We are often asked if an eCommerce website should be developed using Shopify or WooCommerce. The answer is that it depends on what you need. This article investigates the strengths and weaknesses of Shopify and WooCommerce in Bulgaria.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Pros and Cons

Shopify Pros

• Hosted software – Shopify includes hosting and security and there is no need for code development.
• 24/7 support.
• Multichannel integration -sell on other channels like Amazon, Facebook, eBay and Pinterest as a built-in feature.

Shopify Cons

• Transaction fees – Shopify is the only platform to enforce its own transaction fee, unless you use its own gateway, Shopify Payments.
• Costly apps – It is easy to build an expensive yearly bill for your apps.

WooCommerce Pros

• Limitless customisation – as an open-source platform, you can use code to customise your store.
• Scalable – WooCommerce and its fantastic flexibility allow you to achieve your requirements.
• Excellent value for money – WooCommerce is free to and the extensions are mostly reasonably priced.

WooCommerce Cons

• Not beginner-friendly – unless you have some technical knowledge, you will struggle to build your online store you want on WooCommerce.

Shopify or WooCommerce Best Features

Ease of Use – Shopify is the best as WooCommerce is a far more technical platform that requires a certain level of knowledge to use, or a willingness to spend some time learning.

Time to Build – Shopify just need to be populated with your content but with WooCommerce  you are building an online store from the beginning.

Design and Themes – Shopify templates are sleeker and more polished than those on WooCommerce, but WooCommerce offers limitless customisation.

Sales Features – Shopify has features in-built and ready to use while the plugins must be added to WooCommerce.

Plugins and Integrations– WooCommerce has thousands of plugins and integrations so has better flexibility.

Marketing Features – Shopify has built in marketing features, such as multichannel selling, which allows you to expose your business to potentially millions of social media users.

Payment Options and Fees – WooCommerce does not charge transaction fees making it the more suitable option for stores selling in volume.

SEO – WooCommerce, has a wider range of excellent SEO plugins.

Security – Shopify has a hosted platform, meaning security is taken care of with an SSL certificate, and is PCI-DSS compliant. With WooCommerce you will need to source SSL and set up PCI-DSS compliance yourself.

Pricing – WooCommerce is free to use, and its extensions cost just $39 each on average, whereas Shopify has fixed priced plans and relatively expensive apps.