Among different website builders, WooCommerce and Shopify are two of the most popular. WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plug-in built for WordPress, while Shopify is an all-in-one hosted ecommerce solution. Each one has its own sets of pros and cons which, depending on what you need for your site, can help you determine whether you’ll be creating your site yourself on Shopify or hiring WooCommerce developers from Guru to craft the site that you envision.
Pros of WooCommerce
WooCommerce is ideal for businesses that want full control over their ecommerce platform while sticking to a reasonable budget. Here are some advantages of using the plug-in:
Freedom to Customize
Because it’s open-source, WooCommerce websites grant you the freedom to customize almost every part of your site. You get full code access and ownership, giving you unlimited control. You can also integrate any service that you want.
Budget-Friendly
If you’ve ever wondered how much WooCommerce costs, the answer is nothing—it’s free and doesn’t cost anything to install. The only fees you might incur are from extra plug-ins–which you can get either from the WooCommerce marketplace or elsewhere–but most are reasonably priced, so you can still keep it within budget.
Themes and Plug-Ins
With just about anyone being able to create WooCommerce-compatible themes and plug-ins, the options are limitless. You can peruse thousands of themes to suit your branding and add various plug-ins to give your site the functionality that you need.
Built on WordPress
WordPress is a powerful content management system. WooCommerce is built on it, which means it comes with efficient publishing tools, including search engine optimization.
Cons of WooCommerce
WooCommerce can get a bit complicated. Here are some cons to expect when using it:
Not Beginner-Friendly
WooCommerce will have you dealing with a lot of technical stuff—which can be daunting for people who don’t know anything about web development. Luckily, there are thousands of WooCommerce developers on Guru that can help you navigate the platform.
Potentially Costly
If you’re not smart about it, the themes, plug-ins, and more that you use to build and maintain your WooCommerce shop can rack up a long bill–this is why it’s important to pick only the ones you need and that are within budget.
Pros of Shopify
Shopify supports millions of ecommerce shops whose owners love the platform for its user experience and user interface-optimized features. Here are the pros of using it to build your website:
Ease of Use
You don’t have to have any fancy technical skills to build an ecommerce site on Shopify, nor do you have to worry about security, backups, performance, or compatibility. Additionally, the platform has 24/7 support, so you can get answers to frequently asked questions and resolve issues quickly anytime.
Ecommerce Features
Shopify has hundreds of features that make it a robust foundation for an ecommerce shop: shopping carts, payment gateways, shipping, and inventory management in addition to hundreds of tools from their app market-making selling online more seamless and convenient for both business owners and customers.
Seamless Checkouts
Shopify’s checkout process is tailored for customer experience; they make it as convenient as possible for people to complete their transactions. The platform offers access to over 100 payment gateways and allows you to sell products in multiple currencies from anywhere in the world.
Built-In Analytics Features
Shopify has built-in analytics where you can see data on everything from sales to customer behavior to product performance. You can derive insights right from your site and use these to improve your online shop, as well as your sales and marketing strategies.
Cons of Shopify
Shopify lets you build the online shop of your dreams—on their terms. Here are some downsides of using the platform:
Limited Themes
With Shopify themes, you can get a store up and running without doing much. There are hundreds of them to choose from, but most of them are upwards of $100–which can be a big splurge for businesses on a budget.
Expensive Plans
Shopify works on plans costing $29, $79, or $299 per month, with each tier offering access to more features and capabilities.
Lack of Customization
Due to its set themes and elements, you don’t have a lot of leeway for customization on Shopify, and you’d have to learn the back-end code to make any big changes.
Which Is Better: WooCommerce or Shopify?
If you’d like to be in control of everything on your site, then WooCommerce is the better option. It provides you with flexibility without breaking the bank. There’s just a bit of a learning curve, but hiring a WooCommerce developer from Guru can help you get through that obstacle and build the best ecommerce shop for your business.
