WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which Is Better?

Long before launch, long before development, when your online store is no more than a twinkle in your mind’s eye, you need to make some serious decisions. Almost as soon as you‘ve decided what you want to sell, before a line of code is written and a colour scheme chosen, you must decide which platform you intend to use. If you’ve thought about this at all, the two big beasts of e-commerce, WooCommerce and Shopify will have featured in the mix. Fail to plan, plan to fail: changing the platform down the line is expensive. You need to make a good decision now. So WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which Is Better?

There are other platforms out there – lots of them. But these are amongst the most popular. Each is enormously capable. So how to choose between them?

Let us help.

WooCommerce is an open-source WordPress plugin that transforms your WordPress site into a fully functional online store. It’s highly customisable, allowing users to add various features through plugins and themes. Because it’s open-source, WooCommerce offers significant flexibility, but it also requires a bit more technical knowledge to set up and manage.

Shopify, on the other hand, is a dedicated eCommerce platform that provides everything you need to set up and run an online store out of the box. It’s a hosted solution, meaning you don’t need to worry about managing the server or security updates. Shopify is known for its ease of use, making it a popular choice among beginners and those who prefer a more streamlined experience.

When it comes to ease of use, Shopify has a clear advantage. Its user interface is clean, intuitive, and designed with non-technical users in mind. Setting up a store on Shopify is straightforward, and the platform guides you through the process of adding products, configuring payment options, and launching your store. The same may not be true of any Apps you install to extend the functionality of your site.

WooCommerce, being a WordPress plugin, requires you to have a WordPress site already set up. If you’re familiar with WordPress, this won’t be a problem, but it does add an extra step to the setup process. WooCommerce is an e-Commerce platform, running as a plugin to a CMS which was originally designed as a blogging platform – the interface is not elegant. Additionally, because WooCommerce is highly customisable, you might need to spend more time configuring it to meet your specific needs. However, for users who are comfortable with WordPress, the flexibility of WooCommerce can be a significant advantage.

WooCommerce shines in terms of customisation and flexibility. Being open-source, it allows you to modify every aspect of your store, from the design to the functionality. You can choose from thousands of WordPress themes and plugins to extend your store’s capabilities. Whether you need advanced SEO tools, specific payment gateways, or custom product pages, WooCommerce can be tailored to fit your exact requirements.

Shopify, while offering a range of themes and apps, is more limited in terms of customisation. You can modify your store using Shopify’s themes and apps, but you’re somewhat constrained by what’s available in the Shopify ecosystem. For most small to medium-sized businesses, this level of customisation is sufficient. However, larger businesses or those with very specific needs might find Shopify’s limitations restrictive.

Pricing is a key consideration for any business. WooCommerce itself is free, but there are costs associated with running a WooCommerce store. You’ll need to pay for web hosting, which can vary widely in cost depending on the hosting provider and the level of service you choose.

Shopify operates on a subscription model with a range of pricing plans. The basic plan starts at around £25 per month, with higher-tier plans offering more advanced features. Shopify also charges transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments as your payment gateway. While Shopify’s pricing is more predictable, it can become expensive if you opt for higher-tier plans or if your store has a high volume of sales.

Be aware that both platforms, out-of-the-box, are quite basic. To extend the functionality of your store and achieve even relatively simple things you may need to use plugins (or Apps as they call them in Shopify). Most plugins offer a free option but, for full functionality, you should expect to pay a subscription. The cost of subscriptions tends to creep up – it is something to monitor.

When it comes to scalability, both platforms offer robust options, but they approach it differently.

Shopify is designed to scale effortlessly. As a hosted platform, Shopify manages all the technical aspects of scaling, such as server performance and security. This makes it an excellent choice for businesses that expect to grow quickly or that prefer to focus on their products rather than the technical details of running an online store.

Bear in mind that, as your Shopify store scales up, it is likely that your subscription will become more expensive. Hosting costs can rise too for WooCommerce, but typically this is a decision to make yourself.

