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WordPress Vs Shopify – which is the best ecommerce platform for you?

Andy Thorne
WordPress Vs Shopify – which is the best ecommerce platform for you?

It certainly comes down to WordPress vs Shopify if you’re thinking about launching a new online shop or want to change your ecommerce platform.

WordPress (with WooCommerce) or Shopify are undoubtedly your best options and this blog post explores both ecommerce platforms to help you decide which option is the best for you.

Introducing WordPress vs Shopify

WordPress (and WooCommerce)

  • Powering 250 million (as of Sep 2016), WordPress is (probably) the easiest and most powerful website content management system (or CMS)
  • When seamlessly integrated with free ecommerce plugin WooCommerce, you have a powerful ecommerce website
  • WooCommerce is the world’s favourite ecommerce solution powering 19%
  • 1,589,919 live websites use WooCommerce (according to Builtwith and last updated 11 Sep 2016)
  • WooCommerce gives both shop owners and developers complete control over all of your website, allowing you to create a totally customisable website with virtually limitless options

Shopify

  • Shopify is a fully hosted ecommerce platform that enables you to sell anything online
  • 268,443 live websites use Shopify (according to Builtwith and last updated 11 Sep 2016)
  • You can setup an online shop in minutes, using a number of beautifully designed templates
  • Alternatively, you can hire a professional shopify designer to create a bespoke shopify online shop for you

How many online shops use Shopify and WordPress/WooCommerce?

183,373 live websites use Shopify – according to stats from Builtwith

1,589,762 live websites use WordPress with WooCommerce – according to stats from Builtwith

Ecommerce platform usage around the world

Chart - Ecommerce Platform Usage Around The World

 

Technical stuff

WordPress (and WooCommerce)

WordPress/WooCommerce gives you complete ownership of your site. The code is open source, which means anyone can host a WordPress website and have complete control. WooCommerce integrates with over 30 payment gateways including PayPal and SagePay.

Shopify

Shopify provides it’s own hosting and payment gateways (plus you can use PayPal, SagePay, etc.) so everything is under one roof. This is known as a licensed product, or SaaS (Software as a Service), which means you don’t host or own the code yourself, you essentially rent it from Shopify.

Top 5 Things we love

WordPress (and WooCommerce)

  1. No development limitations
  2. Great support online and through a community of 1000s of WordPress developers (which cuts development costs)
  3. Full ownership
  4. Multiple custom page layouts
  5. You can develop more than just ecommerce, so you get more from your website

Shopify

  1. Simple to use
  2. Over 100 great looking templates
  3. Unlimited support
  4. Mobile optimised
  5. Can quickly start selling online

Cost

WordPress (and WooCommerce)

WordPress and the WooCommerce plugin are totally free. You will need to set up your own hosting to host your website, which will incur a monthly cost; this can vary from £20 – £60 a month, depending on your provider and the type of hosting.

Add on costs

Most plugins are free, but some are paid for depending on what functionality you need.

Setup and Development Costs

The cost of designing and building an online shop with WordPress and WooCommerce is £5500 – £12000 (or more). These costs are approximate and will change depending on the designers and developers you choose. We’ve based the cost on an average of costs for working with an agency like us. More about our ecommerce web design and development service here.

Shopify

Shopify has 3 structured monthly price plans, basic at $29 (£21), middle of the road at $79 (£60) and the advanced at $299 (£225).

The basic package really is that, you only get 2 user accounts and your transaction fees and credit card rates are more expensive. So realistically you’re looking at the $79 (£60) per month as a good starting point.

Add on costs

On top of your monthly package fee, there will be added expense depending on the features you need for your site. All plugins and Apps to improve your site are extra. They are normally a one time purchase, but sometimes they run off transactions fees.

Setup and Development Costs

If you use an agency or freelance designer/developer to build your Shopify site the cost is going to be reasonably low from £1000 – £3500, however you may have more expensive monthly fees.

Conclusion – So Which Platform is Better for You?

So now you’ve read WordPress vs Shopify, which platform is better for your online shop, here’s a summary:

WordPress (and WooCommerce)

If you need an ecommerce platform which enables you to sell online, plus gives you a great CMS (content management system) to give you unlimited functionality (such as a blog, forum, etc), then WordPress and WooCommerce will give you what you need. Plus, all of the design and code will be 100% yours. Which means you are in complete control.

Shopify

If you need something set up quickly, that will give you a very helpful platform to sell online, then Shopify is your best bet. The downside will be the ongoing costs. They could change depending on the add-ons that you need and because Shopify licence the product to you, they may change the cost (decrease or increase) at any time.