Are you planning to launch an online store? Unsure whether you must use WooCommerce or Shopify?
WooCommerce and Shopify are the two leading eCommerce platforms across the world.
Being a businessperson, it is important for your triumph to select the perfect eCommerce platform that meets your business requirements.
In this blog, a good comparison WooCommerce and Shopify is presented. The objective is to present their advantages to facilitate you in selecting the perfect option for your online store.
Outline – WooCommerce or Shopify
Ahead of beginning with the comparison between two highly famous eCommerce platforms, it’s crucial that the fundamentals and features that make these platforms distinguished are covered.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an all-inclusive eCommerce platform and solution that streamlines the way of creating an eCommerce store. From receiving payments to organizing the catalogue, all can be done from one platform.
Through Shopify, you do not have to be concerned about the technical parts of operating an eCommerce website including web hosting, and more.
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is basically an open source eCommerce plugin developed for WordPress. It lets you utilize the highly efficient content management system (CMS) and utilize it to operate an online store.
WooCommerce is a highly famous eCommerce platform.
Due to the open source feature/disposition of WooCommerce, it is possible to tailor or customize each facet of the store and simply include custom extensions.
Let’s begin our WooCommerce vs Shopify Comparison:
Price
Price is generally the highly significant concern for eCommerce site owners. It is important to assess the cost of beginning/starting off at the same time considering the varying costs for additional services as well as software.
The cost of utilizing Shopify
Shopify streamlines the way of starting online store. Talking about pricing, the basic plan begins at $29 per month and upgrading to the Shopify plan for $79 per month or the Advanced Shopify plan for $299 per month is possible.
All of these plans comprise web hosting as well as SSL certificate.
In case you wish to utilize your respective .com domain name, in that case you have to buy it distinctly. Price for a general .com domain name usually begins at $14 per year. The basic plan has sufficient features to create a new online store.
Although, the price does not comprise third party tools as well as additions that you are going to require to take your online store to the higher level.
Payments are an additional aspect that influences your costs. The platform presents their respective Shopify Payments solution, which charges 2.9 percent along with 30 cents for each transaction, with respect to the basic plan.
You are going to be charged a fixed amount of two percent for each and every transaction in case you wish to utilize third party payment gateways or your respective merchant account.
That fee can be decreased through utilizing the Shopify Advanced Plan. The plan costs $299 for each month.
The payment processing fees are quite exorbitant at the time of utilizing external payment gateways.
Although, in case you are simply beginning and wish to utilize Shopify Payments solution, in that case the fees are quite similar to famous platforms such as Braintree and Stripe.
The cost of utilizing WooCommerce
WooCommerce is actually an open source eCommerce plugin for WordPress. The plugin can be installed to the site free of cost.
Although, it is required to have a domain name, SSL certificate as well as a WordPress hosting account to initiate a WooCommerce store.
Generally, the cost for domain name is $14.99, the cost for SSL certificate is $69.99 and the cost for web hosting is about $7.99 per month. That is not inexpensive, especially at the time you are simply beginning.
Fortunately, there are many hosting companies who are providing specific WooCommerce hosting plans, which considerably decrease the cost.
Also, WooCommerce does not cost or charge the owner a portion of fee on transactions, which is a quite good benefit.
It is important to consider that WooCommerce costs begin building up when you buy paid extensions. Moreover, hosting costs are going to even rise with the growth of the online store.
You are capable of even keeping your costs under control through buying the tools and plugins when you require them.
Convenience
Majority of users creating an online store are not web designers or developers.
Also, users who are knowledgeable about fundamental principles or concepts require a platform that is user-friendly.
Let’s see how WooCommerce and Shopify measure up in the context of ease of use.
Shopify – User-friendliness
Shopify is basically a completely hosted platform which indicates that you do not have to carry out installation.
Moreover, you do not have to be concerned about performance, security and compatibility related concerns.
Once you register, you can select a design from several of the free of cost and available Shopify themes. Afterwards, the platform guides you through introducing changes or customization and thereafter facilitates you in adding the products.
The platform offers drag and drop facility. With Shopify, it is easy and simple to manage the product pages, catalogue and sales.
WooCommerce – User-friendliness
WooCommerce is basically not a hosted platform. That indicates you are going to have to install the WooCommerce plugin, have backups, run updates and ensure that your website remains safe.
WooCommerce is highly adjustable in terms of customizations. The user has the complete authority or control of the complete platform.
Although, there is no inbuilt drag and drop facility. The major disadvantage of the adjustability is that it arrives or comes with a learning period and needs highly active operation of the website.
Payment Methods
There are several payment gateways that you can utilize to receive payments online.
It is important to choose a platform that provides several payment options.
Payment options available in Shopify
Shopify presents several payment options that your customers can choose to do the payment/at the time of checkout.
The platform has its respective solution known as Shopify Payments along with famous third party payment gateways.
Payment options available in WooCommerce
WooCommerce presents Stripe payments and PayPal. It even supports all additional prominent payment service providers.
Conclusion: Which is the Perfect eCommerce Platform for you?
WooCommerce and Shopify are both powerful platforms to initiate your eCommerce store. Selection of a platform actually depends upon your preferences and expertise.
Shopify is quite simple to use. With Shopify, you don’t have to install anything and you can start off rapidly.
WooCommerce is actually open source and provides you with complete control of your website. In case you are seeking a cost-effective solution and you wish to have complete control of your online store, in that case WooCommerce is the ideal platform for you.
In case you wish to have a solution that is entirely simple and has vast scalability, in that case Shopify is the ideal platform for you.
