Shopify vs WordPress Comparison: Which Platform is for Your Website in [year]?

Among hundreds of eCommerce website builders in the market, Shopify vs WordPress are two of the most reliable options available.

If you’re confused about which one is better, don’t look further because you’re in the right place. In this article, we would love to provide an insightful comparison between Shopify vs WordPress for your consideration:

• All features comparison between Shopify vs WordPress
• Popular questions regarding these 2 platforms
• Final conclusion regarding who should use WordPress or Shopify

Without further ado, let’s check it out!

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WordPress vs Shopify: A Quick Comparison

Regarded as a safe and efficient platform, Shopify is one of the leading hosted eCommerce software platforms where everyone can build an online store and start selling their products online. It’s now home to more than 5.4 million live websites worldwide and is trusted by many big brands, including Tesla, NetFlix, and BBC, to name but a few.

WordPress is an open-source CMS built using PHP and MySQL. Founded in 2003, WordPress is now home to over 31 million live websites with big names like The Walt Disney Company, Sony Music, and TechCrunch.

Before proceeding to further WordPress Shopify comparison, let’s cover how WordPress.com differs from WordPress.org (full comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org).

• Open-source solution – WordPress.org: You have full control of your website, which means that you need to handle your WordPress installation and maintenance on your own.
• Hosted solution – WordPress.com: This is a blogging platform rather than an eCommerce solution, and WordPress will handle the hosting and maintenance. The price and functionality will depend on your subscription plan.

Before getting to the nitty-gritty, let’s take a look at all the differences between Shopify vs WordPress.

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Now, let’s dive into the detailed comparison between Shopify vs WordPress to find out which one is suitable for you!

#1 Pricing

The first aspect I’d love to mention in our Shopify vs WordPress comparison is pricing.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify has three main pricing tiers: Basic, Shopify, and Advanced. This platform offers a 3-day free trial for all tiers, $1 for your first month, so you can discover the Shopify dashboard and experience it yourself. Below are some of Shopify’s pricing tier features.

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For more complex businesses, Shopify provides a Plus Plan starting from $2,300/month on a 3-year term or $2,500 per month for a 1-year term.

Besides the subscription plan, themes, apps, and domain registration can add to your monthly expenses. Basically, these fees on Shopify will be like:

• Domain name: $12/year.
• Themes: $0 – $400 (one-time, non-refundable purchases)
• Apps: start from $0 (most apps charge monthly subscription fees)

WordPress Pricing

Because WordPress.org is open-source and 100% free for anyone to download and install, all I needed was a domain name and web hosting. However, this also means that I have to perform backups, security updates, and any necessary upgrades.

From there, the cost of a WordPress site when using WordPress.org:

• Domain name: $10-$15/year.
• Hosting: from $3-$25+/month (depending on provider & features)
• Plugins: $0-$1,000/year (ongoing or one-off charge).
• Themes: $0-$200+ (free themes available).
• Security: from $50/year (ongoing or one-off charge).
• Developer fees: vary.

The cost to start a WordPress.org site can vary greatly, from $100 to $30,000 or more. This flexibility allows merchants to tailor their expenses to their specific needs and budgets.

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#2 Ease of Use – Shopify Wins

Another important aspect when comparing WordPress vs Shopify is ease of use.

Shopify Ease of Use

Shopify is a hosted solution, so you can start to create and set up your eCommerce store with ease. There’s no need for technical hassles since Shopify handles hosting, security, updates, and maintenance for you.

Here’s our quick tutorial on how to set up Shopify within a few minutes.

Shopify’s dashboard is widely praised for its user-friendly design, intuitive navigation, and streamlined workflows. Even beginners with no technical experience can quickly grasp the basics of setting up and managing an online store.

With Shopify’s dashboard, I can easily view all the components of the front and back end of my store in one place. From here, I can configure your store’s settings, view orders and customer information, add/delete/modify products, and design your site.

Besides, Shopify has a 3-day free trial, so you can take this opportunity to see how Shopify works and whether it is suitable for you. Thanks to Shopify’s policy, you could even reactivate your store after canceling the Shopify free trial. Your store name (domain) and all your data will be saved in 30 days.

WordPress Ease of Use

If you choose WordPress, you first need to choose and manage your web hosting. Then, you will need to download the WordPress package and install it on your web hosting server, and handle updates and security, which can be daunting for non-technical users.

Once WordPress.org is installed, the process becomes much easier.

The WordPress dashboard is straightforward.

The main navigation menu on the left-hand side provides clear access to essential areas like Post, Media, Pages, …

The central area of the dashboard provides an overview of your site’s activity, including recent posts and comments, as well as quick draft options. You have the flexibility to customize the dashboard widgets to prioritize information relevant to you.

