In this series, I share my own thoughts on why I chose Shopify, WooCommerce and/or Square over the other and discuss the importance of technical scoping of eCommerce projects.
Hello fellow eCommerce enthusiasts! I’ve often been asked why I recommend one eCommerce solution over the other. The truth is there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Today, I’m sharing my own insights into why WooCommerce might just be the a better fit than Shopify for your eCommerce build. With nearly two decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen it all in the eCommerce world, and I’m here to share some thoughts that might just make you reconsider your platform of choice.
“Shopify is so cool!”
Absolutely, no arguments there! Shopify definitely has its merits, and it’s a platform I’ve worked with extensively, mainly as a white label developer for marketing agencies. Shopify takes just over 25% of my web development time, while WooCommerce takes the cake for us with 50% of the workload – and there’s good reason for it.
Shopify is ideal for big catalogs with a large amount of variable products (think shoe size, colour, material options), seamless inventory management and team delegation. It is also completely hosted on Shopify’s infrastructure. However, when it comes to flexibility, affordability and catering to the diverse needs of smaller businesses, WooCommerce steals the show.
So, when should I reconsider Shopify?
Cost of business
Let’s talk pounds and pennies. Shopify’s pricing can be a bit steep, especially for smaller ventures like the bookshop I’ll use as an example. These businesses already juggle hefty overheads, and Shopify’s costs can sometimes tip the scales too far. Plus, without careful planning, unexpected expenses can crop up faster than you can say “online checkout”. More about scoping later.
I have been working for over a decade with An Ceathrú Póilí, a bookshop with over 6,000 products that requires synching between their online store and physical shop in Belfast. The first-year costs came to just under £5,000, including Shopify’s POS hardware, which didn’t include integration with marketing channels.
Most online shops are run by small businesses who can’t afford Shopify Plus, which starts at an eye-watering £2,000 per month. This leaves shops at the mercy of apps which may not fulfil the project brief or additional developer costs.
Scope your Shipping
Shipping woes? Let’s address those. Shopify’s shipping setup works like a charm if your products all fit into neat, uniform packages. But for businesses like the Belfast bookshop, with its varied mix of items in all thousands of shapes and sizes, WooCommerce’s flexibility was necessary. In fact, shipping was the ultimate deal breaker in the pre-production scoping exercise.
Many countries, including the UK and Ireland, have national shipping services that don’t yet support volumetric shipping. Therefore shops need to have up to date shipping rates based on both dimensions and weight.
Shopify doesn’t have product dimensions as a product setting unless you create custom meta fields.
Why not build a Shopify shipping app?
Sure, building a custom app for Shopify might seem like a tempting option. But let’s be real – but it’s an ongoing, time consuming commitment. Constant updates, tweaks, and adjustments can quickly turn into a headache, especially when dealing with ever-changing variables like shipping rates – not to mention regularly reconfigured courier shipping zones.
So, what’s the solution? I aim to use the least amount of plugins possible – but there is one that has been indispensable. After thorough testing, we settled on the gems that is Royal Mail Price Calculator from WP Ruby which streamlined the shop’s shipping process and cut down on unnecessary complexities. We went from 8 zones down to three (UK, Ireland and Rest of World).
Shopify’s support offering
Shopify has a solid team backing it up. Application developers are responsive and engaged. Where Shopify have been found wanting is their unresponsive sales support. This can be frustrating when purchasing on behalf of a client, especially where taxes, and multi-location hardware orders are concerned.
With WooCommerce, you’ve got the power of an open-source community at your fingertips. Need help? Just reach out, and chances are someone’s been there, done that, and can lend a hand.
What about WooCommerce POS?
Where Shopify POS is a smooth, user-friendly (and quite enjoyable) experience, WooCommerce’s options are lacking and buggy. With Square POS stepping in as the perfect sidekick, syncing stock and managing orders is now a breeze and something that no longer has to be worried about.
Using Square alongside WooCommerce, start-up costs fell by 60% including POS hardware compared to Shopify.
Developer tip: Square should generally be the inventory of record when selling both online and offline.
Possible pitfalls
WooCommerce will generally be hosted with your own provider or on your own server. It can drain resources and cause regular downtime if it is not configured correctly, or if you don’t have a plan that meets your website’s demand.
This is not a worry with Shopify – everything is hosted on their own infrastructure and they guarantee 99.9% uptime.
Developer tip: Keep PHP up to date. If you use PHP 8.4 (and possibly future versions, excluding PHP 8.5), enable the opcache module. This is not widely practiced but could stop your CPU maxing out, particularly if you sync data with CRM’s like Hubspot, workflow automation services like Make or Zapier or another stock/inventory system.
The Importance of Scoping
Before I wrap up, let me touch on a crucial aspect of any eCommerce project – scoping. A well-documented plan is your roadmap to success, protecting you from scope creep and unexpected charges down the line. Whether you’re diving into WooCommerce or any other platform, take the time to outline your needs, test your assumptions, and ensure everyone’s on the same page from day one.
Your technical scope should always be your roadmap and cover all eventualities. When I am hired by external companies to re-scope, get an eCommerce build back on schedule or to (frankly) put out fires, the issue is almost always down to ineffective or no technical scoping. This is especially true for marketing agencies who have entered the web development space – but things are improving.
Make your finished scope a part of the contract with your client (or as the client, with your developer) and use it as your step-by-step project guide.
The key takeaway
In a nutshell, Shopify’s fantastic, but it’s not always the best fit for every scenario. When it comes to versatility, affordability, and catering to the unique needs of smaller businesses, WooCommerce steals the spotlight. So, whether you’re shipping out books, mugs, or the latest gadgets, remember – there’s a platform out there that’s perfect for you.
If you’ve got thoughts, questions, or just want to chat eCommerce, I’m all ears! Drop me a line, and let’s keep the conversation going.
Stay tuned for the next installment of this series, where I’ll dive into why Shopify should be chosen over Square, and finally Square over Shopify.