WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Which Is Best For Your Online Store?

If you are creating a dropshipping online website, then chances are you have already searched that WooCommerce and Shopify are the best platforms for the same. However, the real struggle lies in deciding which to choose: WooCommerce vs. Shopify?

There’s no doubt about the fact that both platforms are super flexible, feasible, and user-friendly. If you wish to create a dropshipping store online, there’s no better choice than WooCommerce or Shopify.

But which one? For this, we will explain the key differences between WooCommerce and Shopify. Keep reading.

What Is Shopify

Shopify is an online marketplace for online businesses. It is essentially an open-source portal that offers you a series of themes and options to set up your online store. Shopify was launched in 2004, which means it is more experienced than WooCommerce (and we’ll explore how that benefits your store).

On Shopify, if you have to create and maintain a store, you need to pay a monthly charge with a minimal commission on your sales. However, it is simple to create a store on your own, even if you don’t have any knowledge of coding. Its store templates are professional-looking but hassle-free to customize and design.

What Is WooCommerce

WooCommerce is not a platform, but a plugin designed and offered by WordPress. You can use the WooCommerce plugin on your WordPress website to convert it into an online store. WooCommerce was launched seven years after Shopify, but the platform has managed to gain immense popularity in a short period of time. It has over 3.8 million active users.

Similar to Shopify, WooCommerce also has user-friendly and feasible features. You can customize templates or site designs without prior coding knowledge.

WooCommerce vs. Shopify

Since both platforms are extremely popular in the market, dropshipping businesses are often confused between the choice WooCommerce or Shopify. To simplify this selection for you, we will compare both options below.

Setup

If you have ever used WordPress, you already understand how to use WooCommerce. WooCommerce setup is familiar for WordPress users because you need to install the plugin and start customizing your website with it. However, in this case, you will need to manage and install your dropshipping store yourself. This may involve some level of coding for advanced functions.

On the other hand, in the WooCommerce vs Shopify discussion, Shopify is a guide! From the moment you sign up, you are guided through everything. If you have no technical skills, don’t worry. With Shopify, you don’t need any.

Simplicity

WooCommerce hosting and a domain are purchased and managed by the user. Since it is not a hosted service, you have to update, install, backup, and maintain your store.

You need to completely set up WooCommerce on your own. However, we now have options from hosting and domain providers that help manage the service entirely. If you are not acquainted with the platform, this may help you.

Shopify is an online store, so the intuitiveness of this platform is amazing. You will understand everything without any hassle. Once you have selected the template, you can customize it and start selling it in your dropshipping store.

Integration

On Shopify, integrating your social media is just a click away. This means that you can connect your Google, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook accounts without any coding. Simply find the option and add links to your official pages.

However, this doesn’t mean WooCommerce is behind. WooCommerce is the plugin you can rely on for this purpose. There are easy extensions that help you include your social media links as well as integrate eBay, AliExpress, Amazon, etc. It is also possible to install and use a third-party POS solution with WooCommerce.

Customization

In terms of customization, we don’t need to define WooCommerce’s efficiency. On the internet, you will find millions of stunning and beautiful online stores created with WooCommerce. From the number of themes to easy customizations, WooCommerce is one of the best ways to create an attractive online store (exactly the way you like it).

In this WooCommerce vs. Shopify discussion of the customization part, Shopify is also not far behind. It has multiple templates with customization options. These are neat, professional, and aesthetically appealing designs, which are perfect for different types of online dropshipping stores. Additionally, you will enjoy the mobile-friendly features of Shopify.

Payment

When it comes to payments, we are extra cautious because money matters. For every customer, it’s important to know how you are accepting payments. It is not hard to come across payment fraud or experience information loss.

With WooCommerce, you can integrate Stripe and PayPal, the two most widely used and most trusted methods. Usually, most dropshipping businesses and their customers are comfortable with these payment methods. If you wish to provide additional payment options, you can use add-ons and offer other popular payments.

However, remember that WooCommerce is an open platform and every payment provider can create an add-on for WooCommerce. You may come across methods that are not so popular. It would be best to evaluate the reviews before using any payment method.

Shopify accepts around 100 payment methods and charges a transaction fee of 0.5% or more on each transaction, depending on your Shopify subscription plan.You can also use a less challenging and free method, Shopify Payment, which is a specially designed payment processor by Shopify only.

For international transactions, Shopify helps you automatically calculate taxes according to the country. The total is added to the bill based on the country of the customer.

SEO

The last differentiating factor between WooCommerce and Shopify, which is also important, is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For every dropshipping store, marketing is necessary and is the key success factor. Without effective SEO, marketing is not possible.

In WooCommerce, SEO is, without a doubt, a plus point. The WordPress editor helps you with meta descriptions, URLs, meta tags, alt tags, image alt text, etc. You can additionally use Yoast SEO, one of the most famous SEO plugins, to improve your on-site SEO. The plugin will help you understand your weak and strong points, which makes SEO hassle-free.

On Shopify, SEO is limited. To begin, because they use a rigid type of URL, you cannot fully customize your URLs.However, Shopify helps with core SEO features, which help you make your website user-friendly and visible.

Conclusion

Dropshipping business owners may find it difficult to choose between WooCommerce and Shopify. Many people don’t understand coding, hence, they don’t know which platform to select. However, fortunately, both WooCommerce and Shopify are user-friendly and you have so many features to utilize. You can even integrate some of the best dropshipping tools like DSers with both WooCommerce and Shopify.

For the right decision, we suggest evaluating the above factors closely. Which feature is beneficial and important for your business? You can create a list of pros and cons for your business. This should not be a generic list because what might work for your business may not be feasible for another. So, create your list and understand which platform is perfect for your company.