Shopify and WooCommerce + WordPress are two best-known online shop platforms. However if you simply’re thinking about Shopify versus. WooCommerce + WordPress, how can you choose which one is the greatest fit for both you and your project?
I’ve had the ability to talk to clients using both Shopify and WooCommerce in addition to running my very own stores with Shopify and WooCommerce. Both are excellent platforms having a full suite of choices to operate a effective store.
However, both are completely different, and various companies will definitely fare better with either.
I’ve written extensively on, together with a Shopify review, a WooCommerce setup guide, along with a roundup of WooCommerce styles. However in this comparison, I’ll consider the core definitions of WooCommerce and Shopify, a few of the variations within the regions of largest consideration for ecommerce proprietors, and cooking techniques together.
And finally, in Next Steps, I’ll outline which is probably a much better fit for various kinds of ecommerce store proprietors.
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See my WooCommerce Setup Tutorial
Let’s dive into this comparison of Shopify versus. WooCommerce & WordPress.
Disclosure – I receive customer referral charges from companies pointed out on this web site. All data & opinions derive from my professional experience like a having to pay customer or consultant to some having to pay customer.
Shopify & WordPress Definitions
Shopify is really a located ecommerce platform.
Which means that Shopify has their very own proprietary software that’s bundled using their own specifically configured hardware. Plus they supply the entire service like a subscription option.
This is when the word SaaS (software like a service) ecommerce originates from.
With Shopify, you have to pay one cost and also you get everything you need to run an ecommerce store including hardware, software and support.
WordPress is really a cms that you could install free of charge on the hosting server that you simply rent from the webhost.
Aside – observe that I’m talking about self-located WordPress – not WordPress.com. It’s confusing, I understand. But stick to me 
WordPress is known for its versatility, and that i discover that’s why many people utilize it. Thing about this versatility originates from using plugins, that are programs that you could install on the top of WordPress that add functionality aimed at your website.
Probably the most popular and many effective plugins for WordPress is known as WooCommerce.
WooCommerce is a complete suite of every function that you should operate a effective ecommerce store that “plugs in” to WordPress.
Actually, WooCommerce itself enables plugins that stretch its functionality for such things as group memberships, worldwide payment systems, and extremely anything that you could envision.
I authored a WordPress ecommerce setup guide here that utilizes the WooCommerce wordpress plugin.
Quite simply, WordPress and WooCommerce would be the critical bits of the whole ecommerce setup you need to build and manage.
The very best example which i’ve develop to explain the main difference is by using property.
Shopify is kind of just like a store inside a shopping development or perhaps a condominium.
You have, operate and personalize within your building. That you can do anything you want. However the property comes pre-packaged with plumbing electricity, security, and Property Management.
The shopping development won’t help make your store effective, plus they aren’t likely to control the way you run your company. But, they will take proper care of all of the non-business related facets of your company to be able to concentrate on selling more stuff for your customers.
Creating a store with WordPress is much like building your personal store / house by yourself land. You’re able to build the precise experience that you would like. That you can do anything you like using the property. Should you don’t would like it to be only a store, you may make it’s greater than a store. You may create any experience if you would like.
But everything concerning the property ultimately stops along with you. If there’s a plumbing problem, it’s your trouble. If there’s a rest-in, it’s your trouble. There’s lots of help that you could hire to assist take proper care of these problems. However, you buy and operate the whole property, so that they are ultimately your condition.
In most cases, in case your core competency is selecting inventory and selling product then you’ll love Shopify. Unlike a number of other located ecommerce platforms, they’ve solved most of the limitations, and also have a team to be around the leading edge of technical ecommerce features.
In comparison, in case your core competency is development, and building out a complete digital experience that the customers love, then you’ll such as the freedoms WordPress and WooCommerce better – particularly if that have sets you aside from all of your competitors.
What will the general web site located platform along with a self-located ecommerce platform seem like for individual factors? Let’s take a look at individuals each consequently.
Shopify & WordPress Variations
There are plenty of factors which go into selecting and building an ecommerce store, but here’s how Shopify and WordPress differ on probably the most critical factors.
Hosting, Speed & Security
Like I pointed out within the introduction, Shopify takes proper care of your products hosting in addition to speed, optimization, and security all in your monthly subscription.
