Are you considering opening an online store but need to know whether Shopify, Wix, Squarespace and BigCommerce or WordPress + WooCommerce (aka Woo) is the right choice? This guide will concentrate mainly on Woo and Shopify, as the others are like Shopify.
Both platforms are extremely popular, are the most used globally, and have their pros and cons. As a business owner, selecting the right eCommerce platform that aligns with your business needs is crucial for your success.
Before I begin the comparison, I understand that learning the advanced options of WordPress and WooCommerce can seem daunting. Still, our team at A-Z+ Websites is here to handle the technical work for you. We specialise in creating customised e-commerce solutions tailored to your business’s needs.
When you purchase an A-Z+ Lite, A-Z+ Basic Website or A-Z+ Plus Website, you’ll have access to a powerful platform similar to Shopify but with even more capabilities. Our team will handle your online store’s setup, customisation, and maintenance, providing a simple and easy-to-use platform.
You’ll also have access to our team of experts, who are available to assist you with any questions or issues that may arise. We’ll work with you to understand your business needs and create a solution tailored to your specific requirements.
If you don’t require us to help you set up your website, you can install the A-Z+ Lite Website, which has all of our plugins and customisations ready for you to go at it. It’s basically WordPress on mega-steroids. By steroids, we mean all set up and ready for you, plus a thoroughly tested suite of plugins, an optimised hosting account and much more.
What’s the Advantage of Using WooCommerce Over Shopify, WIX, Squarespace and BigCommerce?
In this guide, we’ll provide a detailed comparison of Shopify and WooCommerce. Our goal is to break down their advantages and disadvantages to assist you in selecting the best option for your eCommerce store. We’ll begin by providing an overview of both platforms, highlighting what makes them unique. We’ll then compare the two platforms’ cost, ease of use, payment methods, add-ons, scalability, and support options. Lastly, we’ll conclude which platform is best and answer some frequently asked questions about Shopify and WooCommerce.
We’ll skip the pleasantries and get right to the point: WordPress + WooCommerce is a powerful e-commerce platform that offers many advantages over other platforms such as Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and BigCommerce.
One significant advantage is the customisation and flexibility that WordPress + WooCommerce offers. With WordPress, you can access a wide range of themes and plugins to create a unique and professional-looking online store. Additionally, WooCommerce is an open-source platform that can be easily customised and extended to meet your specific business needs.
Another advantage of WordPress + WooCommerce is the large and active community of developers and users. This means you can access a wealth of knowledge and resources to help you set up and manage your online store if or when needed.
Are you worried about learning the advanced options of WordPress and WooCommerce?
Security: Which is safer, WordPress or Shopify?
Any website, including Shopify, can be hacked. However, Shopify and A-Z+ Websites take many measures to protect their platforms and their users from hacking attempts.
Some of the security measures that both have in place include:
SSL encryption: All stores have SSL encryption which helps protect sensitive information like customer data and credit card information from being intercepted by hackers.
Updates: Automatic updates to the platform to fix any security vulnerabilities that may be discovered.
Industry Standards: PCI compliance means meeting a set of security standards established by major credit card companies to protect against credit card fraud or identity theft.
Real People: We both have a dedicated security team that monitors the platform for any potential security threats and works to address any issues that arise quickly.
That being said, it’s important to note that while both platforms take several measures to protect its platform, there are still steps that store owners must take to safeguard their own websites. This includes using a strong password, keeping your software and apps up to date, avoiding suspicious emails and links, and regularly backing up your data. Additionally, suppose you are using third-party apps or plugins. In that case, it’s important to ensure that they are from reputable sources and regularly updated to fix any security vulnerabilities that may be discovered.
If, in some improbable case, your A-Z+ website is hacked, rest assured that we will fix it quickly. Not only will we ensure all protocols and rudiments, including the best firewalls in the industry, but your website will also be backed up daily (or hourly if you upgrade to our hourly A-Z+ Backup Plan).
SEO: Which is more Search Engine Friendly, WordPress or Shopify?
WordPress + WooCommerce are very SEO friendly; you can optimise your website for SEO, which can help you drive more traffic and increase sales. Other platforms can be SEO-friendly but only to a degree.
Some disadvantages of Shopify SEO include the following:
- Limited Customisations: While Shopify is designed to be user-friendly, it also limits the ability of users to customise their SEO capabilities fully.
- Limited Blogging Capabilities: Content plays a significant role in SEO, and Shopify needs to improve its blogging capabilities compared to WordPress. We go into more detail about this below.
