Shopify vs WordPress – Which to choose in 2021? (2023)

If you are looking for a reliable e-commerce platform, there are many options to consider. However, one of the most important decisions you will need to make is whether you want to go with a hosted ecommerce platform or whether you want to go with a self-hosted option.

This will have a huge impact on how your store performs and how it is managed as well. Therefore, it is important for you to research thoroughly and choose the right solution. Your best options may end up being a Shopify vs. WordPress Debate.

The debate between Shopify and WordPress continues to escalate. While some prefer the convenience and ease of use of Shopify, others prefer the reliability that WordPress offers.

WordPress is arguably the most flexible content management system in the world and is used by millions of websites around the world. It's not just for managing your content; You can also use the right plugins with WordPress to effectively manage your e-commerce store.

Think of it as the core foundation upon which your entire business will be built. If you're confused between Shopify and WordPress, there are a number of important things to consider. In this article, we'll go over the key differences between the two and determine the best option based on your needs.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform founded in 2006. Over the past 15 years, Shopify has grown into one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the world. Millions of eCommerce store owners prefer Shopify because it offers an easy way to set up your online store.

You don't need to know a line of code (although it helps!), and the easy drag-and-drop functionality makes Shopify a great option for people who just want to start their own store. Although simple, Shopify has a few issues that annoy most seasoned ecommerce store owners.

What is WordPress?

At its core, WordPress is a simple content management system that allows you to schedule content on your website. However, the reason WordPress is so popular is that you can choose from a variety of plugins to build pretty much any type of website you want.

It is incredibly versatile and works well. As you can imagine, there are some differences between the two platforms. The best thing about WordPress is that you can use WooCommerce, a great platform that makes it much easier for you to start your own store.

At Cloudways, we offer the WooCommerce Starter Bundle, a fully integrated bundle that offers all the essential plugins you need to start your store right away. The WooCommerce Starter Bundle includes plugins like Shopping Cart Abandonment Recovery, Kadence Email Designer, WooCommerce Shipping & Tax and many others to get you started.

Shopify vs WordPress – 9 Key Differences

Shopify or WordPress? In the following sections, we will go over 9 main differences that separate WordPress and Shopify.

1. Prices

Pricing is a major concern for many people. And in the battle between Shopify and WordPress, there is a big price difference.

Shopify Pricing

As you can see, Shopify offers a 14-day free trial. Pricing for their “Basic” plan starts at $29.99/month, with the next level costing $79.99/month. If you want the advanced option, expect to pay $299.99/month. Shopify offers its own hosting, so you don't have to worry about that.

WordPress pricing

WordPress is completely free to use. If you choose your own hosting option, you won't have to spend a penny to install WordPress on your server. So in this battle between Shopify and WordPress, WordPress is the clear winner.

Since WordPress is completely free and open source, you don't have to pay anything to install it. However, you must include the cost of hosting and the domain name.

2. Interface and ease of use

The platform's user interface plays an important role in ease of use. Let's compare the interfaces of Shopify and WordPress.

Shopify interface

What: Shopify

The reason so many people prefer Shopify is because of its ease of use. It's an incredibly simple platform that makes it easy for you to start and manage your online store. Shopify shows you all the important aspects of your online store in a very simple way.

If you're confused between Shopify and WordPress, think of it this way: the former is ideal for people with little or no technical knowledge and those who just want to start their own stores.

WordPress interface

In order to use WordPress properly, a certain knowledge is required. It is also quite simple, but you need to understand how to integrate plugins and use them correctly. The good thing is that almost everything is easy to use and manage, and all the features are conveniently described. There are also many different onesShopify alternativesOf course, you can also consider this outside of WordPress.

3. Templates and Themes

If you're confused between Shopify and WordPress, your choice of themes or templates in each can influence your decision. Let's compare Shopify with WordPress in terms of themes and templates they offer.

Shopify-Themen

If you are comparing Shopify or WordPress, you should know that Shopify has a great theme store with more than seventy themes, all of which are responsive and designed to run fast. It's not just the themes; Shopify also has a great range of customization options so you can easily customize each and every theme using their own templating language called Liquid.

WordPress Themes

This is the part where the battle between Shopify and WordPress starts to change. Because WordPress is open source, anyone can create a theme. WordPress has its own theme store, but you can also choose to use itfast topicsDesigned to increase your page load speed.

4. Plugins and Extensions

Plugins and extensions are also important when we consider the battle between Shopify and WordPress.

Shopify plugins and extensions

Shopify has a comprehensive e-commerce app marketplace, the Shopify App Store. There are hundreds of different apps on the market that you can choose from based on your needs. The integration is easy and quite simple, so you don't need to be very technical to install these apps on your platform.

There are more than 2,500 paid and free plugins and extensions that you can integrate into your store using a simple API.

WordPress-Plugins

With this Shopify vs WordPress comparison, it's easy to see the difference between the two platforms. Comparing Shopify vs WordPress purely in terms of plugins, WordPress emerges as the clear winner. There is a big difference between Shopify and WordPress.

