Comparing Shopify to WooCommerce, Magento, Shopware, Salesforce, BigCommerce, and others in terms of customization, technical knowledge needed, cost, and ease of use.
According to 2024 data from Store With, WooCommerce is the ecommerce market leader, powering more than 35% of all online shops. Shopify comes second.
Unlike Shopify, WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that transforms your WordPress site into an ecommerce store. It is highly customizable through a vast array of themes and plugins. As of January 2024, ThemeForest had 1,500 WooCommerce themes, and the WordPress.org directory had 1,591. This is more than 3,000 without accounting for other providers. When you include other theme marketplaces and independent platforms, the total number is much higher. There is definitely no shortage of options when choosing a WooCommerce theme for your unique website.
WooCommerce does require some technical knowledge, especially for more advanced customizations. The basic plugin is free to use, but there are extra costs for web hosting for WooCommerce and premium themes and plugins.
The main difference between WooCommerce and Shopify is in the purpose of use. You can create any type of store with WooCommerce, while Shopify is a strictly ecommerce platform.
You need a WordPress site to set up WooCommerce. You can choose where to get the domain name and web hosting because WordPress is self-hosted. There are plenty of WooCommerce hosting providers that offer the right setup to create an ecommerce website.
WooCommerce launches a setup wizard for your site after you install it on WordPress.
Magento
Magento by Adobe Commerce is a powerful, open-source ecommerce platform known for its flexibility. It is highly customizable with a wide range of extensions and themes, making it suitable for complex and large-scale ecommerce sites.
Magento requires significant technical expertise to set up and manage. You need to pay for hosting, development, and maintenance. The enterprise version of Adobe Commerce comes with licensing fees.
Shopify is definitely easier and simpler to use than Magento, but it’s far more limited in terms of scalability and customization options.
Shopware
Shopware scores well in scalability and flexibility. It is suitable for both small and large businesses. It offers robust features and integrations and handles high-traffic and complex product catalogs well. A technical background is helpful.
The so-called community edition is free, but enterprise versions involve licensing fees.
Shopware’s customization capabilities are well-known. It is a suitable choice for businesses with unique requirements. While Shopify offers some customization through its app store, Shopware is the better option in that respect.
Salesforce
Salesforce is a highly scalable, enterprise-level platform. It is a cloud-based solution with powerful features, extensive integrations, and support for omnichannel retail.
As a downside, it requires significant technical expertise to manage. It is also quite expensive, being typically suited for larger enterprises. What’s more, the higher price might not be worth paying. According to a 2023 study of ecommerce conversion rates, Shopify’s checkout conversion was 36% less effective than Shopify’s.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a hosted ecommerce platform with more built-in functions than Shopify. It offers a range of customization options through its theme editor and API.
It’s easier to use than both Magento and WooCommerce but less customizable. On the other hand, it is user-friendly and doesn’t require as much technical expertise. There is a monthly subscription fee with different pricing tiers based on features and sales volume.
BigCommerce is more suitable for stores with small product ranges. In 2024, just under a quarter of all BigCommerce stores sold up to nine products.
Squarespace
Squarespace is the second most-used website builder in the world. It competes with Shopify and WooCommerce in the ecommerce market.
Shopify holds a 5.7% share of the content management system market, while 3-4% of websites that use a CMS are built on Squarespace.
Squarespace boasts beautiful and customizable templates. Its design is more customizable than Shopify’s but less flexible than open-source platforms. The platform is very intuitive, with drag-and-drop functionality.
Wix
The next alternative to Shopify features extensive design customization options with an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. Its backend is less customizable than WooCommerce or Magento.
Shopify is easier to use if you’re making an online store, especially if you plan to scale it. Wix is simpler if you want a website with basic ecommerce functions, such as selling only a few products or collecting payment for services.
OpenCart
OpenCart is open-source and moderately customizable, with several extensions and themes available. It is free to use, but there are costs for hosting and premium extensions. It is better than Shopify in terms of extensions. You can use custom code to enhance website capabilities, and there are also more tools for stores.
Final thoughts
Thank you for reading our guide on alternatives to Shopify that offer a high degree of customization and scalability. As you can see, there are quite a few platforms to consider. The best choice depends on your specific website needs and technical expertise.
Also Read: Shopify SEO Agency: Elevating Your E-commerce Visibility
