WooCommerce and Shopify are the two leading e-commerce platforms on the web today, with each of them boasting over 500,000 active stores that run on their software.
While both platforms provide all the features you need to run an online store, they do so in slightly different ways. This can lead to confusion about which platform to choose for your business’s needs. In this article, we will look at the differences between these two popular sales platforms to help you make an informed decision about which one you should use with your website.
WordPress supplies more than 40% of websites from all over the internet. Its popularity has been growing since 2003, which is why in 2011 the company expanded its capabilities with a plug that allows online business. In the WordPress panel, you can enter products, define their parameters, such as descriptions, photos, price, inventory, and people browsing your store will gain cart functionality and will be able to order the offered products in a quick and convenient way. Since then, it is estimated that 25-30% of the global e-commerce market share uses it.
The biggest advantage of WooCommerce is that it is completely free (only some plug-in extensions need to be paid). The platform provides full integration with payment systems, shipping, sales statistics and even the tax system. It is an extremely flexible platform rich in numerous themes (templates), language versions, and above all, subject to external updates.
At the same time, open source software is both a disadvantage and an advantage. If you have a certain IT and programming knowledge you are in paradise, otherwise it can be quite a problem. It happens that the system is not very functional and lacks advanced scaling mechanisms.
Shopify is a Canadian e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It is also the name of its proprietary platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Shopify offers both free and paid plans. The main difference between the two versions is that the paid plans come with more advanced features, such as unlimited products, professional reports, gift cards, and abandoned cart recovery. Shopify can help you get your products in front of more customers. Plus, its 24/7 support team is always available to help if you run into any problems.
Shopify is a popular ecommerce platform that offers users a customizable online store. It offers users a wide range of features and plugins to choose from, making it a versatile platform. The advantage is undoubtedly the access to the source code, but the downside is the required knowledge of HTML, CSS, Javascript or Liquid. However, editing the template itself does not require any technical skills. The whole thing is simple and convenient. In addition, with the purchase of a subscription, you get access to a number of applications that facilitate running a business. Moreover, all templates are designed for UX and responsiveness. Shopify is that it can be expensive, especially if you need to use premium plugins and themes.
The WooCommerce platform can be used by anyone – there are no restrictions here. However, statistics show that it works best for small and medium-sized stores that do not want to be dependent on a subscription. However, larger stores should use other solutions as the plug will be insufficient.
Shopify, on the other hand, will work for both medium and large companies. They provide you with everything that you need to create an online store and make it successful, including SEO optimization services.
This plug is an extremely well positioning platform. SEO optimization WooCommerce, however, requires integration with other plugins: Yoast SEO or All in One SEO. This makes the activities related to on-site and off-site strategies much easier. WooCommerce offers features such as personalized user experience according to specific customer’s interests, more targeted and relevant product recommendations based on previous purchases, abandoned cart recovery and more (such as cross-selling).
Shopify is known to be more fond of SEO than WooCommerce. When it comes to optimization, Shopify gives you more control of your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, URLs, and image alt tags. You can also add custom content to your website’s pages to help improve your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Whatever your choice should be made, Shopify SEO audit and WooCommerce SEO audit.
If you’re looking for an ecommerce platform that is SEO friendly and offers a lot of customization, WooCommerce is a great option. However, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use platform with built-in SEO features, Shopify might be a better choice. Ultimately, the best platform for your business will depend on your specific needs.
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