{"id":232485,"date":"2023-01-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-02T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/?p=232485"},"modified":"2023-07-31T15:11:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T05:11:09","slug":"woocommerce-shopify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/","title":{"rendered":"WooCommerce vs Shopify (2023): What&#8217;s The Best Ecommerce Solution?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Skip to a section:<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#WooCommerce_vs_Shopify_Pros_Cons\" title=\"WooCommerce vs Shopify Pros &amp; Cons\">WooCommerce vs Shopify Pros &amp; Cons<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#How_to_compare_these_eCommerce_platforms\" title=\"How to compare these eCommerce platforms\">How to compare these eCommerce platforms<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Payment_Gateways\" title=\"Payment Gateways\">Payment Gateways<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Product_Options\" title=\"Product Options\">Product Options<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Ease_of_Use\" title=\"Ease of Use\">Ease of Use<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Customisation_Options\" title=\"Customisation Options\">Customisation Options<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Sales_Tools\" title=\"Sales Tools\">Sales Tools<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Plugins\" title=\"Plugins\">Plugins<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Customer_Support\" title=\"Customer Support\">Customer Support<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#Hosting_Costs\" title=\"Hosting Costs\">Hosting Costs<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/woocommerce-shopify\/#How_do_you_decide_which_of_these_tools_are_right_for_you\" title=\"How do you decide which of these tools are right for you?\">How do you decide which of these tools are right for you?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>When you&#8217;re assessing the differen the different ecommerce platforms, two popular choices that often come up are WooCommerce &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/shopify-seo\/\">Shopify<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But which one should you choose?<\/p>\n<p>WooCommerce or Shopify?<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re starting an <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/ecommerce-web-design\/\">ecommerce business<\/a>, it is important that your customers have easy access to buy your product.<\/p>\n<p>A good eCommerce system is not a luxury, it\u2019s a necessity.<\/p>\n<p>Both have their fair share of positives, but you need to pick one.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s where we can help.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WooCommerce_vs_Shopify_Pros_Cons\"><\/span>WooCommerce vs Shopify Pros &amp; Cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Category<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>WooCommerce<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Shopify<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Payment Gateways<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Huge number of payment options<\/li>\n<li>Third party development means that it is easier for new gateways to be added<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>They vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Huge number of payment options<\/li>\n<li>Shopify curation means they are reliable in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>If you can\u2019t find an option, Shopify will need to add it themselves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Product Options<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>You can offer many different kinds of product types on your online store<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Quality can be inconsistent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>You can offer many different kinds of product types on your online store<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Less variety of plugins means you might be out of luck if a plugin isn\u2019t to your liking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>You might need multiple plugins to perform certain functions where WooCommerce only needs one<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ease of Use<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Very powerful functionality for people who know what they\u2019re doing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Not particularly user-friendly for people who don\u2019t know what they are doing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Very user-friendly<\/li>\n<li>Shopify takes care of a lot of elements such as updates, security and backups<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Customisation Options<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Huge number of themes<\/li>\n<li>Themes are updated on a daily basis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Themes vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>70 highly polished themes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Only 70 themes, so if you can\u2019t find what you\u2019re looking for, you\u2019re out of luck<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sales Tools<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Contains various sales plugins<\/li>\n<li>Wider range of tools available<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>You\u2019ll have to search for a lot of these functions yourself<\/li>\n<li>Tools vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Contains various sales plugins<\/li>\n<li>Shopify curation guarantees consistent quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Smaller range, with less available alternatives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Plugins<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Over 