Shopify or WordPress: What to Use for Your Online Store

When you create an online store on your website, you’re faced with choosing the correct platform, Shopify vs WordPress. How do you choose what’s best for your business? Either is a solid platform to choose, which makes the decision even more difficult. Shopify is all about simplicity and convenience, which is crucial if you’re not particularly tech savvy. WordPress, on the other hand, requires a learning curve, but it’s far more flexible and provides more control.

Let’s look at each of these platforms, how simple they are to use, and which would suit your online store best long-term.

Ask Yourself These Questions

1.     What Does It Cost?

Shopify: There are several different plans available. However, the cost increases when you add service fees and paid apps.

WordPress: Depending on the version of WordPress you use and your website requirements, the cost will differ. If you use the free code available from WordPress.org, you’ll only pay £14 for the domain and £56 for the hosting every 12 months. The moment you start adding important elements such as security, data privacy, plugins, themes, use of SEO, analysis, performance optimization, maintenance, updates, etc., the price will increase exponentially.

2.     How Simple is the Setup?

Shopify: Fast setup.

WordPress: You first need to sign up with a hosting provider, then you install WordPress and must configure plugins to customise it.

3.     Features for Online Stores

Shopify: Built-in tools including assistance with managing an inventory, handling an abandoned cart and delivery.

WordPress: You must install specific plugins for these.

4.     Can I Customise the Platform?

Shopify: This is only based on your template and limited to the themes and apps provided.

WordPress: You have full access to the WordPress Library, whicg offers unlimited customisation options.

5.     How Much Control Do I Have?

Shopify: Depends on the plan you choose. Remember: on this platform, you “rent” space; you don’t “own” it.

WordPress: You have complete control. You own the platform and all the information on it and can change hosting service providers whenever you wish.

6.     What Type of Business Is Each Platform Best For?

Shopify: A business that wants a fast, simple platform that doesn’t require technical savvy.

WordPress: You want a larger store that you can control and that will be affordable long-term.

Shopify Explained

• Ideal if you’re a beginner, as the platform is simple and includes everything you need to set up a basic online store quickly. You have hosting, as well as a website builder, checkout tools plus security, and simple store management tools. You don’t have to install any software aside from apps; you also don’t have to handle the backend.
• You can purchase various apps to customise your store, including tools that help with shipping and delivery, marketing.
• Your online store is on the Shopify platform; not your own website, so you don’t have as much control as you would have with a platform like WordPress. To have more control, you need to purchase more apps or choose a higher tier plan, which can become costly.
• If you’re planning to grow your online store, remember, it’s difficult to change to another platform later, as you would have to redesign your online store from scratch.
  

WordPress Explained

• WordPress is the most popular CMS (Content Management System) online; it’s used for everything imaginable, from blogs and online stores to corporate websites. However, it’s not an ecommerce platform; you must add a special plugin to operate an online store on your site, such as WooCommerce.
• The platform is so popular because it’s so versatile. It allows you to control your entire site, including your content, database, design, etc.
• You’re not tied to a single hosting provider; you can choose who you wish to use, and hosting that’s affordable and offers what your business needs.
• You must be prepared to take full control and run with it. It’s your responsibility to install the free WordPress software, choose hosting, which comes at a cost, and operate it yourself. You also need to regularly update your plugins and themes, ensure your store and your site is secure, loads fast and is easily accessible.
• Not only do you need to take control of your site with WordPress; you must also have the technical knowledge to handle the backend. And remember, there’s a learning curve when you start using it, but there are online courses to assist, and so many resources you can use to make WordPress work for your business.

Shopify vs WordPress: The Differences

How Much Will Each Cost?

Shopify operates on a monthly subscription model, with plans ranging from £25 p/m for the Basic plan to £344 p/m for Advanced. Costs do increase, though, as there are numerous features you may need as your site grows and these paid apps cost more.

