Market is full of different e-commerce platform to create an online store. WooCommerce and Shopify are two of the most popular e-commerce platform available in the market. However, they are provided with different features, pricing strategy, and audiences they target. As an audience, you can choice one among the two platforms based on your specific needs and preferences. In this article, we compare WooCommerce vs Shopify and their features so you can easily decide what the best option for your online store is. We will compare the two platforms based on.
- Easy to Use
- Hosted
- Time to Create a Store
- Themes and Customization options
- Pricing
- Optimization of Search Engines
- Dropshipping
WooCommerce is a free open-source e-commerce platform that enables individuals, businesses, and organization to create and manage a successful online store for long term. In simple word, e-commerce is software or plugin that help you create an online store where you can easily sell physical or digital products, and also helps in creating an Affiliate and Dropshipping store as well.
To create an online store with WooCommerce, you essentially require a WordPress website and a theme that is compatible for e-commerce store. The WordPress is a free platform, you can install and create a store plus you can also create a store with free themes provides by WordPress and third party companies as well. Only you need is a right domain name for your online store and best web hosting plan to host your store.
Why WooCommerce is so popular platform to create an online store?
- Do you know that WooCommerce is the largest e-commerce platform with above 39% market share and more than 6.3 millions websites uses WooCommerce Plugin?
- Many small and large business company trust WooCommerce to create their online store and sell their products and services globally. Most of the United States Company uses Woo-commerce to create their online store with 2.8 million sites. Here we will discover some the best features available on WooCommerce resulting WooCommerce as a popular platform to create an online store.
- WooCommerce is a free platform to create an online store and sell their products.
- Woo-commerce is an open-source platform; therefore, anyone can go and audit, modify and extend their code.
- Woo-commerce has a easy and friendly interface, therefore, you do not required a professional developer or required coding skills to create an online store.
- Woo-commerce is a plugins that are compatible with many other plugins to add different functionality into your store without need of any technical skills
- Woo-commerce has a responsive design that works perfectly in any devices and customer can shop the products using PC, Tablets or Smartphone.
- Woo-commerce is secure. Woo-commerce is designed to provide safe and secure foundation for e-commerce store. Plus, you can add various security plugins to secure your online store and other technical method of securing your store.
Some Popular Online Stores that uses WooCommerce Platform
- CraftsyCraftsy
- Farmers AlmanacFarmers Almanac
- ClickBankClickBank
- FoundryFoundry
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a complete solution for creating an e-commerce store. With Shopify you can start, grow, and manage an online store without need of any technical skill or hiring a professional developer. As an individual, you can easily build and customize an online store and sell in multiple places with their responsive design according to their users.
Shopify is a cloud-based and hosted. You can access it from anywhere and the company will handle your store, and upgrades server and does maintenance for you. Therefore, you do not have to worry about your website and you can fully focus on selling your products.
To start your e-commerce business with Shopify, you need to get your preferable Shopify plan. Based on their plans available, you are provided with different features. As you purchase a plan, you are provided with essential elements to turn your business idea into a real business and start selling the products. You can use their templates you feel you required for your store and customize it and the company provide different tools to sell, integrate the payment professing, and SEO and Marketing tools to develop a perfect online store.
Why Choose Shopify to Create an online Store?
- Shopify platform is best for any individual, small and medium sized business organization that enables you to sell your products and services without required of technical skills and hiring for developers.
- Shopify Platform is accessible for everyone around the world to create, manage, and innovate their business. Shopify is available more than 175 countries and access all the necessary tools and features based on their pricing.
- Shopify provides wide ranges of e-commerce ecosystem integration created to increase the high functionality of your website such as number of themes, channels, products and experiences.
- Shopify provides multiple payment gateways such as PayPal, Digital Wallets, Cash on Delivery, Credit or Debit card that are convenience to your customer.
WooCommerce vs Shopify (Basic Comparison)
Here are some basic comparison between WooCommerce and Shopify. Check out some major differentiation between the two platform.
Easy to Use
Both the platform has easy and user friendly interface. However, WooCommerce is little more technical platform which you might required certain level of knowledge to understand how WordPress actually work which might takes time in learning. If you have basic ideas about WordPress and WooCommerce, you can create a perfect e-commerce store.
When you create an online store from Shopify, the platform has the easiest way to create and start your online store adding products. Any person does not have any idea about e-commerce business can create a professional design website.
Hosted
Woo-commerce is an open-source platform that enables individuals, businesses, and organization to create and manage a successful online store for long term. Also, if you are using a Woo-commerce platform, you need to maintain your sites security and maintenance, updating your website and back-up your sites. Hence, you need to have some technical knowledge about maintaining your website secure, setting up for backup and regular updates, and maintenance of your sites. Thanks to YouTube videos, where you can find and learn to maintain your website secure and safe, and maintain updates.