There’s no need to determine regardless of whether you should figure out a CDN, or caching or perhaps SSL – given that they provide everything standard included in all plans.
However, with Shopify, you have to have compromises to ensure that Shopify to supply all of your technical needs.
You don’t have use of your server via FTP. If you wish to edit any web site files, you need to use Shopify’s editor known as Liquid. It will a great job of enabling you to edit the files you need to edit. But because any developer knows – it’s never just like getting root access your server.
Furthermore, there are several small changes that you will need to compromise on – for example looking at around the checkout.shopify.com domain instead of your store’s domain. This doesn’t really make a difference for many storeowners, but does affect some apps – like the Google Reliable Store program.
In comparison, if you are using WordPress and WooCommerce, you have the effect of your hosting speed and security needs. You’ll have to select a webhost – I’ve got a fun little quiz that will help you find the correct fit here.
Plus, you’ll need to learn to make certain your site is up to date, which is safe (or you might make use of a secure third-party processor for example PayPal).
Neither hosting or speed or security is especially hard, and the majority of the changes that you may have to create are straightforward. However if you simply don’t have any development experience, even the entire process of troubleshooting can be challenging.
However, you are able to implement changes that suit how well you see perfectly with the amount of control WordPress enables. If you wish to have Global SSL by having an extended validated certificate – it can be done. If you wish to personalize your checkout in your domain, then it can be done.
If you wish to run whatever scripts and tracking scripts you using a Content Delivery Network – it can be done. If you value trying out servers and caching, you can aquire a site that most likely runs quicker than your Shopify site could ever run.
That stated, in case your website will get hacked, attacked or slows lower an excessive amount of, the duty for locating an answer or perhaps an expert is going to be in your plate – with no one else’s.
Development Costs
With Shopify, you’ve got a foreseeable monthly subscription cost. Furthermore, you can purchase premium styles or employ a designer or any other expertise to operate your website. But none of them are needed.
Since Shopify is well-recognized to many professionals, you’ll frequently have the ability to minimize a number of your ongoing expertise cost. For instance, since Shopify takes proper care of the majority of your Technical Search engine optimization, and Technical PPC needs, any Search engine optimization consultant or PPC consultant can skip towards the real work instead of taking proper care of basic technical problems (I’m searching to you, Magento canonicals…).
That stated, investing in a continuing subscription cost additionally holiday to a Shopify Application costs could be a daunting overhead for any starter store.
WordPress, however, may either be less expensive than Shopify or even more costly based on your expertise and also the time that you would like to take a position.
Since WordPress and WooCommerce have the freedom & community-supported, your main unavoidable cost is the ongoing hosting bill.
Hosting bills rely on your webhost as well as your plan level but could be less expensive than even $5 per month should you’re managing a small site and prioritize cost at reputable companies.
Quick aside – should you’re searching for recommendations, go take my Weblog web hosting quiz.
WordPress is definitely an established platform, having a very deep global pool of talent.
You will get stunning designs free of charge, or upgrade to some premium theme that may run less than $20-30.
If you wish to spend 1000s of dollars on the design, there’s also a large number of WordPress-focused design shops in the usa and round the world.
For custom development, you will get free plugins and discover yourself or hire one of the numerous WordPress Consultants or WordPress-focused Developers from around the globe.
In a nutshell, with WordPress you are able to pay less than you would like or around you would like – it’s entirely up to you. With Shopify, you’ve got a greater base monthly cost that you can’t reduce however, you can move up after that if you would like.
Personalization & User-ambiance
Shopify is made for ecommerce store proprietors. There is a huge concentrate on making the procedure and setup as easy as possible.
Their backend has lots of options should you dig much deeper, however it’s centered on being user-friendly, specifically for beginning website proprietors.
Shopify enables you to definitely install apps and extensions using their Application Store. Many are free and a few are compensated. But all of the apps are simple to install and certain to work.
WordPress and WooCommerce, however, are user-friendly but they may be overwhelming using their options. WordPress is made to be able to build any type of website that you would like – including an ecommerce store. But even though you don’t want blogs or custom publish types, individuals options will be there whether they are being used or otherwise.
