The debate over which is better, WooCommerce or Shopify? Ends today! Read the pros and cons, and browse through the features to make an informed decision.
The fight for eCommerce supremacy isn’t merely based on conversions and sales but is fought at the back end, i.e. in the source code of a website. Your e-shopping portal is pretty much useless without a powerful online store that can offer the best of information and a smooth customer journey.
Setting up an online store can be a daunting task and it becomes quite a dilemma to choose the right e-Commerce solution. This is where the WooCommerce vs Shopify bout comes into play. Two of the biggest e-Commerce platform heavyweights, both possess their own set of strengths and weaknesses, which makes it quite difficult to make the right choice.
For novice e-Commerce players, the ideal way to set up a fantastic online store is to hire developers in India. Their vast experience and out-of-the-box problem-solving approach, helps you to set up online stores in the most profitable manner.
Having said that, WooCommerce or Shopify, the conundrum still remains! In this article, I’ll try to showcase the difference between WooCommerce and Shopify, so you can make an informed decision. Let’s start off with the pros and cons of both, and then we’ll deep dive into it.
WooCommerce vs Shopify - Pros & Cons
WooCommerce- Pros
WooCommerce- Cons
Shopify- Pros
Shopify- Cons
It is paramount to understand the difference between WooCommeerce and Shopify to fulfil your eCommerce dreams. Both have their pros and cons, but based on your needs and resources, the choice will be yours. Here are the top 4 differences between the two for better clarity.
1. Installation & Implementation
While WooCommerce is one of the preferred eCommerce platforms, however its installation can be a little overwhelming for technologically novice users. The implementation process includes updating your website and then the WooCommerce installation. It sounds easy but in practice, it can be a fairly complicated exercise that might require professional help for first-time users.
Offering a 360-degree online store solution, Shopify is a breeze to install. The entire process comes with a step-by-step walkthrough that makes it a ‘walk in the park’ even for beginner-level webmasters. Shopify provides hosting for your online store along with the option of a ‘try room’ approach for you to hit and try, before finally publishing the store.
Verdict
Shopify is an all-in-one solution when it comes to the easy deployment of online store platforms. WooCommerce, on the other hand, is fairly complicated for beginners and requires third-party professional coding support.
2. SEO Integration:
No matter the audience your website targets, SEO (search engine optimization) is critical to your website’s success. Web traffic and even possible conversions rely on this time-proven technique, especially when traversing the e-Commerce domain.
WooCommerce offers a ton of SEO options that can be implemented to boost your online store’s presence. The lesser technical folks can install the Yoast SEO plugin for WooCommerce and integrate the best SEO practices with a few mouse clicks.
Shopify does offer ease of use, but when it comes to SEO, it becomes a difficult terrain to navigate. Rich Snippets or in Google’s language, the metadata isn’t viable to be implemented right away in Shopify. To use this critical SEO element, you’ll need to either install additional apps or tinker with the source code, which is quite a complicated process.
Verdict
Your website is pretty much dead in the water without SEO. The open-source architecture of WooCommerce helps you to leverage the best of SEO services, while Shopify is clearly a very complicated platform to integrate SEO into.
3. Multilingual Integration
Your e-Commerce website can’t be restricted by regional or language barriers, especially in the 21st century, where the world has truly become an interconnected global village. Attracting and catering to a global audience is the call of the hour.
This platform offers a comprehensive multilingual user experience at a price, albeit one that won’t punch a hole in your pocket. At only $79 for the first year and then $59 for subsequent subscriptions, WMPL plug-in offers a complete multilingual solution that caters to a host of international languages.
A bang for the buck, so to speak, the plug-in empowers you to connect with customers across the globe. Furthermore, you also get to advertise and sell your products/services in a language that a user would understand and appreciate.
One of the biggest downsides of this platform is the absence of native multilingual support. For years, the service hasn’t provided standalone multilingual features, that has left users in a lurch.
The only available option is to either create duplicate versions of their stores in the targeted language or to add lingual sub-domains. Although the Langify app does offer respite, yet at $17.50/month, it’s quite an expensive proposition for start-ups and small scale businesses.
Verdict
WooCommerce yet again scores points here. The WMPL plug-in is highly cost-effective while offering unmatched multilingual support.
With the concentration of consumer hubs in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America, catering to the regions’ lingual sensibilities is a must for online businesses to thrive. WooCommerce does that and much more at a price that’s worth investing in.
4. Privacy & Security
We live in an age where the lock on your digital presence is far more important than the lock on your front door. The chances of online identity theft are higher than your house being robbed. So, let’s see how the difference between WooCommece and Shopify turns out!
Despite being cost-friendly and an open environment for creative innovations, the open-sourced nature of WooCommerce is a cause of concern. One of the favorite playgrounds of hackers, WooCommerce is notorious for security exploits that pop-up frequently.
As the webmaster is solely responsible for their website’s security and maintenance, it leaves quite some room for cyber attacks and security threats. Also, WooCommerce isn’t PCI compliant, which puts the ball of securing SSL certificates squarely in a webmaster’s court.
Website security is a headache that Shopify takes care of, as the target website is hosted by Shopify. This means that all the security concerns are taken care of by the hosting provider while releasing timely patches to mitigate security threats. Furthermore, you can implement credit card payments on your e-stores, as Shopify is by default, PCI compliant.
Verdict
From a security standpoint, Shopify is your pick, especially if you are not well-aware of implemented cybersecurity on your own. However, if coding is your forte, then you can easily implement WooCommerce while placing safeguards to secure your website and online transactions.
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