By 2021, it’s predicted that ecommerce retail sales will reach just under $5 trillion, and owing to tools like Shopify and WordPress, starting your own online business is now simpler than ever.
Which is superior, Shopify or WordPress? Many companies ask themselves this topic. Therefore I’ll go into detail about it in this piece.
Continue reading to learn more about both platforms, their main features, and why you would pick one over the other when creating an e-commerce website.
After reading this comparison, you need to know more about which platform would work best for your company’s needs (and what the best alternatives to both platforms are).
Short Overview
Compared to WordPress, Shopify is unquestionably a better option for creating an ecommerce website. WordPress features a single ecommerce plan.
However, it was intended to serve bloggers and has limited support for ecommerce sites. Shopify offers five distinct e-commerce-specific programmes.
In addition, it provides more robust customer service, more options to sell things than WordPress, and better functionality for online stores.
You might be asking why we would want to compare these tools if you have already looked at these products.
After all, WordPress is a website builder that companies can use to create almost any type of site they wish, from blogs to newspapers, but Shopify is only an ecommerce platform.
We’re comparing Shopify with WordPress since both have become excellent tools for web designers who want to build websites to encourage sales.
Let’s take a deeper look at each of the two possibilities.
What’s the Difference between Shopify and WordPress?
What is referred to as a “website builder” is Shopify. Therefore, we must first comprehend what a website builder is to understand what Shopify is.
A website builder is an online tool that enables users with little to no technical experience to create their websites. The website building platform charges them a monthly fee to maintain their site.
Since Shopify was created only for ecommerce (as opposed to blogs or online resumes), it is only ever used to create online businesses.
We Recommend Shopify if
- You have limited technical knowledge and want to create your online store
- You want to keep good track of your budget
- You value convenience.
WordPress is unique. WordPress.com and WordPress.org are the two versions available.
WordPress.com is a blogging platform that functions similarly to a website builder, enabling you to make your website quickly and effortlessly. Self-hosted software with a far higher level of technological sophistication is WordPress.org.
We’ll be contrasting WordPress.org with Shopify since you can use it to build almost any form of a website, including online retailers.
We Recommend WordPress if
- You have some form of coding knowledge
- You have the budget to pay for a developer’s help
- You want total control over your site’s customisation.
Amazingly, over one-third of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress.org. On the other side, there is Shopify, a well-known ecommerce platform that runs over 600,000 online stores and is utilized by big companies and famous people.
Is WordPress for Everything, Including an eCommerce Site?
We’ve always been huge supporters of WordPress, and anytime someone asked us for assistance in building a website for any reason, we always suggested WordPress. Even we started to have second thoughts after seeing what Shopify is capable of and how simple it all is.
WordPress is unquestionably a fantastic website platform. It can handle everything you throw at it quickly and makes your site accessible and available for viewing by everyone globally.
A typical blog or website is significantly different from an eCommerce business, which is a very particular sort of animal. eCommerce stores operate differently in practice.
Their offerings are hidden behind a paywall. The entire site must exercise caution when managing the customer’s sensitive data (like credit cards and personal info). It must be protected.
Additionally, it must be able to receive incoming orders, process them, and ensure that nothing is overlooked along the route.
In other words, several aspects of eCommerce sites are distinct from traditional publishing platforms.
At that point, even we must be prepared to acknowledge that WordPress isn’t ideal in every situation. Sometimes, you need a platform designed specifically to manage an online store.
Where Shopify Shines
1. Payment Options
There are several methods for clients to pay you using Shopify. Customers have other payment options outside credit cards, including PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, and even cryptocurrencies. Customers may store their payment and shipping information with Shop Pay to speed up the checkout process.
Credit cards may be accepted with Shopify Payments. Additionally, Shopify offers over 100 third-party payment processors. Customers submit credit card details directly on the checkout page for direct suppliers. Customers will be routed to another website where they may submit their payment information using external providers.
2. Customer Support
Shopify offers excellent customer service. You may contact its representatives via email, live chat, Twitter, one of their four phone lines, or email any time of day or night. Running an e-commerce company requires constant assistance. Users of Shopify receive prompt responses to their inquiries.
Users of Shopify have access to a knowledge base, FAQ website, and assistance forum, so they seldom need to get in touch with customer service. The help center offers definitions, configuration explanations, and video lessons to instruct users. Users may assist one another with less apparent problems through the support boards.
3. Data Tracking
Users of Shopify may monitor the performance of their businesses with the use of analytical and reporting tools. Real-time activity tracking and developing valuable consumer insights are both possible with analytics. Users may get specifics on marketing, clients, and sales through its reporting tools. Keep track of data such as daily website traffic and overall company expansion.
Abandoned Cart Recovery: Shopify’s stray cart recovery tool may be used to retarget consumers who quit the checkout process. They have previously provided Shopify with their contact information so that the company may email them automatically. This feature may be used to send emails after a cart abandonment at predetermined intervals.
