WooCommerce or Shopify?

Is WooCommerce or Shopify the Best? 🏆

Over the years, we’ve lost count of the number of times that our team of Shopify experts have been asked - WooCommerce or Shopify, which one is better?

The truth is, there isn’t a one-word answer that solves the battle between WooCommerce or Shopify, as both of these platforms are popular within their right, possessing unique strengths and weaknesses.

However, as an experienced Shopify agency, we can say with some confidence that to find the perfect platform for you and your business, store owners will first need to spare some time and thought when it comes to the needs and objectives of their online store.

The first step to working out who will come out on top betweeen WooCommerce or Shopify is to identify what sets these two platforms apart. So, what’s the difference between having a Shopify website or a WooCommerce website?

WooCommerce or Shopify - What’s The Difference?

The primary difference between WooCommerce and Shopify is that Shopify websites offer merchants a one-stop process to locate the perfect ecommerce solution for their online store.

The Shopify platform also contains all of the essential features that online businesses will need to maintain and grow their online store, whereas WooCommerce requires merchants to host their website themselves which of course has its pros and cons, but we’ll get to that later.

So, if you’re feeling a little bit stuck between whether you should start a site with WooCommerce or Shopify, fear not as today’s guide features the differences between the two platforms and the characteristics that they possess:

WooCommerce or Shopify - Designs and Themes

As every Shopify expert and online store owner knows, finding the right style and aesthetic is a huge part of building an online brand. So let’s kick off with the key differences between the range of Shopify design templates and WooCommerce themes options on offer across both ecommerce platforms:

Shopify Themes and Designs

When it comes to the battle between WooCommerce or Shopify, Shopify themes are well-known for their quality and variety via the Shopify Theme Store. Currently, there are 9 free available Shopify themes for merchants to choose from, each boasting their capabilities via 3 unique styles.

Additionally, online stores can browse and surf through a wide range of paid Shopify themes on the platform, with multiple styles available to select.

So, when it comes to establishing a flawless Shopify design, you’ll never be short with options on this platform. Innovative designs and merchant tools are at the forefront of Shopify. After all, it’s what the team lives and breathes.

WooCommerce Themes and Designs

Moving on to WooCommerce in the batlle between WooCommerce or Shopify, you’ll find that the deal with their designs is a whole different ball game. With WooCommerce, the aesthetic of a store is left up to the merchant so, the team does not offer any other designs. For merchants, this means that a design will need to be selected and plucked from the market.

The good news is that WooCommerce was built to work with even the most popular of WordPress themes out there so merchants won’t be limited to just one theme store collection, but the above information is still something that should be considered within the battle between WooCommerce or Shopify.

WooCommerce or Shopify - Pricing

Now, let’s get onto the good stuff and talk about pricing.

WooCommerce websites and Shopify websites use completely different approaches when it comes to pricing. Shopify is very clear with its plans, as the platform offers everything within its midst. For merchants, this means that they’ll know exactly what they’re getting for their money.

Shopify plans currently range from £7 per/ month (Lite plan) and stretches to £230 per/ month (Advanced plan) for more established businesses. In short, the higher the price, the more features merchants will receive.

In today's article between WooCommerce or Shopify, it's only fair that we disuss what's happening with the WooCommerce platform too.

However, things are a little less clear, as the WooCommerce plugin itself is completely free to utilise, but the additional elements such as; hosting, themes, domain names and extensions are where costs will begin to add up.

So, depending on which extensions the merchant selects, WooCommerce could work out to be the slightly more cost-effective option, but this will walk hand in hand with the price tag of time investment which brings us on nicely to our next point:

WooCommerce or Shopify - Setup and Usability

The next topic of discussion in our guide to WooCommerce or Shopify is the setup and usability of each platform.

When it comes to the setup and usability of these two ecommerce platforms, we can say with some certainty that there is a clear winner.

Shopify stores are designed to be highly intuitive and easy to use and the most attractive feature of Shopify is that online stores will be able to access everything in one place.

All merchants will need to do to get started is visit their Shopify site and hit the signup button. Then, follow Shopify’s basic setup wizard to easily create a unique Shopify store, kitted out with only the greatest features and tools.

Then, once your Shopify website is set up and ready to go, the process of managing an online business with the platform is very simple, as the Shopify dashboard provides each of its merchants with easy access to every feature that they could need to run a successful online store.

Moving on to WooCommerce in the battle between WooCommerce or Shopify, we’d say that managing a store on this platform can be just as easy as running an online business on Shopify. However, the true difficulty with WooCommerce lies in the setup.

The plugin itself is simple to work with, but outside of that, store owners will need to install a WordPress theme and set up a domain name and hosting account themselves.

It’s taking care of those elements that can take up a lot more time than a straightforward Shopify store setup so, it’s down to you and your team whether the time is something you can spare.

So, the choice is yours, WooCommerce or Shopify? - Which one will it be?

If you’re actively looking to work with a Shopify agency designer or developer to assist you with your business, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch to get started!