50,000 plugins<\/li>\n<li>Plugins are added constantly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Plugins widely vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Plugins are curated by Shopify, ensuring consistent quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Only 1200 plugins<\/li>\n<li>Not updated as frequently as WooCommerce<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Customer Support<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Numerous contact options<\/li>\n<li>Knowledge centers<\/li>\n<li>Setup guides<\/li>\n<li>Community forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Numerous contact options<\/li>\n<li>Knowledge centers<\/li>\n<li>Setup guides<\/li>\n<li>Community forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"5\">Hosting Costs<\/td>\n<td>Free to install, but you pay for hosting, security, domain name and extension fees<\/td>\n<td>You pay a fixed price, but that price covers all extras<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Bluehost Hosting &#8211; Monthly Price (AUD)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Shopify &#8211; Monthly Price<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(USD)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Shared Hosting &#8211; $3.94<\/td>\n<td>Basic &#8211; $29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>VPS &#8211; $25.35<\/td>\n<td>Standard &#8211; $79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dedicated &#8211; $106.77<\/td>\n<td>Advanced &#8211; $299<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_compare_these_eCommerce_platforms\"><\/span>How to compare these eCommerce platforms<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It is difficult to simply declare one of these platforms the winner right away. Both of these platforms are perfectly functional, and users are likely going to have positive experiences with either of them.<\/p>\n<p>However, selecting the right eCommerce solution for you will save you a lot of time and resources in the long term. So, in order to determine which out of WooCommerce and Shopify will work best for your website, we have established a series of criteria that we will compare them with.<\/p>\n<p>So, without further ado&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Payment_Gateways\"><\/span>Payment Gateways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Remember the good ol\u2019 days when the choice was either cash or card?<\/p>\n<p>Well, nowadays your customers have a wide range of digital payment options at their disposal such as Paypal, Stripe, Square, Afterpay, AmazonPay etc. And if your website isn\u2019t accommodating, you could lose potential customers. So it\u2019s good that both WooCommerce and Shopify support a huge range of payment options in the form of apps that you can pick and choose from.<\/p>\n<p>For WooCommerce, this means a wider variety of options. If a payment option you want isn\u2019t available, there\u2019s always the possibility that a third party could add it later on. However, this also means that you have to gauge the quality of these plugins based on user reviews.<\/p>\n<p>Inversely, if a payment option you want is not available on Shopify, you have to deal with Shopify directly. However, you can be reassured that any payment options they do add are subject to their specific quality standards.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Product_Options\"><\/span>Product Options<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>What if you\u2019re not just selling a product? Both eCommerce solutions provide various alternatives to suit your business.<\/p>\n<p>WooCommerce has many first and third party plugins, offering functionality for product bundles, appointment bookings, memberships, rentals, multi-vendor marketplaces, product kits, paid courses, etc. However, much like with their payment options, WooCommerce\u2019s product plugins can be inconsistent in terms of quality, with reviews ranging from 5\/5 to 2.8\/5 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Shopify\u2019s options are as diverse, but they can require a bit of ingenuity. For example, if you want to add donation functionality to your website, WooCommerce only requires you to pick one plugin while Shopify recommends three.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, if you have a problem with a WooCommerce plugin, it\u2019s easier to switch it out for another one, whereas Shopify is less likely to offer a viable alternative.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ease_of_Use\"><\/span>Ease of Use<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Building a website is not easy, but certain platforms certainly help. When it comes to WooCommerce vs Shopify, Shopify is far more user-friendly, as you don\u2019t need to install, manage or update any software, and your security and backups are taken care of.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, WooCommerce is a lot more technical. While it offers a higher degree of customisability, and you can create a really powerful shopping website if you know how to code, it can also leave a large amount of gaps in your functionality if you don\u2019t. A lot of the processes that <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/shopify-seo\/\">Shopify<\/a> automates require you to directly intervene on WooCommerce.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Customisation_Options\"><\/span>Customisation Options<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Customisation is where WooCommerce is a lot more versatile than Shopify. Because WordPress, and by extension WooCommerce, are open source, you have access to a huge amount of presets and themes that are updated on a daily basis.<\/p>\n<p>Shopify\u2019s themes are more curated. You have access to approximately 70 themes to choose from. While these themes are incredibly polished, if they\u2019re not what you\u2019re looking for, you\u2019re out of luck.