Shopify vs WordPress: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Shopify and WordPress serve different primary purposes, making them suitable for distinct types of users.

• 
  Shopify (Overall Grade: 8.1/10)
  
  excels as a dedicated ecommerce platform, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for online store management. Its strengths lie in robust ecommerce features, high-quality hosting, superior customer support, and enhanced security measures. Shopify is ideal for users looking for an all-in-one solution to launch and grow their online store with minimal hassle.
• 
  WordPress (Overall Grade: 7.1/10)
  
  shines as a versatile open-source content management system with extensive customization options through themes and plugins. It is particularly strong in design functionalities, website editing, and plugins and integrations, catering to users who prioritize flexibility and control over their website’s design and functionality. WordPress is best suited for those who require a highly customizable platform and are willing to manage the complexities that come with it.

	Overall grade: 8.1	Overall grade: 7.1
Design functionalities & templates	8.2	9.0
Ease of use	7.5	7.2
Ecommerce	9.2	8.4
Website Editors	7.9	8.5
Product testing options	8.1	8.1
Price	8.2	5.9
Hosting quality	9.0	0
Website speed optimization	7.8	6.5
Plugins and integrations	8.7	8.8
Marketing features	8.8	8.0
Customer support	8.6	5.0
Security	9.0	6.7
AI capabilities	7.9	6.1
User Management	6.5	8.8
Overall	8.1	7.1

Best for ecommerce

9.2

8.4

Verdict

: Shopify shines for dedicated ecommerce businesses with its comprehensive features and ease of use, while WordPress, with WooCommerce, offers unparalleled customization for those willing to navigate its complexity.

• 
  Shopify
  
  : A powerhouse for online stores, Shopify provides a seamless ecommerce experience with features like advanced inventory management, multi-channel selling, and Shopify Payments. It’s designed for businesses of all sizes looking to grow online.
• 
  WordPress
  
  : Best suited for those who need a highly customizable platform. WordPress, with WooCommerce, allows for extensive ecommerce capabilities, supported by a vast plugin ecosystem. Ideal for users who prioritize flexibility and have the technical know-how to leverage it.

Best for informational & business websites

6.8

9.2

• 
  Shopify
  
  : Shopify, primarily an ecommerce platform, offers a streamlined experience for online store management. While it can support informational sites, its features and design options are more tailored towards ecommerce, making it less ideal for purely informational or business-focused websites.
• 
  WordPress
  
  : With its open-source flexibility, extensive plugin ecosystem, and a wide selection of themes, WordPress excels in creating diverse informational and business websites. Its ability to cater to a broad range of needs, from simple blogs to complex business sites, makes it the top choice for users seeking depth in customization and functionality.

Detailed comparison

8.2

9.0

🏆

Winner: WordPress.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers more creative control, a wider array of design features, and a larger selection of free and premium templates, WordPress is the preferred choice.

Shopify’s templates are sleek and professional, ideal for ecommerce sites. They offer a sophisticated look with a focus on online stores. While the free template selection is not large, Shopify’s premium theme store provides a variety of industry-specific options, offering advanced features for a strong brand presence.

Shopify Themes

Compared to Shopify, WordPress offers an extensive variety of templates and designs, catering to a wide range of website types beyond just blogs or ecommerce. Its open-source nature allows for high customization and creative freedom, appealing to diverse user needs. While WordPress itself doesn’t sell premium templates, numerous third-party theme shops offer sophisticated and specialized design choices, expanding the possibilities for users.

WordPress Themes

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7.5

7.2

🏆 Winner: Shopify

. Scoring 7.5, Shopify is generally easier to use than WordPress, which scores 7.2. Shopify’s user-friendly design and comprehensive support make online store management accessible for all, especially for small businesses and product-based enterprises. On the other hand, WordPress offers great flexibility and power, but it can be less intuitive for beginners. However, its extensive customization options and advanced control over website design and functionality make it suitable for users who desire full control over their website’s design and functionality.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: WordPress

. Both platforms offer solid learning resources, but WordPress stands out with its vast array of learning resources, known for both their availability and quality. These include detailed documentation, community forums, online tutorials, and courses offered by both WordPress and third-party providers. This extensive support network is beneficial for users of all skill levels, from beginners learning the basics to advanced users seeking to enhance their expertise.

9.2

8.4

Shopify, a dedicated ecommerce platform, scores higher than WordPress in the ecommerce sector. Shopify’s comprehensive set of features for online businesses, including advanced inventory management, multi-channel selling, and detailed analytics, make it a robust choice for ecommerce. On the other hand, WordPress, an open-source content management system, can be extended for ecommerce through plugins like WooCommerce, offering features like multiple payment gateway support, abandoned cart recovery, and SEO optimization tools.

