WooCommerce over Shopify: Are you considering creating an eCommerce website for the services or products of your business? Well, if this is the case, we have got your back. When it is a question of different eCommerce platforms, there are numerous options for it. But there are only several options that will offer you the best features for your company. Shopify and WooCommerce are the top two among such alternatives.
10 Benefits of WooCommerce over Shopify
Each of them comes with multiple advantages and disadvantages. But the question is which one will be more beneficial for your business among these two.
According to wpforms, there are nearly 12 to 24 million eCommerce websites across the globe. WooCommerce is particularly popular among amateur and experienced business owners due to its outstanding features, ease of use, and flexibility. In this article, let us look into the ten benefits of WooCommerce and why it is better than Shopify.
- Integrations and Plugins
Since WooCommerce is an open-source platform, it primarily relies on plugins for its primary features. Apps and plugin installations in your website will help you add more strings to your eCommerce store. There are more than 50000 plugins to select from in WooCommerce, allowing the business owners to create the website of their dreams with no restrictions. Shopify includes only 1200 paid and free applications, which are less compared to WooCommerce.
- Transaction Fees and Payment Options
When you set up a website and start selling online, add different ways through which customers can pay for your services or products. Both Shopify and WooCommerce offer over 90 payment gateways through added or inbuilt integrations. The most popular payment gateways include Stripe, Apple Pay, PayPal, debit and credit cards, Square, and more. The transaction fees for various payment gateways are different.
Shopify charges 2% fees for every transaction while using a third-party gateway. WooCommerce, however, does not charge any additional transaction fees for using any third-party app or integration. However, bank or payment provider charges will still be applicable for WooCommerce. Thus, if you sell any product in bulk, WooCommerce will be more profitable for you.
- SEO
SEO is the primary element to attract customers to your website. It makes sure your website is in the top rank of the popular search engine results. When customers type any keyword related to your services or products, they should come to your website. WooCommerce includes SEO in its plugins and is well-integrated with WordPress. There are many benefits of using WordPress in search engine optimization. The business owner can add meta titles, tags, and descriptions for each page to tell the search engines what they are all about.
WooCommerce includes brilliant SEO prompts and guides throughout the process. On the contrary, Shopify does not have many SEO plugins or apps to offer. It might restrict you from expanding your website in the long term.
- Customer Support
Bluehost powers the WooCommerce website. They offer 24*7*365 days live chat and phone support to the customers and provide knowledgeable and helpful information whenever they are stuck in some problem. You can also submit a ticket to WooCommerce for general support.
Shopify also offers an all-time email, live chat, and phone support. It also includes a helpful guide, setup wizard, and community forum. But all these features cannot match up to the exceptional support Bluehost offers for WooCommerce.
- Pricing
Since WooCommerce is an Open Source software, you can install it with no charges. But there are some additional costs in WooCommerce like a domain name, eCommerce hosting, and a security certificate. However, Shopify includes plans for using it, ranging from 29 to 299 dollars each month, and incorporates every fee mentioned above for WooCommerce.
- Templates and Designs
There are numerous stunning designs and templates to select from in WooCommerce. You can also choose any WordPress theme and install it in WooCommerce. The best part of these themes is that anyone can edit them and does not have to be a programmer for this. Shopify includes only 73 templates, out of which nine are only without charges. You have to know some coding for changing the design or template in Shopify. The admin can only change it through the theme editor and liquid code. If you want to know more about it, you can read the detail guide on Shopify theme customization.
- Content and blog
Contents and blogs are other segments where WooCommerce shows its power over Shopify. It includes all the blog and CMS functions of WordPress. StoreFront, which is the default designing store for WooCommerce, enhances the blogging experience of the business owners. The Shopify blog is just another feature. It does not include much flexibility to enhance the customization option.
- Dropshipping
Dropshipping is another reason for which WooCommerce is famous. There are extensions for immediately importing products, completing orders, and many more. You can also create an eCommerce marketplace like eBay, allowing other vendors to display their products. Shopify also includes integration apps, like Printify, AliExpress, Oberlo, and many more. However, each of them has shipping, membership fees, and other charges, which are higher than the apps on WooCommerce.
- Popularity
There is no doubt about the popularity of the WooCommerce platform in the web world. As per several reports, WooCommerce is used by the top 28% of one million online web stores. Shopify is behind at 20% of its popularity. WooCommerce runs on WordPress, which contains almost 43% of the website in the internet world.
- Ease of Account Setup
The business owner is taken through a 6 step questionnaire in WooCommerce before an account is set up for accessing the need before setting up the web store. You have to enter your email address, store name, and password to set up a Shopify account. By creating an account in WooCommerce, you will automatically have an account in WordPress also. You can start your website experience in Shopify with a 14 day free trial period. After this time is up, you need to select a plan and enter your payment option.
End Verdict
Thus, after checking out the above advantages of WooCommerce over Shopify, it is evident that the former offers more control, flexibility, and customization abilities over the latter. Also, since WooCommerce is free of cost, it is the first preference of many small, medium, or giant enterprises.
Author Bio:
John Ahya is the CEO of WebDesk Solution, LLC. He has huge experience in all the major eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, Volusion, Prestashop, etc. He loves writing about new eCommerce trends and technologies.