If you landed on this page, then it surely means that you have made your mind to sell your products online using an eCommerce store. But there is a major confusion now – WooCommerce or Shopify?
Before diving into the operating details, it is important to understand the basic difference first.
WooCommerce is a free and open-source plugin for WordPress that allows you to build an eCommerce store on your WordPress website.
Meanwhile, Shopify is an online website-based company that gives you admin access to list your products, manage and sell them using their platform.
According to the official stats of Shopify, 1.2 million websites are actively working on Shopify. On the other hand, WooCommerce is actively working on 3 million websites right now as per the figures from Wikipedia.
Now comes the major question – which is the right choice for you?
The answer lies in your requirements and business. To help with your decision making, I am listing some key points to consider.
Choosing Between WooCommerce and Shopify
1] Difficulty Level For Seller
A) Shopify
Shopify is a dedicated company that manages everything for its users. As a seller, you need to make an account, customize your store, and start selling your products.
If you are not a geek or unable to hire someone to look after your store, Shopify can be a great option. It allows building a store using the drag-and-drop technique.
As an owner, you don’t need to manage the updates or look after the security issues. The Shopify company operates that.
Image Source: kyliecosmetics.com
The cosmetic queen Kylie Kardashian’s eCommerce store is a great example of a Shopify store.
B) WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a plugin on WordPress that allows you to build an eCommerce store. That implies you need to look after everything that you would manage for a normal WordPress website.
Once you install WordPress, it is the webmaster’s responsibility to keep the website updated and running. Even security and backups need your attention.
It’s the same way how you manage a WordPress website.
Winner: Shopify
2] Customizations
A) Shopify
The easier the things get, the fewer customizations and power you hold. That’s the case with Shopify.
It has some fixed themes and templates that you need to use. You cannot explore or develop anything out of the box.
At times, there are some features that you exclusively need for your store because they would enhance the user experience. Guess what? You cannot implement them on your Shopify website.
B) WooCommerce
WordPress is famous for the customizations it allows on its platform. Being an open-source platform, you don’t need to count extra bucks just because you need some specific feature.
Just ask your developer to develop a feature, and it will be done for free. If not, use a third-party plugin. You can even do by yourself provided that you understand the backend technicalities.
Of course, there are some readymade themes and templates that you can use. But you are not restricted to use them. Choose one of them or build your theme.
Not just themes but a website need several other addons and tools like analytics, email marketing tools, automation, lead generation tools, and several other things. You can choose any addon based on your requirements from thousands of options.
Image Source: ClickBank
ClickBank is one of the largest Internet companies is using WooCommerce to sell its products.
Winner: WooCommerce
3] Payments
A) Shopify
Shopify charges 2% per transaction if you use a third-party gateway. You can reduce this by upgrading your Shopify plan. Or you can use their Shopify payments for free, but that’s not available in India.
If you are selling in bulk, then Shopify charges might not appeal to you.
B) WooCommerce
The WooCommerce platform does not charge a single dollar for implementing the payment gateway. Whatever charges you might face, can come from the bank or the payment gateway that you might be using on WooCommerce.
You are given the freedom to choose a payment gateway with the lowest fees that fulfills your requirements.
Winner: WooCommerce
4] Pricing
Pricing will be the decision-making point for almost every online seller. Here’s your spoiler: comfort always costs more.
A) Shopify
The monthly fees of Shopify start from $29 where you will get everything that includes hosting, domain, and an SSL certificate for your website. You even get admin access which will help you to manage your store.
To get more features, you need to upgrade your plan. Also, your bill will increase as you keep adding the extra plugins for your website. Scaling the store is tough due to skyrocketing costs.
As mentioned above, Shopify charges you 2% of every transaction on your eCommerce store. This commission gets reduced on every upgrade.
You can check the pricing list of Shopify from its official website.
B) WooCommerce
Being open-source, WooCommerce is technically free, and you don’t get charged for any additional services. The only cost you need to bear is for a hosting service and a domain. If you already own one, nothing is better than that.
You are technically self-hosting an eCommerce store when you start using WordPress and WooCommerce combination. Scaling becomes easier on WooCommerce.
Winner: WooCommerce
Summarizing
Both the platform have their pros and cons. The decision of WooCommerce vs Shopify must not be a confusing deal now.
In both cases, you need to market your eCommerce store and compete directly with Amazon.
We have a guide for that: 6 Ways Your eCommerce Website Can Compete With Amazon.
If you are ready to pay more for the peace of mind, then Shopify is the best option for your online business. It has a strong support system, and there is no requirement of even the slightest of technical knowledge.
However, there are some downfalls to using Shopify websites. They all look almost the same because of the lack of customization. Moreover, they charge you heavily for every additional feature you use.
This is where WooCommerce can save you. There is a reason why WooCommerce websites are almost double in number as compared to Shopify websites.
You can customize the whole website as you want at an almost nominal price. Sure, your cost might count if you hire a developer or use some premium elements on your website. But that’s not a recurring cost.
In case you need a fully customized eCommerce store based on WooCommerce, we can help you out. Let’s brainstorm on your idea.