Overall, I find that WordPress offers great flexibility for design and functionality through thousands of themes and plugins. However, mastering WordPress can be challenging due to its complexity at the set up phase. 

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#3 eCommerce Features – It’s a Tie

Shopify comes with many built-in eCommerce tools for store owners to use. While WordPress depends largely on eCommerce plugins to operate an online site.

For example, WooCommerce is the most popular and arguably the king of WordPress eCommerce plugins. This plugin includes most of the essential features you’ll need to set up an eCommerce site.

Because of its reputation, I’ll put them on scale to distinguish their eCommerce functions:

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#4 Theme Design & Customizability – WordPress Wins

Moving to the next part of Shopify vs WordPress comparison, let’s take a look at store design and customizability.

Shopify Themes

If you want to make your online store stand out, check out the Shopify Theme Store. Shopify offers 180+ professionally designed themes, all of which are mobile-ready. All Shopify themes are easy to customize in all aspects (e.g., colors, fonts), and there’s no need to touch a line of code.

If you need further customization, you can use Liquid – the coding language of Shopify. With Liquid, I can possibly change the existing Shopify template or layout or add a new one. Unlike ordinary HTML/CSS languages, Liquid is a bit different. It will take your time to accommodate or hire a Shopify technical expert to do it for you.

WordPress Templates

WordPress.org has a huge truckload of templates. Its theme directory offers thousands of free themes and a vast array of premium options for the most popular WordPress themes. They are all highly customizable and allow me to modify every aspect of your website’s appearance and functionality through code or page builders.

You are free to edit the source code as you wish. You can also utilize plugins that allow you to create a theme using drag-and-drop tools. WordPress also lets you change the body page (the center part) such as changing colors, uploading the logo, changing the background, or creating beautiful sliders. Or else, you have the option to hire WordPress experts to create a fully customized website design for you.

But the flexibility comes at a cost. WordPress themes can be challenging to customize if you’re not familiar with coding or page builders. With so many themes available, it can be hard to find the right one for your store. Additionally, keeping WordPress themes updated for security and compatibility can be time-consuming, especially for non-technical users.

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#5 Apps & Plugins – WordPress Wins

An essential aspect we need to pay great attention to when analyzing key differences between Shopify vs WordPress is Apps/Extensions/Plugins.

Shopify Apps

Shopify users have access to numerous APIs that empower merchants to expand their stores by seamlessly integrating with various apps. They can integrate third-party plugins or develop and integrate their own extensions.

What’s more, there are over 8,000 apps available, including paid and free apps. Most of the Shopify apps are subscription-based and will vary based on tier and features.

WordPress Plugins

When you have a self-hosted WordPress.org site, you have the flexibility to choose from 59,000+ WordPress plugins. These plugins allow you to enhance and personalize your website to your needs.

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#6 SEO Features – WordPress Wins

Shopify SEO

The platform has favorable SEO functionality, which makes it easy to create content that search engines love. As someone who has little knowledge of coding, I can easily edit the meta titles and descriptions, add 301 redirects, and change page URLs to boost my website’s SEO results. Not to mention, Shopify has already prompted your products with SEO best practices.

Besides, Shopify comes with a wide range of apps and add-ons that I can use for store optimization and to ensure its ranking on search engines like Google or Bing. If picking up a suitable app is too difficult, why don’t you take a look at our recommendations about the best Shopify SEO apps?

But what if you need further customization? That brings us to Shopfiy’s main drawbacks.

Shopify’s inflexible structure presents some major challenges:

• URL structure (e.g., /collections/product-name) can’t be fully customized.
• The lack of subcategories within blog posts makes organizing content difficult. This can result in duplicate URLs (multiple URLs pointing to the same page), leading to potential SEO issues like content cannibalization.

However, you can overcome this difficulty by discovering and applying suitable SEO tips and tricks for your store. Let’s take a look at 8 effective eCommerce SEO strategies that we’ve compiled as your reference.

WordPress SEO

WordPress offers great flexibility for SEO optimization. You have full control over your site’s structure, meta tags, URLs, and other technical aspects.

For technical SEO, WordPress grants users a vast variety of SEO controls, such as:

• Create clean, descriptive URLs that incorporate target keywords.
• Add and edit meta titles, descriptions, and other meta tags.
• Manage how search engines crawl and index your website via customizable files.
• Implement structured data to enhance search result listings with rich snippets.

Also, there is a vast library of SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math, which provide powerful tools for on-page optimization, keyword research, sitemaps, redirects, and more.

