The Difference Between Shopify and WordPress For Your Site

Stephen McCance April 22, 2019

Whether you’re just setting up your site or your considering a site migration, it’s likely you’ve got two main platforms in mind. Shopify and WordPress. Depending on the nature of your business, there may be several reasons as to why one is more preferable. So, how do you find out which is best suited to you? We’re here to give you a helping hand.

The Main Difference Between Shopify and WordPress

First thing’s first, the main difference between Shopify and WordPress is that WordPress requires you to already have a domain name and web hosting account, whereas Shopify is an online service where you simply need to sign up. Neither should be an issue if you’re already an established business, but it’s worth noting that there are more steps to WordPress than there are for Shopify.

The Perks of Shopify

Shopify is an all-in-one tool which essentially allows you to build a fully-functioning e-commerce store from scratch. You don’t need to worry about buying web hosting or installing software, as you’ve got everything you need within the platform.

It’s fairly straight-forward and you don’t particularly need any technical skills, which is why many start-ups favour it. However, it does enable you to edit the CSS and HTML of your site, so if you do have the knowledge, you can still make changes to customise your store more extensively. It’s a paid tool, but the prices are fairly reasonable given you’re free to sell whatever you wish (within reason!). This might be goods or services, digital and physical products or even dropship.

As well as it being easy to get to grips with, it also offers 24/7 customer support from its basic plan upwards. This is one of the unique selling points of Shopify. Not many hosted sites can boast quick and effective customer support anytime of the day.

So Why Choose WordPress?

If Shopify is so easy to use and setup, why would anyone choose WordPress? Well, WordPress is centred around content. Between the blog posts, videos and images, if your site is content heavy – WordPress is traditionally a great option for content management. The design options are practically limitless, meaning you can truly create something of your own. Once you install the WooCommerce plugin, it can transform it into an online store.

WordPress, like Shopify, can indeed be useful for those who aren’t experienced in web design or who aren’t tech savvy. Any user could certainly maintain a WordPress site without needing coding skills. However, if you want to get the most out of it, WordPress can be excellent for those who have more web design experience. They’d be able to build any kind of website and host it anywhere they’d like. Shopify, on the other hand, has more limits as to what you can do.

A big difference between Shopify and WordPress is that unlike with Shopify, there’s no such 24 hour support with WordPress. This means that although it can be suited to those who are relatively new to web design, it’s perhaps not as supportive as Shopify.

Which is Best for Your Business?

Building your own site is never going to be a walk in the park. However, with the right platform, things can certainly be made a lot easier. By now, you will have gathered the general consensus when it comes to the difference between Shopify and WordPress.

• Shopify is ideal for e-commerce businesses who aren’t especially experienced in web design or technical work.
• WordPress is great for content-heavy websites and those who are more savvy when it comes to coding and customisation.

Remember, once you commit to a platform you’re not necessarily stuck there. You can migrate if you truly believe you’d get more out of the other. However, it’s best to think of every aspect now to save you time, effort and resources in the future.

If you’ve got your site up and running and you’d like help with SEO, please don’t hesitate to contact us.