{"id":60949,"date":"2021-02-10T05:57:54","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T11:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/blog\/?p=60949"},"modified":"2025-11-24T06:12:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T12:12:27","slug":"woocommerce-vs-shopify-which-platform-should-you-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/blog\/woocommerce-vs-shopify-which-platform-should-you-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"WooCommerce vs Shopify: Full Comparison"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2019, a whopping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/topics\/871\/online-shopping\/\"><strong>1.9 billion<\/strong><\/a><strong> people<\/strong> completed a purchase through an online shop, showcasing just how massive the ecommerce business really is. The sector is growing at break-neck speeds, which is in no small part due to platforms like<strong> WooCommerce and Shopify<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, we&#8217;re going to take a close look at the two industry-leading solutions and help you figure out which of the two is the best option for your online shop. Before we do, however, let&#8217;s see how these applications have shaped the ecommerce landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what\"><strong>What Is an Ecommerce Platform?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Launching even a small online shop can be an overwhelmingly complex project for beginners. You need good search engine rankings and a design that entices users to buy your products. However, before you start the business, you have to think about<strong> securely processing payments, keeping shipping deadlines, issuing invoices, <\/strong>and a ton more essentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s <strong>a lot to consider<\/strong>, and the job of a modern ecommerce platform is to take part of the burden away from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web applications and services like WooCommerce and Shopify give you a hassle-free solution for launching your own ecommerce website. You can <strong>create new pages<\/strong>, <strong>add categories and products<\/strong>, and <strong>set up a payment system<\/strong> without writing a single line of code. Best of all &#8211; you can then control the online business through an easy-to-use backend interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/managed-woocommerce-hosting.html\"><strong>WooCommerce<\/strong><\/a> and <strong>Shopify<\/strong> are two of the most popular solutions of this kind, and in essence, they work more or less in the same way. You have a platform that acts as the base for your online shop. Using<strong> themes<\/strong>, you can create a unique design, and with the help of <strong>add-ons<\/strong>, you can expand the website&#8217;s functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As similar as they appear at first, WooCommerce and Shopify belong to <strong>two completely different categories<\/strong> of ecommerce platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"types\"><strong>Types of Ecommerce Platforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ecommerce platforms can be split into two distinct categories \u2013<strong> hosted<\/strong> and <strong>self-hosted<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hosted <\/strong>ecommerce services like Shopify operate under the <strong>Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model<\/strong> \u2013 by far the simpler of the two options. Users register an account and get immediate access to the website building application.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service provider hosts the ecommerce platform and keeps it online for the duration of the user&#8217;s subscription. The main advantage is that <strong>everything is pretty much ready from the get-go,<\/strong>&nbsp;and the user doesn&#8217;t need to worry about the technical aspects of running a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Self-hosted <\/strong>platforms like WooCommerce leave a lot more legwork to the website owner. They need <strong>a hosting account to install and configure the application<\/strong>. The domain has to be correctly pointed, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/ssl-certificates.html\"><strong>an SSL certificate<\/strong><\/a> that protects the user information is also considered essential. Only when they have all this in place can admins start work on the actual website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Based on this alone, <strong>picking between Shopify and WooCommerce sounds <\/strong>like a no-brainer. Starting work on your Shopify website takes no more than a couple of minutes, whereas, with WooCommerce, you have to go through a number of different steps before you can even begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/trends.builtwith.com\/shop\/WooCommerce\">BuiltWith<\/a>, <strong>at least 4.4 million live sites use WooCommerce<\/strong>, clearly showing there is a case for it as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let&#8217;s go through some of the strengths and weaknesses of the two platforms and see what the reason might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"pros\"><strong>WooCommerce Pros &amp; Cons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Pros<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Free<\/strong> \u2013 WooCommerce is <strong>completely free and open-source<\/strong>. Just like WordPress, you can download it, install it, and use it without paying a penny.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Scalability<\/strong> \u2013 WooCommerce is not only popular but <strong>extremely powerful<\/strong>, as well. According to BuiltWith, nearly 60,000 of the world&#8217;s Top 1 Million most visited sites use the plugin, which is a testament to the fact it works well with both small and large projects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No special hardware requirements<\/strong> \u2013 Any Linux server that can host a WordPress project will happily provide a home to a WooCommerce-based project.