Shopify vs WordPress: Which is better and why?

Oct 27, 2022

Shopify vs WordPress: Which is better and Why?

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Are you considering building a website for your company but aren’t sure which platform to choose, WordPress or Shopify? Are you sick of hearing different people’s perspectives on which platform to use? 

You have come to the correct spot; in this blog, we’ll give you a better understanding of the differences between Shopify Website Development and WordPress Website Development.

Outline

Here is a brief comparison of each platform’s target audience, strengths, and potential downsides.

With the aid of the specialized e-commerce platform Shopify, you can create your own online Shopify website store. It offers all the resources you need and hosts your website for you. WordPress, in contrast, is an open-source platform. You must host your own website and set up plugins for e-commerce tools, such as Woo Commerce.

Despite the fact that they serve quite distinct needs, both companies are titans in the web design industry. We’re here to assist you in selecting the option that’s best for you: Shopify or WordPress

Pros and Cons of Shopify vs. WordPress

Shopify Pros

1) To utilize Shopify, you don’t need any coding or technological expertise.

2) As it’s designed specifically for e-commerce websites, so all of the crucial sales features are already set up for you.

3) You do not need to pay for external hosting or security.

Here’s the reason why we recommend Shopify

Shopify Cons

1) Unless you utilize Shopify Payments, its own payment system, you must pay additional transaction fees (between 0.5% and 2% for each transaction).

2) It’s still not as basic or as straightforward to use as a drag-and-drop platform, like Wix. 

3) If you wish to change your theme, you will have to reformat your content.

WordPress Pros

1) More flexibility and power than Shopify, enabling complete customization

2) It is a little bit easier to use because of its new editor, “Gutenberg.”

3) There are tons of beneficial materials available online, both from user forums and expert developers

Here’s the reason why we recommend WordPress.

WordPress Cons

1) To utilize the platform, you will require some level of technological expertise.

2) It can easily become very pricey.

3) You must obtain things like web hosting (Bluehost is recommended), security, and a domain name on your own.

How Simple Is It to Use Them?

We must observe which user types choose Shopify and which choose WordPress in order to determine this.

Users that lack both of these things make up the majority of Shopify’s primary audience:

– Skills in web development

– A budget to Hire a Developer to build a Shopify store.

These users frequently use Shopify because it enables them to build an online store without knowing how to code and, more importantly, since it doesn’t require a huge initial outlay of funds.

The Shopify store offers a large variety of apps that allow you access to practically all features. Additionally, Shopify gives users access to Liquid Code for any customization needs. But customization has a lot of restrictions. Furthermore, the Apps cannot be modified.

Therefore, creating a Shopify store is simple if you are using a theme. However, if you want more intricate development for your website, you must work with a qualified Shopify developer. Hire a Professional Shopify developer from Greencube Solutions.

WordPress is widely catered by users who are:

– Web design novices

– Users with web development skills

– Users with the budget to Hire a Professional WordPress Developer.

As WordPress is open-source, there is huge customization possible. WordPress gives access to all the core files and code access to the Developer. A Professional WordPress Developer can easily customize the WordPress website to meet your bespoke requirements.

There is a wide range of free and paid Plug-ins available in the WordPress store. And moreover, A professional WordPress developer can easily customize the plug-ins too. As WordPress is an open source, so are its plug-ins.

Also, read the importance of a Custom WordPress website.

Preferences

Shopify is what is referred to as a “website builder”. Therefore, in order to grasp what Shopify is, we must first understand what a website builder is.

An internet application called a website builder makes it possible for people with little to no technical knowledge to make their very own website. The website builder platform then charges the users a nominal monthly fee to maintain their site.

Shopify is only ever used to construct online companies because it is specifically for e-commerce (as opposed to blogs or online resumes).

(Know the difference between Website Designer and Website Builder)

Voilà WordPress

WordPress is quite unique. WordPress.com and WordPress.org are the two versions available.

WordPress.com is a blogging platform that functions similarly to a website builder, enabling you to make your own website quickly and effortlessly. WordPress.org is self-hosted software that has a much greater level of technological sophistication.

