Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which is the Best Ecommerce Platform?

Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Ecommerce Platform is Right for You?

If you're looking to create an online store, you've probably heard of Shopify and WooCommerce. These two ecommerce platforms are the most popular options available, but which one is right for you? In this article, we'll compare the two platforms in terms of setup, templates, payment options, shipping and taxes, multilingual support, security, SEO, and customer support. By the end of this article, you'll have a better idea of which platform is the best fit for your needs.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Setup
3. Templates
4. Payment Options
5. Shipping and Taxes
6. Multilingual Support
7. Security
8. SEO
9. Customer Support
10. Conclusion

Setup

The setup experience between Shopify and WooCommerce is very different. With Shopify, you simply sign up for a free trial, and once logged in, you can add your first products. It only takes a couple of hours to get your store set up. With WooCommerce, you'll need to find a hosting provider, install WordPress, and then the WooCommerce plugin. It's much more technical and complex than with Shopify. Also, in day-to-day operations, you'll realize that WooCommerce needs a lot more maintenance as you'll have to take care of updates and sometimes solve plugin conflicts. It's all doable, but Shopify is definitely a smoother ride. So this round goes to them.

Templates

Shopify offers 10 free templates and more than 60 paid ones. The paid ones cost between $140 and $180. They look modern, are relatively easy to customize, and will also receive updates from time to time. Having said that, you can also modify your theme in the code, using the Liquid programming language. WooCommerce.com offers a couple of themes, but the free ones are very limited, and to be frank, I wouldn't go for either of them. The paid selection looks better and starts at $39. That said, I'd recommend checking out Envato, as their selection is much, much larger. It's hard to pick a clear winner. Shopify's templates are easier to manage and generally look better. WooCommerce, on the other hand, offers a larger overall selection, and it's probably easier to find a theme developer, should you ever need one. Let's call it a draw.

Payment Options

The key thing to know about Shopify is that you should definitely use Shopify Payments if it's available in your region. Because if not, Shopify will charge hefty transaction fees of up to 2%. The selection of payment providers is huge, and it's unlikely you won't find your preferred one. WooCommerce also has a massive selection of payment gateways. What you have to keep in mind here is that the more niche ones come at a one-time charge of around $79. No clear winner in this round.

Shipping and Taxes

Shopify and WooCommerce are also on par in Shipping and Taxes. Both of them offer pretty much everything you could ask for, like real-time shipping cost estimates and tax rates that are automatically calculated. Some of these features require paid plugins though. You'll find more details on shipping and tax options in our blog post. No clear winner in this round.

Multilingual Support

If your goal is to set up an international store in multiple languages, there is a significant difference between the two. Shopify requires a plugin. The most popular is Langify, which is $17.50 per month. Not exactly cheap. For WooCommerce, there is WPML, which is very established and integrates seamlessly with WordPress. You can even offer your products in multiple currencies. At $79 for the first year, it's quite affordable and renews at a yearly rate of $59. That's the equalizer. 3:3 is our new score.

Security

Security is another factor where both platforms follow very different approaches. Shopify is hosted by Shopify themselves. So you don't need to spend even a single second thinking about hosting providers. In our tests, we always had very decent uptime and speed results. There is also two-factor authentication, and Shopify permanently monitors their systems for unauthorized access. WooCommerce is built on the popular WordPress platform. Unfortunately, their popularity stretches to hackers too. Since you, the site owner, are responsible for installing security updates, it can be fatal not to do so. Shopify wins this round.

SEO

In the SEO arena, Shopify has nearly everything you'll ever need. Customizable page titles, descriptions, sitemaps, and 301 redirects. A small downside is that Shopify always adds slugs like "pages", "products", or "news" to your URLs. This isn't going to kill your SEO, but it'd be nice if they didn't force you to use this syntax. For WooCommerce, you need to install an SEO plugin like Yoast. This will give you complete flexibility over everything. It's also a bit cheaper to get your structured data set up for things like ratings and additional product information. All in all, you have more flexibility with WooCommerce, which gives them a slight push into the lead.

Customer Support

Well, this round is a quick one. Shopify provides pretty amazing support via live chat, email, and even phone. 24/7, no less. WooCommerce also provides support, well, kind of. You can only ask them questions if you've purchased a product, for example, a theme, at WooCommerce.com. If not, good luck roaming the user forums. With Shopify, you have a well-rounded support system for all your questions. With WooCommerce, you have to figure much more stuff out on your own. Shopify takes the lead again, securing itself as the clear winner of this battle.

Conclusion

Even though Shopify won this competition, your ideal choice will still depend very much on what your goals and individual needs are. Beginners and people who want to avoid technical headaches will definitely have an easier time using Shopify. Pros who need full flexibility and want to be able to do some serious code-tweaking will appreciate the freedom WooCommerce provides. International sites that are set up with different languages and currencies are best built on WooCommerce. Cash-strapped startups will appreciate the fact that a WooCommerce store can be built for very little money. But be aware that going down the DIY path can become very costly once you hire a developer. In many cases, Shopify will be the cheaper choice in the end.

Highlights

• Shopify is easier to set up and maintain, making it a better choice for beginners.
• WooCommerce offers more flexibility and customization options, making it a better choice for pros.
• Shopify has better customer support, while WooCommerce is more affordable.
• Shopify is more secure, while WooCommerce requires more maintenance.
• Both platforms offer a wide range of payment, shipping, and tax options.
• Shopify is better for SEO out of the box, while WooCommerce requires an SEO plugin.
• Shopify is better for multilingual support if you're willing to pay for a plugin.

FAQ

Q: Which ecommerce platform is better for beginners? A: Shopify is easier to set up and maintain, making it a better choice for beginners.

Q: Which ecommerce platform is better for pros? A: WooCommerce offers more flexibility and customization options, making it a better choice for pros.

Q: Which ecommerce platform is more affordable? A: WooCommerce is more affordable, but keep in mind that going down the DIY path can become very costly once you hire a developer.

Q: Which ecommerce platform is more secure? A: Shopify is more secure, while WooCommerce requires more maintenance.

Q: Which ecommerce platform is better for SEO? A: Shopify is better for SEO out of the box, while WooCommerce requires an SEO plugin.

Q: Which ecommerce platform is better for multilingual support? A: Shopify is better for multilingual support if you're willing to pay for a plugin.