- Restricted URL Structure Customisation: An optimised URL structure is crucial for SEO, and Shopify does not offer as much flexibility in this area as WooCommerce.
- Limited Structured Data Support: Optimising a website for Google structured data, a key component of rich search results snippets, is not as comprehensive with Shopify as with other platforms.
What About Creating Blogs and Pages
WordPress is generally considered a better option for creating blogs and pages over Shopify for several reasons:
- Flexibility: WordPress is an open-source platform, meaning it is highly customisable. Users have access to a wide range of themes, plugins, and widgets, allowing them to create a unique and professional-looking blog or website. In contrast, Shopify is a closed platform, meaning users have less flexibility in customising their blog or website.
- Blogging Capabilities: WordPress was originally designed explicitly for Blogging and therefore has a wide range of features to support it, including built-in commenting, permalinks, and tags. On the other hand, Shopify has more limited blogging capabilities, and its blog feature is considered more of an afterthought. You can purchase add-ons to improve it, however.
- SEO: WordPress provides more opportunities for optimising your website for search engines. It allows you to customise URLs, meta tags, and other on-page elements, improving your website’s visibility in search results.
- Content Management: WordPress has a powerful content management system (CMS) that makes it easy for users to create, manage, and publish content. This can save a lot of time and effort compared to Shopify.
Plugins and add-ons: WordPress has a vast repository of plugins, much more than any other platform. This will likely be the case as we advance into the future.
Website Themes: Which has better themes, WordPress or Shopify?
WordPress is generally considered a better option for themes over Shopify for these reasons:
- Variety: WordPress has a wide variety of free and paid themes. This allows users to choose from various designs, layouts, and features, to create a unique and professional-looking website. In contrast, Shopify has a more limited selection of themes, which can be limiting for some users.
- Customisation: WordPress themes are highly customisable, allowing users to make changes to the design, layout, and functionality of their website. Users can use page builders, widgets, and other tools to create a unique look and feel for their website. On the other hand, Shopify themes are more limited in customisation options.
- Third-party Themes: WordPress themes can be purchased from third-party developers, which provides users with a wide range of options. This can be an excellent option for users who want a more professional and unique design for their website. Shopify’s themes are primarily available through the Shopify theme store.
But, having said all of that about using pre-made themes, using Elementor (read our blog “The Power Of The WordPress Plugin, Elementor”) to custom-make a theme, over purchasing a pre-made theme, has major advantages:
- Speed: Pre-made themes can often include much code, which can cause conflicts with plugins and slow down the website. Building a theme using Elementor allows you only to have the code necessary for your website, which can help increase the website’s speed and performance.
- Flexibility: Building a theme using Elementor allows for greater flexibility in adding and removing features as needed. This can help create a more efficient website that is optimised for the business’s specific needs.
- Compatibility: Using Elementor allows for the ability to add features that are not included in pre-made themes and ensure compatibility with different plugins and other add-ons.
- Cost-effective: Using a pre-made theme can be cost-effective, but building a theme using Elementor can be even more cost-effective in the long run, as it reduces the need for expensive theme updates or customisations.
In conclusion, using WordPress’s Elementor to custom-make a theme over purchasing a pre-made theme can provide higher customisation, flexibility, and compatibility. It can be more cost-effective in the long run. It also allows you to optimise the website’s speed and performance, as you have more control over the code and features in the theme.
Conclusion: Which is Better? WordPress + WooCommerce or Shopify?
In conclusion, this article discusses the advantages of using WordPress and WooCommerce over other eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, and BigCommerce. The main advantages include the high level of customisation and flexibility that WordPress and WooCommerce offer, the large and active community of developers and users, and the ability to tailor the platform to specific business needs. Additionally, the team at A-Z Websites offers a powerful e-commerce platform that is easy to use, fully customisable, and tailored to meet the specific needs of your business. We handle all the technical work, leaving you with a simple and easy-to-use platform that is similar to a Shopify account but much more powerful.
Overall, WordPress + WooCommerce is the most powerful and flexible e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of benefits and can be tailored to meet the needs of any business.
If you haven’t already, get started with your website today with one of our hassle-free, managed platforms: A-Z+ Lite, A-Z+ Basic or the A-Z+ Plus Website. Check out our pricing and comparisons.
Pricing: What is eCommerce Store is cheaper to run, WordPress + WooCommerce, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace and BigCommerce
Although we didn’t cover pricing in this article, we have many years of experience with all platforms. We have found that the costs are very similar after two years of having a website set up and running well.
