Shopify vs WordPress: Which Is Better for Ecommerce?

Tony Pham Jul 16 2024

Shopify and WordPress are two of the most renowned e-commerce website builders. The distinction lies in their focus: Shopify is dedicated solely to online stores, while WordPress is a versatile website builder that also offers e-commerce functionalities.

In this article, Nextsky will help you determine whether Shopify or WordPress is more suitable for your business needs.

Shopify vs. WordPress: At a Glance

Shopify and WordPress are two prominent platforms for building e-commerce websites, each with its unique strengths.

Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that includes everything from an online store editor to domains and hosting. It also features an integrated point-of-sale (POS) system, allowing for seamless synchronization of online and in-person sales, and comes with built-in inventory and order management features. This makes Shopify ideal for businesses that want to start selling quickly without needing extensive technical skills.

On the other hand, WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems on the web. While it doesn't come preloaded with as many features as Shopify, it allows for extensive customization through plugins and manual coding. This flexibility makes WordPress suitable for businesses that want to create unique shopping workflows and have greater control over their website's design and functionality.

Shopify vs. WordPress: Which is best for your business

Shopify is the preferred option for businesses that:

Wish to commence selling immediately.
Are comfortable with utilizing Shopify's pre-made themes or payment processing system.
Are smaller and lack the capacity to develop expansive, intricate websites.

WordPress is more suitable for businesses that:

Desire extensive website customization.
Prefer to select their own payment gateway.
Have a broader focus beyond just e-commerce sales.

Shopify vs. WordPress: Quick Comparison

Aspect	Shopify	WordPress
Ease of Use	User-friendly with all necessary tools built-in. Ideal for quick setup and minimal effort.	Requires more setup and technical know-how, but offers extensive customization capabilities.
Customization	Limited customization due to its out-of-the-box setup.	Highly customizable through numerous plugins and themes, allowing for unique shopping workflows.
Features	Comprehensive e-commerce features including POS, inventory management, and integrated payment gateways.	Basic features that can be enhanced with plugins like WooCommerce for e-commerce capabilities.
Scalability	Scales well with built-in features suitable for growing businesses.	Highly scalable with the right plugins and custom development.
Support	24/7 customer support is included in the subscription. (live chat, email, and phone for Plus plan)	A strong community offering help through forums, WordCamps, Meetups, blog posts, and tutorials
SEO Capabilities and Marketing	Pre-installed SEO and marketing functionalities enable you to enhance your site and boost its search engine rankings. While simpler to utilize, it doesn't offer the same level of customization as WordPress's plugins.	Advanced SEO capabilities with plugins like Yoast SEO, Rank Math, offer greater control over optimization.
Flexibility	Designed specifically for e-commerce with less flexibility outside of this focus.	Highly flexible, suitable for a wide range of websites beyond just e-commerce.
Pricing and Plan	Monthly subscription fee with tiered pricing based on features.	Free to use, but costs can add up with premium themes, plugins, and hosting services.
Ecommerce Functionality	Comprehensive e-commerce features including POS, inventory management, and integrated payment gateways.	Basic features that can be enhanced with plugins like WooCommerce for e-commerce capabilities.
Setup	Simplified setup process with hosting, design options, and templates included.	Technical and knowledge required for beginners. Requires more setup and customization, including choosing hosting, themes, and plugins.
Template	Nicely designed themes, but only 13 free ones. The rest cost between $140 - $400.	Nearly 12,000 free themes, many built for ecommerce stores with a choice to use a paid one if need be.
Apps	Integrated App Store Shopify (8,000) offering additional functionality.	820 (WooCommerce extensions) Access to thousands of plugins offering various features and enhancements.
Customer Reviews and Reputation	Renowned for reliability and customer satisfaction.	Widely acclaimed for its flexibility, scalability, and extensive plugin ecosystem.

Shopify and WordPress are both powerful platforms, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Shopify excels in simplicity, offering a straightforward setup process and comprehensive e-commerce features ideal for businesses focused primarily on selling products online.

On the other hand, WordPress provides unparalleled flexibility and customization options through its extensive plugin ecosystem, making it suitable for a wide range of websites beyond just e-commerce.

