The Shopify Vs WooCommerce Debate

[Paranoid Android]

I've always wondered, and asked many times on many threads, why pay $79 a month for Shopify when you can run WooCommerce on a $10/month vps and a one time $100 theme purchase? I invite all to discuss the pros and cons of both platforms and hopefully this thread would end up being helpful for newbies (and the lazy to do research me) who wish to start an ecom site.

 

[Conor]

Depends on experience I guess. A lot of people are too lazy to learn how Wordpress works and end up settling for Shopify.

 

[aqibarif74]

Beginners use Shopify. Who work hard to develop their webs, save monthly license use wordpress.

 

[neilbhabuta]

Shopify is just a ton easier to use and is $29 for the standard plan not $79. Anyway you can get it free for the fist 2 months anyway so you should have time to start making plenty of revenue before you have to pay for anything.

 

[Heisenberg]

Its basically apple vs android.
shopify = pay more but basically get everything setup for you
Wordpress= pay less but takes a bit more time and skills to setup but also offers more freedome when it comes to customization

 

[Revmatch]

I'm not in the econmerce world so I wouldn't know the difference, but if it's 30 like someone above mentioned I don't see why not. Honestly even at 80 if your profits are great 70 isn't too bad for ease of use and support.

My friend made a clothing store with Shopify and it was simple, even for someone with 0 technical skill.

 

[cindyrose888]

Shopify - User friendly for me at least. Most important hosting/bandwidth/security/downtime, i need not worry.

 

[eatingMemory]

Shopify is great for beginners, lazy people and those who don't really know how to edit code. If you only care about setting up a store to sell and dont really have anything planned for the long term then go with shopify. They have a 2 months free trial with the quickbooks link you can find somewhere here.

Woocommerce on the other hand is geared for more advanced users , with at least some knowledge in wp and php/html. You can customize almost anything on woocommerce and bring your site to the next level. Alot of wp plugins are also supported by woo so yeah its a no brainer if you are good in wp you should go with woocommerce. Its way better in terms of customization & scaling capabilities , and yes minus the monthly fee shopify charges you. i personally tried both and would prefer woo over shopify anytime and i'm using woocommerce on a few sites now. just my 2cents

 

[Nut-Nights]

Woo commerce is best option for long term.

 

[online28]

I have not used both but I have used magento 2. Honestly, you should not try it if you don't have technical skills. It spends me much money on technical improvements and server.

 

[blogzandstuff]

Woocommerce is way better even for beginners, it has a set up wizard so even a 5 yr old can do it. Also you have more control, more plugins to enhance your store( free and paid ). You have more freedom to move if unhappy with host etc

 

[coldice]

I always prefer woocommerce. You will have more control over your store.

 

[Welkroo]

In my opinion shopify stores looks all the same it looks lazy. With woocommerce and a little Php and html skills you can build an even better theme and professional looking online store.

 

[nakamura]

This all comes down to the marketing strategy, goals and preferences I guess.

In my opinion Shopify is good for easy and fast money. Means if you just want to sell a few items with facebook ads on an simple but professional looking theme, then Shopify is the way to go.

If you want to build an e-commerce empire, means many online shops, many items, lots of customization etc. and your marketing strategy is SEO or to build an brand (could take years), then WooCommerce is the way to go.

Last month I had to choose between Shopify and WooCommerce and decided for WooCommerce, because I already got lots of experience with Wordpress, also I want to run multiple stores and do mainly SEO.

Just imagine how much money I would have spend for the monthly fee of 5 Shopify shops doing SEO (which could take months to rank). Not a good deal for me. Then I prefer to buy domains ($10), a hosting I already got, SSL certificates and a decent theme. Saved me tons of money.

In the end it just depends on the users preferences and goals. For me Shopify wouldn't have been a smart choice.

 

[IG Professor]

http://ecommerce-platforms.com/compare/shopify-vs-woocommerce-comparison

 

[Nowrid Ahsan]

woocomerce by a mile, pay a crap ton for extra add-ons are just not worth it, at all

 

[Paranoid Android]

Ok so 79 a month and all I need to worry about is the sales. They take care of the db and protect my site from hacks and ddos. Sounds like a fair deal if you got nice volumes of sales

 

[Jklmno]

Don't go with both of them.

Just use Free ecommerce such as FB shop, tictail,etc

 

[healzer]

WooCommerce all the way, never even bothered using Shopify tbh.
When you need some custom functionality, you can easily create/modify plugins (if you have some coding knowledge that is).

 

[unknownmehed]

http://ecommerce-platforms.com/compare/shopify-vs-woocommerce-comparison

They are affiliating shopify. There price, cost calculation totally unethical.

SSL $100? SSL $9 from namecheap even it is free if you use vps.

However, Shopify for short term business and perfect for beginner's. But, woocommerce for long term business and perfect for who already pass beginners phase.