 
When you increase the training curve of WordPress by using some good tutorials using blogging platforms or tutorials on WooCommerce, it’s very straightforward. However, it will possess a steeper learning curve than Shopify.
Content Tools
Sticking with the overall theme – Shopify is made particularly being an ecommerce platform. So that all the information tools are focused around your store / products.
They’ve tools for editing groups, collections, pages, product pages, your homepage, any regular page that you would like to setup and much more. They’ve a built-in blogging tool that meets most ecommerce proprietors. It truly has only the characteristics that the ecommerce owner want, no advanced writer.
If you wish to concentrate on content beyond product promotion and purchasers, Shopify can’t visit since it’s not designed for that (think interactive or customized presentations).
If you wish to develop a full-featured forum together with discussions and interactive content, or other content type that isn’t typically observed in the ecommerce world – you won’t have the ability to construct it with Shopify.
In comparison, WordPress is really a full personal cms. You are able to build anything that you would like with WordPress. It’s built-in blogging and content manage, but you may also extend it to complete anything for example social media, bookings, or really whatever you can envision. Actually, WooCommerce uses custom publish types to produce the merchandise content type.
Search engine optimization & Marketing Tools
Shopify’s Search engine optimization and marketing tools are robust, built-in and straightforward-to-use. But, they frequently don’t include edge cases and wish understanding of Shopify’s platform. For instance, I needed to learn how to implement mix-collection canonicals via Liquid with one client.
But aside from edge cases, Shopify takes proper care of just about everything – including advanced technical tools for example Schema, Sitemaps as well as SSL. Towards the relief of ecommerce Search engine optimization Consultants, they take proper care of canonicals and product Schema markup.
They permit for bulk 301 redirects, however if you simply’re moving a sizable store you’ll still a compensated application to upload them in large quantities and also to monitor any crawl errors.
Furthermore, if you wish to make any changes to, your house, collections canonicals, you’ll have to really know how Liquid works to be able to write the script to create individuals changes.
This holds for AdWords tools and Facebook tools – Shopify comes with an advanced but nonetheless straightforward implementation. They create Merchant Center, Facebook Pixel, Buyable Pins, etc all straightforward. However if you simply have edge cases, you’ll have to utilize Shopify’s platform and perhaps a compensated extension.
With WordPress, that you can do anything you want.
There’s a strong group of free and premium plugins for each situation.
For instance – you should use Yoast Search engine optimization wordpress plugin, the Redirection WordPress plugin, or the other plugins which i’ve pointed out within this publish to consider proper care of really any risk you could consider.
There’s also entire firms that develop very specialized extensions & plugins for WooCommerce. I authored in regards to a situation from in the past w/ this here. You are able to perform a/B testing, conditional product displays, etc – the only real factor restricting is the imagination.
But like hosting, speed, and security, you’re the one accountable for ultimately making everything interact.
When you get the WordPress white-colored screen of dying and crash your website due to incompatible wordpress plugin… oh, then you’re the main one accountable for setting it up support.
Design & Styles
For website design, Shopify and WordPress both offer limitless options. There’s no such factor like a “Shopify design” or perhaps a “WordPress design.”
Both of them output HTML CSS and also have fully-featured website design editors.
With WordPress, you’ll may use PHP to edit templates additionally to editing the CSS (if you would like). With Shopify, you’ll be utilising Liquid to edit templates additionally to editing the CSS.
Both WordPress and Shopify offer marketplaces for pre-designed styles and templates.
Both of them possess a deep talent pool for designers who are able to implement whatever design you would like based on your financial allowance.
Plus they have an array of free styles that you could install having a press of the mouse.
WordPress comes with an edge in design since, again, you could have root use of your server, however for all given purposes, Shopify enables any website design you can want.
Customer Care
Customer care is probably the greatest distinction between WordPress / WooCommerce and Shopify.
With Shopify, you are able to speak with Shopify representatives who know Shopify backward and forwards. They even sign in and check out your whole site setup.
With WordPress, you can get your webhost’s support team. However, they might or might not have the ability to assist with specific issues in your specific WordPress installation – though they will help you trobleshoot and fix technical issues with your hosting and WordPress.
