WooCommerce vs Shopify (2021) | Which one is better?

Are you running an existing business or a new brand?

Do you want to embark on an eCommerce store with extraordinary performance?

But, don’t know, which platform is the best for your business?

Certainly while researching, you must have heard about WooCommerce and Shopify, right?

And, these platforms are ideally perfect in their way. Users naturally prefer them due to their feature-rich and customizable options. Both have multiple strengths and a brighter future scope.

But, how to find the best one. Is Shopify better than WooCommerce? What is better than Shopify then? Is it better to choose

WooCommerce or Shopify for your new or existing brand? What are the points of difference?

Wait, your answer lies here.

In this article, we have discussed WooCommerce VS Shopify 2021, helping you make the right decision.

1. An Overview of WooCommerce and Shopify

WordPress is a Free and Open Source Content Management System (CMS) that runs on template format and plugins architecture.In that, WooCommerce is the most customizable E-Commerce platform for building your business globally.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is not only a platform to create your online store but also a plugin that manages your e-commerce store with the finest solutions.The only thing you need to do is- Install the Plugin into your WordPress and start using it.According to BuiltWith , 4 million+ WordPress websites are using WooCommerce for expanding their presence to the international frontiers.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is one of the best E-Commerce platforms that create your business and seamlessly turn your retail store into an online store without missing a beat.But, unlike WooCommerce, Shopify is not an Open Source Platform. It was launched in 2004 and offers a variety of incredible features with the up-to-date versions.Do you know, Shopify merchants have contributed $183 billion in global economic activity from 2016-2018? Thus, the scope of Shopify seems brighter in the future with the advancement in relative functions.

2. Easy to launchWooCommerce

WooCommerce has a little bit of complexity with setting up your online store. It isn’t as easy and convenient as Shopify. At the initial level, you need to complete the following stages-

These processes don’t give much comfortability because you need to set up the web server, then redirect the server to the current server and finally install it to conduct relevant operations.You cannot perform everything on yourself. Thus, hire a WordPress Hosting Company to intricate your online store with WooCommerce.

Shopify

Shopify is the hosted eCommerce Platform which means that it offers a significant level of technical support inclusive of hosting and domain name.Another plus point for Shopify is that- it is a subscription-based online tool. All you need to do is-

3. Design Comparison

What attracts your website the most at one glance? Yes, an aesthetical design and a cleaner interface.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce follows the most standard and tailor-made designs to give a corporate look to your brand.One of the online stores ‘WooCommerce Storefront’ is a free, flexible, and intuitive theme that offers deep integration to your website.Thus, for all sorts of industrial purposes, you must select WooCommerce.

Shopify

What’s the catch with Shopify?Shopify has gained popularity due to its visual quality and attractive themes. It consists of 1200+ Shopify themes and templates offering a wide range of options for your diverse business requirements.And the best part is that they are mobile responsive designs and help you create forward-thinking websites giving a sophisticated impression to your brand.Mainly, these designs are developed by professionals to ease your selection. The skilled developers utilize ‘Liquid’ language’ to edit & adjust their styles and colors.

4. Payment Gateway

Payment Gateways are equally important for any E-Commerce Platform. Isn’t it?

WooCommerce

WooCommerce offers various extensions of Payment Gateways both for free and paid versions giving 100+ options for your e-commerce store. It provides a 30-day money-back guarantee as well as a count for safe and secure online payments.It has no monthly fees and no setup costs. But, you need to incur 2.9% + $0.30 fees on each transaction made with U.S cards.

Shopify

Shopify offers Shopify Payments as a third-party payment gateway powered by Stripe, PayPal, Amazon Payments, and others. It keeps the payment info and business data safe, compliant with PCI, and supports the 3D Secure checkouts.However, it charges 2% fees on each transaction and by opting for an advanced plan, you can reduce the fee to 0.5% by paying $299 per month.