The reason for this is simple: WordPress is open source and has hundreds of thousands of plugins. If you're confused between WordPress and Shopify because of plugin support, the former is clearly a wise choice.

There are nearly 60,000 free plugins and thousands more. Depending on your needs, you can easily choose a suitable plugin and then compare your options. There isPlugins that you can use to improve your websiteand others to add new or unique features as desired.

So if your main concern with Shopify and WordPress is plugin and addon support, WordPress is by far the clear winner.

5. E-commerce features

Now let's compare the most important aspects of Shopify and WordPress: e-commerce features. Here's what you should know:

Shopify Ecommerce features

Shopify has a number of e-commerce features that make it so popular to use as an e-commerce platform. Here are some of the main features of the platform:

• It is ready for mobile trading
• All themes are responsive
• It also acts as a domain registrar
• Has an extensive blogging platform
• Very intuitive web builder
• Offers a free SSL certificate
• A variety of shipping options and payment gateways
• Automatic tax calculation
• Comprehensive store management features including account management, product management and email templates
• Shopify Fulfillment Network and a variety of other fulfillment solutions
• Sitemap.xml generated
• Integration with social selling platforms such as Facebook
• Google Ads Credit ($100)

WordPress e-commerce function

By default, WordPress is not an e-commerce platform. Since it is a content management system, you need to install WooCommerce to make it an e-commerce platform. But once you do, the list of features is limitless. You can customize your store to your liking, including all the above features and more.

• Custom shopping cart
• shipping options
• Comprehensive product page management
• Detailed revenue reporting
• Manage returns
• inventories
• Multiple design management solutions
• Handling of multiple currencies
• Mobile-responsive websites

6. Payment options

Now let's focus on the payment options in this battle between Shopify and WordPress.

Shopify betalingsgateways

Shopify has its own payment solution known as Shopify Payments. You can activate any method you want in the list of payment providers. Customers can also pay with other methods, including PayPal, Apple Pay and Amazon Pay. There is a lotAmerican payment gatewayswhich you can integrate into your Shopify store.

WordPress betalingsgateways

WordPress alone does not have built-in payment options. But if you pair it with a plugin like WooCommerce, you have plenty of options.

Common payment gateways include:

• stripes
• PayPal
• square
• Amazon Pay
• Braintree
• RazorPay
• market payment
• additional payment

You can search through several payment gateways including BNPL apps and use them in your store.

7. SEO functions

Next in our battle between Shopify and WordPress is SEO. Let's compare Shopify to WordPress in terms of SEO.

Shopify SEO features

Shopify integrates seamlessly with a number of SEO plugins and extensions, and you can also use it for marketing. Shopify also lets you connect custom meta fields to add more data fields and greatly expand your product descriptions.

There are many ways to optimize your Shopify store, and the company is constantly adding new features to the mix. Shopify gives you a number of tools, including the ability to add custom meta titles, custom URLs, redirects, and more.

WordPress SEO features

WordPress has quite a few plugins that you can use to improve your website's SEO performance. Yoast SEO plugin is arguably the most popular choice for WordPress websites, and it isrelatively easy to install on your website. But when you compare the wide range of options WordPress offers as third-party plugins, you simply can't go wrong.

In the battle between Shopify and WordPress, the latter is the clear winner in this area.

8. Help and support

Now let's compare the help and support options offered by Shopify and WordPress.

Shopify Help and Support

When comparing Shopify or WordPress, support is a key concern. Shopify offers its customers a number of options for help and support. Their support options include:

• A detailed knowledge base known as the Shopify Help Center
• Die Shopify Community
• Email ticket
• chat solution

WordPress help and support

Although it looks simple considering the help options, WordPress actually offers a lot more. They have one of the largest community support bases in the world, mainly because the platform is open source. You can find answers to pretty much any question you might have, and you can also find a cross-platform developer who might be willing to help you with your store.

9. Maintenance and Security

Finally, let's compare the maintenance and security between WordPress and Shopify.

Shopify maintenance and security

Since Shopify is a hosted solution, their primary concern is maintenance and security. You should take care of the basics, including 2FA and setting up a secure password for your account. Other than that, there's not much to worry about; Shopify handles the rest of the technical stuff for you.

WordPress maintenance and security

WordPress is different. Since it is a self-hosted platform, you have to take care of maintenance and security yourself. This requires the installation of variousWordPress security pluginsand continuously monitor the security of your website. These are the main differences between Shopify and WordPress.

The conclusion

Depending on your needs and your potential to scale your business, you want to make an informed decision. It's likely that you'll stick with one of these options in the long run. Therefore, you must weigh the differences carefully before choosing one.VisitCloudways Webinar on Finding the Fastest WordPress. You can also read a number of comparative articles between:

• WooCommerce vs. Shopify
• WooCommerce vs. Volusion
• WooCommerce vs. BigCommerce
• WooCommerce vs Big Cartel

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