What to consider when choosing between Shopify and Woocommerce

Shopify and Woocommerce

Are you planning to launch your e-commerce platform for the world to see? If yes, the names “Shopify” and ” WooCommerce” should strike a chord. These e-commerce whales are the most prominent platforms where businesses can show their product offerings.

Shopify is an e-commerce website that hosts more than 800,000 online stores while WooCommerce boasts of being the giant platform for e-commerce enterprises.

In this article, you will be learning about features to consider when choosing between both platforms to skyrocket your business. In the next few minutes, we shall be walking you through considerations to make as you set up to start another phase of your business with these two big brands. Read on to know more!

Shopify is best for…

…individuals and businesses that love to have 24/7 customer support, as well as security. If you need to build responsive e-commerce websites at breakneck speed with little know-how about the technical side of the process. Alex who runs his own LGBTQ+ store on Shopify can attest to this. With very little technical coding knowledge, Alex says he is able to build out his store and add new products easily with the few clicks of a button. Just recently Alex added in a range of femboy flags which took less than 5 minutes, whereas on a WooCommerce site he would spend hours to achieve the same result.

WooCommerce is best for…

… individuals and businesses that place a high value on website customization without minding to put in some extra work to get their choice of online store. Users will need to have some technical knowledge about website building to explore this platform in building a large-scale e-commerce store.

Features to consider when choosing between Shopify and WooCommerce

Without further ado, let’s go through some major considerations to help you make the best decision on which e-commerce hosting platform to use.

Ease of use

Shopify is a hosted software that makes it easy to use. You do not require any coding experience to build your online store.

In contrast, WooCommerce is not a beginner-friendly platform. You all need to understand how basic coding works for you to explore this platform           

Customization

Both Shopify and WooCommerce offer stylish customizations with themes that can reflect your business aim. Shopify has more than 70 unique themes (free and paid) for you to pick from. These themes are dedicated to helping you command appeal from customers.

WooCommerce has a responsive theme on mobile devices. They also offer clean layouts for nice designs. The beauty of your website depends on how much time you are willing to put into work.

Integrations and Plugins

Shopify is a platform with more than 3,200 integrations. This is nowhere close to the large repository of WooCommerce’s plugins and integrations.

WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce platform, designed to have plugins and extensions that will increase the capability of users. WooCommerce boasts more than 55,000 optic plugin directories.

Tools for Marketing

Shopify allows you to market your products on authoritative e-commerce websites like eBay, Amazon, Pinterest, and Facebook. This is possible as a result of the multichannel marketing feature.

On WooCommerce, marketing tools are available through extensive plugins. The best you get from marketing relies on how well you can work your way around the plugins.

Payment and Transaction Fee

Shopify enforces transaction fees on payments that are made through third-party payment gateways. Except you use Shopify Payments—Shopify’s gateway, you’ll have to pay some fee.

WooCommerce on the other hand does not enforce transaction fees for making use of third-party payment gateways. This makes it a good option to manage your money.

Security

Shopify is secured by default SSL Certificate and is PCI-DSS compliant. In contrast, you will have to get a sales certificate when using WooCommerce.

Customer Support

Shopify boasts of 24/7 customer support in resolving issues around your online store. They promise around-the-clock answers to queries.

WooCommerce not only offers 24/7 customer support but also features a live chat as well as a phone with a wide knowledge center.

Final Thoughts…

Going through the considerations to make before choosing which e-commerce platform will support your online store is important. If you want a beginner-friendly e-commerce platform, Shopify is your best bet. If you are in for more technicality and manual control over the overall appearance of your online store, WooCommerce is the sure way to go.

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