Thinking about starting an online business? You can’t help but consider two major platforms: Shopify and WordPress.
For ecommerce, Shopify is the king. But, did you know that WordPress powers almost 40% of all the websites out there.
If you’re looking for a straightforward ecommerce solution, Shopify is usually the better choice. Setting up a store, listing products, and accepting payments is easier and faster with Shopify.
However, if you prefer more customization options and are willing to put in extra effort, WordPress might be a better fit.
Here, we’ll compare Shopify vs WordPress in eight main categories to find out which is best for constructing an online business. Let’s dive in and see which platform comes out on top!
Quick Comparison Between WordPress Vs Shopify
To make a meaningful comparison between Shopify and WordPress, let’s examine their stats. Here’s a quick comparison on how they perform in key areas important for SMB owners:
| Feature | Shopify | WordPress |
| Starting Price | $5 per month | $0 |
| Transaction Fees | Up to 5% | Up to 10% |
| Storage | Unlimited | 1GB to 50GB |
| Commerce Plans Pricing | $29 per month (with annual billing) | $45 per month (with annual billing) |
| Credit Card Fees | 2.9% + 30 cents online2.7% in person | 2.9% + 30 cents online2.6% + 10 cents in person |
| Ecommerce Features | Built-in shopping cart, inventory management, product listings, etc. | Requires plugin (e.g. WooCommerce) |
| Integrations | 8,000 | 820 (WooCommerce extensions) |
| Templates | Nicely designed themes, but only 12 free ones. The rest cost $70 – $350. | Nearly 12,000 free themes, many tailored for ecommerce (paid ones) |
WordPress Vs Shopify: The Basics
WordPress:
WordPress is a popular CMS known for its flexibility. While it doesn’t come with as many built-in features as Shopify, you can customize it with plugins or coding.
This makes it ideal for unique shopping experiences and custom designs. Have a look at the pros & cons of WordPress:
Pros:
- Offers more customization
- Free domain for one year
- Can sell in 60-plus countries
Cons:
- Requires more coding and designing
- Not tailored around selling
- Entrepreneur plan is $70 per month
Shopify:
Shopify is an ecommerce platform with features like online store editing, domain hosting, and a point-of-sale (POS) system.
It’s great for syncing online and in-person sales with inventory management. Shopify is ideal for those without extensive technical skills.
Pros:
- Tailored solution for online storefronts
- Hosting comes included
- Up to 88% shipping discount
Cons:
- Credit card fees are on the higher end
- Fees for synced listings
- Price jumps to $39-plus a month for more
WordPress Vs Shopify: Detailed Comparison
Choosing between Shopify and WordPress is a big decision for your online store. Each has its strengths.
To simplify your decision, we’ll outline key factors to consider when choosing between Shopify and WordPress for your next online shop.
Let’s get started!
Web Hosting
To build a website, you need a dependable web hosting service. Here’s how it works:
Your website’s content, like images and code, needs a secure place to stay online. Web hosts store your content on servers for a monthly fee and ensure your site is accessible to people.
WordPress:
With WordPress, you’re in charge of finding your own hosting platform. The positive side is, it gives you more control.
But, you have to pay an additional fee for hosting, which varies based on factors like site size and traffic.
For instance, Bluehost offers hosting starting at $6.99 per month (billed annually) for the first year, covering up to 10,000 monthly visits.
However, with WordPress, you’ll also have to manage server maintenance yourself, which can lead to technical challenges.
Shopify:
Shopify stores all your website files, so you don’t need to find a hosting service. This convenience means less hassle for those who aren’t familiar with hosting.
However, you sacrifice some control over server settings. Without access to server logs, you can’t troubleshoot issues on your own.
While some prefer this hands-off approach, others may desire more control over their website’s technical aspects.
Templates & Themes
Templates, also known as themes, are like blueprints for your website. They provide a starting point for your design.
What templates do is, they save you from starting with a blank page and give you a clear idea of how your site should look.
WordPress:
WordPress offers a vast selection of themes, with over 11,000 to choose from. This includes 1,000 specifically designed for ecommerce.
Additionally, the recent introduction of ‘Patterns’ in version 6.3 simplifies design customization by providing pre-made blocks in various styles.
Shopify:
Shopify provides around 100 themes, but only 12 are free, while the rest start at $140. The good news is: all of these themes are mobile responsive.
So your website will adjust to different screen sizes on mobile or tablet. Since over 60% of internet traffic is from mobile devices, it’s crucial not to overlook this feature.
Despite the smaller selection compared to WordPress, Shopify’s themes offer quality design options for online stores.