With Shopify, you do not have to worry about maintaining security and maintenance. All you have to do is manage the inventory, process the product shipment, and website design. All other activity is performed by Shopify for you. When the Shopify updates their server and their software and features, your sites gets easily updated. In short, Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform.
Time to Create a Store
If you are looking for creating a store in very short time, Shopify is best for you. You can easily create your website and its design and customization on Shopify in comparison to Woo-commerce Store. WooCommerce does take short time to create a website, but required various additional plugins when you create a store. In addition, Shopify has introduced new AI product description tool, so you can enter some keywords and AI will write description for you.
But if you are looking for more advanced customization or have limited technical skills Woo-commerce will be the best platform for you. This might take some time for creating a website but you will able to add up high features with maximum integration option to make your website more professional. In another word, Woo-commerce is specialty design for creative business owner who are not just limited to selling their products but also for various features integration as well.
Themes and Customization options
If you are looking for themes and customization options Woo-commerce is best for your online store. When we describe an online store, we also mean the business to physical products, digital products, affiliate business and Dropshipping business. Beside these online stores there are also other related online stores such as Print on Demand business, Marketplace business, Review business, Web Hosting business. Every business types have their own suitable themes and have plugins for additional features. Woo-commerce has the best available free and paid themes related to all these types of online stores to create and sell their products.
Shopify is a suitable for an Individuals and small and medium sized business organization. Every year the platform increases their design functionality than the last year. This is a positive remark of their business. But in the present scenario, we can say that Woo-commerce still have the best available features then Shopify platform.
Shopify has over 100 templates you can choose and create a website. Some of these templates are paid and only some are free. Similarly Woo-commerce has more than 80 themes you can choose to create a website. But you can use other themes available Compatible with Woo-commerce provided by WordPress and other Third party company. Check out Some best themes for Shopify store. Also read some best Free and paid WordPress themes to create e-commerce store.
Pricing
Shopify is a cloud based and hosted platform to create an online store. The company takes a responsible in securing and maintain website, and does regular updates and backup for you. Shopify has their pricing plans, you can choose and create a website. Here are their pricing plans.
Basic Plan: Basic Plan is best for individual and small businesses. Pricing for Basic plan is $25/Month.
Shopify Plan: Shopify Plan is best for small businesses. Pricing for Shopify plan is $65/Month.
Advanced Plan: Advanced Plan is best for Medium and large businesses. Pricing for Advanced plan is $399/Month.
Additional cost might require if you required premium themes and extension for your Shopify store.
Woo Commerce is a free Open-source platform to create an online store. However, there is some extra cost you might require to pay. Some additional cost that might require such as Domain, Web hosting, premium themes and plugins, and other necessary extensions.
Optimization of Search Engines
If your websites want to be discovered on Google and other search engine’s result pages (SERPs), you need to plan for search engine optimization (SEO).
Shopify has a built-in SEO plugin that enables you with basic optimization for search engine. Beside basic Search engine optimization practice, the Shopify platform has faster loading website. This is one important factor for ranking your website on Google and other search engines.
Woo-commerce is integrated into WordPress. Woo-commerce is compatible with SEO plugins which allows individual or business organization to rank your online store plus, WordPress has a clean coding which automatically provides ranking your website in search engine result page. Woo-commerce has basic and advanced SEO optimization allowing users to alter content, URLs, Meta descriptions, alt tags and other on-page element with amazing SEO tools.
Dropshipping
Both platforms provide you the outstanding features related to Dropshipping and Dropshipping business. As these platforms are highly focused on building their best e-commerce platform in the market. These company offers various compatible extensions with features and best customization options that work best for your online store to start your Dropshipping business.
Shopify offers the three popular plan to start your online business ranges from $29/month to $299/month and also offers 15 days trial period. The platform also includes other related charges which might seems little costlier than other platforms. The company also offers more than 300 dropshipping apps or plugins; you can consider creating your online Dropshipping business.
Woo-commerce is a free platform so you do not have to charge for their services. However, to start a professional Dropshipping business you might requires different plugins that are available with certain costs. As manually adding products can be time consuming, you can get their premium plugins saving your time, and efforts which perform all automatically from transferring all products details from third party Company such as Aliexpress and Amazon to your Woo-commerce store.
Overall Comparison on WooCommerce vs Shopify
Easy To Use
Shopify has a user friendly interface which help you create an online store with a few clicks saving your time and mainly do not requires technical skill or hire a developer.
Woocommerce does have user friendly interface but you might requires some technical skill on designing the online store.
