This decade has seen an upsurge in the digital market. If you’re looking forward to expanding your store online, then this is the best time to do it. There is an extensive number of e-commerce websites, and choosing the best one out can be a little overwhelming. But if you decide to create a website dedicated to the products and services you want to offer, then the task simplifies a lot, and it increases your presence in front of the customers.
But again, you have to choose the best platform to launch your website. Fortunately, there are only two market grabbers, and those are WordPress and Shopify. Both of them are great for launching a web store, but they also have their fair share of pros & cons, limitations, and e-commerce approaches. Before subscribing to the plans of either of these two websites, let’s explore the differences so that you can choose the best one for your requirements.
Difference between Shopify and WordPress
Shopify dedicates their services to help you create your e-commerce website. You can create a customizable and responsive website with a beautiful theme and layout. You can process payments, shipments, and manage your stocks using a single tool.
WordPress, in contrast, is a Content Management System (CMS) that expanded its wings to the website, domain, e-commerce, and self-hosted solutions. To set up your e-commerce site, you have to install additional plugins, purchase subscriptions for maintenance, and get other tools.
Pricing
Both websites use different software and offer various tools, so their prices are bound to vary. Let’s compare the differences below:
Shopify
Shopify uses Software as a Service (SaaS) payment model where the users have to pay monthly to access all the features. Their plans start at $29/month, which can exceed up to $299/month depending on the services you choose, and you get a 14-days free trial as well. Along with e-commerce tools, they provide 24/7 support and an SSL certificate for free.
Their plans include server hosting to reduce configuration time and to increase your focus on business. To get a domain name, you have to pay $10-$20 more. Their plans don’t cover integration from the app’s marketplace and templates, and both of these can cost a few hundred-dollar bills. Also, note that they charge extra for credit card purchases, and a fee for using any payment gateway other than Shopify Payments.
Apart from the three significant plans, they offer Shopify Lite, where the users have access to basic tools for $9/month. For enterprises, they have a Shopify Plus plan.
WordPress
Their e-commerce plan starts at $10, which can exceed up to a few hundred dollars, depending on the services you choose. Their technology department includes an SSL certificate, WordPress hosting, domain name, plugins, and themes. On WordPress, if you select the tools and services similar to what Shopify offers, then you are most likely to end up paying more.
To get a better idea of the price, list and compare the tools you require and the price offered by Shopify and WordPress.
Setup
For people starting the new online venture, it can be challenging to set up everything properly. Here are the differences in the setup processes:
Shopify
It offers a ready-to-use platform, and all the tools are manageable as they are available in one place. With minimal steps, you can launch your website without even the basic knowledge of coding. All you have to do is sign up, link your domain, choose a suitable layout, and insert your products and offers. It helps in hosting, updating, and securing your site without your help. If you know HTML and CSS, you can play with the themes to go beyond the limited themes offered by Shopify.
WordPress
Since WordPress is a CMS, it can only manage your content and pages of your website. To create your website, you have to sign up with a reputed hosting service provider to link your domain with the server. Then install WordPress on your host and choose a theme and plugin of your choice. If you want to convert your blog into a website, then use an appropriate plugin. You might require some additional plugins to configure and optimize other aspects of your business.
Ecommerce Tools
Shopify
Their tools are designed to simplify everything for the users. Logging into your account will allow you to check your inventory, list the available products, track orders, sales, returns, payments, etc. Please note that Shopify imposes restrictions on the number of products and variants you can list on your website. You can share your efforts via Content Marketing tools by making announcements for new products, offers, and sales.
WordPress
With WordPress, you are bound to use add-ons. WordPress offers limited tools that might not meet your requirements. However, with an e-commerce plugin, you can get all the benefits and tools that you require while handling your online business.
These were the differences between the websites. Do not forget to check and compare every detail according to your business, products, and requirements to choose the best one for yourself.
Source url:- https://williamsblogpoint.wordpress.com/2020/08/31/wordpress-vs-shopify-which-is-the-ideal-platform-for-e-commerce/
