If you are planning to start an online store, you must be confused about whether to use WooCommerce or Shopify for your store. Do not overstress, every business owner has confusion, and you are not alone in the boat.
To help you decide, we will discuss both options, so you can decide which right eCommerce platform is for you.
WooCommerce - It is an open-source eCommerce plugin built for WordPress. Using it, you can leverage the most powerful Content Management System to run your online store. It helps you customize every aspect of your online store and build custom extensions.
Shopify - It is an all-in-one eCommerce solution that helps you create an online store, accept payments and manage your inventory all from a single platform. When you choose Shopify, you don't have to worry about caching, security, web hosting, etc.
There are a few basic requirements every business owner has to keep in mind while starting an online store. The parameters you need to look at are cost, ease of use, payment methods, and scalability.
Let us evaluate both the options on the most important ones -
1. Cost - Starting any business is not easy, and an eCommerce business requires a high marketing budget. Hence you may not like to spend too much on the site. With Shopify, you get your online store with $25 to 35$ per month (basic version). The advanced version comes at between $80 and $100. Other than the package cost, you don't have to spend on anything else - domain name, web hosting, and SSL certificate are all included.
WooCommerce is open-source and hence freely available as a WordPress plugin. However, you will need to buy a domain name ($10 to $15), SSL certificate ($60 to $70), and hosting ($10 per month).
2. Ease of use - Shopify is a fully hosted platform, which means you don't have to install, update, manage any software. You neither have to worry about the security, backups, and performance issues. Signup, customize and add your products, it is very simple.
On the other hand, WooCommerce is not hosted, hence you will need to install WooCommerce, keep updates and ensure security. When it comes to customization, WooCommerce is super flexible. The platform is fully in your control, and you have 55000 plugins to get the website as per your liking.
3. Payment Methods - Your customers should have the best checkout experience or you may lose some of your customers. Shopify offers you plenty of payment options. They have their payment solution and also all popular third-party payment gateways. The only issue is that Shopify charges an additional 2% fee for each transaction made through third-party payment gateways (on top of other transaction charges).
The default payment methods in WooCommerce are Stripe payments and PayPal. You can also add other payment options for your customers. There are no additional charges than the regular ones.
Conclusion
There is no clear winner. It depends on how you want to take up the development. WooCommerce is far more technical, and hence you need a developer to work on it, while Shopify is for the everyday person. However, WooCommerce has other advantages, and hence, it is up to a business to make a final call.