WooCommerce can be scaled up to handle large, complex stores, but this requires careful management of your hosting environment. As your store grows, you might need to invest in more powerful hosting solutions and optimise your site to handle increased traffic. The flexibility of WooCommerce is an advantage here, but it does mean that scaling a WooCommerce store requires more technical know-how.

Both platforms can handle a lot of individual products. We run Shopify stores with over 30,000 products and the Shopify server copes without any noticeable impact on speed. We’ve come across WooCommerce sites which host more than 80,000 but that does require very careful setup and some serious server cost. We’ve seen reports that WooCommerce slows down when a lot of variants are used so if you have lots of tee shirts in lots of colours and lots of styles, Shopify may be a better option.

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential for driving traffic to your online store.

WooCommerce offers excellent SEO capabilities, largely because it’s built on WordPress, a platform known for its strong SEO features. With the right plugins, such as Yoast SEO, you can fine-tune every aspect of your store’s SEO, from meta tags to XML sitemaps. This makes WooCommerce a strong choice for businesses that want complete control over their SEO strategy.

Shopify also has solid SEO features, but it doesn’t offer the same level of control as WooCommerce. While Shopify’s SEO tools are adequate for most users, those who require advanced SEO customisation might find it limiting. However, Shopify’s ease of use in other areas can often compensate for these limitations.

Shopify requires an extremely limited, flat URL structure – for example all collections/categories will have URLs like this:

• /collection/mens-pants
• /collection/tee-shirts
• /collection/trousers

Whereas WooCommerce allows the following:

• /shop/mens/pants
• /shop/mens/tee-shirts
• /shop/mens/trousers

Exactly how important URL structure is for SEO can be debated (speed, for example, is more important) but a flexible hierarchy in your URLs will allow you to create relevant, flexible tidy URLs.

Both platforms offer strong support, but in different ways.

Shopify provides 24/7 customer support via chat, email and phone. This is a significant advantage for users who need quick assistance or who are new to eCommerce. Additionally, Shopify has a knowledge base and a community forum where you can find answers to common questions.

WooCommerce, being open-source, relies more on community support. There’s a wealth of online resources, including forums, documentation, and tutorials, but there isn’t the same level of direct support that you get with Shopify. However, if you hire a developer or agency to manage your WooCommerce store, they can provide the necessary support.

It’s worth noting that the developer community for WordPress and WooCommerce is far larger than the Shopify community. Questions on a forum may take longer to answer and the chances of finding an expert who has exactly the solution to your tricky question may be harder to find.

We have experienced Shopify terminating a client’s shop for poorly understood reasons – we think it was a minor transgression of their terms and conditions. This was prior to the shop’s launch but it still took a number of weeks to recover the account and the store. Despite the extreme urgency, support for a paying customer from Shopify was sluggish and unresponsive.

The client, understandably shaken, chose to redevelop their site in WooCommerce.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which Is Better?

The answer to which platform is better, WooCommerce or Shopify, depends on your specific needs and circumstances.

Shopify is ideal for those who want a simple, hassle-free solution. It’s perfect for beginners, small businesses, or anyone who prefers a platform that handles all the technical details for you. If you value ease of use and are willing to pay for the convenience, Shopify is an excellent choice.

Shopify is also a robust, enterprise-level platform. It is harder to extend than WooCommerce but, if you have the budget, true customisation is possible.

WooCommerce, on the other hand, is better suited to those who need complete control over their store’s design and functionality. It’s ideal for businesses that already use WordPress or those that have specific customisation needs that Shopify cannot meet. While WooCommerce may require more technical knowledge and time to set up, its flexibility and scalability make it a powerful choice for growing businesses.

Ultimately, both platforms have their merits, and the right choice will depend on your business goals, technical expertise and budget. Before you make a decision, you should talk to an expert.