A client has come to us with some problems: what platform to choose for a website building: Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom web development from an agency. Our senior expert, Mr. Ashish Mailk, simply explains these platforms according to your budget and requirements to craft a professional website for your business type.
The Digital marketing company is here to provide you with the necessary assistance in digital marketing and web development projects. In this article, we explain which platform you can use for your website: Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom web development. We also explore their benefits, drawbacks, and significant differences based on your website, which is completely related to your business.
Table of Contents
Meaning of WordPress WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin designed to help you build an online store. Its emphasis on usability and flexibility allows you to launch your store without the hassles of intricate coding problems.
Rather than requiring a development and design team to set up an entirely new eCommerce site from scratch, WooCommerce enables you to enhance its features and customize it to suit your needs.
Meaning of Shopify E-commerce
Shopify is an excellent cloud-based e-commerce site-building platform. It gives entrepreneurs and small business owners easy access to an enormous collection of well-thought-out tools and services for creating, running, and scaling online ventures and small businesses.
Through its easy user interface and robust features, Shopify can easily be operated even by those without experience, whether amateurs or professionals, to create an imposing online presence.
Meaning of Custom Web Development
Custom eCommerce development refers to developing a customized software application for your business in collaboration with professional developers that cater to your specific business needs. Our digital marketing services will help you with your digital marketing and web development efforts.
You can create your eCommerce store entirely from scratch using a custom platform, giving you complete freedom to design it exactly how you want. This is very suitable for unique businesses with specific needs.
Major Differences Between WooCommerce, Shopify, or Custom Web Development
| Elements | WooCommerce | Shopify | Custom Web Development |
| Budget | To make a website on the commerce platform, you need to have a budget of around 55k to 60k. It includes your one-time development cost. You also have to add a web server, which costs 6k per annum, and a domain, which costs 1.5k | To make a website on the Shopify platform, you need a budget of at least 1.5 lacs, which includes your one-time cost development. Further, you need to pay 2.3k every month to use elements, and other charges for taking third-party apps and themes are included. | To craft a website from custom web development, you need a budget of 1lac to 1.5lacs. It includes all your themes and elements because everything will start from scratch in custom web development. |
| Nature | WooCommerce is an open-source plugin from WordPress. | Shopify is a cloud-based platform. | Custom Web Development provides you with custom-built solutions. |
| Customization | WooCommerce provides you with customizable options on your website. | Shopify provides you with limited customization options on your website. | Custom web development provides you with infinite times to provide customization facilities. |
| Easy Use | Woocommerce requires basic technical knowledge for specifications. | Shopify is a user-friendly platform that requires no coding. | In custom web development, you always need a technical expert for any change |
| Themes and Templates | WooCommerce provides you with numerous theme options. | Shopify provides you with a meager option for themes and templates. | In custom web development, you have the option to choose custom themes as you desire. |
Several Benefits of Using These Website-Building Platforms?
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is one of the favourite WordPress plugins. This eCommerce solution plugin offers a wide range of features and benefits, including payment support via several methods, different shipping options, and product variation management. It also has a robust interface that enables you to edit products directly from your dashboard, eliminating the need to navigate to various sections of your site.
Though WooCommerce takes a little more time to set up than other platforms, You now own all your data and have your own website. Being self-hosted means I can see the code that makes up my site, so I can edit it or add new functionality if necessary. Last but not least, WooCommerce has the most extensive collection of developers and extensions available to upgrade your platform.
Shopify
Shopify offers comprehensive eCommerce software and a powerful platform for starting an online store. It includes features such as social media integration, mobile optimization, and support for various services. You can use your custom domain or Shopify’s domain name.
This is a perfect place for people who already have ready-to-go marketing strategies because this platform allows quick setup and extensive customization of your website. Shopify also offers a range of free marketing tools to users.
Shopify development is the process of creating and customizing e-commerce sites using the full functionalities of the Shopify platform. Shopify’s eCommerce platform offers extensive customizations and remains easy to use, so you can focus on what matters: selling more. Shopify is also well-known for its excellent security features, so your business is protected in every way.
Custom Web Development
The benefits of a custom eCommerce development platform include flexibility, scalability, and greater functionality. It is a solution that allows you to create an online presence uniquely tailored to your brand and the specific needs of your business. Unlike standard options, it gives you superior scalability, allowing your business to grow without any boundaries.
With this personalized approach, developers can craft a robust online store that perfectly aligns with your vision. This customization ensures the design helps address your business needs while removing restrictions. Second, investing in custom e-commerce development tends to result in more incredible conversions and higher profit margin percentages.
Several Drawbacks of Using These Website-Building Platforms
WooCommerce
Even though WooCommerce is marketed as a free platform, running a fully functional online store usually involves several hidden costs. These include buying premium themes, plugins, and extensions and paying transaction fees on payment gateways.
This means that the total cost of running a WooCommerce store can skyrocket. Using more plugins, themes, or even product catalogues will cause problems with speed and loading. If you’re larger or expanding at any rate, shared hosting packages may not help you scale for increased traffic. They can also make running a WooCommerce shop a headache that requires more than basic technical skills in WordPress and web hosting.
Shopify
Though Shopify offers many themes, it somewhat restricts customization to users who lack coding skills. These limitations make it difficult for them to achieve an exacting storefront that might align with branding requirements. Moving away from Shopify can prove challenging, especially regarding data portability.
Exporting data is an ordinary challenge users face when switching to another platform, and if they decide to leave, it can complicate business operations. Despite Shopify’s customer support, users are still complaining that it takes much longer to respond than they expect. More complicated problems often have few solutions. In addition, the tools available for diagnosing specific issues may be few, and sometimes, merchants can be out of business for days or weeks because of such downtime.
Custom Web Development
Custom websites generally limit access to backend features, so businesses typically have to wait for the developers who created them to make any alterations or updates. This may translate to unexpected bills and delays in changes. Finally, choosing one development team sometimes leads to vendor lock-in, making it difficult, expensive, or impossible to shift developers because custom code is developed in a certain way.
In contrast to template designs that have been tested across multiple platforms, custom sites require extensive testing to assure compatibility across browsers and devices, making the development process even more complicated. Moreover, most custom-built websites require a monthly hosting and updates package to ensure security and function, which increases over time.
WooCommcerce vs Shopify vs Custom Web Development: Which one is perfect for you?
The choice of an e-commerce platform depends entirely on your individual needs and budget; it might be WooCommerce, Shopify, or custom web development. For instance, if deep customization and full control are sought after, a great option is WooCommerce because it is absolutely free for use on WordPress while being flexible but requiring a certain level of technical know-how for the best administration. Conversely, Shopify has a friendly user interface with easy setup speed, coupled with built-in features, which, therefore, makes it a great option if one is not savvy.
On the other hand, this comes with costs and a limited scope for personalization. Custom web development grants you control and specifically tailored solutions to suit your business needs. Still, although it usually has a higher fee and substantially more complex maintenance costs, your decision should reflect your budget, technical capabilities, and distinct business objectives.
Conclusion
This article explains the significant differences and necessary points of using WooCommerce, Shopify, and Custom Web Development website-building platforms to craft a professional website for your business. The web development agency is always here to assist you with web development projects.