Ecommerce themes and templates	8.2	9.2
Product page customization	8.5	9.0
Payment processing and commissions	8.8	7.5
POS capabilities	8.1	6.5
Payment gateways	9.5	8.5
Product numbers	9.0	7.0
Additional ecommerce features	9.1	8.0

Shopify ecommerce features:

• Comprehensive store builder
• Shopify Payments and other gateways
• Advanced inventory management
• Multi-channel selling
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Detailed analytics and reporting

WordPress ecommerce features:

• WooCommerce Integration
• Multiple Payment Gateway Support
• Abandoned Cart Recovery
• Ecommerce Analytics
• SEO Optimization Tools
• Extensive Plugin Ecosystem

Ecommerce themes & templates

Shopify offers about 150 modern responsive themes for creating a virtual storefront, ensuring a good look on both desktop and mobile devices. While some themes are free, others cost between $170 to $380. In contrast, WordPress provides hundreds to potentially thousands of ecommerce and WooCommerce specific themes and templates, both free and premium.

Product page customization

Shopify allows three options per product, totaling 100 unique variations. While Shopify offers titles, descriptions, and image galleries with zoom effects, customization options like adding ribbons, size charts, and wishlists are not as straightforward. However, Shopify distinguishes itself with additional features through its extensive library of extra apps, offering functionalities like reviews, Facebook stores, eBay item importers, and a unique Augmented Reality feature for an enhanced customer experience.

On the other hand, WooCommerce on WordPress offers extensive customization for eCommerce product pages, balancing plugins, page builders, and custom coding. Advanced features like product tabs, upsells, and related products are customizable. Tools like Elementor and the Ultimate Product Catalog plugin enhance functionality, but heavy plugin use may affect site performance.

Payment processing

Shopify offers payments with typical charges of

2.9% + 30¢

per online transaction on basic plans, and lower fees for higher-tier plans. However, it adds extra fees for using other payment gateways. Shopify Payments is Shopify’s own payment processing gateway. It allows merchants to accept credit card payments directly on their store without having to integrate third-party payment providers. This simplifies the payment process, reduces transaction fees, and streamlines the handling of finances.

WordPress doesn’t handle payments directly but offers plugin options for payment processing. Popular gateways include PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.Net, and Square. Choose a gateway based on transaction volume, currencies, fees, and security. Plugins integrate gateways with WooCommerce for a user-friendly setup. Consider options for recurring payments, offline payments, and fraud prevention. Research, read reviews, and start small, scaling as needed.

7.9

8.5

🏆

Winner: WordPress

. WordPress, with a score of 8.5, offers a user-friendly interface with block-based editing, extensive styles customization, template management, page editing/creation, distraction-free modes, versatile saving options, and accessibility for users of varying skill levels. It also provides a wide range of blocks and widgets for creating websites, including free blocks like Core Blocks, Design Blocks, Media Blocks, and Widgets, as well as premium blocks available through third-party plugins.

Shopify’s editor, scoring 7.9, excels in providing a streamlined, ecommerce-focused editing experience. It’s particularly beneficial for users who prioritize efficient management of online stores. The editor is straightforward, making it easy to add products, manage inventory, and set up payment methods. While it may not offer the same level of design flexibility as WordPress, Shopify’s editor is optimized for sales and business growth, with built-in tools specifically designed for ecommerce businesses.

Mobile editor/app

8.0

8.1

🏆

Winner: WordPress

. Both Shopify and WordPress offer mobile apps for managing your website, but they cater to different needs and skill levels. Shopify focuses primarily on ecommerce management through its mobile app, offering robust features for product management, order processing, inventory tracking, and sales reporting. However, it may be overwhelming for beginners due to its emphasis on ecommerce features.

WordPress, on the other hand, allows you to manage your website on the go. You can create and edit posts, manage comments, schedule content, and analyze website traffic from your phone or tablet. While it offers convenience and basic functionality, it has some limitations compared to the web-based editor, including fewer advanced options, restricted code access, and limited design customization.

In summary, WordPress receives a slightly higher rating due to its versatility in general website editing and a more beginner-friendly interface, while Shopify is strong in ecommerce management but may be better suited for users with some experience.

8.1

8.1

Overall Result

:

Shopify wins

. Shopify scores 8.1, offering a 14-day free trial with access to all features, while WordPress, also scoring 8.1, does not offer a trial version or the possibility to test premium features. However, WordPress is an open-source CMS and is free to use.

Free Plan	No (14-day free trial)	Yes (open source software)
Trial Duration	14 days	No
Testing Premium Features	All features during free trial	No

8.2

5.9

Shopify offers a range of pricing plans, while WordPress is free but requires separate purchases for domain, hosting, and website builder subscriptions.

