In recent years, WooCommerce and Shopify have emerged as two of the very best ecommerce solutions. Both are very popular and growing more so on a daily basis. Since both cannot be the best, this is a guide to help you decide on which one is better. We think that Shopify is a fast option and removes many inconveniences of building an ecommerce store. But WooCommerce is better for ecommerce brands that aspire to achieve great heights.

Multilingual abilities

WooCommerce has a dependable plugin for this called WPML. This plugin has been firmly established and offers a complete answer to all multilingual problems. The WPML plugin costs $79 for the first year and a reduced $39 every year after that.

Shopify struggled with a solution for the multilingual problem for a long time before the Langify app was released. The app offers the multilingual option at $17.50 per month. This is clearly more expensive than WooCommerce in the long run.

SEO help

WooCommerce generally provides more SEO-friendly options. This is entirely based on the fact that WooCommerce is built on WordPress. WordPress is widely known by experts to be one of the most reliable content creation website. Combined with plugins like Yoast SEO, of which there is a version for WooCommerce, you can optimize WordPress to the fullest and have complete power over every SEO-related detail.

Shopify comes in behind WooCommerce on general SEO features available. Shopify takes care of SEO fundamentals like site copy and meta information easily. At the end of the day Shopify cannot achieve as much as WooCommerce where SEO is concerned.

Full ownership

You can build your website and facilitate changes anyhow you like with WooCommerce using the large stashes of plugins available. You do not own your website with Shopify. After getting your own URL you are highly confined with what to do.

Building a website with Shopify is like following a set of construction plan when you have your own ideas. The options available at Shopify are great for simple online stores that don’t need much to function. But if you are looking at a global brand you are going to have to design and own your website. WooCommerce lets you do this.

Zero design restrictions

WooCommerce can be integrated into any WordPress theme. This means that site wide features can be integrated into your website and not just the theme. Shopify, on the other hand, has an impressive array of available themes but your website is limited to theme templates or the design prowess of theme builders.

WooCommerce gives you the opportunity to build your own theme and give your website the look and feel you want. The details are ours to toil with and adjust until you have reached your goal. Even though there are many Shopify themes and even more can be developed, the extent to which you can customize them is limited. For example, you can change the material color and size of content on Shopify but you have an unlimited level of specialization with WooCommerce.

You might need to pay for some of the plugins on WooCommerce and you will definitely be putting in some hours to work on what you want. We believe the outcome will be well worth it in the end.

Price

WooCommerce is free to download and you have to pay for some plugins to be able to use it to its full potential. The payments made for WooCommerce are for full rights. Shopify provides a ready to go solution that has a price tag on it but you have to keep paying the cost. Its like paying rent on a house you live in but you don’t really own.

Without going into the technicalities of the facts, WooCommerce is a more cost effective option. You can choose what to add or not to add and you are in control.

Conclusion

If you want to play in the big leagues you will have to work with the best option out there. To determine whether WooCommerce or Shopify best suits your needs you would have to ask yourself some questions. Take note of some considerations before commencing with your grand plan. If you;

  • Desire access to a great deal of website designs and plugins to expand the functionality of your website
  • Desire to have complete control over your website
  • Are already conversant with WordPress and are comfortable with its plugins
  • Are comfortable with taking out a good amount of time and dedicate it to setting up
  • Can handle the job required or you have employed someone to handle it for you
  • Really need your website to be multilingual
  • Are interested in optimizing for SEO to the maximum
  • You are on a budget and want to handle everything by yourself
  • You could opt for Shopify if the above pointers don’t particularly describe you or your needs.

All things considered, we will choose WooCommerce as a better option to work with.