5. Pricing with Dropshipping

Various costs are attached with the creation and maintenance of E-Commerce platform like-

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the best platforms for DropShipping, especially for store owners. You just need to install and integrate with the add-ons and extensions to seamlessly start serving.Some of the great third party WooCommerce extensions are-

But, WooCommerce requires paid plugins to display the real-time rates.However, if you want to print the shipping labels, combine WooCommerce with Shipstation for a wow experience.Also, here you can create your own marketplace and permit others to sell on your site.

Shopify

Dropshipping offers a native support to the business owners using Shopify for running a smooth online store. Also, you can work with Oberlo for dropshipping integration that helps you in running a stockless shop.Some of the great third party Shopify add-ons are-

Here, every product has its own shipping charges and membership fees.

6. Support

What makes your online store successful? A strong support system.Both Shopify and WooCommerce are easy to use and maintain but, when it comes to outside assistance, let see who wins the game.

WooCommerce

Bluehost offers dedicated support to your WooCommerce store. It includes continuous availability for live chats and phone support to resolve customer queries in no time.Also, with WooCommerce you can directly submit the tickets for general support for building your store perfectly. That’s what makes it trusted and powerful from a customer support point of view.Apart from that, it also has a hosting provider like Cloudways that offers support services through a help desk for their users as well as extensive documentation for the software.

Shopify

With Shopify, you get everything that requires to run an online store. It offers a 24/7 support system through emails, calls, and chats.However, if stuck in between, the experts will help you for creating your e-store and third-party extensions.

7. User Friendliness

If you are not a developer, then you need to strictly consider the feature of ‘user-friendliness’.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce offers a whole lot of customization options that enhance the look and feel and performance of your online store. However, for advanced options, you need to hire professional developers to integrate tightly.

Shopify

Just like WooCommerce, Shopify also offers a drag and drop interface where you can make the changes and adjustments as and when required. But, for making the advanced changes, you need to have the technical knowledge to successfully execute the solution.

8. Performance

Performance is often considered as the driving force for any E-commerce. It bookmarks the visitors and increases their visit to your page.

Loading Time

Are you looking for the best Ecommerce platform with excellent loading time? Shopify is the one.Do you know the loading time per 30,000 product collections has been reduced to 2.5 seconds ? This brought a whopping conversion of 20% which is dynamically great. While the WooCommerce sites require 3.4 seconds to load.

9. SEO

SEO is the best way to reach to your customers and meet their demand basket. When it comes to SEO, you have to make a tough choice.

WooCommerce

Since WooCommerce is integrated with WordPress and its incredible plugins, you can easily install the plugin and optimize the title and Meta description for search.

Shopify

However, Shopify does not have SEO plugins in its App Store. You need to go for a free SEO Booster to scan, restore, and fix the problems but, in the long run, it may be restrictive. However, the Average conversion rates with Shopify are 3-5%.

10. Security

The Highest Level of security has always been the major concern for any e-commerce platform, after all, it holds the personal information for your user.

WooCommerce

As discussed, WooCommerce is a self-hosted platform, so you won’t find any in-built security system. In fact, you need to manage it from your side or through a hosting provider like Bluehost.

Shopify

Did you know, Shopify is PCI-DSS compliant? This means that you don’t have to worry about the processing of credit card payments.Also, it has a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate that safeguards the personal information and builds the trust of your customers.Everything is finely taken care of. While WooCommerce doesn’t have this sort of compliance.

Which Platform is the best- WooCommerce or Shopify?

WooCommerce and Shopify are one of the most leading e-commerce platforms. You can go with any but, all you need is first evaluate your business requirement and accordingly commemorate with what it offers.Also, to sum up, with the final thoughts, you should go with the WooCommerce platform if you are looking for a multi-currency or multi-lingual store or looking for customization.For a visually appealing online store and thorough security system, you can go for Shopify. As discussed, it has an excellent loading speed.So, now if you have finalized the platform for the next project, call the best Web Development Company .Rentech Digital is the most trusted Web and Mobile App Development Company in NY that delivers excellent solutions to new and existing brands all across the international frontier.

So, book an appointment now. Our support system will get back to you quickly.