WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which is Best for Your Business in 2024?

Over 27% of global buyers prefer online shopping, so it’s nearly essential to build an online store. However, building e-commerce websites differs from building conventional websites as it contains some unique and platform-specific features like a shopping cart, wishlist, product details, product images, product listing, live sales updates, sort, filter, etc. Building a custom e-commerce website may be complex, so relying on online store builders can be a sensible option.

If we talk about popular e-commerce website builders’ performance and demand in 2023, WooCommerce powered 38.74%, while Shopify powered 10.32% of a total of 6.2 million e-commerce websites (percentage data by Colorwhistle). This means these two platforms power almost half of the e-commerce websites, which indicates that these two platforms are the most preferred ones for building e-commerce websites. So, let’s compare them and find out which one is the best for your business in 2024.

Understanding WooCommerce and Shopify E-Commerce Website Builders

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a widely used plugin for building an e-commerce website in WordPress. This means you’ll need a WordPress website to use it. WooCommerce plugin offers excellent flexibility and control over your online store, allowing you to customize almost every aspect of your website according to requirements. Developers and businesses that require advanced features use WooCommerce primarily. It’s also useful for those who want to integrate their online store with other WordPress plugins and themes.

Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that simplifies the creation and management of e-commerce websites for third-party companies. Businesses of all sizes can rely on Shopify’s solution because of its user-friendly interface. Also, it offers a wide range of e-commerce features. Shopify expertly manages major technical aspects like hosting, updates, security, etc, so you can primarily focus on selling your products.

WooCommerce vs Shopify Comparison

Cost of Building an E-Commerce Website

WooCommerce

Typically, the WooCommerce plugin can be installed for free. However, web hosting and a domain name need to be purchased for installation. WooCommerce can be a cost-effective platform initially and over time, especially when you don’t require premium themes, plugins, and developer services for additional customizations. WordPress has a wide range of useful tools that may also help you cut costs. We can say that there’s no necessary cost except purchasing a domain and web hosting, making WooCommerce a cost-effective solution.

Shopify

Shopify online store builder comes with various pricing plans that include hosting, domain name, and a suite of features. Shopify may feel cost-effective over time. However, initial costs are reported higher than WooCommerce. Businesses with less technical expertise prefer building an online store in Shopify and may find it cost-effective.

Easy to Use Online Store Builder

WooCommerce

Using the WooCommerce plugin requires a basic knowledge of WordPress and web development. Building an online store with WooCommerce may feel complex to beginners. However, the WooCommerce plugin can be more flexible to advanced customizations.

Shopify

Shopify is designed to be user-friendly. It is easy to create and customize a store in Shopify as it offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop system. Even those ones with less technical expertise can get started with Shopify. However, it may be less flexible when businesses need advanced customizations.

Customizations in These E-Commerce Website Builders

WooCommerce

With WooCommerce, businesses get extensive customization options. You can explore available WooCommerce themes and plugins to make necessary customizations. It also enables extensive customization options according to your store requirements. Apart from custom themes and plugins, you can use other ways like the source code or the Elementor plugin to customize your store and create a unique online shopping experience.

Shopify

With Shopify, you also find a range of customization abilities. Businesses can find plenty of Shopify themes, plugins, and code snippets. However, its customization abilities may feel limited when compared to WooCommerce’s e-commerce website builder.

Payment Processor Integration

WooCommerce

Many reputed online payment gateways are available for WooCommerce. Considering its popularity, all the major payment gateways extend support to WooCommerce’s online store builder. You can easily find and integrate major payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, etc as well as major crypto payment gateways like Coinremitter, Coinbase, etc.

Shopify

Just like WooCommerce, you can also find and integrate all major fiat and crypto payment gateways into your Shopify online store. However, Shopify takes a slight edge here as it offers an inbuilt payment processor named ‘Shopify Payments’, allowing you to provide your customers with a seamless checkout experience.

Support Provided by These E-Commerce Platforms

WooCommerce

Due to WooCommerce’s open-source characteristics, businesses need to rely on community support on a primary basis. However, you may find other resources like forums and documentation for technical support. However, when you face a complex issue, you might need to pay for professional support to fix it. You can click ‘Help’ in the WooCommerce tab and select the source of support to request technical assistance.

Shopify

Unlike WooCommerce, one can find dedicated technical support for his Shopify online store with the Shopify Help Center. You can request technical support via email, call, or live chat. This approach can be helpful and valuable for businesses that are new to the online store space and may require technical support for frequent technical issues or even general inquiries.

Which is the Best E-Commerce Store Builder for Your Business in 2024?

Reviewing on an overall basis, we found WooCommerce to be the best e-commerce website builder among these two. However, you may have different views and we respect them. For example, you may not be very familiar with web development and prefer Shopify over WooCommerce or look for some other third-party WooCommerce web development services. We’re just summing up our comparison below that may help you find out the best for your business according to your business requirements.

Choose WooCommerce If:

• You want extensive customizations
• You have a lower initial budget
• You know basic web development
• You are okay with community-provided technical support

Choose Shopify If:

• You have a higher initial budget
• You don’t want extensive customizations
• You aren’t very familiar with web development
• You want dedicated support

Conclusion

According to our team, WooCommerce has a slight edge to be the best e-commerce website builder among these two. However, we mustn’t underestimate Shopify as it has done a commendable job in payment processing and dedicated support. WooCommerce only falls short in its usability to businesses with less technical expertise. However, if you have less technical expertise and you want your e-commerce store to be built with WooCommerce, you can reach out to Bitrix Infotech for WooCommerce development.