4. Sales Channels
Users of Shopify are not restricted to selling through a single platform. It enables users to link other sales channels to Shopify to manage clients, orders, and goods. After installing theme from Shopify’s app store, external sales channels can be added or uninstalled.
Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, Messenger, and Handshake are examples of third-party sales channels. Any website may become an online store by including Shopify’s Buy Button. For in-person sales, Shopify Point-of-Sale (POS) is an option. Using Shopify Plus, merchandise may be distributed to other companies on a wholesale basis.
5. Sell Physical or Digital:
Users of Shopify have the option of selling physical or digital goods. Each type’s parameters are provided. Users can send digital items via email or a URL that can be downloaded. Users may build up dropshipping storefronts and handle product fulfillment and delivery for physical goods.
Where Shopify Falls Short
1. Customisation Limitations:
Don’t get me wrong, Shopify is very adaptable, yet, there are specific cons that are difficult to overlook. You’ll need to improve your code if you want to access more features; else, it will stay locked. Additionally, you may modify your website without investing much time in intricate code on their platform.
2. Blogging features
Every Shopify shop comes with a rudimentary blog, but compared to a content-focused platform like WordPress, the options for content generation, administration, and presentation are relatively constrained.
3. Commitment
When a Shopify ecommerce store is closed, all of its data is permanently deleted. Users can export some data through CSV, but most will be lost. This makes switching to a new platform quite challenging. If you don’t decide whether Shopify is a long-term platform for your shop, you’ll encounter this problem.
Where WordPress Shines
The cornerstone of the WordPress platform is versatility. WordPress enables you to create a content-based website with pages, photos, videos, and blog entries. This may be enhanced by installing different “plugins” that give any WordPress website additional functionality, including e-commerce tools.
1. Open-Source Platform:
WordPress is an open-source platform, meaning anybody may use, modify, study, and redistribute its source code. They are saving time and money by using preexisting codes. This is advantageous if a user collaborates with a company or third party to create their website.
WordPress is used by more than 30% of CMS-based websites worldwide. The platform’s sizable community backs it up. These individuals make sure the open-source platform is up-to-date and safe. By expanding neighborhood WordPress clubs and holding WordPress camps, they also participate in outreach to new users.
2. SEO
WordPress is one of the most excellent website builders regarding search engine optimization. WordPress supports unique SEO techniques, offers editable SEO components, and consistent codes for Google crawling. It also provides several SEO plugins that improve search engine optimization, like Yoast, All in One SEO, and Squirrly SEO.
3. Blogging Capabilities:
WordPress began off as a blogging platform. Thus it has experience with the process of building blogs. WordPress includes a comprehensive built-in blog capability, even if a user’s website is not primarily used for blogging. Users may do this to add a blog to their website without having to create one first.
4. Plugins
WordPress offers a vast selection of both free and premium plugins. There are more than 55,000 that are already set up and improved the effectiveness of running a website. To develop contact forms, install WPForms. A website gets more SEO tools from All in One SEO. For building membership websites and online courses, MemberPress is ideal.
Where WordPress Falls Short
WordPress’s adaptability, which is also one of its strengths, makes it more challenging to set up and manage than Shopify. When weighing Shopify vs WordPress for your company’s needs, keep the following in mind:
1. Hidden Costs
WordPress appears to be free to use, and its premium editions are reasonably priced. Users may spend more than they had intended after paying for web hosting, a theme, and the necessary plugins. Many premium themes can cost upwards of $100. Some customers require a lot of plugins, some of which are expensive.
2. Regular Updates
It’s essential to keep your website current. WordPress updates must be consistent and often, though, which may be unpleasant. Depending on the number of loaded plugins, some users might anticipate updates virtually daily. While some users may not have a problem with this, others will undoubtedly experience difficulties.
3. Ecommerce Plan
To be honest, WordPress’s ecommerce plan isn’t all that horrible; it’s somewhat effective. It interacts with WooCommerce, offers a wide variety of plugins, boasts a good selection of features like paid subscriptions and a PayPal button, and even enables users to build customized online stores entirely right inside their websites.
The issue here is that Shopify performs everything WordPress does for ecommerce—and either does it better, goes farther, or does both. WordPress falls short of Shopify when it comes to creating an e-commerce website.
The Final Verdict on WordPress Compared to Shopify
WooCommerce is a better option for individuals with WordPress-powered websites, even though Shopify is one of the most excellent ecommerce website builders and provides fantastic assistance to help you with the technical aspects.
It all comes down to your particular demands and requirements in the end. I’ve tried to be as thorough as possible in describing the benefits and drawbacks of each ecommerce platform. This guide should help you see the advantages and disadvantages of each platform more clearly and enable you to choose the best option.
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