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Helpful open-source community<\/strong> \u2013 Ultimately, you&#8217;re using WordPress, which means you can utilize the <strong>millions of free and premium plugins and themes<\/strong> developed by the global community of fans and professionals. In addition to this, there is a large ecosystem of extensions and templates designed specifically for WooCommerce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Run your online shop alongside a company website or blog <\/strong>\u2013 Being based on WordPress means that your Woo project can accommodate more than just an online shop. For example, you can build a company website to advertise your business and steer potential customers toward the ecommerce section after they land on your main page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>More control and customization options <\/strong>\u2013 WooCommerce is <strong>one of the most customizable self-hosted ecommerce platforms<\/strong>. With it, you have a great chance to create something truly unique without much hassle along the way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Cons<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A more difficult initial setup<\/strong> \u2013 Compared to Shopify, WooCommerce is <strong>a bit more complex to set up<\/strong>. Before you start building your online shop, you&#8217;ll need a hosting account with WordPress installed on it. Inexperienced users might also need help setting up the extension itself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>More responsibilities<\/strong> \u2013 You are responsible for a lot more than just finding a suitable hosting provider. You need to configure the application&#8217;s <strong>backups, plugins, <\/strong>and <strong>auto-updates<\/strong>, also having in mind things like security and uptime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"shortcode-cta-new-wrap row ecommerce\">\r\n    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"shortcode-logo\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/shortcode-bg-new-logo-ecommerce.svg\" alt=\"shortcode-logo\" title=\"shortcode-logo\"\/>\r\n    <div class=\"shortcode-cta-img col-10 col-sm-7 col-md-5\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"shortcode-bg\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/shortcode-bg-new-ecommerce.webp\" alt=\"shortcode-bg\" title=\"shortcode-bg\"\/>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"shortcode-cta-content col-12 col-md-7\">\r\n        <div class=\"content\">\r\n            <div class=\"heading\">Transform your Business and Boost Sales with Scalable WooCommerce Hosting<\/div>\r\n            <div class=\"list-wrap\">\r\n                <div class=\"list\">\r\n                    <div><b>Free, Effortless & No-Downtime Migration<\/b><\/div>\r\n                    <div><b>Anytime Unconditional Money-back Guarantee<\/b><\/div>\r\n                    <div><b>Constant, Expert WooCommerce Technical Help<\/b><\/div>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n            <div class=\"btn-wrap row\">\r\n                <div class=\"col-auto\">\r\n                    <a class=\"button blue\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/managed-woocommerce-hosting.html\">Start Now<\/a>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n                <div class=\"col-auto\">\r\n                    <button class=\"button blue_outer\" title=\"Contact Sales\" onclick=\"chatChangeVisibility(this, 'maximize', {}, 5);\">Chat with our Experts<\/button>\r\n                <\/div>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cons\"><strong>Shopify Pros &amp; Cons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Pros<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Easier setup<\/strong> \u2013 With Shopify, you don&#8217;t need to worry about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/blog\/how-to-choose-hosting\/\"><strong>finding a hosting provider<\/strong><\/a> or installing and configuring a software platform. You get access to the account as soon as you sign up, and you&#8217;re pretty much ready to go from the very start.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Easier to use<\/strong> \u2013 As intuitive as it is, the WordPress dashboard could be a bit confusing for users who have no experience with the CMS. By contrast, Shopify&#8217;s backend is designed to be <strong>as newbie-friendly as possible<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Easier customization<\/strong> \u2013 Shopify comes with a<strong> built-in theme editor<\/strong>, which lets you customize a template through a drag-and-drop interface.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>24\/7 support<\/strong> \u2013 Because Shopify is a premium product, you can rely on <strong>a dedicated support team<\/strong> to help you out with any technical difficulties.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A library of apps for extra functionality<\/strong> \u2013 The community that supports Shopify may not be as big as the one focused on WordPress and WooCommerce development, but you still get an app store with <strong>over 4,000 apps<\/strong> that massively extend the website builder&#8217;s functionality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fraud Analysis<\/strong> \u2013 Even the cheaper Shopify plans give you <strong>a screening system<\/strong> that flags suspicious transactions and reduces the risk of disputes and chargebacks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Cons<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Transaction fees<\/strong> \u2013 Unless you use <strong>Shopify Payments<\/strong>, the platform&#8217;s default payment gateway, Shopify will collect transaction fees for every sale you make on your website. Because Shopify Payments works in a limited number of countries, many have no choice but to use a third-party gateway.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No email hosting<\/strong> \u2013 Shopify is focused solely on giving you a platform for your online shop. If you need email inboxes associated with your domain, you&#8217;ll need to use <strong>a third-party service<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fewer themes and customization options<\/strong> \u2013 The available themes are not that many, and the options for tailoring the design to your own requirements are <strong>somewhat limited<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of compatibility with other providers<\/strong> \u2013 If, for some reason, you are not happy with what Shopify offers, you can&#8217;t just take a backup of your website and move it to a different provider. You have to start from scratch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"head\"><strong>WooCommerce vs Shopify \u2013 a Head-to-Head Comparison<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Listing pros and cons alone isn&#8217;t going to help you decide which ecommerce platform best suits your project. To do that, you need to examine the two online shop builders in more detail and see how they compare against each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Features<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shopify and WooCommerce are equipped with everything you need to set up an