WooCommerce Vs Shopify – Which Is Better?

In choosing an e-commerce solution, you need to decide what suits your needs the best. There are several options on the market, so it’s best that you research to determine which would be the most suitable for your online store.

Two options that are very popular with many e-commerce entrepreneurs and are frequently endorsed by web developers are WooCommerce and Shopify. In comparing WooCommerce vs. Shopify, you can find out how they’re different from each other by exploring the pros and cons of each one.

WooCommerce

A WordPress plugin that allows you to transform a WordPress site into an online store.   WooCommerce provides an easy way for you to take care of such matters as inventory, payments, shipping, and more as well as access reports on both your products and customers. It works with almost any theme and easily integrates into an existing site. Its different features include products (unlimited number), inventory management, payment methods, coupons, shipping methods, reports, marketing, and tax support.

As mentioned, there are many WordPress themes compatible with WooCommerce. WooThemes was specifically designed for WooCommerce, but there are also many others that work with this particular plugin. There are also hundreds of extensions for expanding the functionality of WooCommerce in a variety of categories, including accounting, marketing, payment gateways, subscriptions, and many more. Some of them are product search, antifraud, future pay, affiliate software, recommendations, etc.

What are the advantages of using WooCommerce?

• You don’t have to pay for the plugin.
• You can expand it through extensions.
• You get to use the WordPress platform.
• You enjoy complete ownership since you’ll be taking care of your own domain and hosting.
• You can customize extensively.
• You have a choice of payment gateways.

WooCommerce does have some points working against it, such as the fact that you’ll have to be responsible for your site’s security and maintenance. Customizing it is also considered to be at a higher level of difficulty.

However, if it is the right solution for you, it's important to get really good hosting.  We recommend: WP Engine

Shopify

An outright e-commerce platform that allows you to create and customize your own online store, Shopify has a multitude of store templates. Nonetheless, it also allows you to build one according to your own needs and preferences.

Shopify is a complete WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) CMS, allowing you control over every aspect. It also has a blogging platform that enables interaction with users through comments. It provides your own URL, website builder, a blogging platform, customizable and responsive features, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited products, more than 70 international payment methods, gift card support, shipping options, global tax support, analytics, built-in SEO, and 24/7 support.

Shopify has both free and paid themes with the most popular ones costing about $140. Many of the themes contain features like dropdown menus, zoom-in product images, subcategories, newsletter integrations, etc.

What are the advantages of using Shopify?

• You’ll have an easy time using it.
• You can get started right away.
• You can leave security and updates to Shopify.
• You can expand with the use of apps.

The thing with Shopify is that there is only one host, so it’s like you’re renting instead of owning, but that’s a minor caveat considering that setting up shop is so fast and easy. Using it is simple and you don’t have to worry about maintaining it yourself.

At the end of the day, when you pit WooCommerce vs Shopify, your choice will depend on what you value more. Both have their good points and make solid choices, but many designers endorse Shopify for ease, convenience, and excellent features.

If Shopify is the right choice for you, we offer conversions from WooCommerce (or whichever platform you use).  Just contact us to get started.  We will also give you an unlimited free trial, so you don't have to pay your monthly fees (in both places) until you are launched. You can keep that unlimited trial whether you work with us or not.  If you want the regular 14 day trial, just click the banner below:

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