Ecommerce Features
Ecommerce tools help you sell products and get paid. Shopify includes them in the platform, while WordPress needs a plugin like WooCommerce.
WordPress:
WordPress isn’t an ecommerce platform by itself. But WordPress and WooCommerce plugin altogether can make it a powerful online store builder.
WooCommerce provides lots of customization options through WordPress themes and plugins. It gives you more control over your store’s appearance.
WordPress also has a strong CMS. This lets you create blog posts, landing pages, and other content alongside your store. It improves your website’s SEO and engages customers better.
Plus, WordPress is open-source software, meaning it’s free to use and has many potentially lower-cost extensions compared to Shopify apps.
Shopify:
Shopify is made for ecommerce, so it’s easy to use and has all the store management tools you need. You can start selling without extra plugins or coding.
It includes essential sales features like listing products, managing inventory, and secure shopping carts. Shopify also helps you handle discounts, shipping, and taxes efficiently.
Plus, Shopify stores work well on mobile devices, which is important because many people shop on their phones. Shopify wins in this segment exponentially.
SEO Capabilities
Simply stocking your store with products won’t automatically attract customers. Online, there’s no main street advertising for your store.
Thus, you need to actively market and optimize your website for search engines (SEO) to draw in new customers.
WordPress:
WordPress websites are designed with SEO in mind, offering lots of control over SEO aspects.
You can tweak your site for better search visibility, like making it mobile-friendly and setting SEO-friendly permalinks.
WordPress has a huge range of plugins that aid SEO tasks like keyword research and sitemap creation. With these tools, you can boost your site’s SEO performance.
Shopify:
Shopify provides basic SEO features, allowing you to handle on-page elements like custom titles and meta descriptions for your products.
However, its control over technical SEO is restricted, with fixed URL structures and fewer built-in SEO tools compared to WordPress.
Still, Shopify assists with background SEO tasks, ensuring your site is indexed correctly and creating XML sitemaps for better search engine crawling.
GDPR Compliance
Both Shopify and WordPress offer General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) tools. GDPR laws protect individuals’ privacy and data in the EU.
This means showing cookie banners, letting users opt out, deleting data when asked, and reporting data breaches.
WordPress:
WordPress doesn’t have a built-in GDPR solution. Instead, you can choose from many GDPR-compliance plugins.
These plugins offer features like cookie banners and opt-outs. They offer similar features to Shopify’s app but provide more customization options for WordPress site users.
Shopify:
Shopify helps merchants follow GDPR, EU laws protecting privacy and data. Shopify offers tools like cookie consent banners and user data opt-outs.
The Privacy & Compliance app on Shopify provides more control over data collection. Customers get more control over their data with features like a cookie preference banner.
Setup & Ease Of Usage
Deciding Shopify or WordPress for your ecommerce store depends on flexibility and user experience. Your comfort with coding will decide which is easy to use.
WordPress:
WordPress is not originally an ecommerce platform. But when you add the WooCommerce plugin, it becomes a strong online store builder.
Setting up a WordPress site involves multiple steps like choosing hosting, installing WordPress, adding WooCommerce, picking a theme, and configuring plugins.
It’s more complex than Shopify and requires more technical knowledge. But, WordPress offers immense customization.
Some coding knowledge can help but isn’t necessary. There’s no built-in drag-and-drop editor, but plugins like Elementor and Pagebuilder provide this functionality.
Unlike Shopify, you can switch between editors easily in WordPress. This flexibility makes WordPress more user-friendly in the long run.
Shopify:
Shopify’s user-friendly approach makes starting an online store easy. They handle most technical stuff and guide you through the setup.
Adding products, managing inventory, and setting up Shopify payments are easy tasks. Their drag-and-drop editor lets you arrange your store visually without needing coding skills.
Even beginners can quickly get their store up and running. Shopify prompts you to add products first, focusing on your offerings rather than design choices.
They offer Shopify Magic, an AI tool, to generate product descriptions, saving time.However, Shopify’s ease of use has some drawbacks.
The editor simplifies placement but can be hard to navigate for adding new pages or text boxes. It focuses on ecommerce functions, sometimes overshadowing other website building features.
Pricing Details
WordPress can be much cheaper than Shopify. But it varies depending on your hosting provider, plugins, and other factors. Here are the details:
WordPress:
While WordPress and its ecommerce plugin WooCommerce are free, running a WordPress store has extra expenses.
These include web hosting ($5 to $100 per month), themes (free to $5,000+), plugins ($50-$500 one-time or $5-$150 monthly), payment software, and maybe marketing tools.
Unlike Shopify’s all-in-one pricing, WordPress necessitates careful budgeting and planning to avoid overspending.
