Did you know that the expected compounded annual growth rate of the global eCommerce market between the years 2020 and 2027 is 14.7%? This is in large part due to the growing use of the Internet, making it possible for more customers to access stores.

Considering this statistic, it’s no surprise that many people are choosing to start eCommerce businesses. If you’re one of these people, you might be trying to decide which is best: WordPress vs Shopify.

If you don’t know which one is best for your eCommerce store, you might be feeling stressed about choosing the right platform.

Fortunately, in this article, we’ll review the differences between these eCommerce website platforms. Finally, you can choose the right platform for your eCommerce business, making your business successful.

Pros and Cons of WordPress vs Shopify

If you’re choosing between using a Shopify or WordPress website to sell your products online, it helps to know what the pros and cons of each are. Here are some of the pros and cons of each.

Shopify Pros and Cons

When it comes to Shopify pros, these include that you don’t need any technical or coding knowledge to use it.

Another pro of having an eCommerce Shopify website is that it’s built specifically for eCommerce websites. This means that all of the sales tools you’d need are already set up for you. Additionally, you won’t have to pay for security or hosting externally.

However, unless you use Shopify Payments, the platform’s own payment getaway, you’ll have to pay additional transaction fees. These fees are somewhere between 0.5% and 2% of each transaction. Another con is that, if you change your theme, you’ll have to reformat the content of your site.

The final con is that Shopify isn’t as easy to use or simple as drag-and-drop platforms (like Wix, for example).

WordPress Pros and Cons

One of the pros of WordPress is that it’s more flexible and powerful than Shopify. It allows for total customization. A second pro is that ‘Gutenberg,’ its new editor, means it’s slightly easier to use. There are also many helpful resources available online.

These resources are both from professional developers and user forums.

However, to use WordPress, you need to have technical knowledge at a decent level to utilize the platform. WordPress can also quickly get expensive. Finally, it will be necessary for you to source things such as a domain name, security, and hosting.

For hosting your WordPress website, you can do this directly through our company.

Ease of Use of WordPress vs Shopify

When it comes to ease of use, you’re better off using a Shopify website. This is because the biggest difference between both platforms is coding. When you use Shopify, you can create your store and customize it without knowing any code at all.

All you have to do is provide a bit of information to Shopify about your current position. Then, you’ll enter the dashboard area.

You’ll put in everything you need here to set up shop, such as product pictures, prices, descriptions, and variants. You can do this individually or in bulk with a CSV file you already have.

The interface is simple, much like a Word document. You also get support.

With WordPress, things are a bit more complex. Knowing a small amount of code (at least) is necessary to get started on this platform. WordPress also isn’t specifically designed for online selling.

However, there is a plugin you can use. Some options include BigCommerce, Ecwid, and the most popular, WooCommerce. You’ll have to research these to decide which one is right for you.

WordPress, like Shopify, does have a centralized dashboard. However, it can be a bit complex to use, which can make your experience of doing so feel overwhelming.

Build Time of WordPress vs Shopify

Build time is correlated to ease of use. The easier it is for someone to use a platform, the faster it’ll be for them to set it up. For this reason, Shopify takes up less time if you’re building an eCommerce store. All you have to do is set it up and you’ll be ready to start selling.

With WordPress, different factors impact the build time, causing it to take longer. Because the platform is more technical, it’ll be harder for you to get your head around using it.

You’ll also have to take the time to choose and install eCommerce plugins and set up additional things like your domain name.

Cost of WordPress vs Shopify

There are several different Shopify pricing plans. If you’re getting a monthly plan, the cost is as follows: Shopify Basic for $29, Shopify for $79, and Advanced Shopify for $299. If you’re getting a one-year subscription, the monthly costs are:

• Shopify Basic for $26.10 (10% savings)
• Shopify for $71.10 (10% savings)
• Advanced Shopify for $269.10 (10% savings)

If you’re getting a two-year subscription, the monthly costs are Shopify Basic for $23.20, Shopify for $63.20, and Advanced Shopify for $239.20. For all of these, you would end up saving 20%. Note as well that Shopify has a free trial that lasts 14 days.

WordPress

On the other hand, WordPress is free. This said, however, it isn’t actually free given what you’d have to pay for other related costs. Hosting costs for WordPress can cost anywhere between $5 and $100 a month. This depends on the type of hosting.

Self-hosted shared hosting would cost somewhere between $5 and $10 a month, while fully-managed hosting would cost somewhere between $30 and $100.

Tutorials and Courses

WordPress tutorials and courses will be a one-time cost that runs anywhere between $0 and $50. However, you’ll still have to spend time doing this, which means you’ll lose money with that lost time. Basics will take you a few hours to learn and WordPress learning will take you weeks.

Themes

Themes will be a one-time cost that runs anywhere between $0 and $5,000+. For a basic template, the cost is between $35 and $50. For premium templates, it’s between $80 and $200, and for template alterations, it’s between $300 and $1,000.

If you want a custom design, the cost will end up being somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000.

Plugins

Plugins will be a one-time cost of between $50 and $500 and/or a monthly cost of between $5 and $150. Payment software will have a one-time cost of between $100 and $500 or a monthly cost of between $30 and $80.

Membership gateway software will have a one-time cost of between $100 and $300 or a monthly cost of between $50 and $150. Email marketing software will have a monthly cost of between $5 and $99.

Note, however, that there are some plugins that are free (or free with limitations).

Templates and Themes

When it comes to templates and themes, both of these platforms are tied. Shopify has more than 70 themes you can choose from, with 10 of them being free and the others costing $140 or more. With WordPress, you have over 1,000 available.

eCommerce Features and Tools

Overall, WordPress has better eCommerce features and tools. With WordPress, you won’t have these automatically, but you can add them using third-party plugins. While there are many, the two most popular of these are Ecwid and WooCommerce.

With WooCommerce, you get a built-in blogging option, the ability to sell unlimited products (both digital and physical), product ratings and reviews, and product filtering and sorting.

With Ecwid, you get the favorite product saving option, guest checkouts, a multilingual translator, and a shipping calculator.

The features and tools you get with Shopify are in the hundreds. The most important, however, are discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, and multi-channel integration.

Additional Ways to Compare WordPress vs Shopify

When it comes to transaction fees and payment options, both of these are tied. As for SEO, Shopify offers better SEO tools. If you’re looking for marketing features and tools, these are better with the WordPress platform.

As for performance and security, Shopify is better. When it comes to help and support, Shopify is also a better choice.

The Verdict

The verdict, when it comes to WordPress vs Shopify for your eCommerce business, is that they’re both great choices. Depending on which of the different elements we’ve covered are most important to you, you can make a decision on which one to use.

Do you have more questions about setting up your eCommerce website? We can answer them.

At Shoot to Thrill Media, we’re experts when it comes to eCommerce websites. We also offer web services with which we can help you run your business. To learn more about our services, contact us now.