Starting an online business is not an easy task. But if you plan and implement accordingly you will surely succeed. If you are serious about your business then you must focus on a few things which you will get in this post so continue till the end.
There are many e-commerce platforms available online and they are quite good and feature-rich as well and have their own specialties.
Let’s check some of the best and popular e-commerce platforms:
Woocommerce and Shopify, might possible that you have heard these names before and know what it is and how it works but let’s see the detailed reviews of these platforms.
We’ll take a look and compare their features, which help you to decide which one is the best choice for your online store.
WooCommerce Vs Shopify: A Brief Overview
Shopify and WooCommerce both are good platforms and offer a wide range of functionalities and user interface that even a novice can easily create his or her own online store.
These platforms also provide full documentation and easy support so that you can fix all your technical difficulties and problems related to your online store on the go.
The major difference between these platforms is the setup. WooCommerce is just a plugin for WordPress CMS. You need to create an online store with WordPress and then install WooCommerce which power your online store. On the other hand, Shopify is a self-hosted content management system. However, if you are new to the development then this platform is probably being the easier choice to create your eCommerce store.
What they offer?
WooCommerce:
As I already mentioned that WooCommerce is nothing but a WordPress plugin. You can easily get this plugin online and it is free also, this plugin comes with various add-ons some are free some are paid.
WooCommerce offers the following features:
- It supports various payment gateways such as PayPal, Atom, Citrus, and also COD (Cash on Delivery) options.
- Logistics support
- Single dashboard from where you can easily manage your entire store.
- Integrated user reviews, discount coupons.
And many more functionalities
How to Setup store?
If you’re familiar with WordPress, then it is very easy for you’re to setup. However, even if you are a newbie or having zero technical skills, you can setup the store.
Themes and Designs:
WordPress offers thousands of themes which specially optimized for WooCommerce so that you can choose themes according to your requirements.
But, the important aspect of WooCommerce is that it can easily integrate with any of the WordPress themes. There are many online portals which offer which is fully optimized specifically for the plugin itself and offers plenty of features.
Support
WooCommerce offers full documentation and has a vast community of users and developers whose main target is to improve and extend WooCommerce by developing themes and add-ons for it and obviously solving vulnerabilities.
Cost for developing a store:
Though WooCommerce plugin is free, you need to buy a domain and hosting to setup your WordPress website. The cost can vary according to the hosting plan and the add-ons you chose to improve your store.
Pros:
- Options to choose a vast library of themes and plugins.
- Easy to customize.
- WooCommerce is available free of cost and you can directly download from its website.
WooCommerce – Cons
- You need to buy a domain, hosting services and SSL certificates separately.
Final Words:
Wordpress is easy to use and you need only WooCommerce plugin to enable online store on your website. So you can integrate logistics and payment gateway features and start your online store in very less time.
Shopify:
Shopify is a self-hosted solution which means you don’t need any add-on or plugin to create your online store, Shopify is specially designed for creating an online store. However, you need to pay a certain amount to start your online store. If we talk about themes and designs it also offers a vast variety of themes like WooCommerce.
Some of the main features are:
- You can easily find themes in Shopify store and in other marketplaces such as Envato.
- Offers Responsive Layout and designs.
- Offers an option to choose your own domain name.
- Customization is very easy.
- All in one dashboard to manage your store.
- Availability of Product showcase, review, discounts coupons etc.
Store Setup:
Setting up the store on Shopify is very easy. Offers complete solution and control over navigation, pages, design, and layouts.
Layouts and Designs:
While Shopify offers a wide range of themes, but these themes does not offer plenty of features as some other marketplace offer. For feature rich Shopify themes you need to buy from third party services.
SEO:
If we talk about WordPress in terms of SEO purpose it is highly search engine friendly and also offers lots of plug in which helps in easily boost the ranking of your store in all the major search engines. But unlike Shopify, you need to pay some extra bugs to buy SSL certificates for an online store.
Another point in favor of Shopify is that it has dedicated servers which results in reducing page loading times and overall performance of the website.
Like WooCommerce, Shopify also offers various add-ons and modules which give you extra capabilities like cross-selling, tracking deliveries, QuickBooks integration, and more.
Support
Similarly to WooCommerce, Shopify has detailed documentation and a very vibrant community. But unlike WooCommerce where support comes mainly from the community, Shopify has a dedicated support team available 24/7 as well.
Cost for development:
Shopify offers three types of pricing with different features and functionalities with 14 days free trial option, the plan from $29 as the lowest from as $299 highest with $79 medium plan. It also offers the option to sell only on Facebook.
Which Platform you should go with?
As you have already checked, both the platforms have their own advantages and disadvantages which may confuse you in choosing the right platform for your online business
Shopify – Pros
- The main pros of Shopify store is that it comes with a domain, hosting and SLL certificates pre integrated.
- Dedicated server for your store which reduces loading time and performing better.
- The admin area is very intuitive anyone can use without any hassle.
Shopify – Cons
You need to buy Shopify themes from the third party as default themes won’t support any addition or special features.
Final Words:
Shopify is a best for those who are new to the eCommerce. It also offers easy documentation so that anyone can create and manage their store very easy.
It depends on your choice which platform you prefer:
It is a very close comparison between WooCommerce and Shopify. Both are good options for setting up an online store. Both platforms offer plenty of features and functionalities. In the end, after knowing all the details it’s your decision and choice which ecommerce platform you choose. If you are still confused you can consult Website Development Company to make decisions, they will also help you in setting up your online store as per your requirements.
Hi,
Good blog on WooCommerces vs Shopify. Thanks for sharing.
WooCommerce and Shopify both are most popular and easy to use ecommerce platform available in the market.
Both have multiple strength and the great thing about both is that you can do all on your own, without any professional experts designers or developers.
Read more: http://bit.ly/2J2asXH