WordPress vs Shopify: How to Choose the Right Platform

In most cases the question isn’t really whether to choose between WordPress and Shopify. The
real question is whether you primarily want to use your website to sell or provide
content.

If you want to use the platform primarily to sell and want everything (hosting, checkout,
and platform updates) to be taken care of, then choose Shopify. If you want to provide
content, need more control or customisation and you can have someone manage your site, then go with
WordPress (usually with WooCommerce). Read on to find out why.

WordPress vs Shopify Overview

What is the Difference Between WordPress and Shopify?

WordPress

WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS). It is used by around 42.5% of all websites and 59.8% of
all websites with a known CMS (source: W3Techs). Shopify is second behind WordPress
with around 5.1% of all websites. These stats don’t say that one is a better choice, but it is one
reason why there is such a mature ecosystem of themes, plugins and developers for WordPress.

Something that gets confusing is knowing the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.
WordPress.org is the free open source software that you will install onto your chosen hosting.
WordPress.com is a hosted solution. Most businesses will want to use the self-hosted version and with
the WooCommerce plugin installed. Make sure you know what server requirements are needed (source: Woo).

Shopify

Shopify is a hosted solution that offers everything in one place. You don’t have to worry about hosting,
checkout, security updates or platform support. You will be limited to using the Shopify structure.

Ease of Use

Shopify is quicker to use. Choose a theme, add products, set up payments and launch.

WordPress gives you more choices to make. You’ll need to choose a host, theme and plugins to handle
payments, shipping, SEO and security. However this gives you more flexibility. Ask yourself who will log
into the site on a Monday morning to fix issues?

eCommerce Features & Checkout Control

Both platforms provide all of the main features. However Shopify provides limited checkout control.

Extra features will generally be available via apps. Shopify does not offer much in the way of checkout
customisation. Advanced checkout customisation using checkout extensibility is only available with
Shopify Plus. All other plans can use customisation apps (source: Shopify Help Centre). Shopify plans change so it is important
to check what they currently offer.

WooCommerce gives you full control of your checkout. Developers can make changes. This is great if you
have unique products, require custom ordering or integration with internal systems. However, everything
will need to be tested.

If you are selling to multiple countries, make sure to check if the payment methods, tax and currency are
supported. This is easy to forget but can be difficult to resolve once live.

Content Marketing & SEO

If you are looking to grow your business with content, WordPress is the best option. It was designed to
publish content, so it feels natural to have categories, custom post types, templates and full control
over your URLs. If your main traffic is coming from articles, guides and landing pages then this is
important.

Shopify provides good technical SEO features and includes a blog. However, it is limited by the
structure. They confirm that you cannot change the core URL structure (source: Shopify Community). You can’t change
‘products’, ‘collections’ or ‘pages’. However, you can change the handle. Using redirects will help when
moving pages.

Neither platform will rank your site. The quality of your content, site speed, internal links and search
intent will all play a role. If you have a content strategy planned, it will be easier to make on page
SEO decisions like URL patterns, templates and schema.

Customisation

With WordPress you have complete control at code level. If you need to add booking, membership, custom
product options or custom design it will usually be possible with plugins or custom development.
However, you may end up with lots of plugins.

Shopify can be customised using themes, apps and their own development tools. This keeps everything clean
and consistent. However, if you require anything beyond what is offered, you’ll need to use apps.

Maintenance, Security & Ownership

This is often overlooked but is often the deciding factor.

With Shopify you won’t have to worry about hosting, core updates or much of the security. With WordPress
you or your developer will. Since WordPress 5.5, administrators can enable automatic updates for
individual plugins and themes (source: WordPress.org). However, this is not enabled by default so you
will need a plan in place for updates, backups and compatibility.

Ownership plays a role here. With self hosted WordPress you have full control over your code, data and
hosting. You can switch to a different provider. With Shopify you will get the convenience of a single
vendor.

Which Platform is Right for You?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What is the primary purpose of your website? If you want to primarily sell your
   products then Shopify would be right for you. If you want to attract customers with content and sell
   then WordPress would be the choice.
2. Who will manage it in month twelve? If the honest answer is nobody technical then
   Shopify will take away a lot of risk. If you have someone technical (developer/agency) then
   WordPress becomes a realistic option.
3. Do you need anything truly custom? If you require custom checkout logic, unique
   product options or deep integrations then WordPress is the choice. If you are selling standard
   retail products then Shopify will fit.

Examples

Can I use WordPress & Shopify?

Yes! Often people will use WordPress for content and Shopify for selling. This can be connected using
apps or embedded buy buttons. However, you will have two platforms to run. This can become complicated
to manage for smaller teams.

Frequently Asked Questions