online shop. Both give you the ability to sell <strong>an unlimited number of physical and digital products<\/strong>. Both have tools for <strong>managing prices, discounts, and coupon codes<\/strong> and integrate relatively seamlessly with most popular payment gateways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because it is a hosted ecommerce solution, <strong>Shopify<\/strong> gives you a few extras. You get <strong>daily backups<\/strong> as part of the package, and the application comes with an <strong>SSL certificate<\/strong> already installed. The platform itself has a few advanced functionalities like a <strong>Point-of-Sale module<\/strong> and <strong>support for multiple languages<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That said, you can have pretty much all this functionality with <strong>WooCommerce<\/strong>&nbsp;as well. If you choose to host your WooCommerce project with <strong>ScalaHosting<\/strong>, for example, you will get <strong>daily backups and a free SSL<\/strong> as a part of the deal. As for the rest of the extra features &#8211; you can enable most of them with the help of WooCommerce and WordPress plugins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ease of use<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shopify<\/strong> was built from the ground up to be <strong>as user-friendly as possible<\/strong>. All you need to do to start working on your website is sign up for an account and go through the steps in the initial setup wizard. The <strong>dashboard is well-organized<\/strong>, and managing products, orders, and prices shouldn&#8217;t be confusing even for the most inexperienced users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The process of launching a <strong>WooCommerce<\/strong> website isn&#8217;t quite as sleek, but not as complicated as you might think. <strong>Auto installers<\/strong> can set up WordPress in seconds, and configuring WooCommerce itself is also a couple-of-clicks away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WP dashboard might seem a bit cumbersome at first, but the fact that millions of people use it shows that mastering the CMS doesn&#8217;t require so much technical expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Security<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apart from setting up a strong admin password, there&#8217;s little you can do to improve your <strong>Shopify<\/strong> store security. Shopify is <strong>PCI compliant by default<\/strong>, and because it is a hosted solution, keeping it secure is up to the company that sells it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With <strong>WooCommerce<\/strong>, you are responsible for a more substantial part of your website&#8217;s security. Your primary tasks include<strong> installing an SSL certificate<\/strong> and <strong>keeping WordPress and its plugins up-to-date<\/strong>. Additional extensions can enable features like<strong> two-factor authentication<\/strong> and make your store even more secure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Add-ons<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two platforms are fairly powerful out of the box, but their true potential can only be unlocked with the help of add-ons. This is where the <strong>WooCommerce\/WordPress combo has the edge<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Millions of developers know WordPress like the back of their hands and dedicate hours of work to make the content management system even more versatile than it already is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WP&#8217;s modular architecture makes it <strong>suitable for projects of all shapes and sizes<\/strong>. Thanks to the thousands of available themes, you have an excellent chance of creating a unique design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shopify also has a few themes available, with a built-in theme editor in the mix, which lets you finish off the design yourself. The platform has an official marketplace with quite a few add-ons grouped in different categories. They can let you expand the app&#8217;s functionality to a certain extent, but the options are somewhat limited compared to WordPress and WooCommerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Support<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shopify<\/strong> is a premium product that comes with <strong>extensive documentation <\/strong>as well as<strong> 24\/7<\/strong> <strong>technical support,&nbsp; <\/strong>reachable over <strong>email<\/strong>, <strong>live chat<\/strong>, and, in some countries &#8211; <strong>phone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By contrast, <strong>WooCommerce<\/strong> is an open-source product, and there isn&#8217;t a team of experts you can contact and ask for assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, because of the enormous community of users and developers behind it, <strong>guides<\/strong>, <strong>tutorials<\/strong>, and <strong>multimedia resources<\/strong> are never more than a couple of clicks away. You can also get help from the thousands of WordPress and WooCommerce fans in different <strong>discussion boards<\/strong> and <strong>chat rooms<\/strong> all around the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Pricing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A head-to-head comparison between WooCommerce and Shopify in terms of price is not as easy as it sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shopify is a premium product available only to subscribers, with prices ranging <strong>between $29\/mo and $299\/mo.<\/strong>&nbsp;WooCommerce, on the other hand, is<strong> free<\/strong>, but you have to account for the cost of a hosting account and (potentially) a premium SSL certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You mustn&#8217;t forget that regardless of which platform you use, you will most likely need <strong>premium themes and plugins<\/strong> as well. How much you&#8217;ll pay for them depends on your individual project and budget, making the total cost calculation far from straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"which\"><strong>WooCommerce vs Shopify \u2013 Which One to Choose?