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#7 Blogging Features – WordPress Wins

Shopify Blogging Features

For many eCommerce merchants, Shopify’s built-in blogging platform hits a balance between functionality and ease of use. It’s a simple solution that covers the essentials without overwhelming users with complex features.

I find that Shopify offers strengths for tech-savvy merchants with:

• User-friendly blog editor, even for those without extensive blogging experience.
• Automatic SEO optimization for titles and descriptions.
• Seamlessly embedding images and videos enhances the visual appeal of blog posts.
• The ability to schedule posts and use tags streamlines content management and organization.

Yet, if your eCommerce strategy relies heavily on blog content or complex content structures, WordPress may offer more flexibility.

WordPress Blogging Features

WordPress offers a comprehensive suite of tools that simplify content creation, from drafting and editing to previewing and publishing. For eCommerce merchants with technical know-how, WordPress provides a powerful foundation for content marketing and brand building.

Basically, you can:

• Craft engaging blog posts, product descriptions, and other content with extensive formatting options.
• Embed images, videos, audio, and other media types to enhance your content.
• Deeply customize your blog’s design and functionality through themes, plugins, and custom code.
• Add custom fonts to enhance your site’s aesthetics and brand identity. This article explains why typography is important in attracting customers’ attention and explains how to add custom fonts to WordPress.

So, if your online store relies on content to attract and engage customers, WordPress provides the tools and flexibility you need to manage and deliver that content effectively.

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#8 Maintenance – Shopify Wins

Shopify Maintenance

As a fully hosted solution, Shopify ensures the highest level of server maintenance. This platform regularly pushes out technical upgrades and bug fixes, so you’ll always benefit from the latest features and security fixes. When working with Shopify, I only need to devote a few days per year to maintenance issues.

WordPress Maintenance

WordPress is a fast-moving platform, and new features are added and improved regularly. Frequent updates bring new features, performance enhancements, and security patches that ensure your website stays current and competitive. This is crucial for tech-savvy merchants who want to use the latest technologies and trends to improve their online stores.

Using WordPress does require regular attention. For busy merchants, this can be an additional task to manage. However, if you’re tech-savvy, you may find this less burdensome as you are likely already comfortable with software updates and maintenance procedures.

Yet, in rare cases, updates can cause conflicts with themes or plugins. This is where technical knowledge becomes crucial for troubleshooting and resolving any issues that may arise.

Here, we provide comprehensive instructions on how to update WordPress. Check it out!

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#9 Help & Support – Shopify Wins

Shopify Customer Support

The next part of our Shopify vs WordPress comparison is the customer service of these two giants.

Shopify offers outstanding customer service. I can get help with 24-hour support via phone call, support ticket, or chat live with a customer care representative.

In case you don’t want to contact support for each tiny question you have, there is also self-service that offers the knowledge base, video tutorials, and webinars.

WordPress Support

WordPress.org does not offer direct support channels like phone or live chat. This can be frustrating for merchants who encounter urgent issues or complex problems requiring expert assistance.

If you’re a tech-savvy merchant, while resourceful, you might still prefer a more direct line of communication for critical situations.

Apart from the official support channels, the web offers a wealth of advice and tutorials on WordPress-related topics. Other system users have compiled multiple text and video manuals, guidelines, and tutorials.

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Final Words – Which Platform is Right for You?

We hope that this Shopify vs. WordPress comparison has helped you better understand the key differences between these two giants.

Let’s once again clarify which is better for your specific needs!

Shopify is Ideal For

• Beginners and non-technical users
• eCommerce businesses of all sizes (small to medium-sized or even enterprise businesses)
• Businesses that need a wide range of built-in eCommerce features

WordPress.org is Ideal For 

• Users who want complete control of eCommerce sites with eCommerce plugins like WooCommerce
• Users with some technical knowledge
• Complex websites with large catalogs, multiple languages, and various integrations

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WordPress and Shopify Alternatives

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Shopify vs WordPress – FAQs

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Our Method to Compare Shopify vs WordPress

Our comparison of Shopify and WordPress is based on a rigorous assessment of key factors crucial for eCommerce success. We evaluate ease of use, customization options, pricing structures, built-in features, scalability, and overall performance.

We go beyond theory and put both platforms to the test. Our method involves hands-on building and managing stores on WordPress and Shopify, providing insights based on real-world experience.

Learn more about our methodology here.

Hopefully, you’ve already identified some key differences that will determine whether Shopify or WordPress is the right website builder for you. Our team at LitExtension – #1 Shopping Cart Migration Expert offers an optimal solution to help you switch to another platform speedily and entirely your data. In case you need any assistance with migrating, please contact us. We are always here to help.

You can also check out our LitExtension blog and join our community for more and more eCommerce news.