Hosted
Shopify is a cloud based hosted platform which does all the updates and maintenance for you including maintaining security. When a platform is updated and adds features, the platform provides you the related service as well.
WooCommerce is a free open source platform. Every activity related to Updates, maintenance and securing your website is your work. You can easily perform these activities with their provided plugins that are free or paid.
WooCommerce vs Shopify Speed and Time to Create a Store
Creating your e-commerce store using Shopify platform takes few hours which save your time. With few clicks and customization options you can easily create your Shopify e-commerce store. They also provide various apps or plugins to add different functionality on your store.
Woo-commerce is generally for those business or individual who are planning to create their online store with their creativity. Therefore, it takes little more time than creating on Shopify. Woo-commerce provides maximum numbers of plugins that can easily integrate with Woo-commerce and add different new features that seems unique than other online store in the market.
Themes and Customization options
Shopify provides more than hundreds of themes or templates you can use and create a website. However, they provide very limited number of free themes or templates which can be a high limitation for Shopify users. If you do not like their given themes or templates, you can design your own Shopify store or purchase premium Shopify themes from other third party websites such as Themeforest.
Woo-commerce have their very limited themes which you can use it if you like it. But as the Woo-commerce is a part of WordPress, the platform provides you more than thousand of free and paid themes you can use and create your online store. You can also create various types of online store using Woo-commerce store and design the your you prefer.
Pricing
Shopify provides you different pricing plans. You can choose one of their plans and create your online store. Different pricing plans have different features provided and to have a unlimited features, the price is too costly which not everyone could afford it. As the start up costs seems high, people shift to other e-commerce platform which provides to cheap pricing with more features.
Woo-commerce is one best alternative for people who do not want to pay more on creating a e-commerce website. Woo-commerce provide the maximum features with limited pricing and you can easily integrate with various plugins and themes you prefer for your online website.
Optimization of Search Engines
Shopify has a built-in SEO plugin that enables you with basic optimization for search engine. Beside basic Search engine optimization practice, the Shopify platform has faster loading website.
Woo-commerce is integrated into WordPress. Woo-commerce is compatible with SEO plugins which allows individual or business organization to rank your online store plus, WordPress has a clean coding which automatically provides ranking your website in search engine result page.
WooCommerce vs Shopify on Dropshipping Business
Shopify provides more than 500 Apps or plugins to create your Dropshipping business and add various features that are required for having a professional dropshipping store.
Woo-commerce provides different plugins free and paid to create a Dropshipping business and help beginner and professional individual or business organization to build their desirable e-commerce store.
Recommendation for WooCommerce
WooCommerce is suitable for website owner looking for highly flexible and customizable e-commerce platform which can be easily integrates with WooCommerce mainly if you have technical expertise or developer. Also, if the platform is a cost-effective option as you can only pay for web hosting, domain name, and extensions.
Recommendation for Shopify
Shopify is an awesome platform, if you are looking for simple, and all-in-one ecommerce platform that handles overall activities from handling web hosting, security, and technical updates, so you can only focus on your business growth. The platform is preferable for beginners and those who prefer hassle-free setup with best excellent customer support.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Shopify Better than WooCommerce?
Shopify is specially designed for individual and small to medium sized business to create an e-commerce store. With Shopify, you can create a online store without any technical skill and hiring a professional developer. However, the Shopify has limited features in comparison to WooCommerce. WooCommerce is specially designed for a creative business organization who loves to provide various features and services.
WooCommerce does require some technical skill but a simple person easily learn and create their e-commerce store using WooCommerce.
Why use WooCommerce Instead of Shopify?
If you are a creative and do not want to spend lots of your money on creating an online store, you can use WooCommerce instead of Shopify. WooCommerce provides maximum features and Customization options as well but required premium charges. As a beginner, free server can be enough and as your business grows, you can use their premium features as well.
Why big companies use WooCommerce?
There are many companies use WooCommerce. Some of the few big companies that uses WooCommerce such as Craftsy, Farmers Almanac, ClickBank, and Foundry.
Is Shopify more SEO Friendly than WooCommerce?
Shopify and WooCommerce has best features for optimization of Search Engine. E-commerce store, you create using a Shopify platform has good speed performance which benefit your website for ranking. WooCommerce can have medium speed performance but can be enhanced with different plugins and using of light theme for your website.
Is Shopify Better than WooCommerce?
Shopify and WooCommerce are best e-commerce platform to create your e-commerce store. Shopify has their own features and limitations so does WooCommerce. Shopify is a better option if you do not have technical knowledge but is costly. And WooCommerce sometime requires technical skill but is best for creative user plus it not much expensive unless you do not purchase their premium products. Based on your business, your budget and required features, you can choose the better option among the two platform.