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WooCommerce and Shopify appear quite similar and have the same objective \u2013 to simplify the process of building an online store. In reality, however, the two platforms were built with different user groups in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Shopify<\/strong> is supposed to be <strong>a novice-ready platform<\/strong> focused entirely on ease-of-use. Its goal is to get you up and running in as little time as possible with as few technical obstacles as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By contrast, <strong>WooCommerce<\/strong> was designed to be <strong>the ultimate ecommerce plugin for WordPress<\/strong>. The focus is on giving the user a solution that is even more powerful and flexible than traditional online store builders like Magento and PrestaShop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The site is still managed through the WordPress dashboard, an interface famous for its user-friendliness, but as a whole, the plugin was created for <strong>more tech-savvy admins with some experience with WordPress<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"websites\"><strong>ScalaHosting and Ecommerce Websites<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to enjoy the additional flexibility provided by WooCommerce and other self-hosted ecommerce platforms, we will be glad to host your projects here, at ScalaHosting. We offer plans specifically optimized to provide the best possible hosting environment for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/managed-woocommerce-hosting.html\"><strong>WooCommerce<\/strong><\/a><strong>, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/magento-hosting.html\"><strong>Magento<\/strong><\/a><strong>, and <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/prestashop-hosting.html\"><strong>PrestaShop<\/strong><\/a> sites. If you want to use a different ecommerce app, you will most likely be able to find it in the <strong>Softaculous auto-installer<\/strong> integrated into our <strong>shared<\/strong> <strong>hosting plans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, if you want a fast and powerful solution from the very start, you can opt for one of our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/managed-cloud-hosting.html\">managed cloud VPS solutions<\/a><\/strong>. WooCommerce users will find them especially convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alongside <strong>guaranteed resources<\/strong>, <strong>a dedicated IP<\/strong>, and an <strong>isolated cloud environment<\/strong>, ScalaHosting&#8217;s managed virtual servers also give you access to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/wordpress-manager.html\"><strong>SWordPress<\/strong> <\/a>\u2013 our proprietary WordPress management tool. With it, you can <strong>install WordPress with a single click<\/strong> and start working on your WooCommerce project in mere minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to this, SWordPress can handle the <strong>automatic updates<\/strong> for you and let you <strong>clone the entire installation<\/strong>. A unique security feature called <strong>Secure Lock<\/strong> locks your files and prevents third parties from modifying them in any way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike Shopify, we can also let you create and manage as many email inboxes as you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"conclusion\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With <strong>Shopify<\/strong>, starting a new ecommerce website is child&#8217;s play. The platform requires no technical knowledge, the plans are relatively affordable at the lower end of the scale, and there&#8217;s enough in the way of themes and addons to help you customize your website and tailor it to your own needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, being a hosted platform, Shopify doesn&#8217;t give you complete control over your project. What&#8217;s more, many people are left wanting for more available themes, plugins, and customization options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall,<strong> WooCommerce<\/strong> is a more flexible platform. Thanks to the self-hosted setup, you have full control over your website, and if you&#8217;re not happy with your hosting provider &#8211; you can easily move your Woo project to another host.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What&#8217;s more, you can be pretty sure that whatever your requirements, the global WordPress and WooCommerce communities most likely have a solution that meets them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq\"><strong>FAQ<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q:<\/strong> <strong>What makes Shopify the more user-friendly solution?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A:<\/strong> The platform&#8217;s design focuses on <strong>getting you started as quickly as possible<\/strong>. After you sign up for an account, you get a <strong>setup wizard<\/strong> that guides you through the initial steps. The platform presents an easy way to install themes and extensions and customize the website&#8217;s appearance in a neatly laid-out dashboard with an intuitive design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q:<\/strong> <strong>Does that mean WooCommerce is difficult to work with?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A:<\/strong> Not in the least. Unlocking its full potential might require a basic understanding of how websites work, but<strong> navigating through the WP dashboard <\/strong>is a piece of cake once you get used to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It lets you install the WooCommerce plugin with no more than a few clicks of the mouse, and if you do get stuck &#8211; a solution is likely no more than a Google search away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Q:<\/strong> <strong>Which is cheaper \u2013 WooCommerce or Shopify?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A:<\/strong> WooCommerce is an open-source plugin, and you can use it for <strong>free<\/strong>. By contrast, Shopify is a premium product, with plans <strong>starting at $29 per month<\/strong>.<br>You do have to find a hosting account for WooCommerce, though, and with both platforms, you will likely need to set aside a budget for premium themes and extensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, the price you pay to get your project started will likely depend on the addons you purchase and install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n    {\n      \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n      \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n      \"mainEntity\": [{\n        \"@type\": \"Question\",\n        \"name\": \"What makes Shopify the more user-friendly solution?\",\n        \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n          \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n          \"text\": \"The platform's design is focused on getting you started as quickly as possible. After you sign up for an account, you get a setup wizard that guides you through the initial steps. 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