<\/p>\n<p>However, both WooCommerce and Shopify have free and premium themes available, and they both allow you to edit their code.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sales_Tools\"><\/span>Sales Tools<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Both platforms contain plugins that aid you in selling your products, including multichannel selling, abandoned cart recovery, courier integration, blog extensions, etc.<\/p>\n<p>For Shopify, these are mostly built in, whereas WooCommerce requires you to source them through their various plugins. Once again, this means that WooCommerce offers a much wider range of functions, but without the level of curation that Shopify does.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Plugins\"><\/span>Plugins<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Plugins essentially make up the bulk of WooCommerce\u2019s functionality, with over 50,000 to choose from. Because it\u2019s open source, that number continues to grow. By comparison, Shopify has about 1,200.<\/p>\n<p>However, the curation of Shopify\u2019s apps make them more consistently reliable. After all, if a function of Shopify is defective, that\u2019s not a reflection on the third party that developed it, it\u2019s a reflection on Shopify themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, WooCommerce offers a significantly higher degree of variety. If a certain application doesn\u2019t meet your needs (i.e. functionality, ease of use, technical support, etc.), there are multiple alternatives available.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Customer_Support\"><\/span>Customer Support<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Both WooCommerce and Shopify have comprehensive customer support systems in place, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>24\/7 phone, email and live chat support<\/li>\n<li>Knowledge centers<\/li>\n<li>Setup guides<\/li>\n<li>Community Forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re using WooCommerce or Shopify, there are many resources available to help you build the perfect online store and maintain it effectively.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hosting_Costs\"><\/span>Hosting Costs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s no point in building an online website that\u2019s going to break your bank. WooCommerce and Shopify both have different payment plans, so it\u2019s best to use the one that suits your budget and productivity.<\/p>\n<p>Shopify has set pricing, making it easier to track your spending. Hosting, security, your domain and extension fees are all included in your plan. Monthly prices in USD range from $29 for Shopify Basic, $79 for Shopify Standard, and $299 per month for Shopify Advanced, each tier coming with its own set of features.<\/p>\n<p>By comparison, WooCommerce itself is free to install, but it comes with extra costs such as the aforementioned hosting, security, domain and extension fees. WooCommerce is used in conjunction with the hosting service Bluehost, which has its own monthly price range in AUD of $3.94 for Shared Hosting, $25.35 for VPS, and $106.77 for Dedicated.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, WooCommerce is more flexible in terms of price, but Shopify\u2019s fixed price means that a lot of functionality is taken care of for you.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_decide_which_of_these_tools_are_right_for_you\"><\/span>How do you decide which of these tools are right for you?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The answer to this question is to determine the kind of web designer you are. If this is your first online store, and your confidence with web development isn\u2019t as strong as it could be, Shopify is the better option for you. For a fixed price, you\u2019ll have a high quality website with a lot of elements taken care of for you.<\/p>\n<p>However, WooCommerce is a great option if you\u2019re a confident developer who wants to save a bit of money while building a website whose design and functionality you have a huge degree of control over.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day though, both platforms are powerful and will build you a functional online store. It&#8217;s not as though you\u2019re doomed if you pick the wrong one.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve selected Shopify, and you need help boosting your SEO, <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/5-simple-tips-to-improve-your-current-shopify-seo\/\">we have you covered<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you&#8217;re assessing the differen the different ecommerce platforms, two popular choices that often come up are WooCommerce &amp; Shopify. But which one should you choose? WooCommerce or Shopify? If you\u2019re starting an ecommerce business, it is important that your customers have easy access to buy your product. A good eCommerce system is not a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":232493,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"When you're assessing the differen the different ecommerce platforms, two popular choices that often come up are WooCommerce &amp; Shopify.\n\nBut which one should you choose?\n\nWooCommerce or Shopify?\n\nIf you\u2019re starting an ecommerce business, it is important that your customers have easy access to buy your product.\n\nA good eCommerce system is not a luxury, it\u2019s a necessity.\n\nBoth have their fair share of positives, but you need to pick one.\n\nAnd that\u2019s where we can help.