We’ll be contrasting WordPress.org with Shopify because you can use it to build almost any form of a website, including online retailers.

Voilà Shopify 

Amazingly, WordPress.org powers roughly one-third of all websites on the internet. On the other hand, there is Shopify is a well-known eCommerce platform that runs over 600,000 online stores, And famous people and huge corporations use it.

Shopify provides all the tools you could possibly need at your disposal fulfilling the purpose to assist people in starting their own online businesses. WordPress doesn’t come pre-configured for eCommerce, unlike Shopify, but there are some wonderful plug-ins you can install to start selling online; to make your WordPress site into an online store, we suggest using the Woo Commerce plug-in.

Simply establish an account, select a theme, add your products, and you’re ready to launch your Shopify store. WordPress, however, takes a little bit longer. In order to build and design your website, you must first select hosting (We recommend Bluehost).

A different Mindset

Let’s see both platforms with different mindsets.

Customization is possible in Shopify. A developer can easily customize the Shopify store to meet your bespoke requirements. You will be shocked to see our customized Shopify store. Here are some links.

 WordPress also provides the theme. You can easily install themes and work on themes and build a website. WordPress, like Shopify, may be suitable for users who are less tech-savvy and relatively new to web development. You can build and manage a WordPress site without knowing any code, especially if you’re willing to utilize a “visual editor” interface for WordPress like Divi or Elementor.

However, I’d contend that, in the majority of circumstances, WordPress requires more configuration before you can publish a website. Depending on what you want to accomplish, setting up a WordPress site may also require more learning than creating a Shopify store.

Users with extensive web-building skills make up WordPress’ second target market; they’ll have no trouble using it to build the site they require.

The third group of users is those with a big budget, who can use it to Hire a WordPress developer’s team to create a completely “bespoke” website that operates on quick servers.

The use of the word “bespoke” here is significant because it highlights a crucial distinction between WordPress and Shopify: although there are many ways to modify Shopify (through coding, the addition of apps, etc.), there are more restrictions and you will always have to host your site on Shopify’s servers.

Interface and usability

The basic design of the Shopify and WordPress interfaces are comparable in that you may choose content to modify or settings to adjust from a menu on the left side of the screen. However, Shopify is unquestionably a little more modern and ‘clean’ in look.

The editing and publishing of content on both platforms follow a similar process: after finding and editing your content in the back end, you can preview or publish it.

This is distinct from several other platforms, most notably Squarespace, which take a different approach and show a more “immediate” or real-time view of your updates (this is because such platforms allow you to work “on the page,” with your changes being presented in situ and in real-time).

However, WordPress visual editor plugins (like Divi or Elementor) can help you build a comparable real-time editing interface; this may be appealing to those who are just beginning their web design careers.

The thing to watch out for in this situation is “bloat,” since some of these visual editors can significantly slow down your website by introducing extra or poorly designed code. This may then have a detrimental effect on usability and SEO.

It should not be surprising that anyone interested in creating and managing an online store will find Shopify’s UI to be incredibly user-friendly because it is the platform’s sole focus. You can easily manage your goods, collections, and sales channels with Shopify.

It’s difficult to directly compare WordPress on this front because you must utilize a third-party plug-in like Woo Commerce in order to sell things.

We also provide Custom Woo Commerce Development services.

SEO Difference between WordPress and Shopify

SEO, or search engine optimization, is essential to a website’s effectiveness.

You may find it difficult to generate significant traffic or sales without strong visibility in search results. Yes, you may use Adwords or social media ads to increase visitors to your website, but in many circumstances, an online company’s long-term survival depends on its ability to rank well in organic search results.

The biggest benefit of WordPress in terms of SEO is that you can customize its technical SEO configuration however you like.

A prime illustration of this is hosting. A WordPress site can be hosted on any server, allowing you to select a lightning-fast one for lightning-quick “page speed”; Shopify, while also using fast servers, does not provide you this flexibility.

The possibility to build your own ultra-fast hosting arrangement can be helpful because page speed is a ranking indication, with faster sites frequently receiving preferred treatment in Google search results.

Here are a few ways to Increase WordPress Website Performance.

