WooCommerce is the most popular e-commerce platform, holding 40.9% of the worldwide market.
It’s the most downloaded e-commerce WordPress plugin and 3.8 million businesses sell through the platform. Yet, many retailers prefer to use Shopify. The platform has a 26% market share and growing.
This article examines the WooCommerce vs Shopify debate and explains why WooCommerce is the better choice.
Learn the pros and cons of each system. See why WooCommerce will save you money in the long run. Then discover how powerful reporting tools can make your online store more profitable.
Read on to reduce your bills and maximize your profits by choosing the best e-commerce system.
Table of Contents
WooCommerce E-Commerce Platform
WooCommerce is a free plugin built on WordPress, the world’s most popular CMS platform.
The system allows you to sell anything online. From physical inventory to downloadable products to taking bookings for events, you can do it all.
WooCommerce comes equipped with secure payments out of the box. Shipping and taxes are easy to configure and you can extend the system through additional plugins.
Selling on Shopify
Shopify isn’t just an e-commerce selling tool.
The company offers a range of options for you to ‘sell everywhere‘, including:
- Online store
- Point of sale
- Multiple sales channels like social media
The Shopify brand is marketed to showcase this main selling point along with ease of use. This attracts new e-tailers to their platform and the 14-day free trial lets them test the system to see if it suits.
WooCommerce vs Shopify
At first glance, Shopify seems a more appealing choice.
The user interface (UI) is easy on the eye. It’s simple to add new products and choose a theme to customize. Card payments come as part of the monthly fee as does hosting. That means there are fewer barriers to entry when starting up.
On the other hand, WooCommerce can seem a little daunting to new users. Especially if they are managing everything themselves.
It requires its own hosting solution. WordPress needs installing as does the WooCommerce plugin. You then need to find a theme and manage all related plugins.
Why use WooCommerce over Shopify if the latter is easier to work with and lets you sell within hours?
Why Use WooCommerce Over Shopify?
The e-commerce platform you choose must allow you to:
- Scale alongside your business growth
- Manage stock inventory if selling physical goods
- Be customizable to adapt to your needs
- Not cost you a fortune
Sadly, these issues plague Shopify users who didn’t know of the platform’s limitations when they first signed up.
Shopify’s inventory system is lacking in basic features like tracking stock or adding purchase orders. It requires expensive plugins to work around these issues.
The Shopify App store seems to showcase a tool for all your needs. Look a little closer, and you’ll find that each carries a hefty price tag. If you need anything extra, Shopify will charge you for ‘Plus’ options which can run into hundreds of dollars.
Add these costs to your monthly bills and Shopify is an expensive, limited platform that doesn’t scale well.
Benefits of WooCommerce
WooCommerce has a feature list that more than rivals Shopify’s. And it often comes at a fraction of the cost.
Below are 5 benefits of WooCommerce that Shopify cannot hope to match.
1. Reduced Costs
Currently, Shopify charges $29 per month for its basic plan but most merchants pay $79 for one retail store. If you have x2+ stores, that surges to $229 per month. That doesn’t account for Shopify Plus at an additional $89 each month.
WooCommerce is open-source which fundamentally means it’s free to use.
Of course, you need to pay for hosting and a domain name. It’s also wise to hire a company to set up your store and to manage the technical backend issues.
Yet when you compare the two services WooCommerce comes out as the clear winner. Plugins are less expensive and the system will save you a fortune over time.
2. Fully Customizable
Shopify boasts over 70+ store themes to choose from. WooCommece has hundreds.
You can change how the administration screens look too. Simply select a theme for the admin user and the color palette will change accordingly.
Everything’s customizable in WooCoomerce.
From reporting tools that show your sales KPIs to changing how your store functions, you have full control.
3. Unlimited Integrations
Is WooCommerce better when it comes to plugins versus Shopify’s apps?
There are 980 WooCommerce plugins available not counting additional WordPress options. They range from point of sale virtual terminals to integrating with your favorite shipping courier.
If you don’t see a plugin that you need you can even build one yourself!
4. Full Control
WooCommerce enables you to finely tune your shipping and tax options on a per-product basis.
This fine control can also tie with popular plugins like ATUM Inventory to manage stock levels for returns. The system even displays a list of your top-selling products when you install our Reporting Pro Reports plugin.
5. Built for SEO
Like WordPress, WooCommerce is designed with search engine optimization in mind.
URL slugs and page breadcrumb trails give it the edge on Google Search. Blog articles will rank high along with your category and product details pages.
Most themes offer a fully responsive design which means they’ll work well on any size of screen and browser.
Switching to WooCommerce
Switching from Shopify to WooCommerce isn’t easy. Moving years’ worth of data takes time not to mention expense.
That’s why new online store owners should choose WooCommerce from the beginning.
Select a website host that offers dedicated WordPress installations. Find a reputable developer who specializes in WooCommerce. Then sell with the knowledge that you’ve made the right choice.
Advanced WooCommerce Reporting
The WooCommerce vs Shopify debate rages on with many businesses wondering which platform to choose.
Shopify’s slick interface and promises to make e-commerce a breeze are enticing. Yet it fails to offer standard features like inventory management. And Shopify will charge you a fortune for adding simple plugins that WooCommerce offers for free.
The benefits of WooCommerce are clear.
The open-source platform is more affordable, better supported, and can deliver anything you need. Its flexibility allows you to gain insights into your business to bring it to the next level. That’s where our WooCommerce Reporting Pro Reports Plugin can help.
Access key performance indicators and sales metrics straight from the dashboard. Discover product metrics and produce tax reports with a few clicks. Our five-star plugin lets you spot sales patterns and helps you capitalize on them.
Make your business more profitable through our custom reporting service by contacting us today.