To the example – WordPress is much like your home. You are able to call a plumber, plus they might be able to fix your plumbing problem, however in the finish, you’re the main one responsible.
Whereas with Shopify, it’s just like a plumbing condition in your storefront. It’s the home management’s problem, and you may use them to have it fixed.
Growth & Future-proofing
There’s one further point about growth and future-proofing.
Since Shopify is really a proprietary platform, you have to consider whether you would like them like a lengthy-term choice as the store grows. Shopify has stores from single product stores completely as much as massive corporations using their enterprise product. They’re a listed company with financial stability but they’re still a business – no open-source community.
However if you simply plan to ever leave (or they’re going bankrupt), you are able to export your products data as well as your content data, but you’ll lose most anything else.
WordPress is free and community supported. And also, since you can get your database, you are able to export, reformat, and do anything you want with your data. It’s 100% yours and 100% open to you.
Returning to real estate example. It’s kind of like establishing a storefront inside a retail development. The stuff inside is up to you, however if you simply get connected to the signs or even the architecture or anything concerning the building – you are able to’t go along with you. That’s a bad or perhaps a bad factor, however it’s something to understand.
Using WordPress & Shopify Together
There’s one option that throws a wrench right into a WordPress versus. Shopify comparison.
That is always that you are able to technically use WordPress and Shopify together by 50 percent various ways.
The very first option is by using Shopify as the “store” and WordPress throughout your site / blog.
Probably the most generally used situation is really a writer who uses WordPress for his or her writing and content but really wants to open a web-based store with Shopify instead of WooCommerce.
You can’t use Shopify and WordPress directly together on a single subdomain since Shopify is really a located platform whereas WordPress endures your hosting server.
If you wish to rely on them together then you definitely’ll need to put one install on a single subdomain and yet another on another subdomain. For instance, you’d have shop.Yyourdomain.com for the Shopify store and world wide web.yourdomain.com for the WordPress blog.
The primary factor to think about is how to give a unified experience involving the store as well as your blog with design, analytics, etc. You’ll require a unified design and analytics tracking over the two subdomains. Setting both of these some misconception try taking some planning, and wish that you simply maintain really two different websites.
You should use Shopify and WordPress together, however, you’ll need to make another group of tradeoffs that may multiply your problems instead of solve them.
Probably the most likely scenario here is you are mainly a writer / site owner that utilizes WordPress, and you’ll need a separate store. Ecommerce is really a supplement, not really a core a part of your site (e.g. a blogger selling merch). Within this situation, getting Shopify on the shop. subdomain works. You’d desire a similar design, however it wouldn’t have to match exactly because the “store” is really a separate entity.
If you’re mainly an ecommerce owner though, I don’t think using WordPress on the subdomain (e.g., blog.) warrants the additional site. Shopify’s blogging tools are usually acceptable for nearly any content strategy you’d plan – plus there’s an advantage for getting that content in your store’s subdomain.
The 2nd option is by using Shopify for the product inventory, checkout, and payments without their online shop option.
Shopify includes a Lite arrange for $9/mo that doesn’t have an online shop, but does include inventory and payments. It’s intended for product proprietors who sell products via a variety of different channels, but require a single, online spot to manage all of the sales.
With Shopify Lite, you receive a little snippet of code to put in your existing website, Facebook page, Twitter profile, etc – and permit sales to checkout within that button. Consider it like PayPal however with inventory and order management.
Let’s say you sell via many channels – as well as your WordPress powered website, but don’t want to run a full-fledged online shop with product pages, collections, etc – you’ll be able to get Shopify Lite, and put the code snippet in your WordPress website.
Next Steps & Related Sources
Should you’re beginning online shop both Shopify and WordPress + WooCommerce are fantastic choices.
If you think confident with dealing with the backend of the website, wish to control and personalize everything or you are simply at ease with WordPress then you need to go take a look at WooCommerce. Make sure to use my WordPress eCommerce setup tutorial to find out more.
Should you don’t even wish to consider the technical side of running a web-based store, and you want to concentrate on selling, marketing, and inventory – then you need to go put on Shopify free here.
And whichever one you select, make sure to read my inbound marketing strategy for ecommerce proprietors.
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