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Which Platform is Better, Shopify or WooCommerce?

Which Platform is Better, Shopify or WooCommerce?

Riya Hooda575 26-Feb-2020

Before digging deeper into which platform is better, let us first take a look at what these platforms offer.

Shopify

This eCommerce platform is designed to make creating online stores, managing their inventory and accepting payments easy for business owners. With Shopify, you never have to worry about the technical aspects of managing a website such as caching, security and web hosting, to name a few.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source plugin that provides users with a way to add eCommerce functionality to the WordPress CMS (content management system) and use this combination to run an online store. This plugin is built for use with WordPress only. The open-source nature of the plugin allows anyone with the proper skill set to customize every aspect of their store and build custom extensions with ease.

When choosing one of these platforms on which to build your online store, ensure to check that the functionality they provide fits your needs and level of skill entirely.

What to Look for Before Choosing an eCommerce Platform?

There are a few things that you need to keep in mind before starting to build an online store. The following factors will help you make an informed choice while deciding which platform is better suited to your needs.

Scalability: Does the platform allow you to build a website that is scalable. Will you be able to expand the functionality of your website as your business grows?

Integrations: Does the platform provide you with third-party tools and services for integrating with your website?

Payment methods: Does the platform support multiple payment platforms such as Stripe, PayPal, and other merchant processors?

Ease of use: Can you use the platform with ease, even if you are a beginner?

Budget: Figure out how much you are willing to invest to own a fully functional eCommerce store .

These are the basic requirements every online store owner considers before venturing into eCommerce. They also check on other factors like dropshipping, taxes, invoicing, inventory management and shipping as well.

This guide will provide you with an in-depth look at how WooCommerce and Shopify stand on these basic requirements.

Integrations and Add-Ons

No matter how robust the eCommerce platform you choose is, you will need to use third-party tools to build your online business. These tools include outreach services, analytics tools, lead generation tools, and email marketing software. Both WooCommerce and Shopify integrate with many third-party services and have a massive directory of extensions.

Shopify - Integrations and Add-ons

If you are looking to buy third-party add-ons for your online store, Shopify provides access to an App Store and a powerful API. There are hundreds of apps you can choose from that cover every feature you would want to add to your store. The advantage of using Shopify is that it provides access to both paid and free apps. You can also hire a Shopify development company to create a plugin or integration just for your website.

WooCommerce - Integrations and Add-ons

WooCommerce provides access to both free and paid plugins. You can use these plugins to add payment gateways, performance optimization, SEO and any other feature you want to have on your website. When it comes to customizing your website, the WooCommerce platform is easier to customize.

Payment Gateways

There are several payment gateways you can use to process payments on your website. However, not all of them are suitable, and some may not be available to your consumers. You need to choose a platform that offers multiple payment options.

Shopify - Payment Options

Shopify offers integration with plenty of payment options that you can use to process payments from clients. This platform has a payment solution that is powered by Stripe known as Shopify Payments. It also works with other major payment gateways as well. This platform is good for small store owners who do not mind using Shopify payments which has the same rates as PayPal, Stripe and credit cards since there is no difference.

WooCommerce - Payment Options

This platform supports integration with several payment service providers through add-ons. Stripe and PayPal payments are also offered by default. WooCommerce supports less popular and regional payment services as well.

Ease of Use

You do not have to be a developer or a web designer to operate an eCommerce platform. Just being familiar with the basic concepts enables you to use a platform. Let us take a look at how easy it is to use each of these platforms.

Shopify - ease of use

Being a fully hosted platform, you do not need to install, update, or manage any software when you sign up with Shopify. With Shopify, you do not need to worry about compatibility, backups, performance or security issues. After you sign up for an account successfully, this platform helps you pick a design for your website. After that you can customize your online store as you desire and then add products. The drag and drop interface helps you to manage inventory, sales, and products easily. Shopify has a large selection of themes and extensions that can help your online store to grow.

WooCommerce - ease of use

Unlike Shopify, WooCommerce is not a hosted platform. This means that you need to get a hosting, install the platform on a server, make sure your website is safe, keep backups and manage updates on your own. You would need to use free or paid plugins to automate these tasks. Also, WooCommerce has no built-in drag and drop option. When compared to Shopify, WooCommerce requires the user to be more hands-on to maintain their website.

Cost

The main factor that you need to consider before signing up for an eCommerce platform is the cost. Ensure you evaluate the cost of starting the online store and how much more you will need for software and add-on services.

Shopify - cost

It is super affordable to start an online store using Shopify. If you are on a shoestring budget you can opt for the basic plan which has enough features to get you started. The basic plan allows you to have unlimited file storage, 2 user accounts, and to add unlimited products.

WooCommerce - Cost

To start an account with WooCommerce, you need a WordPress hosting, an SSL Certificate, and a domain name. The costs involved in starting an online store using this platform are slightly higher than Shopify.

Conclusion

From the information above, we can conclude that both Spotify and WooCommerce are powerful platforms that you can use to start an online store. However, depending on the information above we can safely conclude that Spotify is not only easy to use but also cheaper, and requires minimum maintenance when compared to WooCommerce.


Updated 26-Feb-2020
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