WordPress is also open source, so you can program it to completely comply with all of Google’s SEO guidelines, including the new Core Web Vitals criteria. (A set of targets relating to the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a website – sites that meet them can receive preferential treatment in Google search results.)

Regarding Shopify, the SEO tools are effective.

You may easily update alt tags and Meta descriptions, use SSL without any difficulty, have complete control over robots.txt, and have XML sitemaps generated for you. Every time you update a page’s name, 301 redirects are made or suggested automatically. all very good material.

Additionally, Shopify now offers a new site speed report that can help you increase page speed.

It’s also important to note that Shopify sites comply with Google’s new “Core Web Vitals” standards (and that Shopify’s app store is full of tools to make this happen). Many rival e-commerce products don’t have this problem.

And unlike other website builders, you can now use Yoast SEO on a Shopify site; previously, this was a WordPress-only feature.

Yoast looks at your content and offers you a number of simple-to-implement SEO recommendations.

The conclusion regarding SEO in a Shopify vs. WordPress argument is that technically, WordPress can be the victor — but only if you’ve configured your site properly and are using premium hosting. Shopify has less technical SEO flexibility and gives users no control over hosting, but overall, the platform is quite strong in terms of search engine optimization.

Security And Maintenance Of The Website

Maintenance

Users of Shopify don’t need to bother about site upkeep much other than updating the products and content.

The business handles all the technical facets of maintaining a website (software upgrades, hosting, server configuration, etc.).

It’s entirely different with WordPress because you have to make sure that:

1) You’re utilizing WordPress’ most recent version.

2) Your server has been set up properly.

3) Your themes and plugins are all current.

You can handle this automatically. You should still keep a careful check on it since if you use an outdated plug-in or version of the WordPress software, It is much more likely to hack your site.

Some important tips & Suggestions on increasing website speed

Security

The majority of security responsibility for hosted systems like Shopify rests on the firms that offer them.

In other words, Shopify is essentially in charge of ensuring PCI compliance for transactions and that your website is free of significant security flaws.

(PCI stands for “Payment Card Industry”; sites that comply with PCI security requirements manage cardholder data safely and adhere to the PCI Security Standards Council’s security guidelines.)

When utilizing Shopify, you’ll still need to practice basic cyber security precautions, such as using 2-factor authentications and making sure you don’t use a weak password, but the platform is mostly responsible for the technical aspects of security.

If you’re using WordPress, you are ultimately responsible for all security if you aren’t paying a developer or agency to maintain your website.

This implies that it is your responsibility to make sure that WordPress, any plugins, and any themes you are using are all current.

Not updated WordPress site is extremely vulnerable to hacking (which can have very serious implications if you are operating in the ecommerce sphere).

Additionally, you must be aware that some WordPress plugins and themes may include harmful code, which could jeopardize the security of your website. As a result, you must be extremely selective about which ones you install.

Last but not least, make sure you periodically back up your website (helpfully, various plugins are available to help automate this process for you, and good quality hosting providers will usually back your site up automatically too).

Assistance with maintaining and securing WordPress

If you are considering using WordPress and want to ensure that your site is perfectly configured, please get in contact, or if you already have a WordPress site that you’d like to run a security audit on.

We collaborate with some top-notch developers who can guarantee that your website is very secure. To speak with us about this, click here.

Having said that, a WordPress site that has been built and maintained properly will be very secure.

However, I believe it is accurate to claim that Shopify sites are likely less vulnerable than WordPress ones. This is because there is less opportunity for users to forgo site security or add shady code.

And if something does go wrong, Shopify’s team has a duty to assist in fixing the issue.

(However, despite Shopify maintaining disaster recovery backups for its entire system, it is still advised to utilize a backup program for a Shopify store because it sometimes fails to restore content for specific stores.)

A final word on SSL: Shopify sites all come with a free SSL certificate, ensuring that users are visiting your website on a secure connection.

(You can put SSL certificates on WordPress sites as well, but once again, you must take care of it.)

Overall, Shopify is perhaps the safer — and certainly simpler — solution from a security standpoint for the majority of consumers.

