Shopify or WordPress for an Online Store – Which is Better for Your Business?

When you set up your ecommerce website, you want to get everything right so you can hit the ground running. However, there are some big decisions you need to make. One of those is to choose Shopify or WordPress for your online store platform. Which is better for your business and why? Keep reading to find out which we think will serve you best as you launch your new website with an online store.

We’ll look at the pros and cons of WordPress vs Shopify for ecommerce and let you know which builder can help you deliver the goods for your customers. Which charge for use and which complement your website the best.

WordPress vs Shopify – What Are They?

Before going into the benefits of WordPress vs Shopify, you need to know what these platforms offer! WordPress is the most popular website builder on the internet. The software is free to download, but you need to sort out hosting with one of the many providers on the market. The chances are that your website already runs on WordPress. It is a popular choice, thanks to the huge number of available themes and the easy-to-use content management system that it offers.

Shopify is more of an online tool. You sign up and then pick your theme from the selection to create a website that is primarily about sales, over and above anything else. Whereas WordPress is free, other than the hosting charges, Shopify charges a fee starting at $29 per month and rising to $299 per month, depending on the scale of your business. Woocommerce, one of the most popular plugins for an online store on WordPress, and Shopify both charge a small fee on every transaction too.

Essentially, with WordPress you have a website with an online store, whereas Shopify is its own online store but with some features of a website thrown in.

Why Create an Online Store in WordPress

There are many reasons to create an online store in WordPress. The software is free in the first place, there are many more themes to choose from and WordPress sites are much more flexible than their Spotify competitors. You can create more of an experience with a WordPress online store, thanks to the adaptability of the software.

Both platforms allow you to create content, but WordPress is far more geared up to it than Shopify. The content management system works like a dream, and you can customise your site so it more closely reflects your brand and identity. The sheer number of plugins available for WordPress clearly outshines the handful of apps for Shopify online stores.

If you don’t like the way your Shopify store works, you are stuck with it or you will have to start again from scratch and move to WordPress. When you creating a WordPress, if you don’t like Woocommerce you can always choose a different WordPress online store plugin, but you keep the main look and feel of your website. All that changes is the store provider.

Because WordPress sites are built for all manner of different content, you can better utilise SEO on an online store using WordPress. This is important for getting your site ranking as high as possible in search engines and bringing in as much traffic as possible. You also don’t have to tiptoe around what Shopify calls its ‘acceptable use policy’, which can see the company pulling some of your listings on a whim.

Finally, the chances are that, if you already have a business website, it was built in WordPress, making it much more simple for you to add the additional ecommerce capability, rather than starting all over again with another tool.

Why Create an Online Store in Shopify

When you create an online store in Shopify, you know that you are using a dedicated ecommerce tool. The company is focused on powering online stores, and that means you don’t have to worry about any other elements of running a website. If you are trying to set up your online store on your own, you might not fancy the technical aspects of building a WordPress online store.

There is no need to pay for hosting with an online store in Shopify, as that is included in the monthly fee. Another benefit of Shopify is the 24/7 support that the firm offers. For those who are concerned about things going wrong, this is a decent safety net to have.

Shopify or WordPress for an Online Store? – Conclusion

If you were wondering which to choose from Shopify or WordPress for an online store, this has hopefully helped you decide. Although Shopify is a decent option, it is also expensive and fairly restrictive. WordPress is much more flexible and customisable, which allows you to build your online store just the way you like it. Shopify does not offer that option.

If you have a WordPress website already, it makes no sense to completely do away with that and move to Shopify. Especially when you consider the SEO benefits of a WordPress online store over a Shopify equivalent.

Yes, Shopify offers 24 hour support, but because WordPress is such a major force behind so many websites, you can easily find answers to pretty much every query online. We would highly recommend WordPress for your online store and we can help you build the site that will bring success to your business.