Let The eCommerce Platform Battle Begin: Shopify vs. BigCommerce vs. WooCommerce
You've been selling in-persons for years and are ready to grow your business online. As you consider whether to launch your eCommerce website on a platform like Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce you'll want to be sure that it can handle the traffic and transactions that come with success.
However, how do these platforms differ from each other? In this substack, I will explain why each option could work for your eCommerce site.
How to choose an eCommerce platform: Key features you should consider
When you're comparing Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce for eCommerce, here are some of the key features to consider:
How many products do I want to sell? If you have a large inventory or plan on adding many products, look for an eCommerce platform with robust catalog management capabilities and advanced product options. This lets you easily manage items with multiple variations or variations within variants (for example, different sizes).
How many customers do I want to serve? Suppose your business has a high traffic volume and expects rapid growth in sales volume over time. In that case, an open-source platform like WooCommerce might be a good choice because it allows for easy customization by nontechnical users through plugins available from third parties. However, if most of your transactions are conducted through ERP software rather than directly from browsers on websites hosted by providers such as Shopify or BigCommerce (or even Woo), consider using these services' native backends instead--they have been built specifically with that purpose in mind.
Shopify
Shopify is a great eCommerce platform. It has tons of features, it's easy to use, and the community around Shopify is enormous.
If you're looking for an eCommerce solution that will allow you to start selling online quickly, then Shopify might be the right choice.
Shopify pricing
Shopify pricing is based on the number of products you sell, and their pricing starts at $29/month for Basic, $79/month for Shopify, and $299/month for Advanced. The Basic plan includes all the features above, including a 14-day free trial (and no credit card required).
Shopify also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're unsatisfied with their service after 30 days.
Shopify has over 500 apps in your online store, including PayPal payment integration and Google Analytics tracking.
Shopify features
Shopify is a good choice for small businesses. It has a wide range of features and is easy to use, which makes it an attractive option for both beginners and experienced users.
Shopify offers an extensive list of features that will help you build your online store quickly and efficiently, including:
An intuitive drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to create professional-looking designs without any coding knowledge or design skills.
A customizable storefront where customers can buy products directly from your website.
Payment processing.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a popular eCommerce platform used by thousands of small and medium-sized businesses. It's easy to use, comes with many features out of the box, and has a large ecosystem of apps and services.
BigCommerce also offers several plans: Basic ($29.95 per month), Plus ($79.95 per month), and Enterprise ($299.95 per month).
BigCommerce pricing
BigCommerce pricing is similar to Shopify and WooCommerce, with crucial differences.
The first difference between BigCommerce and the other two platforms is that they offer two pricing plans: Starter and Pro.
The Starter plan costs $29/month, offers unlimited products and SKUs, includes 24/7 support via phone or email (via humans.), and lets you sell internationally but has no advanced features like analytics or marketing tools.
The Plus plan starts at $79.95 /month, which includes all the features of the starter plan plus social media integrations, product recommendations engine, etc., as well as priority support via live chat or phone call within minutes during business hours (not just 24/7). This means if you want all these extra bells & whistles, it'll cost an additional $50 per month ($79 - $29).
BigCommerce also comes with tiered pricing models when upgrading your store's functionality- so if there's something specific that needs upgrading, then this can be done individually rather than having everything included in one package like Shopify does.
BigCommerce features
Shopify's features are similar to BigCommerce. Both platforms offer a wide range of products, including themes and plugins that let you customize your store. However, BigCommerce has more advanced tools for managing inventory, reporting sales data, and optimizing SEO.
BigCommerce also offers free site-building tools to help you build a website without coding knowledge.
Shopify does not provide these services -- instead relying on third-party providers like Squarespace or Wix -- but they're available through BigCommerce at no additional cost (although they require an additional monthly fee).
If you want access to more advanced options at an affordable price point, then BigCommerce is worth considering over Shopify or WooCommerce because its pricing starts at just $29/month with no setup fees.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free eCommerce platform built on WordPress. It's popular with many small businesses because of its easy-to-use interface and wide range of themes, plugins, and extensions that help you customize your online store to fit your brand's unique needs.
In addition, WooCommerce has a large community of developers who create new products daily- from payment gateways to shipping calculators- to help you get more out of your WooCommerce site than ever before.
WooCommerce pricing
WooCommerce is the only eCommerce platform that's completely free. It does have paid extensions, but these are optional and not required for you to sell on your website.
In addition to being free, WooCommerce offers its users an extensive marketplace to find third-party plugins that make their lives easier or add new site features.
WooCommerce Features
WooCommerce is a free, open-source platform that allows you to create an online store, similar to Shopify and BigCommerce. The platform is compatible with WordPress, the world's most popular CMS (Content Management System), and has a large community of users and developers.
You can install WooCommerce easily on any web server environment and offer extensive customization options so you can create a unique design for your website or store. You can also integrate it with third-party apps like MailChimp to send emails or Stripe for payment processing.
Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce are three solid options.
If you're looking for an easy eCommerce platform to set up and manage, then Shopify is your best option. It has a large community of developers who create third-party apps that can make your store more potent than it would be. Shopify's paid plans include unlimited storage space and email addresses.
It's also worth noting that Shopify offers a 14-day free trial to test out the software before committing to purchasing anything.
On the other hand, if you're already using WordPress for other online activities (such as blogging), WooCommerce may be right up your alley since it integrates seamlessly with this content management system (CMS). This means there will be no additional cost in setting up or maintaining an eCommerce site based on this CMS instead of something like Drupal or Joomla.
In conclusion
I hope this substack has helped you better understand the differences between Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. As I mentioned at the beginning, these are three great options for your eCommerce business.
The biggest thing to remember is the features most important to you and how much they'll cost. I also recommend researching each platform before making any decisions so that there are no surprises.
Until next time, your friend Parrotfish. 🤝