When a product business builds a website, two platforms come up more than any other: Shopify and WordPress (usually with WooCommerce for selling). Both power huge numbers of successful businesses. The right choice depends on what you sell, how you want to work and what you expect to need later.
Shopify in brief
Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform. You pay a monthly fee and Shopify handles hosting, security, updates and payment processing.
Strengths:
- Fast to set up and easy to manage
- Built for selling: products, inventory, checkout and payments work well out of the box
- Reliable, secure and maintained for you
- Large app ecosystem for subscriptions, reviews, email and more
- Strong integrations with marketplaces and social selling
Considerations:
- Ongoing subscription and app costs add up
- Transaction fees may apply depending on your payment setup
- Content-heavy sites and complex custom layouts can be more limited
- You are working within Shopify’s way of doing things
WordPress in brief
WordPress is open-source software that powers a large share of the web. With WooCommerce, it becomes a full shop. You need hosting, and you or someone you hire maintains it.
Strengths:
- Very flexible — almost any layout or feature is possible
- Excellent for content: blogs, guides, recipes, portfolios
- You own and control everything
- No platform transaction fees
- Huge range of plugins and themes
Considerations:
- More responsibility: hosting, updates, security and backups
- More set-up and configuration for e-commerce
- Plugin conflicts and maintenance can create issues
- Quality varies widely depending on who builds it
How to choose
Choose Shopify if
- Selling products is the main purpose of the site
- You want to launch quickly and manage things yourself
- You do not want to think about hosting or security
- You plan to sell across multiple channels
Choose WordPress if
- Content is central — you publish a lot of articles, guides or stories
- You need unusual layouts or custom functionality
- You want full control and ownership
- You have, or will hire, technical support
Or use both
Some businesses run a content-rich WordPress site alongside a Shopify store, or use Shopify’s tools within a WordPress site. It adds complexity but can offer the best of both.
What matters more than the platform
Whatever you choose, the things that make a product website succeed are the same:
- Clear product photography and descriptions
- Fast loading, especially on phones
- Simple checkout
- A design that matches your packaging and brand
- Easy-to-find information — shipping, returns, contact
A well-designed site on either platform will outperform a poorly designed site on the other.
If you are planning a new website and want it to feel like the rest of your brand, get in touch.