\n<h2>WooCommerce vs Shopify Pros &amp; Cons<\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Category<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>WooCommerce<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Shopify<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Payment Gateways<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Huge number of payment options<\/li>\n \t<li>Third party development means that it is easier for new gateways to be added<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>They vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Huge number of payment options<\/li>\n \t<li>Shopify curation means they are reliable in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>If you can\u2019t find an option, Shopify will need to add it themselves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Product Options<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>You can offer many different kinds of product types on your online store<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Quality can be inconsistent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>You can offer many different kinds of product types on your online store<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Less variety of plugins means you might be out of luck if a plugin isn\u2019t to your liking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>You might need multiple plugins to perform certain functions where WooCommerce only needs one<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ease of Use<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Very powerful functionality for people who know what they\u2019re doing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Not particularly user-friendly for people who don\u2019t know what they are doing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Very user-friendly<\/li>\n \t<li>Shopify takes care of a lot of elements such as updates, security and backups<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Customisation Options<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Huge number of themes<\/li>\n \t<li>Themes are updated on a daily basis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Themes vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>70 highly polished themes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Only 70 themes, so if you can\u2019t find what you\u2019re looking for, you\u2019re out of luck<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sales Tools<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Contains various sales plugins<\/li>\n \t<li>Wider range of tools available<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>You\u2019ll have to search for a lot of these functions yourself<\/li>\n \t<li>Tools vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Contains various sales plugins<\/li>\n \t<li>Shopify curation guarantees consistent quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Smaller range, with less available alternatives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Plugins<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Over 50,000 plugins<\/li>\n \t<li>Plugins are added constantly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Plugins widely vary in quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Plugins are curated by Shopify, ensuring consistent quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Only 1200 plugins<\/li>\n \t<li>Not updated as frequently as WooCommerce<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Customer Support<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Numerous contact options<\/li>\n \t<li>Knowledge centers<\/li>\n \t<li>Setup guides<\/li>\n \t<li>Community forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n \t<li>Numerous contact options<\/li>\n \t<li>Knowledge centers<\/li>\n \t<li>Setup guides<\/li>\n \t<li>Community forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"5\">Hosting Costs<\/td>\n<td>Free to install, but you pay for hosting, security, domain name and extension fees<\/td>\n<td>You pay a fixed price, but that price covers all extras<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Bluehost Hosting - Monthly Price (AUD)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Shopify - Monthly Price<\/strong>\n\n<strong>(USD)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Shared Hosting - $3.94<\/td>\n<td>Basic - $29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>VPS - $25.35<\/td>\n<td>Standard - $79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dedicated - $106.77<\/td>\n<td>Advanced - $299<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>How to compare these eCommerce platforms<\/h2>\nIt is difficult to simply declare one of these platforms the winner right away. Both of these platforms are perfectly functional, and users are likely going to have positive experiences with either of them.\n\nHowever, selecting the right eCommerce solution for you will save you a lot of time and resources in the long term. So, in order to determine which out of WooCommerce and Shopify will work best for your website, we have established a series of criteria that we will compare them with.\n\nSo, without further ado...\n<h3>Payment Gateways<\/h3>\nRemember the good ol\u2019 days when the choice was either cash or card?\n\nWell, nowadays your customers have a wide range of digital payment options at their disposal such as Paypal, Stripe, Square, Afterpay, AmazonPay etc. And if your website isn\u2019t accommodating, you could lose potential customers. So it\u2019s good that both WooCommerce and Shopify support a huge range of payment options in the form of apps that you can pick and choose from.\n\nFor WooCommerce, this means a wider variety of options. If a payment option you want isn\u2019t available, there\u2019s always the possibility that a third party could add it later on. However, this also means that you have to gauge the quality of these plugins based on user reviews.\n\nInversely, if a payment option you want is not available on Shopify, you have to deal with Shopify directly. However, you can be reassured that any payment options they do add are subject to their specific quality standards.\n<h3>Product Options<\/h3>\nWhat if you\u2019re not just selling a product? Both eCommerce solutions provide various alternatives to suit your business.