Today, more than ever, it is convenient for your company or business to have a online store to reach more people and increase sales. Nowadays, there are many e-commerce platforms, being WooCommerce and Shopify the most popular among entrepreneurs. Below, discover the main features of these platforms.
WooCommerce
It's a plugin e-commerce open source, and is designed for small and large online merchants. It was officially launched on September 27, 2011, and quickly became popular for its simplicity to install and customize the database. It is activated for free on a site WordPress new or existing, just follow the optional guided tour and you'll be up and running with a new store in minutes - complete with product, cart and checkout pages.
With the freedoms of open source WooCommerce, you will have a Fully customizable and expandable experience: Every aspect of your sales website will be extremely configurable —style, appearance, colors, checkout, shipping settings, and more—. You'll be able to sell both physical and digital products of any shape or size, offering product variations, multiple configurations, and instant downloads to buyers. Plus, the free mobile app WooCommerce —available for iOS and Android—will allow you to manage your online store wherever you are.
With paid extensions You can expand your online store to take reservations, offer memberships, set up recurring subscription payments, and create dynamic pricing rules. Additionally, you can customize the built-in settings to offer free or flat-rate shipping, limit your shipping to specific countries by setting up shipping zones, or open your store to buyers from anywhere in the world. WooCommerce allows you to accept all major credit cards, alternative payment methods, and bank transfers. For additional options, over 140 region-specific payment gateways are also integrated, including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
There are hundreds of official extensions reviewed by developers that will help you customize sales, shipping, and advertising options—smart coupons, Google Ads, live chat, shipment tracking, payment field editor, and more.
Shopify
It is a Canadian e-commerce company, founded in 2004, that offers a series of services for simplify the process of managing an online store, It is primarily designed for small retailers. It offers free, professional templates for your sales website design, but — unlike other templates — WooCommerce— you won’t be able to customize the platform’s code, making it nearly impossible to tailor the experience to your business’s needs or functionalities.
With Shopify, Manage your orders and control your website in just seconds, without requiring programming knowledge, and receive notifications on your email or mobile phone. In case of any problems, you can contact the support team by phone, online chat or email. This e-commerce platform allows you to Improve the shopping experience with multiple payment options —Shopify Payments (for credit cards), Paypal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
What is the main difference between WooCommerce and Shopify?
The main difference between these e-commerce platforms is that WooCommerce consists of a software open source -in English: open source software (OSS)—, while Shopify It is presented as a software as a service -in English: software as a service (SaaS).
For its part, a software Open Source (OSS) It is a source code designed in a decentralized and collaborative way, which allows users use, modify and redistribute the software as appropriate. In other words, it is a software developed by communities that can present various advantages such as the production of more efficient programs, with fewer errors and adapted to the specific needs of each user. It is worth mentioning that certain technical knowledge is required to be able to modify this type of software, but it is the best option for those looking for a tailored and completely customizable experience when opening an online store. In this case, it is recommended that you seek the advice of programming experts to create a sales website exactly as you have imagined; this may require a certain monetary investment, including the hiring of a web hosting service.
On the other hand, a software as a service (SaaS) allows users to connect to cloud-based applications over the Internet and use them. Some common examples are email, word processors, spreadsheets, calendars, and many others. Among the most well-known platforms we can find Spotify, Gmail, Facebook, Mailchimp, Amazon Prime Video and Dropbox. This type of software It is developed by a single author or company, and can be powered by a pay-per-use model.
And this last feature is another big difference you need to keep in mind: Shopify offers various monthly subscription plans, and depending on the plan you have subscribed to, you will be charged a fee per transaction, or for certain features of the store; while WooCommerce is a plugin gratuitous, which in the long run, compared to other e-commerce platforms, will increase your business's profit margins.
Why should you choose WordPress as your content management system?
Nowadays, creating a website is much easier than it was a few years ago, and it is also cheaper. This has been possible thanks to the so-called content managers -in English: content manager system (CMS)—, which consist of Web programs or applications that allow you to create a work environment for creating, managing and publishing content on a web page by administrators, editors and other users.
25% of all the web pages in the world have been created with WordPress, and if we consider only those built using a content management system (CMS), the percentage rises to 60%. Thus, WordPress is listed as the most used and best valued platform, especially for its flexibility and simplicity in the construction, use and management of web content; as well as facilitating search engine positioning —in English: search engine optimization (SEO)—, adapt web formats to different mobile devices and constantly renew designs and plugins. And within WordPress, As if that were not enough, one of the plugins most popular for creating online stores is WooCommerce.
It is worth mentioning that There are two versions of WordPress:
- The Simple version of WordPress —available in wordpress.com—, with a free domain and specialized web hosting service, which only requires the creation of a username and password to start editing your website.
- The full version of WordPress —available in wordpress.org—, aimed at people who already have web hosting, which allows the platform code to be modified according to the needs of each user.
Do you already know which is the best platform to create your online store? If you are still not sure, send us a message with all your questions and receive the best advice!
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