Shopify’s advantages versus WordPress

Compared to WordPress, Shopify is simpler to install and use, so there shouldn’t be much of a learning curve.

You will have to purchase several features individually when using Shopify. When using WordPress is pre-installed, including themes, ecommerce tools, and payment gateway connections.

With WordPress, you have to arrange hosting individually and sometimes at a considerable cost. Hosting is already given in Shopify.

If you use WordPress, you must stay on top of this, or your site will become susceptible to hacking. With Shopify, you don’t have to worry about the technical parts of managing your site.

For the most part, Shopify is in charge of keeping your website secure. Security for WordPress users depends on how consistently you update your software and theme.

Shopify offers round-the-clock customer service (via email, phone, and live chat). On the other hand, whether or not you can access support for a WordPress site mostly depends on whether you have hired someone to do it.

For those who want a nice but straightforward website delivered quickly, Shopify is probably a better alternative than WordPress.

As the corporation bears some responsibility for it, GDPR compliance may be a little bit simpler with Shopify.

You can easily test the product for free; if you want to use WordPress, you’ll need to set up hosting and download/install the software.

Free Shopify Trial

WordPress’s advantages over Shopify

The program is free to download in its entirety and is open source.

With WordPress, you can create any kind of website; it’s a more adaptable platform than Shopify.

WordPress has access to a considerably larger selection of templates than Shopify.

Unlike Shopify, WordPress has a more complex content management system that includes auto save, revision history, and archiving options.

You may add functionality to your WordPress website using a wide variety of plugins, both commercial and unpaid. Although there is a more constrained selection of applications available, you can still add functionality to Shopify sites using apps.

Many of the WordPress ecommerce plugins allow you more flexibility on that front than Shopify’s limited amount of variants and product options that you can employ (without installing an app).

WordPress’ SEO tools are more potent than those of Shopify, provided you have a solid hosting setup and have designed your site correctly.

WordPress sites provide you more control over your content; Shopify sites need you to abide by an “approved use” policy and some of your site’s content may be difficult to export (especially where there are pages and posts).

In WordPress, exporting pages and posts is simpler.

For constructing multilingual or “multisite” projects, WordPress may be a better alternative than Shopify (for users with advanced requirements or who need to build a site in more than 20 languages; otherwise Shopify is usually a good choice).

Compared to Shopify, the product has a longer history and a far larger user base.

Need Assistance in WordPress?

WordPress vs. Shopify: deduction

In the end, WordPress is definitely a more reliable and adaptable platform than Shopify. Given the correct knowledge and resources, WordPress allows you to virtually create any type of website you want. It has a substantially larger user base and a far wider assortment of themes and apps. That does not mean, however, that it is appropriate for all users; there are numerous situations in which Shopify will be the better option, especially for start-up companies with limited resources or users without web design expertise.

There is a LOT to argue for choosing WordPress if content management and production are your top priorities. If you wanted to run a sophisticated magazine website with a store on the side, for instance. In comparison to Shopify’s solutions in these areas, its blogging functionality, content archiving, and content management system are all noticeably more flexible and advanced.

Because you can pick your own hosting and fine-tune your technical SEO configuration to the very last detail, WordPress can also give you an advantage when it comes to search engine optimization.

But in many situations, Shopify will just better serve eCommerce users’ needs — especially those who lack technical knowledge. That’s because it’s a product that was created especially to make creating an online store simple, and it does this incredibly well.

Additionally, using Shopify will give you assistance, security assurance, and freedom from worrying about the technical parts of running your website.

In the end, I’d suggest that Shopify is the simpler, safer, and faster alternative if you are completely new to the world of website creation and are absolutely committed to starting your own online store. WordPress has a more difficult learning curve and requires more settings (especially where eCommerce is concerned).

With WordPress, you might be able to create a site that is more “bespoke” in nature and precisely catered to your demands if you have a good budget and an experienced developer.

But if you’re determined to “do it yourself,” Shopify is more likely to produce outcomes that are more expert-looking.

Remember that we also do WordPress Website Development and Shopify Website Development;

Get in touch with us right away to discuss your needs!