\n\nWooCommerce has many first and third party plugins, offering functionality for product bundles, appointment bookings, memberships, rentals, multi-vendor marketplaces, product kits, paid courses, etc. However, much like with their payment options, WooCommerce\u2019s product plugins can be inconsistent in terms of quality, with reviews ranging from 5\/5 to 2.8\/5 stars.\n\nShopify\u2019s options are as diverse, but they can require a bit of ingenuity. For example, if you want to add donation functionality to your website, WooCommerce only requires you to pick one plugin while Shopify recommends three.\n\nAdditionally, if you have a problem with a WooCommerce plugin, it\u2019s easier to switch it out for another one, whereas Shopify is less likely to offer a viable alternative.\n<h3>Ease of Use<\/h3>\nBuilding a website is not easy, but certain platforms certainly help. When it comes to WooCommerce vs Shopify, Shopify is far more user-friendly, as you don\u2019t need to install, manage or update any software, and your security and backups are taken care of.\n\nBy contrast, WooCommerce is a lot more technical. While it offers a higher degree of customisability, and you can create a really powerful shopping website if you know how to code, it can also leave a large amount of gaps in your functionality if you don\u2019t. A lot of the processes that <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/shopify-seo\/\">Shopify<\/a> automates require you to directly intervene on WooCommerce.\n<h3>Customisation Options<\/h3>\nCustomisation is where WooCommerce is a lot more versatile than Shopify. Because Wordpress, and by extension WooCommerce, are open source, you have access to a huge amount of presets and themes that are updated on a daily basis.\n\nShopify\u2019s themes are more curated. You have access to approximately 70 themes to choose from. While these themes are incredibly polished, if they\u2019re not what you\u2019re looking for, you\u2019re out of luck.\n\nHowever, both WooCommerce and Shopify have free and premium themes available, and they both allow you to edit their code.\n<h3>Sales Tools<\/h3>\nBoth platforms contain plugins that aid you in selling your products, including multichannel selling, abandoned cart recovery, courier integration, blog extensions, etc.\n\nFor Shopify, these are mostly built in, whereas WooCommerce requires you to source them through their various plugins. Once again, this means that WooCommerce offers a much wider range of functions, but without the level of curation that Shopify does.\n<h3>Plugins<\/h3>\nPlugins essentially make up the bulk of WooCommerce\u2019s functionality, with over 50,000 to choose from. Because it\u2019s open source, that number continues to grow. By comparison, Shopify has about 1,200.\n\nHowever, the curation of Shopify\u2019s apps make them more consistently reliable. After all, if a function of Shopify is defective, that\u2019s not a reflection on the third party that developed it, it\u2019s a reflection on Shopify themselves.\n\nUltimately, WooCommerce offers a significantly higher degree of variety. If a certain application doesn\u2019t meet your needs (i.e. functionality, ease of use, technical support, etc.), there are multiple alternatives available.\n<h3>Customer Support<\/h3>\nBoth WooCommerce and Shopify have comprehensive customer support systems in place, including:\n<ul>\n \t<li>24\/7 phone, email and live chat support<\/li>\n \t<li>Knowledge centers<\/li>\n \t<li>Setup guides<\/li>\n \t<li>Community Forums<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhether you\u2019re using WooCommerce or Shopify, there are many resources available to help you build the perfect online store and maintain it effectively.\n<h3>Hosting Costs<\/h3>\nThere\u2019s no point in building an online website that\u2019s going to break your bank. WooCommerce and Shopify both have different payment plans, so it\u2019s best to use the one that suits your budget and productivity.\n\nShopify has set pricing, making it easier to track your spending. Hosting, security, your domain and extension fees are all included in your plan. Monthly prices in USD range from $29 for Shopify Basic, $79 for Shopify Standard, and $299 per month for Shopify Advanced, each tier coming with its own set of features.\n\nBy comparison, WooCommerce itself is free to install, but it comes with extra costs such as the aforementioned hosting, security, domain and extension fees. WooCommerce is used in conjunction with the hosting service Bluehost, which has its own monthly price range in AUD of $3.94 for Shared Hosting, $25.35 for VPS, and $106.77 for Dedicated.\n\nUltimately, WooCommerce is more flexible in terms of price, but Shopify\u2019s fixed price means that a lot of functionality is taken care of for you.\n<h2>How do you decide which of these tools are right for you?<\/h2>\nThe answer to this question is to determine the kind of web designer you are. If this is your first online store, and your confidence with web development isn\u2019t as strong as it could be, Shopify is the better option for you. For a fixed price, you\u2019ll have a high quality website with a lot of elements taken care of for you.\n\nHowever, WooCommerce is a great option if you\u2019re a confident developer who wants to save a bit of money while building a website whose design and functionality you have a huge degree of control over.\n\nAt the end of the day though, both platforms are powerful and will build you a functional online store. It's not as though you\u2019re doomed if you pick the wrong one.\n\nIf you've selected Shopify, and you need help boosting your SEO, <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/5-simple-tips-to-improve-your-current-shopify-seo\/\">we have you covered<\/a>.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232485"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235290,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232485\/revisions\/235290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltreasury.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}