This post is a comparison between two main e-commerce plugins – Shopify VS WooCommerce.
Right after you have decided to go for an online business you start thinking that which e-commerce platform you should start with. Like every other thing, you would definitely want to go for the top best options. On research, we find out that the top best, most popular, and user-friendly e-commerce platforms are Woocommerce and Shopify. These are the two most used and most preferred eCommerce platforms among the lot with their own advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will compare Shopify vs WooCommerce to help you decide the best option for you. The good thing about visiting this article is that it surely will give you some outline of what should be your pick depending on the pros and cons of both platforms.
Shopify VS WooCommerce:
Since both Shopify (an all-in-one eCommerce platform that makes it easy for you to create an online store, accept payments, and manage your inventory all from a single platform without ever worrying about the technical aspects of managing a website such as web hosting, security, caching, etc.) and Woocommerce (created by the developers of WooThemes is an open-source eCommerce plugin built for WordPress which allows you to leverage the most powerful content management system and use it to run an online store) has multiple strengths and weaknesses so they both can possibly be the perfect solution for you to build an eCommerce store with.
So to make things easier for you we will be comparing them simultaneously in this sequence: design, SEO, price, features, customer support, and user-friendliness to answer all your questions related to, quality, and sustainability.
Design of Shopify:
One thing is for sure that you won’t be able to do good marketing unless your work has visual appeal. Luckily Shopify knows the deal. Their design is absolutely amazing. Shopify comes with more than 54 different store templates, of which 10 are free. Evey theme has a unique variation in it. They are all mobile friendly. What more can you ask for??? Even if you do they have you satisfied. Because all these themes and designs are trendy and unique and are outsourced by a group of professional web designers who ensure they’re as current and as engaging as they can be.
Design of Woocommerce:
Developers at Woocommerce too know the importance of design for a website. Woocommerce works with almost all WordPress themes in addition to its own gallery. So you can add e-commerce functionality to your site since it doesn’t matter that you are starting from scratch or already have a WordPress website. Woocommerce caters to wide variety so it has endless design options. Zoom in options, integration with MailChimp, eye-catching sliders, bold imagery, responsive design, and overall top-notch aesthetics are the additional features of Woocommerce supported for the plugin itself.
SEO status of Shopify:
SEO depends on multiple features such as clean coding, loading speed, inbound linking structures, metadata, site copy etc. Shopify makes sure to keep all of these factors updated who are in any way related to search engine optimization.Shopify has also integrated basic SEO features such as image optimization, defining title, alt, and meta tags, as well as product descriptions. Moreover, Shopify is powered by SSL certification that comes with all the stores in every plan that too free of charge.
SEO status of Woocommerce:
Well almost everyone is well aware of the WordPress capabilities in SEO. So to put it simply and conclusively, good SEO needs extra effort but using Woocommerce for WordPress means consolidating the two crucial segments of the same brand. What comes as a brownie point is that WordPress’s blogging capabilities encapsulate both a comprehensive CMS for content management and specific SEO concerns like meta data on its own.
The price range of Shopify:
Shopify has three selling tiers.
Basic Shopify ($29 per month)
Shopify ($79 per month)
Advanced Shopify ($299 per month).
The $29/month option is the most popular one and it has another very basic plan for $9 strictly for selling on Facebook. All of the plans include unlimited products and bandwidth, fraud analysis, a blog, and a free SSL certificate. Moreover, Shopify offers a 14-day free trial so you can test the platform before deciding if it’s the right choice for you or not. The domain name can be purchased directly from Shopify or you can connect your existing domain name to it
The price range of Woocommerce:
Woocommerce software on WordPress is free but there are some prices. You have to consider the additional costs that go along with making an online store. For example, web hosting, the cost of a theme, a domain name, any additional extensions and an SSL certificate. Her, don’t already give brownie points to Woocommerce for the basic free announcement. Because with pros come cons. In Woocommerce you have to be very careful in choosing and you’ll need to be more careful not to go over your budget, as every additional extension comes with a price tag.
Customer support in Shopify:
Shopify is an all in one facility platform. So the make sure you get the best customer support whenever needed. You can reach a customer care specialist at any time, 24/7 via phone, email, or live chat. The average wait time for chat is stated 4 minutes, 18 hours for email and phone call instantly responded. Shopify also has an extensive documentation where you can find many helpful resources and even video tutorials to help you out. Or you can simply type your query in the search documentation box and it’ll display all the related results.
Customer support in Woocommerce:
Since Woocommerce is a free open source software that is why support forum is the first place for customer support. But you can also get support via support tickets. All you have to do is log in to WooCommerce.com with WordPress.com account and put your queries. This may not be a instant support but your query is eventually answeres or solved. Other than this, there are plenty of documentation, reference materials, and tutorials at WooCommerce docs where you can get help from.
User-friendliness of Shopify:
It’s comparatively easy to use since we don’t have to get a hosting for it. Shopify is itself a fully hosted website. It does not need any download links. Neither does it needs to be installed, manage, or update any software. The user also doesn’t need to be worried about security, performance, backups, and compatibility issues. All you have to do is sign in and Shopify will walk you through everything that includes customization, design, product management, sales, inventory, and add-ons.
User-friendliness of Woocommerce:
Woocommerce is not a hosted platform which means that you need to install WooCommerce. Not only this you also need to manage updates, keep backups, and make sure that your website is secure. However, there are plenty of free and paid plugins that can automate most of these tasks for you. Woocommerce is also very easy operatable when it comes to customization. You can add further functionalities to your website with the help of more than 50,000+ WordPress plugins.
Final verdict: Shopify vs Woocommerce
So as you see both Shopify and Woocomerce provide a good design. They are both user-friendly. Both can provide good SEO score. You get full customer support by both of them. Both are affordable or at least are worth the money you put in. So what’s left?? Are you still confused?? If yes! then here is the easier way. A one-line comparison of Shopify vs Woocommerce to state (on the basis of my judgment) who is better than who would be that one is a lot simpler to operate and cost a handful at the same time. The other one is free but then you need some prior knowledge to operate it. And also, it’s not free for very long as is already mentioned above.
Woocommerce gives you full control of your website while in Shopify the software does most on its own. So, if you want the ownership of your store design, you should go for WooCommerce. In case you want to shift from Shopify to WooCommerce, you can consider our Shopify to WooCommerce migration service for expert help.
In short, Shopify and WooCommerce are both powerful platforms to start your eCommerce store. It truly comes down to your personal skills and preferences. It’s all about which one of the two is actually going to fit your specific needs better, which is more flexible for you? Which one fits your budget and most importantly Which is the easiest to work with?
The final choice or verdict is obviously yours.
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