Shopify or WooCommerce: Which eCommerce platform is right for your business?

Picking an eCommerce platform to use for your company’s online store can be challenging, as there are so many different services to choose from. In our experience, Shopify and WooCommerce are two of the best, and we work with both platforms regularly. Below, we’ll take a look at how they compare, and share our recommendation for our preferred e-commerce platform.

Shopify Pros

If you’re just starting out on your eCommerce journey, Shopify is an easy-to-use platform with lots of intuitive features. Since it’s a fully hosted platform, there is no software to install or manage, and no coding knowledge is required. Everything is controlled via their website, and once you log in, you’re able to choose from a variety of free themes to fit your brand. You can drag and drop elements to easily arrange your products and create a polished storefront.

As far as cost, Shopify is an inexpensive option, with basic plans starting at $29 a month. For new or small businesses, the basic plan is likely to suffice for your needs, as it allows for unlimited product listings and unlimited file storage. But if your expanding company needs additional features, advanced plans at $79/month or $299/month are also available.

Shopify Cons

Although its plans may be economical, one drawback of Shopify is its transaction fees. Using a third-party payment processor or your company’s merchant account to accept payments costs a flat fee of 2% on all transactions on the basic plan. While Shopify’s own Shopify Payment gateway doesn’t charge any additional fees, it still charges standard credit card processing fees. Also, while Shopify provides hosting services, it does not provide your site with its own domain, meaning you’ll have to pay that fee separately.

In addition to fees, using add-ons and additional development tools can add to the cost of your Shopify site. As your business grows, you will likely need to utilize some of these tools to optimize your store, upgrade to a more expensive plan, or both. Additionally, since Shopify’s apps are all controlled by Shopify, you may have difficulty finding add-ons that suit your precise specifications.

WooCommerce Pros

WooCommerce, or Woo, is an open-source eCommerce platform, which allows for full customization and integration with your existing website and content management system. Since it’s built on WordPress, it’s designed to work flawlessly with any existing WordPress site. Additionally, with over 59,000 free plugins to choose from, you can customize your online store in endless ways. It’s easy to learn, manage, and grow to fit your exact business needs.

Unlike Shopify, there are no transaction fees charged on purchases or monthly plan fees. Although there are paid plugins you can utilize, Woo itself is entirely free. No matter how much your business expands, you won’t have to pay higher rates to upgrade your plan.

Additionally, since it runs through WordPress, Woo is optimized for SEO success. You can easily integrate your SEO strategy into product descriptions and download third-party plugins to enhance your SEO even further.

WooCommerce Cons

Woo is a free platform, but that doesn’t mean there is zero cost to use it. Since it has to be integrated into a WordPress website, you will need to pay for a domain name, an SSL certificate, and a hosting account to get your store set up. That said, if you already have an existing site for your company, you’re most likely already paying those fees. As your online store begins to grow, however, you may want to add paid extensions, themes, and other add-ons. The cost of these extensions can add up, but luckily, there are many free alternatives available.

Also, since Woo requires you to use your own hosting software, there can be a bit of a learning curve if you’re not a developer and you’re working on your own. However, if you’ve already got your hosting set up, adding Woo to your WordPress site is simple.

Robintek’s Pick: WooCommerce

Because of its easy integration with WordPress and customization capabilities, Robintek developers prefer WooCommerce over Shopify as the best e-commerce platform. We like it for its ability to design and shape our clients’ online stores to their exact specifications. However, we still like and use Shopify for its intuitive user experience and low cost for small businesses.

If you’d like to know more about how Robintek uses these platforms or need help deciding which is the best for your e-commerce site, click here to request a consultation.