Ultimately, the choice between Shopify and WordPress depends on your specific needs, technical expertise, and long-term goals for your website.

Shopify vs. WordPress: Detailed Comparison

Pricing and Plan - Shopify Win

WordPress appears to be initially cost-effective as it's free to download and use. However, the costs quickly add up when considering hosting, themes, plugins, and other essential features. The total cost can vary significantly, ranging from $5 to $100 or more per month, depending on the chosen hosting plan, themes, plugins, and additional services.

Shopify, on the other hand, offers pricing plans starting at $25 per month, offering e-commerce features with built-in hosting, security, and support. In addition, before choosing Shopify's purchase package, you will be able to experience the features with a 3-day free trial and $1 for the first month right after the trial ends.

Although Shopify may seem more expensive initially, it includes all the necessary tools in one package, making it easier to manage and potentially more cost-effective in the long run.

Additionally, Shopify's recently introduced Total Cost of Operation (TCO) calculator revealed that it is 36% cheaper on average to operate than WooCommerce, even when considering all the additional fees. Therefore, despite its higher starting price and additional fees, Shopify emerges as the better value-for-money option due to its simplicity and comprehensive features.

There are also a few other costs

Cost Components	Shopify	WordPress
Plugin Subscriptions	$13 - $75 per month	$5 - $150 per month
Themes	$70 - $380 (one-off payment)	$35 - $5,000+ (one-off payment)
Processing Fees	Shopify Payments: no fee 2.9% + 30¢ processing fee for all major credit cards.	N/A
Transaction Fees	Extra 2% fee for non-Shopify Payments	N/A
Unlimited Products	Yes, with the option to turn off inventory tracking for certain products	Yes, but limited by storage (up to 50GB)
Storage	Unlimited storage and bandwidth	Up to 50GB, with additional storage available in 50GB or 100GB allotments, maxing out at 200GB per account

Ecommerce Functionality

Aspect	Shopify	WordPress (with WooCommerce)
Payment Processing	Integrated with 100+ payment gateways, seamless and secure transactions	Requires setup of payment gateways, can be more complex
Inventory Management	Built-in inventory and order management features	Requires plugins for advanced inventory management
Product Management	Easy to manage products, variations, and personalization	Flexible but requires plugins and more setup
Shipping	Integrated shipping options, customizable rates	Requires plugins to customize shipping rates and options
Discounts and Promotions	Built-in tools for discounts and promotions	Requires plugins or custom development
POS Integration	Native POS system for syncing online and offline sales	Requires third-party POS integration

Shopify offers a seamless, all-in-one solution that's easy to set up and manage, ideal for businesses looking to start selling quickly without technical skills. It includes built-in tools for inventory management, payment processing, and POS integration, providing a streamlined experience.

WordPress with WooCommerce is highly customizable, allowing for greater flexibility and unique shopping workflows. It's best for businesses with the technical expertise to handle complex setups and who want a highly personalized e-commerce website.

In summary, Shopify is perfect for convenience and ease of use, while WordPress is better for extensive customization and control for people with high expertise.

Setup and Design option - WordPress Wins

Shopify is designed with beginners in mind, featuring drag-and-drop editors and comprehensive tutorials to facilitate the setup process. Upon starting, users are prompted to input their products immediately, with tools like Shopify Magic leveraging AI to generate product descriptions, streamlining the process. However, Shopify's editor can be confusing for tasks unrelated to e-commerce, and users often find themselves lost without a clear checklist or guide.

On the other hand, WordPress requires basic coding knowledge to fully leverage its capabilities, as it is not inherently set up for e-commerce and needs plugins like WooCommerce. Despite this initial complexity, WordPress offers a variety of website-building plugins.

This flexibility allows users to switch editors if one doesn't suit their needs, making it a more versatile option. While WordPress's extensive tools and options can be overwhelming, its ability to accommodate different editing preferences ultimately offers a better setup experience.

Thus, WordPress excels in flexibility and customization, while Shopify provides a more straightforward but sometimes limiting user experience.