WordPress costs depend on whether you want to use the entire WordPress platform or decide to create a self-hosted website using WordPress software. Either way, you must pay for WordPress Hosting.

So, if you set up your own site, we already mentioned the annual cost for WordPress, which is in the region of £70, including £14 for your domain and £56 for hosting. The price increases when you add increased security and data privacy, and that’s before you start customising your site with plugins and themes, which also will cost you. Special SEO and analysis tools also cost more, as does regular maintenance… the list goes on. Despite this, WordPress is considered the more cost-effective option, because once you’ve paid the upfront costs, maintaining your site is relatively inexpensive.

Which is Easier to Use?

Shopify is the simpler system compared to a WordPress website builder. Most features are ready for you from the start. You have a host set up, and you don’t have to build payment processing, and you’re guided through the entire online store process.

WordPress, on the other hand, requires being tech savvy and the ability to install everything, including software, plugins and themes. You also need to adjust settings to customise them and update everything regularly.

Online Store Features

It’s relatively simple to change the look of your online store with Shopify, but you’re working with a fixed template and are only able to select from several approved apps to add features. Some businesses find this limiting.  

WordPress, on the other hand, offers endless flexibility as you have full control and can be creative with your store design and features. WordPress uses block-based editing, which simplifies the design structure, so you don’t need tech knowledge. There’s also a plethora of ecommerce plugins you can use.

Performance & Future Growth

Shopify is designed to scale automatically and handles traffic spikes well. This prevents downtime and offers your customers excellent, consistent performance. But this is achieved by a tier system, so it depends on which plan you’ve chosen. The higher the plan, the more resources you will have.

With WordPress, the speed and stability of your website and store is primarily affected by your hosting provider. Strong hosting results in more server resources such as CPU, RAM and disk storage, which enable your site to handle more traffic and content as it expands.

Customisation & Control

When you use Shopify, you own your content, customer and product information, but you “rent” this platform; you don’t own it, and the rules differ accordingly. If you wish to upgrade to another system, this isn’t simple; you may well have to start from scratch.

With WordPress, you have full control over your site and your information, and the software is open source. This enables you to move your entire website once it’s built to another provider without having to redesign or lose functionality.

SEO Capabilities 

Shopify can handle basic SEO as your site is both quick and secure, both of which rank high. However, it’s difficult to improve your SEO, and the structure of your site is generally quite fixed, not flexible. But it’s a good option for those who aren’t technically inclined.

WordPress is renowned for its SEO capabilities and offers full control of your website, the way it’s designed and all its tools. You must, however, ensure you keep site performance at its optimum and that the security requirements are fully met. Installing specific plugins will assist with this, and if your hosting is grea, you’re well on your way to success.

Which Platform is Best for You? 

If You’re a Beginner…

Shopify offers the easiest set up and you don’t need to be tech savvy to set up fast. You have everything in a single package, without needing complex management skills, to update software or to worry about hosting. It’s all done for you, so you can concentrate on what you’re best at (your products, services, content and marketing).

If Your Business is Growing…

WordPress is the better choice if your site and online store are already set up and you’re expanding. You have the control you need to expand your range of products and/or services, you can design the site exactly the way you want and use software tools to simplify everything.

If Your Online Store Is Your Focus…

When your online store is your priority, WordPress is often the better choice, as you can enhance your offering, personalise it and grow quickly. You can also improve security and performance to suit your customers’ requirements as your business expands.

If Content & An Online Store Are Both Important…

If your marketing strategy includes content marketing, WordPress is likely to be the better choice. After all, it was originally built as a platform for blogs and content publishing, and combined with an online store that you’ve designed to your specifications, it can be a dream come true.

Of course, Shopify does offer basic blogging capabilities and can also be used for content marketing, but it’s designed specifically as an ecommerce platform.

The Choice is Yours…

Use Shopify if you require a simple, manageable solution that is easy to set up. However, if you want to have full control, the ability to customise your website and online store to specific requirements, then WordPress is the better option.