For web hosting, Bluehost’s Online Store plans offer a good starting point with their Basic plan at $6.99 per month (first year) which includes a free domain, email, SSL certificate, and storage.
Shopify:
Shopify has different pricing plans, starting from $29 per month when billed annually. While it has great sales features, some users think it’s a bit expensive compared to other options.
But they offer a free 3-day trial and a $1 first month to try it out. Also, there are extra costs for plugins, themes, and transaction fees.
Despite the initial costs, Shopify says it can be cheaper in the long run than WordPress because of its all-in-one setup.
Customer Support
Customer support is a crucial factor when choosing an ecommerce platform. Here’s a breakdown of how Shopify and WordPress fare in this area:
WordPress:
With WordPress, getting help when you’re stuck can be tricky. You might check WordPress forums, ask your hosting company, or reach out to plugin providers.
For more dedicated support, you might need to hire a WordPress designer or agency, which can cost extra.
This kind of personalized support isn’t common on regular Shopify plans. So, if you’re building your store by yourself, Shopify’s customer support might be more helpful.
Shopify:
Shopify has a strong edge in customer support, especially for DIY store builders. Their plans come with live chat, email, and phone support. Plus, they offer extensive online resources.
Having various support options ensures help is available when needed, which is useful, especially if you’re setting up a store for someone else.
WordPress Vs Shopify: Who Is The Best?
Above, we’ve discussed the key factors to determine the best ecommerce website builder. If you’re short on time, have a look at the summary table. It will give you an overall view quickly.
| Feature | WordPress | Shopify |
| Web Hosting | ✭✭ | ✭✭✭✭ |
| Templates & Themes | ✭✭✭✭✭ | ✭✭✭ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✭✭✭✭ | ✭✭✭✭✭ |
| SEO Capabilities | ✭✭✭✭✭ | ✭✭✭ |
| GDPR Compliance | ✭✭✭ | ✭✭✭✭✭ |
| Setup & Ease Of Usage | ✭✭✭✭ | ✭✭✭✭✭ |
| Pricing Details | ✭✭✭ | ✭✭✭✭ |
| Customer Support | ✭✭ | ✭✭✭✭✭ |
TLDR;
Use Shopify, if:
- You want to start immediately with selling products.
- You prefer using Shopify’s built-in themes and payment processing service.
- Your business is smaller and doesn’t require complex websites.
Use WordPress, if:
- You want extensive customization options for your website.
- You prefer to choose your own payment processor.
- Your business doesn’t exclusively focus on ecommerce sales.
FAQs
Which platform is better for beginners: Shopify or WordPress?
Shopify is often considered more beginner-friendly due to its simple setup and user-friendly interface. WordPress can be more complex for e-commerce, if you’re new to web development.
Can I use both platforms together for my website?
Yes, you can integrate both platforms. For example, you can use WordPress for your website and add Shopify for e-commerce functionality using the Shopify Buy Button or plugin.
Is WordPress or Shopify better for SEO?
Both platforms are SEO-friendly. WordPress offers extensive control through SEO plugins, while Shopify provides essential SEO features and handles technical aspects.
Can I transfer my website between platforms later on?
Yes, it’s possible but complex. You may need professional help or specialized tools for a smooth transition.
Are there ongoing costs associated with both platforms?
Yes, both platforms have monthly fees and additional expenses for hosting, domains, themes, plugins, maintenance, security, and marketing.
Which platform is better for larger e-commerce stores?
Both platforms can handle larger e-commerce operations with the right setup. Shopify offers scalability, while WordPress with WooCommerce allows for custom solutions.
Can I optimize my website for multiple languages?
Both WordPress and Shopify support multilingual websites with built-in features or plugins.
Which platform gives me more control over my website?
WordPress offers more control and ownership as a self-hosted platform, while Shopify is a hosted solution with less control.
What to consider when choosing between Shopify and WordPress?
Consider your technical expertise, budget, specific needs, scalability, and desired level of control.
Can I get professional help and support for both platforms?
Yes, both platforms offer professional support through dedicated teams, online communities, agencies, and freelancers.
Final Words
Choosing between WordPress and Shopify boils down to a simple choice: convenience or customization.
If you prefer an easy-to-use platform with all the essential features built-in, Shopify is your best bet. It’s great for beginners.
WordPress might be for you, if you’re okay with learning and want lots of options to customize. It’s a bit more technical, but you can do a lot with plugins and themes.
So, if you prefer simplicity, choose Shopify. If you’re fine with diving deep for more customization, go with WordPress. It’s all about what suits you best!
