WooCommerce vs Shopify; they meet head to head as features go. Here are the differences that we think are important:
WooCommerce vs Shopify Pricing:
- WooCommerce is free, and you pay for the addons you will need.
- Shopify has a monthly base price, with monthly addons priced separately.
WooCommerce vs Shopify Hosting:
- WooCommerce works with WordPress, and can be hosted at almost any quality web hosting provider.
- Shopify is a hosted, all-in-one solution. You don’t own your website. Miss payment and you site is gone.
WooCommerce vs Shopify Security:
- WooCommerce, where you host where you want to, will need an SSL Cert for secured transaction. $125/yr
- Shopify includes SSL with their monthly price.
WooCommerce vs Shopify Conclusion:
- WooCommerce seems to be more flexible, and more extensible than Shopify. Especially with the customized look and feel of your website. Shopify being a hosted solution is attractive where you don’t have to worry about updates, however MHS offers WordPress Managed Services that covers all your updates and much more. Pricing seems to be somewhat less expensive with WooCommerce in the long run since most addons are one time fees.
Which Platform Should You Choose?
As you can see, both platforms have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. This will help you narrow down which is the best eCommerce software for your new store. Let’s briefly summarize them to make your decision a bit easier:
WooCommerce – Pros
- The WooCommerce community of developers is the largest of any ecommerce platform.
- It has user reviews and ratings.
- Nicely organized reports which are categorized by date, product, category, coupons, etc.
- WooCommerce is a free plugin which means there is no extra cost if you need basic store functionality and you already have a WordPress website.
WooCommerce – Cons
- If you’re starting from scratch, you need to sign up for hosting separately, install, and set up WooCommerce. Most web hosting companies will assist you with initial installation to get you started.
- If you want an SSL certificate which proves your website is secure, you will need to purchase it separately, again easily setup by your hosting provider.
WooCommerce is the most logical choice for those of you who are already set up on the WordPress platform, have your hosting taken care of, and you don’t mind paying extra for an SSL security certificate. Integrating WooCommerce is as easy as installing any other plugin and the most basic setup of the store can be completed in just five steps.
With that in mind, WooCommerce is easy to use, and it allows you to set up a testing environment to make sure everything works before you start accepting payments on your site. As long as you’re familiar with WordPress, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Shopify – Pros
- Free hosting which means your store can be up and running as soon as you sign up for Shopify and start adding your products.
- Slightly better SEO capabilities than WooCommerce, most notable being page loading times and the fact that it comes with a free SSL certificate.
- Includes social media promotion and sharing which helps with both product and website promotion.
- The admin area is modern-looking, easy to use, and very intuitive—even for a novice user.
Shopify – Cons
- 100% DIY, if you’re not up for the complicated task of building your own ecom store, Shopify is not for you.
On the con side of things, Shopify doesn’t offer more than their three default product attributes whereas WooCommerce offers unlimited product variations. The products in Shopify are defined by size, color, and material which can have additional options but you cannot create new product variations.
With that in mind, Shopify is a great choice for those new to the world of eCommerce, and those who don’t have a website already. It features a friendly design and walks you through the process of setting up your store which makes it beginner-friendly, while some of the more advanced features will meet the needs of more demanding users.
Shopify offers an effortless way of getting your store up and running as quickly as possible. To minimize the costs upfront all you have to do is sign up for Shopify, pick one of their free themes, customize the design to match with your brand, add the products, and you’re good to go.
If it comes to down to cost, control, and expandability; Woocommerce is the outright winner.