to the next. Aside from that, if you use a third-party payment method, Shopify will charge you an additional 2%, but there are no transaction fees if you utilize Shopify Payments.
This is not the case with WooCommerce. There is no charge for transactions. The only fees that apply are the standard bank fees. If you’re not in the United States, you can use other common payment methods. They are as follows:
- Bank-to-bank transfers
- Stripe
- PayPal Standard
- Cash delivery
- Each has its own set of costs and restrictions
Winner
Is WooCommerce a better option than Shopify when it comes to transaction fees? Yes. WooCommerce is better as you do not need to pay transaction fees. WooCommerce wins.
12. Pricing
One of the most crucial factors to consider when comparing WooCommerce and Shopify is, of course, your budget. Shopify does not have any free plans, unlike WooCommerce that is a free open-source plugin.
Shopify has three pricing plans to choose from, Basic, Shopify, and advanced.
- Basic plan costs $29/month
- Shopify plan costs $29/month
- Advance plan cost $299/month
Each plan has its own set of features and rates for online credit cards:
- Basic: 2.9% + 30 percent
- Shopify: 2.5% + 30 percent
- Advanced: 2.4% + 30 percent
The price structure of WooCommerce is unique. Installing and using the plugin is completely free. You will, however, be charged additional fees.
Some of these include domain name registration and hosting. The cost of hosting can range from $5 to $100. On top of that, a top-level domain will set you back $9 each year. WooCommerce also has a cost associated with each plugin and confession.
Winner
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that allows you to sell your products. It also allows you to avoid recurring monthly fees, which can quickly add up.
13. Tax Settings
Shopify and WooCommerce both have tools that can assist you in collecting proper tax rates.
WooCommerce has its own free WooCommerce Taxes solution that calculates proper tax rates instantly. This service is available in over 30 countries, including the United States and the majority of Europe.
WooCommerce also comes with several pre-configured options and support for third-party services like Avalara and TaxJar.
Shopify has built-in tax setups for the United States and Canada, as well as the ability to create bespoke tax overrides for specific locations. You can connect to Avalara or TaxJar using Shopify apps, just like you can with WooCommerce.
Winner
It’s a tie. Both platforms are configurable with options for automating tax calculations.
14. Customer Support
Both WooCommerce and Shopify are very user-friendly. However, you may require assistance from time to time to learn how to accomplish anything new in your store.
Let’s take a look at how Shopify and WooCommerce handle support and what you can do if you need assistance.
Shopify is known for its excellent customer service. You will have access to 24/7 customer assistance when you have any concerns or questions through email, chat live, or phone calls.
Aside from that, you’ll have access to a comprehensive knowledge library that answers some of the most often asked topics and provides solutions to problems.
The issue of WooCommerce support is a little more complicated. WooCommerce is a completely free WordPress plugin. This means you’ll be able to obtain help from the WordPress forums. At the same time, the WooCommerce team makes it possible for anyone to create a free user account on WooCommerce.com and receive help there.
There are also a plethora of WooCommerce-related blogs on the internet. Overall, WooCommerce is ideal for customers who prefer to conduct their personal online research rather than speak with a sales representative.
Winner
Finally, I must hand over this round to Shopify. Nothing beats gaining access to a support agent at all hours of the day or night.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is dropshipping?
When an online store acts as a middleman between the original provider and the customer, it is known as dropshipping. You can run a full-fledged internet store this way without having to store any inventory.
To manage a dropshipping business, you’ll need an eCommerce platform that’s built for it. Printify, for example, is a fantastic dropshipping extension that works with both WooCommerce and Shopify.
What are the things to consider before choosing an eCommerce platform?
When it comes to launching an online store, there are a few things to keep in mind. These main considerations will assist you in determining which platform is most suited to your requirements.
Budget – The initial investment required to launch a fully operating eCommerce site.
Ease of use – Even absolute beginners should find it simple to use.
Payment Options – It should be able to accept a variety of payment options like Stripe, PayPal, and other merchant processors.
Integrations — The number of services and third-party solutions you can use to expand your company.
Scalability – The platform should be able to grow with your company.
These are the fundamental standards that any online store owner must take into account. Depending on business requirements, you may wish to consider further solutions such as shipping, inventory management, invoicing, taxes, dropshipping, and so forth.
What exactly is an SSL certificate?
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a security protocol that encrypts data sent over the internet. An SSL certificate protects your website from cybercriminals by preventing personal information from being tampered with.
See Also: 15 Best Email Marketing Services To Increase Your Conversion Rate
Overall Winner
There you have it with a detailed comparison between WooCommerce and Shopify. From the comparison, Shopify won most of the contest when compared with WooCommerce, but though it’s was a tight battle.
However, the result does not mean that Shopify is superior to WooCommerce, but it all depends on how you want your store to look like.
Furthermore, WooCommerce may fit well in so some areas when running a store online because it’s one of the most popular eCommerce platforms online.
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