WordPress & WooCommerce Vs. Shopify- Comparison

There is a high chance of coming across names like Shopify and WordPress if you are looking for an E-commerce platform to build your online store. Shopify is a site builder that provides a complete site-building solution. Whereas WordPress denotes a CMS ( Content Management System) that can be transformed into any type of site. But when you want to build an independent online platform, this CMS would not be enough. To make this happen, you need it to integrate with an E-commerce plugin like WooCommerce. Have a look at this blog and explore WordPress and Shopify in detail.

Table Of Content

How to Build an Ecommerce Platform Using Shopify

Easy Steps to Create an Ecommerce Site with WordPress and WooCommerce

A Comparative Study on WordPress & Shopify

Conclusion

How to Build an Ecommerce Platform Using Shopify

Create an Account– Check the Shopify site, fill in the required personal details and set your store’s name.

Production Addition to Catalogs– You will get a detailed idea of how to set up an online eCommerce store after visiting the online panel. Click on the Add product button after getting quality photos of your products. Save changes after that.

Customize Your Store- Creating better customer engagement by offering a personalized experience is possible in Shopify. Check the admin panel and choose your preferred themes.

Setup the Domain- Now, it’s time to set a domain name. You need to register the domain for your site and give yourself time to select the best domain name.

Activate Payments Processor- Wide range of payment processors are available on the left side of the panel. Follow the activation steps and select your preferred payment mode.

Easy Steps to Create an Ecommerce Site with WordPress and WooCommerce

Get Domain Name and Web Hosting

Domain name denotes your unique site address. Besides that, you need the web hosting platform as well. Blue shot is one of the most popularly used web hosting platforms. You may choose different hosting plans from there.

WordPress Installation

Check the install WordPress option on your hosting account. After finding the installation option, go through the stepwise installation guide. Now you are ready to make your WordPress site functional using WooCommerce.

Opt for WooCommerce Installation

You need to visit WordPress Dashboard -> Plugins -> Add New. You will get WooCommerce in the search bar. Install it. The text button will be activated within minutes. Then provide the required details, like details about the store, industry setup, product types, business details, etc.

Select Theme

WooCommerce is compatible with any WordPress theme. Storefront is a highly used and popular WordPress theme. When selecting any theme, make sure every page looks engaging. While you are done with this step, it’s time to set the payment options.

Choose a Payment Gateway

Thankfully, this plugin integrates with several payment gateways. PayPal and Stripe are two good options you can try.

Know Sales Tax and Define Currencies

Visit WooCommerce -> Settings – > General and then tick the Enable tax rates and calculations” box. Now set the tax configuration, and to do this go to Settings -> Tax.

Set Shipping Options

Step into the shipping and set zones, delivery, price, and other options. You will become able to see the shipping destinations and enable the shipping calculator on the cart page.

Build Your Online Store

Now, you are fully ready to build your online shop. Set the website pages carefully and include services or products. Go to WooCommerce -> Add Products -> Start with a template. Also, make your site design user-friendly. Mobile-friendliness, and good navigation structure, all should get priority.

A Comparative Study on WordPress & Shopify

Rates

Superficially, Shopify might seem more expensive than the other one. 3 available plans for Shopify range from $29.00/month to $299.00/month. Three versions are basic Shopify ( $29.00/month), and Shopify ( $79.00/month), and advanced Shopify( $299.00/month). The basic version of WordPress comes free of cost. But payments for hosting are there. Here you can make expenditures according to your needs. If you decide to build a site using WooCommerce and WordPress, set the budget first and then select tools, extensions or templates.

Template Choice

While Shopify allows using only 9 templates, more options are available in WordPress. In Shopify, you may buy a template for free, and paid options are there on the theme store.

In WordPress, nearly 200 templates are available. But it’s better to avoid using free ones as they might give an outdated look to your site. To make your site stand out, try creating templates on your own. The open-source nature of this CMS allows doing so. Also, you may contact template sellers on sites like Theme Forest, Template Monster, etc. So, when seen overall, WordPress wins the race.

Third-Party vs. In-House Features

You can access lots of in-house features in Shopify that you need for e-commerce site-building. Sales channels, discounts, order creation, and every option is available. Here editing option is available on the main dashboard.

And as said already, building a custom site using WordPress integration to WooCommerce is required. Using this plugin you can change product descriptions also.

Payment Options

Just like with anything else on the internet, there are numerous payment options. However, not all of them are available on all platforms. Shopify has some of the best payment solutions, that include Amazon Pay, Square, and cryptocurrencies.

Shopify maintains optimal transparency when you talk about transaction fees. The top payment solutions include Amazon Pay, Square,etc. WordPress also has a good grip on payment options. WordPress library features Stripe, PayPal, and credit or debit cards. WooCommerce often lacks transparency like Shopify.

Using Options

When the discussion is on ease of use, Shopify will be the winner. It asks for some valid information and creates a setup as per your personalized needs. After answering these questions, add an address for making payments. Easy use makes it the users’ favorite.

The home page of Shopify consists of some helpful articles that will give you the required ideas about business growth. For website editing, you need to access the online store section on the dashboard menu. Here you will get themes for blogs, themes, products, or pages. A thorough dashboard navigation is needed before you use Shopify.

For WordPress, you need to go through a comparatively complex sign-up process. Visiting a site of a hosting provider and buying a plan is necessary to proceed. You may install an auto-installer to enjoy an easy setup. After installation, access the dashboard where you will get relevant information for website creation. Like Shopify, in WordPress, you can also edit CSS and HTML of your site.

Comparison at a Glance

Features	WordPress	Shopify
Price	Basic plan starts at $29.00/month	You can set the range according to your needs. It might range from free to thousand
Template Options	9 free, 64 premium and third-party plugins are there	Several first and third party templates
In House Vs. Third-Party Features	Wide range of third-party tools are available	The same is applicable to WordPress
Using Options	Easy	A little bit complex
Payments	Maintains the highest level of transparency	It lacks to an extent
SEO AND Marketing Features	Different suitable tools for marketing and SEO are there	Best for making SEO-friendly websites
Performance	Slower loading time	Faster loading

Marketing and SEO Features

Online business growth is impossible without using the right SEO and marketing strategies. Considering it, Shopify comes with some excellent features like email marketing, Facebook Ads, and so on. Using Google Smart shopping you can set a budget and can run ad campaigns also. If you consider SEO, you have options for product optimization, categorizing, and page tagging. On its app store, third-party SEO tools, including SEO optimizer remain available.

Moving to WordPress, you can’t expect an enriched variety of SEO and marketing tools. But don’t worry! Here also, WooCommerce comes as a savior. Here you will get access to a huge range of useful tools. WordPress is a favorite of SEO-based sites. Count on it to build SEO-friendly sites that will help in business growth.

Performance

Now the time has come to compare the performance. After all, it matters most at the end of the day. Loading time is faster in WordPress compared to Shopify. And in WordPress, the hosting provider plays a key role. Selecting the right hosting provider ensures increased speed quite effectively.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, you may say, to create a strong online presence by creating a user-friendly e-commerce site, you may use both Shopify or WordPress integrated with WooCommerce. Before picking an option, consider your needs first. There’s no need to feel worried if you don’t have time to build a site by yourself. Contact a trusted WordPress development company that can give the right solutions.