{"id":15014,"date":"2020-07-25T17:39:23","date_gmt":"2020-07-25T17:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/?p=15014"},"modified":"2022-09-16T22:23:35","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T22:23:35","slug":"woocommerce-vs-shopify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/woocommerce-vs-shopify\/","title":{"rendered":"WooCommerce vs. Shopify Ecommerce Website Builder Comparison : Which One Is Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your business is unique, so you\u2019ll need to know which features of which e-commerce site will be best. Shopify<\/a> and WooCommerce<\/a> both command a massive chunk of the world\u2019s online stores and have excellent templates and features. Therefore, we\u2019ll look over a list of categories based on what we think is vital in an ecommerce site, and see how WooCommerce and Shopify compare.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not to spoil anything, but both WooCommerce and Shopify are both highly qualified for starting an online store. Whichever one you choose depends on how much time you want to spend building your site, and how much of a learning curve you can take.<\/p>\n

Ease of Use<\/h2>\n

While all website builders boast of being easy to use, they don\u2019t always account for the various necessities to building a site.\u00a0 Everyone has different skill sets, as well as various time frames, so \u201ceasy\u201d might be a subjective term in this case.<\/p>\n

Coding Know-How\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Successfully using WooCommerce may depend on how much you know about HTML or CSS coding, which will make your site\u2019s layout much more specific and customizable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WooCommerce uses a coding templating software called Liquid<\/a>. If you can hire a coder to help make your site shine, WooCommerce may work just fine, but perhaps not for the merchant looking to save money or time in learning.<\/p>\n

Integration Into Other Sites<\/h3>\n

WooCommerce is an open-source site<\/a>, so you have complete ownership of your store. The website comes included with WordPress, so if you already have a WordPress site, you could simply add a WooCommerce plugin<\/a> to that site and set up your store from there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Either way, the site is free to install. WooCommerce can also integrate smoothly into any online service, so you can just as easily use WooCommerce on another website platform, like Wix or Squarespace.<\/p>\n

Quick Set-Up<\/h3>\n

Shopify is quick to set up since you can create everything from templates within the website.\u00a0 With such a rapid setup time, you can start making sales the day you build your site. You even have the choice of tweaking your website one more time before you officially publish it. On the other hand, all the coding and minute customization make a WooCommerce site more of a project.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you want to start making sales immediately, Shopify might be the better option without worrying too much about minute details. It\u2019s also better if you\u2019re just starting out and just want to begin creating an online presence. But if you\u2019re comfortable taking the time and energy to make every small aspect of the site your own, WooCommerce might be preferable.<\/p>\n

The Verdict<\/h3>\n

With its many templates and plugins, Shopify's structure is like completing a puzzle with all the pieces ready. WooCommerce has templates and plugins, but the pieces are much smaller, and the picture much more detailed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You might need more experience to be comfortable with it.\u00a0 In short, Shopify has more structure and less reliance on coding, in which case, it may be the kinder, gentler choice, especially for beginners.<\/p>\n

Design Flexibility<\/h2>\n

Both WooCommerce and Shopify try to give you complete control of how your site looks: from the layout, colors, and content. The look of your website will hopefully invite people to click and shop around, but it\u2019ll depend on your competence and patience with implementing a design.<\/p>\n

Templates\/Customization<\/h3>\n

Shopify has plenty of free and premium templates to choose from, all of which are capable of translating between desktop and mobile device viewing. The templates, therefore, are well-designed and meant to accentuate the critical features of any online store.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus, there is a page dedicated solely to pre-existing shops<\/a>, where merchants can click, explore, and get ideas for setting up their store.\u00a0<\/p>\n

High Caliber of Themes<\/h3>\n

Once again, because WooCommerce relies much more on technical know-how, how polished your site is will depend on how well you can code. It\u2019s worth noting that many top-tier designers create themes for WooCommerce, so you can choose from among a high caliber of themes. You\u2019ll just have to outsource them from ThemeForest<\/a>, which includes both free and premium WooCommerce themes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that although WooCommerce may require more coding than Shopify, you can also use code to polish your Shopify template. In fact, Liquid is available in both the WooCommerce and Shopify app stores. In the end, however, the final site depends on how you customize it.<\/p>\n

High-Quality Extensions<\/h3>\n

A creatively-designed website can also include plugins and extensions, which help increase your SEO and make shipping\/marketing easier. Both WooCommerce and Shopify allow for plugins, but WooCommerce, with its vast opportunities for customization, almost relies on them to make a website shine. Shopify has a slightly smaller plugin library, mainly because it does not require many of them to make a website good.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luckily, both sites have star ratings in their plugin libraries and stores. Before you choose a plugin, you can see how well it has performed for other merchants, and choose accordingly.<\/p>\n

The Verdict<\/h3>\n

Shopify\u2019s structured format means that there is a less diverse range of templates from which to choose. WooCommerce, thanks to its vast library of templates, leaves more room for creativity, even if not all of them will be optimal for both desktop and mobile viewing. However, it\u2019s hard to fault WooCommerce for providing a vast range of possibilities, so it is worth trying just for that.<\/p>\n

Features\/Tools<\/h2>\n

Features and tools all help to make an online store functional and unique.\u00a0 A blog is one such up-and-coming feature of many online stores. WooCommerce goes hand-in-hand with WordPress, which means a blog feature is immediately set and ready to use. Shopify has a blogging platform as well, though it may take longer to create.<\/p>\n

Extensions\/Plugins<\/h3>\n

WooCommerce has many extensions you can add to your site using the WooCommerce Marketplace<\/a>. Extensions maximize the functionality of your store, like adding marketing integrations and point of sale. You can also extend your store to multiple channels for about $79, including the following:<\/p>\n