Templates - WordPress Wins

Templates (or themes) are the foundation of your website's design. Shopify offers over 100 themes, but only 13 are free, with the rest starting at $140. All Shopify themes are mobile responsive, ensuring your site looks good on any device, an essential feature given that over 60% of global internet traffic comes from mobile devices.

WordPress, however, offers an overwhelming selection with over 11,000 themes, including 1,000 specifically for e-commerce. While many WordPress themes are free, premium themes can range from $35 to $200, with some custom designs costing $5,000 or more. The recent introduction of ‘Patterns’ in WordPress allows for easier design with pre-made blocks that can be added or removed as needed.

While not all WordPress themes are mobile responsive, the vast array of options ensures you can find a theme that suits your needs.

SEO and Marketing

Aspect	Shopify	WordPress
Marketing Tools	Built-in tools for email marketing campaigns, contact forms, and social media integrations	Requires plugins for most marketing tasks, but offers a wide selection including Hubspot, Mailchimp, Google Ads, and Pretty Links
SEO Capabilities	Offers SEO tools like meta title/description editing, URL slug customization, and alt text for images	Provides greater control over SEO with plugins like Yoast SEO, allowing for more advanced optimization techniques
Dashboard	Provides a full dashboard for tracking marketing success	Requires additional plugins for comprehensive SEO tracking, lacks a centralized dashboard for SEO monitoring

Both Shopify and WordPress offer robust marketing and SEO capabilities. Shopify excels with built-in tools, while WordPress provides more advanced SEO options through plugins.

Integrations

In the Shopify store, users can select from a vast collection of over 8,000 apps, covering a wide range of functionalities such as marketplace integrations, social media connections, subscription management, and design customizations, among others.

On the other hand, WordPress with WooCommerce offers 820 specialized e-commerce extensions tailored specifically for online shops.

Additionally, WordPress boasts an extensive library of nearly 60,000 free plugins, although not all of these are relevant for e-commerce purposes.

Customer Support - Shopify Wins

Shopify excels in customer support with 24/7 live chat, email, and phone assistance, as well as a comprehensive help center and user forums. This ensures that users have immediate access to help whenever they need it.

WordPress, on the other hand, primarily relies on community support and extensive documentation. While plugins often come with their own support, they can vary in quality and responsiveness. Paid managed hosting services for WordPress can offer better support, but this adds to the cost.

Overall, Shopify's robust and readily available support makes it the superior choice for users who require consistent and reliable assistance.

Customer Reviews and Reputation

Both platforms have obviously great reputation among the website builder community. You will most people recommend these 2 platforms thanks to the good services provided over the years.

On G2, both platforms fare well with 4.4 stars. Customers appreciate Shopify's user-friendly interface and variety of templates, while WordPress is praised for its versatility and ability to create responsive, mobile-friendly sites.

Ultimately, the choice depends on your business needs, technical expertise, and desired level of customization.

Check out more Shopify comparison articles:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I use both platforms together, Shopify and WordPress?

Yes, it's possible to integrate Shopify with WordPress by using Shopify's Buy Button or Shopify WordPress plugin, allowing you to combine the strengths of both platforms.

Which platform is more scalable, Shopify or WordPress?

Both Shopify and WordPress are scalable, but Shopify offers built-in features suitable for growing businesses, while WordPress scalability depends on the choice of plugins and custom development.

Which platform is better for e-commerce, Shopify or WordPress?

Shopify is specifically designed for e-commerce and offers comprehensive features out of the box, making it ideal for online stores. WordPress can also be used for e-commerce with plugins like WooCommerce but requires more setup and customization.

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Tony Pham

Hello! I'm Tony Pham, a full-stack Shopify, Magento, and WordPress developer with over 12 years of experience in both front-end and back-end development.

Since 2016, I have been proudly working at Nextsky as the Tech Lead, where I continue to enhance my skills and contribute to exciting projects. One of my proudest works is the Agile theme, which passed Shopify's high standard and is currently available on Shopify Theme Store.

I am passionate about researching new technologies and staying updated with the latest trends in the industry. It not only makes my life more fulfilling and exciting but also allows me to bring better service to clients.

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