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WooCommerce vs Shopify Plus: Which is Right for You?

When building an ecommerce website, you need to decide on an ecommerce platform, and there are a few to choose from. WooCommerce and Shopify Plus are two of the most popular, and it’s easy to see why. In this blog, we have compared the two, to help you choose the one that is best for your business.

The Pros and Cons of WooCommerce
  • PRO – Lots of Customisation – WooCommerce has a wide range of customisation options, meaning that it’s entirely possible to create a website that ticks a lot of boxes. The design, functionality and features can be tailored to your business’s unique needs. There are a lot of themes and plugins to choose from, allowing you to create an ecommerce website that provides everything your business and your customers need.

 

  • CON – Technical Knowledge Needed – Though WooCommerce isn’t too complex, you might require some technical knowledge to set up, manage and update your ecommerce store successfully. As WooCommerce is a self-hosted platform, things such as hosting, updates and security are all your responsibility.

 

  • PRO – SEO Friendly Platform – WooCommerce is an SEO-friendly platform, and it has been designed with best practices in mind. There is a wide range of SEO features available with WooCommerce including customisable URLs and various SEO plugins. SEO is a key part of achieving success as an ecommerce business, and WooCommerce is a platform that supports this. 

 

  • CON – Scalability Problems – There is no denying that WooCommerce can handle small and medium-sized businesses, but a lack of scalability could hold your business back as it grows. It’s not the best for handling high traffic and lots of inventory, and doing so could require a lot more input from you. It’s important to choose an ecommerce platform that can handle increased popularity, boosted sales and business growth.

 

  • PRO – Various Extensions Available – There are a lot of extensions and plugins available with WooCommerce, giving you the freedom to add impressive features and capabilities to your ecommerce website. Extensions relating to payments, shipping and marketing can all be incorporated into your website, allowing you to create a website that suits your needs perfectly.

 

  • CON – Lack of Customer Support – WooCommerce boasts an active user community, but official customer support provided by the platform is lacking. Compared to Shopify Plus, WooCommerce doesn’t have much help available should you run into problems with your website. With so many extensions and plugins available, a lot of support is from third parties.
The Pros and Cons of Shopify Plus
  • PRO – Easy to Scale – As your business grows, your ecommerce presence will also need to grow, and Shopify Plus can accommodate this. It’s a platform designed to handle a lot of website traffic, transactions and inventory. Shopify Plus can scale with your business as it grows and can see you through from being a small startup to a large international company.

 

  • CON – Fixed Monthly Fee – Whereas WooCommerce is free to use, Shopify Plus has a fixed monthly fee, which could be a concern for smaller businesses and those with a limited budget. However, the cost of WooCommerce quickly adds up once you pay for themes, features and hosting. With Shopify Plus, these costs are all included in the monthly fee, and it’s much easier to manage your spending.

 

  • PRO – Fully Hosted Platform – Shopify Plus is a fully hosted platform, meaning everything is taken care of for you. Hosting, servers, security, SEO and updates are all handled by Shopify Plus, and you don’t have to worry too much about the technical side of things. This means that you can focus on the other aspects of running a business. 

 

  • CON – Third Party Apps – Shopify Plus relies heavily on third-party apps, which can increase the cost if you choose one that needs to be paid for, as well as compatibility problems if you choose a poorly made plugin. However, this downside of Shopify Plus can be avoided if you stick to reputable apps and stay on top of software updates.

 

  • PRO – Dedicated Customer Support – Shopify Plus has 24/7 customer support available to all users. Whereas WooCommerce support comes from the wider community, Shopify Plus support comes from a dedicated account manager. They are there to help with technical issues, customisation queries and general questions. This means that any problems with Shopify Plus are generally solved very quickly and by someone who knows what they are talking about. 

 

  • PRO – Plugins and Integrations – Shopify Plus boasts a large number of plugins and integrations, all of which extend your ecommerce store’s functionality. You can add features such as analytics, customer support and various marketing tools to make your website even more appealing to users. It’s possible to customise a Shopify Plus store without worrying about extensive development work being done behind the scenes.
How to Choose Between WooCommerce and Shopify Plus

As you can see, there are advantages to choosing both WooCommerce and Shopify Plus and a handful of disadvantages too. The right platform for your business will depend on a lot of things, such as the type of ecommerce website that you want and how much you want taken care of by the platform itself. If you ask us, you can’t go wrong with Shopify Plus, as it’s a reliable and impressive ecommerce platform, and it’s one that you can use throughout your business’ growth online. Shopify Plus really will see your business from conception to international success.

 

At Quickfire Digital, we provide a wide range of digital services, and this includes creating flawless ecommerce websites for businesses large and small. It doesn’t matter if you need an ecommerce website for the very first time or you need your current website updated, we are on hand to help. Our team of website designers and developers are experienced, skilled and talented, and we are experts in the ecommerce world. All you need to do is let us know what you need, and we will work our magic. To find out more about building your ecommerce presence with Quickfire Digital, get in touch with our knowledgeable team.

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