If you are planning to sell online, one of the first questions is which system to build your store on. For most small and medium businesses in Australia, the choice comes down to two names: Shopify and WooCommerce. Both are used by a huge number of stores around the world, and both can work very well. They just suit different kinds of businesses.
Here is how they compare, in plain terms.
How Each One Works
Shopify is a service you pay for each month. Shopify looks after the technical side for you, including keeping the store online, keeping it secure and handling updates. You log in, add your products and start selling. It is a bit like renting a fully fitted-out shop in a shopping centre.
WooCommerce is a free add-on for WordPress, the popular system that runs many business websites. You install it on your own website, which sits on hosting you choose and pay for. Hosting is the service that keeps your website online. It is more like owning your own shop. You have full control, but you are also in charge of the upkeep.
Costs
Neither option is free once you are running a real store, but the costs show up in different places.
- Shopify: You pay a monthly plan fee, and the higher plans cost more. Many extra features come from apps in the Shopify App Store, and a lot of those apps charge their own monthly fee. Shopify can also charge a fee on each sale if you don't use its own payment system.
- WooCommerce: The add-on itself is free, but you pay for good hosting. Extra features come from plugins, which are add-ons for WordPress. Some plugins are free and some are paid, often as a yearly licence. You will also want someone to keep WordPress and the plugins up to date.
Over a few years, the total cost of each can end up similar. It depends a lot on how many extras your store needs.
Ease of Use
Shopify is usually easier to get started with. Everything is in one place, and there is less to set up or look after. If you want to focus on your products and not think about the technical side, this is a big plus.
WooCommerce takes more setting up, and there are more moving parts to keep an eye on. In return, if you already have a WordPress website, your store and your website live together in one place, with one login.
Control and Flexibility
With WooCommerce, you own the whole website and can change almost anything about how it looks and works. You can also move it to a different hosting company if you want to.
With Shopify, you work within Shopify's rules. You can still make a store that looks great and works well, but some things can only be changed in the ways Shopify allows.
Who Each One Suits
- Shopify often suits businesses that want to get selling quickly, don't have a WordPress website already, and would rather pay a monthly fee than manage the technical side.
- WooCommerce often suits businesses that already use WordPress, want full control over their store, or have unusual needs that a standard setup can't handle.
How We Can Help
At IDM2, we build online stores on both Shopify and WooCommerce, so we can give you an honest view of which one fits your business. We will talk through your products, your budget and how much you want to manage yourself, then recommend the right path. Have a look at our online stores page, or get in touch to talk it over.