Shopify or WooCommerce: A Battle of the Best!

Shopify or WooCommerce have been the topmost options when it comes to getting an ecommerce website up and running. Here in this blog I am trying to give an analysis on different attributes and how each of them differ in their own ways. 

Table of Contents 1. What is Shopify? 2. What is WooCommerce 3. Shopify Or WooCommerce? Factors that Matters! 4. Let’s Wrap Up – Shopify or WooCommerce

What is Shopify?

A one-stop solution that makes your E-commerce journey easy! It is a complete bundle of elements like web hosting, security, caching, etc. Start it right off the bat without the need for any technical knowledge.

What is WooCommerce?

This one is much more famous than Shopify and only because of its closest ally, WordPress. WordPress is the strongest and most popular content management system out there. WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress. 

Next up, we are going to delve into many factors that will help you decide what best fits your bill!

Shopify Or WooCommerce? Factors that Matters!

Money Matters!

Let’s talk about dollars and cents.

Shopify comes with an exciting basic plan of just 25 dollars, but it comes with a catch. Platform improvisations helps in business growth. Everything on Shopify costs extra, even payment gateways. So the ease comes with a fee. 

WooCommerce, on the other hand, is all about an initial cost. One needs to have a domain name, an SSL certificate, and a WordPress hosting account. BlueHost, an official WordPress and WooCommerce hosting provider, offers free domain names, SSL certificates, and discounted WordPress hosting, making this a thing of the past. Although paid alternatives affect cost, the abundance of free alternatives keeps it in check.

 Verdict: WooCommerce

The Technical Know-How

Ease of use is Shopify’s middle name. Anyone can handle it, just like a DIY project. Pick a theme and then drag and drop your way through. But if you look for something exclusive, the ball drops there. Still, additional plugins can help you spice things up and get you a wee bit closer to what you wish for.

WooCommerce is an open-source plugin and one needs to build it through a WordPress website. You also need to keep track of each and every element up there. You can automate a lot of them with plugins. Impressively versatile and practical, however, it lacks drag-and-drop functionality. While guided setup gets you started, you must “LEARN” to use WooCommerce.

Verdict: Shopify

Payment Gateway

Shopify offers a number of different payment gateways, including its own, which is powered by Stripe. The provider charges an extra 2% on any third-party payment gateways on top of the usual charges from payment gateways. 0.5% can be reduced by simply opting for their $399 advanced plan. Shopify also charges a wee bit of credit card fees as well. 

With WooCommerce, you have access to a plethora of payment gateways. It helps with all major payment gateways and also has its own, which is again powered by Stripe. WooCommerce offers some less popular regional payment options. Transaction charges? Limited to what the gateways dish out.

WooCommerce saves a lot for larger businesses, but Shopify payments work similarly for smaller businesses.

Verdict: Win-Win 

The Add-Ons and Integration

Shopify has a large collection of external plugins and applications that will help render your website for optimal use. Starting from lead generators to various SEO tools, almost everything can be found in Shopify’s store. It’s a mix of both free and paid apps. Free apps have their own personal payment structure.

WooCommerce is a gold mine when it comes to these different plugins. Precisely speaking, you get access to over 59,000 applications. The lower entry barrier is that it adds a perk for enlisting such apps, which is not the case with Shopify. Want something entirely unique? Hire a technical WordPress expert and Voila!

Verdict – WooCommerce

DropShipping

DropShipping, a low overhead element, is now gaining traction in businesses. Simply put, it is a boon to entrepreneurs looking to cut down on warehouse expenses and offer on-demand product delivery.

To cut to the chase, Shopify’s additional membership fees and other costs make it questionable as a viable option for dropshipping businesses.

WooCommerce has many different plugins that help streamline a dropshipping business in the best possible way. Suppliers and vendors minimum order requirements and other charges is important before strategizing a dropshipping business with WooCommerce.

Verdict: WooCommerce

Growing and Scaling

Every business focuses on growth and therefore it becomes necessary to get adopted by something that provides just that. Shopify and WooCommerce support just that.

Easy scalability, adaptability, and user-friendliness are hallmarks of Shopify, and you can enjoy all three by simply upgrading to a higher plan as your company expands. There’s no need for an extravagant team to maintain an ecommerce platform on Shopify. Therefore, for a beginner, Shopify is the way to go.

Simply put, WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin. Hence, maintenance and other factors definitely require a good technical team or knowing the system yourself. When you are in charge of your own spending, you get to pick and choose what you need and don’t. As the company grows, the enhancement of the platform is up to you. 

Verdict: Shopify

A better helping hand

Shopify is, as we now know, a fully hosted platform. Each and every bit is provided by them and hence, their support is 24*7. How-to guides, such as extensive manuals and an approachable list of Shopify experts, are plus points. But the support is only for Shopify apps and not third party ones. 

An extensive set of tutorials, guides, and the like is also included with WooCommerce. But since it is self-hosted, the hosting provider is the only one who can fix the server if something goes wrong. While WooCommerce does not handle third-party app support, WordPress’s widespread use means you will never be short on developers willing to help you out.

Let’s Wrap Up – Shopify or WooCommerce

A quick look back to just jog up your memory!

With its flexible payment gateway options, intuitive interface, and ability to scale, Shopify stands out.

WooCommerce gains momentum when it comes to being light on the pocket, dropshipping, integrations, and even payment gateways.

But what suits your business? That’s up for you to toss!

If you liked this blog, you can also read on protecting small businesses in the digital era!