There’s a lot of talk about Shopify vs Woocommerce recently. As one of the biggest players on online marketplaces, to help you decide which platform is best for your new or existing business.
Let’s start by saying that both Shopify and WooCommerce are popular choices for all types of businesses in Print on Demand industry. However, certain features of WooCommerce make it stand out as a better choice for print on demand websites. The main difference between them is that WooCommerce comes with much more powerful inventory management options built in – something essential if you’re running a print on demand shop. The question is – how does this affect your bottom line? Which ecommerce plugin will work best for you? Let’s take a closer look at these two products to find out…
How many websites use WooCommerce and Shopify?
In the end of 2021 it is expected that about 1,700 000 online shops will use Woocommerce, but the reality more than 3.9 billion websites
How many websites use Shopify?
In the end of 2021 it is expected that about 2,100 000 online shops will use Shopify.
Key information – Interesting facts, figures and history behind these e-commerce leaders:
Woocommerce was founded in late 2011 by the American company Automattic (the same team who’s behind WordPress). It has already expanded to more than 3 million users worldwide. With its great community support, easy setup and wealth of extensions it keeps growing at a fast pace. About 37 percent of all online retailers are using WooCommerce for their shop or sell on marketplaces like Amazon or eBay.
The power behind WooCommerce stems from its open source philosophy. Anyone can create and share extensions to make it work exactly like they need it to – for free.
On the Shopify platform, most of the customization is available only for premium users with access to merchant’s code repository. However, most of these features don’t even come close to what you get with Woocommerce in that area.
Shopify vs WooCommerce – the basics
Founded in 2004, Shopify is one of the oldest existing ecommerce platforms available today. New Shopify customers get a 14-day free trial, after which paid plans start at $29 per month (plus transaction fees). The basic plan allows you to sell unlimited number of products and comes with all essential features like unlimited bandwidth, Google Analytics integration etc. However to access advanced inventory management options or POS functionality , you’ll need the higher end plans ($79/mo) that also include monthly payments for credit card processing through Shopify Payments .
So how does this compare with what Woocommerce has to offer? Like Shopify, this plugin is completely free to download and use. You can create an online store using any type of theme, although the codebase is open source to allow developers to create themes that are optimized for Woocommerce. The plugin automatically comes with basic shipping options which you can access via extensions – but it lacks advanced inventory management features.
But there’s a big difference when it comes to processing credit card payments through third party providers like PayPal or Stripe . While Shopify Payments only allows you to take one-time payments at standard rates , WooCommerce lets you choose from over 100 payment gateways worldwide including 2Checkout, Authorize.net, Braintree/Paypal etc – almost every popular choice in the industry! This also means that your customers will have more payment options to choose from at checkout.
Woocommerce features for Print on demand websites
One of the most requested Woocommerce extensions in recent years is one that helps users design and sell print products online. This extension , which costs $89, comes with unlimited product license and can be used by both new and existing Woocommerce users. There’s also a free version available here . These plugins let you add an option for physical goods to your woocommerce shop – such as mugs, T-shirts etc., create custom buy buttons alongside your digital download products and manage inventory directly from your WordPress Dashboard. If you’re looking to setup a store where you can do all three (digital download + physical goods) then check out the official Woocommerce shop page.
With its powerful built-in inventory management features, Woocommerce is a much better choice for print on demand webshops – especially if you need to offer both physical and digital products. If your focus is only on digital downloads then you might be better off going with the more popular Shopify. And of course it’s important to remember that even though these two platforms are competitors there’s nothing stopping you from using them together!
WooCommerce vs Shopify – which one should I choose?
Even though WooCommerce offers more powerful inventory management options than Shopify, this doesn’t mean that the latter is a bad option by any means. In fact, both plugins can fulfill your needs no matter what type of shop you set up – digital or physical . While choosing between one or the other depends on your specific requirements , we do have a few tips to help you decide which plugin will suit you best.
So if your primary purpose is to sell print products online then WooCommerce would be a better choice because it offers more advanced inventory management options for this case in particular. On the other hand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) features are much stronger in Shopify so if traffic and branding are important aspects of your website, then going with Shopify might be a good idea. The bottom line? It’s quite clear that each plugin has its own advantages and disadvantages. The best option for you will depend on what your specific case may require.
If you sell TM products?
In this case, you will probably need a platform with more advanced inventory management features – such as WooCommerce.
If your priority lies in digital downloads?
Here, Shopify would be a better choice because it’s more popular and optimized for selling digital products online. However, if you want to add print on demand products then Woocommerce is without a doubt the way to go.
If the payment method like Stripe doesn’t support your country?
If your priority lies in catering to customers worldwide, then Woocommerce is the obvious choice since it supports all types of payment gateways such as 2Checkout and Paypal.
That’s all for now, folks! If you have any questions about Shopify vs Woocommerce or anything else related to print on demand websites please contact us and we’d be more than happy to help you out!