Shopify and WooCommerce – Giants of the eCommerce Webspace
Shopify and WooCommerce are two of the most popular ecommerce platforms that are used by online retailers. Both offer features such as product management, payment processing, and customer service that can be accessed with a monthly fee.
The Shopify platform is a popular choice among those who are looking for a simpler experience. It has also been praised for its user-friendly design and the fact that it requires minimal customization. On the other hand, many users have found that WooCommerce can be more difficult to use due to its complexity as compared to Shopify. However, it offers more flexibility and customization options as well as integration with various third-party apps.
Why you should consider Shopify and WooCommerce?
Shopify and WooCommerce are both very popular e-commerce platforms in the web development space. Below are some of the benefits that you can get if you use either platform to create your online store.
Some of the common benefits of using both Shopify and WooCommerce include:
-Ease in setting up your own online store from scratch.
-Ability to run a business based on what you want and need without having to spend too much time managing it.
-Easier control over branding and design since the platform has a reliable server, which is important for any business looking to establish themselves in this competitive market.
-A variety of templates that are available for users to pick from, which simplifies the process of designing your own online store.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a popular eCommerce platform that lets you quickly set up an online store and start selling products. If you’re looking to sell fashion or everyday products, it’s one of the best options available. However, if you would like to build out an extensive business featuring products from hundreds of categories, then Shopify’s prices and features may not be right for your needs.
Shopify was designed from scratch, specifically to serve as an eCommerce platform. It has all of the features that businesses need in order to run successful stores. If you’re planning on starting your own eCommerce business, Shopify is where you want to be. It has seen tremendous success over the last several years and will continue to do so as it continues to attract new and ambitious businesses. It’s not just a streaming platform anymore, it’s an eCommerce powerhouse!
What is WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is a plugin that works on the popular WordPress CMS platform. Hence its popularity is based on the simple statistic that more than 40% of all websites are built on WordPress and these numbers are projected to go higher with newer developments every day and phasing out of old platform from existing sites.
You will need to install WordPress on your web hosting in order to launch a WooCommerce store. If you want your site to function as an e-commerce store, you can add the WooCommerce plugin to WordPress. Similarly to WordPress, WooCommerce is an open-source project that anyone can download, edit, and duplicate.
What are the differences between Shopify and Woocomerce?
Shopify and WooCommerce offer very similar and slightly differentiated modus operandi.
Shopify is a great choice for e-commerce stores. The platform is easy to use and has good customer support. You can also integrate other software onto your store, such as a blog or inventory management system. WooCommerce is a free and open source shopping cart service that was developed in 2011 by two WordPress developers, Jeroen van der Zijde and Mike Little.
Shopify features an intuitive interface, great customer service, and the ability to integrate other third party software like blogs or inventory management systems. WooCommerce is free and open source, but it may be difficult for beginners to navigate through the interface due to its lack of a GUI (graphical user interface).
Top reasons to choose Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular and well-known eCommerce platforms in the world. It was created by developers to make it easier for entrepreneurs to sell their products online. Shopify allows you to create your own eCommerce website, without the need for any programming knowledge. It is quick and easy to set up and can be customized to suit your needs. Here are some reasons why Shopify can become your chosen platform to have to your eCommerce site developed upon:
1. Easily Manageable
Take advantage of Shopify’s eCommerce tools and Point of Sale (POS) systems for omnichannel and in-person sales. Easily manage inventory, orders, payments and shipping from the admin panel and allotted number of staff accounts.
2. Scalability
Shopify can grow with your business and perform better as you grow. You can easily upgrade your plan with a few clicks – Shopify Plus eliminates the worry of additional hosting costs, investments in security, and bandwidth restrictions.
3. 3rd party App Integrations
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are essential for effective communications. In order to turn passive subscribers and followers into paying customers, Shopify integrates with CRM software like Salesforce and social media platforms.
4. Multiple Payment Gateways
It integrates many payment gateways to give you and your customers the flexibility they need. Shopify Payments, its built-in payment gateway (available in selected countries), doesn’t charge any additional transaction fees.
5. Sell through multiple places
From one platform, promote and sell your products across multiple sales channels. Facebook, Instagram, Walmart Marketplace and Amazon are among Shopify’s sales channels. This gives you access to additional analytics sources and maximizes sales opportunities.
6. Built-in Marketing Tools
Reach more potential customers with audience targeting, automation, and campaign creation tools. Among the top tactics used for marketing are organic SEO and paid ads to promote exclusive discount codes and e-coupons.
7. Comprehensive Analytics
For email and SMS marketing campaigns, Shopify’s advanced eCommerce analytics is important. Using real-time data and comprehensive reports to evaluate your performance in real-time can help you improve your approach.
Top reasons to choose WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the most popular e-commerce platform for WordPress users. WordPress has more than two million active installations and powers a significant portion of the web. It can be used to start an online store or to set up an online shop with a variety of payment options and shipping features.
WooCommerce can be installed on any hosting service that supports PHP including but not limited to: AWS, Rackspace Cloud, Google Compute Engine, GoDaddy, Dreamhost, HostGator and InMotion Hosting. WooCommerce is easy to use with tons of features that make it simple for beginners. Its also scalable so you can grow your store without worrying about limits or extra costs.
1) The basic WooCommerce plugin and WordPress is free
The plugin is free and most functionalities, including marketing, can be easily managed without any extra cost. WordPress has a team of dedicated developers and contributors that keep the platform safe and up to date for modern e-commerce shops.
2) Simple layout and simple management
Most of us are not programmers, and it may be difficult to change a website’s backend manually to manage an e-commerce store. Luckily, WooCommerce can help! Anyone with even a very simple understanding of WordPress and computer use can install, configure, and manage the plugin. In addition to being intuitive for the least experienced users, the user interface is also extremely versatile, allowing you to sell anything.
3) Most used eCommerce platform
WooCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce platform, in the eCommerce website space. Most eCommerce shops are developed on this platform. Direct outcomes result from so many stores using it. The size of its customer base demonstrates the quality of the tool – it can handle 1000’s of customers and multiples of that in inventory. You will be part of a community where users help each other. The same is true for Facebook groups, Meetups, WordCamps, online tutorials, and websites.
4) Ever-evolving platform
All respectable open source projects have this aspect in common: they are not developed by one team alone but are shaped by thousands of different users and many dedicated contributors. Not only in terms of adding and improving code, but also in marketing, translations, and community involvement. Because of this, we don’t need one expert to fix one specific issue while we wait to get our turn. It doesn’t matter where you are in your city, someone will be willing to offer assistance to you.
6) Flexiblely tweakable
No plugins or functions are required to run WordPress. Many plugins, however, are created to add new functionality to WooCommerce and only work when WooCommerce is installed. Additionally, it can change how WooCommerce functions. Plugins are very numerous and some only allow you to edit all products in bulk. There are other methods used to make a product image stand out, but a little thing can make a big difference.
7) Sell anything, well almost…
WooCommerce’s structure and the plugins you can use to extend it allow you to sell any type of product you wish. WooCommerce allows you to sell all kinds of products: physical products, virtual products, reservations, appointments, subscriptions, etc.
Conclusion: Making the Choice Between Shopify and WooCommerce
In this article, we have discussed the pros and cons of Shopify and WooCommerce, and how they are different. There are many factors to consider when deciding on which platform is right for you. We’ve covered the basics to help you make that decision. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us at 7PDM! We at 7 Peaks Digital Marketing (7PDM) develop eCommerce websites on both platforms and we love both of them.