	Offerings	Offerings
Free	No offering at this amount.	Free Plan ($0/month): WordPress is open source software that is free. WordPress does not provide hosting services; so, it is necessary to purchase a domain, web hosting, and website builder subscriptions separately. While WordPress lacks built-in ecommerce, plugins like WooCommerce offer a solution. WordPress offers an extensive variety of templates and designs. WordPress lacks a built-in AI-assisted builder, but its open-source nature allows for an ecosystem of plugins and themes incorporating AI for website building.
$20-$30	Shopify Basic ($29/month): Unlimited products, 2.9% + 30¢ card fee with Shopify payments, Extra 2% gateway fee without Shopify Payments, Abandoned cart recovery, Automated sales tax, Digital products, POS Integration, 2 staff accounts. Value for price: 8.0	No offering at this amount.
$70-$80	Shopify Standard ($79/month): Lower card fees (2.6% + 30¢), Gift cards, Professional reports, 5 staff accounts. Value for price: 8.5	No offering at this amount.
$200+	Advanced Shopify ($299/month): Lowest card fees (2.49% + 30¢), Advanced report builder, Real-time carrier shipping, Up to 15 staff accounts Value for price: 8.8	No offering at this amount.

9.0

0

Winner: Shopify

Shopify offers proprietary cloud-based hosting with a 99.99% uptime guarantee and has 5 global data centers. On the other hand, WordPress does not directly provide hosting services, and the uptime, uptime guarantee, and data centers depend on the hosting provider chosen by the user. Therefore, Shopify has a higher hosting quality score.

Do they offer hosting?	Yes, included in all paid plans	No, WordPress itself does not directly provide hosting services
Data Centers:	5 globally: USA (Ashburn, Virginia; Santa Clara, California), Canada (Toronto, Ontario), Ireland (Dublin), and Singapore	Data centers depend on hosting providers
Type of hosting:	Proprietary cloud-based hosting	WordPress itself isn’t a hosting platform, there are various options when choosing the type of hosting for websites built with WordPress, such as: Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting, Managed WordPress Hosting, Cloud Hosting
Uptime:	99.99%	Uptime & uptime guarantee depends on hosting provider
Uptime Guarantee:	Yes, 99.99%	Uptime & uptime guarantee depends on hosting provider

7.8

6.5

🏆 Winner: Shopify

Both Shopify and WordPress place a high priority on website performance and page speed, with Shopify focusing on app and theme optimization and WordPress providing valuable resources for enhancing website’s Core Web Vitals. However, Shopify gets a slight edge when it comes to website speed optimization.

Focus	App optimization, Theme optimization	Core Web Vitals, WP Rocket, Hummingbird
Performance Tools	Google Lighthouse, PageSpeed Insights	Core Web Vitals, WP Rocket, Hummingbird
Key Strategies	App efficiency, Theme optimization	Optimize images, minimize plugins, use CDN
Load Times	Varies widely, dependent on optimization	Varies widely, dependent on optimization
Page Speed Scores Range	Scores vary; influenced by apps, images	Scores vary; influenced by apps, images
Core Web Vitals Improvement	Emphasis on LCP, FID, CLS improvements	Analyze CWV, choose a reliable host, optimize images, minimize plugins, use lazy loading, and employ a CDN

Shopify’s approach to enhancing site speed includes app optimization by removing unneeded app code, conditionally loading apps, avoiding immediate pop-up displays, and incorporating app functionality directly into themes. This approach leverages Shopify’s fast servers and CDN network to boost load speed. Shopify also suggests utilizing Google AMP for faster mobile page loads, although with some design compromises. Analysis of three Shopify sites showed a range of Shopify speed scores from 14 to 75, Google PSI scores from 8 to 80, and load times varying from 10.6 seconds to 2.3 seconds. Continuous maintenance and optimization are essential for keeping Shopify stores fast.

WordPress, on the other hand, provides valuable resources for enhancing your website’s Core Web Vitals (CWV): analyze CWV, choose a reliable host, optimize images, minimize plugins, use lazy loading, and employ a CDN. Explore tools like Core Web Vitals, WP Rocket, Hummingbird, and consider AMP for mobile speed. The load times and PageSpeed scores for WordPress vary widely, dependent on optimization. However, with the right tools and strategies, WordPress sites can achieve good speed scores.

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8.7

8.8

🏆 Winner: WordPress.

WordPress scores 8.8, slightly edging out Shopify’s 8.7. WordPress’s open-source nature allows it to offer over 60,000 free plugins, providing extensive customization options. Shopify, while offering over 8,000 apps, is more focused on ecommerce functionalities. Both platforms offer a wide range of extensions, but WordPress’s larger plugin library and slightly higher score give it the edge.

Shopify Applications

WordPress Applications

8.8

8.0

🏆

Overall Winner: Shopify

. Shopify stands out for its more advanced ecommerce-focused marketing tools, especially in analytics and ad campaign management. WordPress is strong in blogging and offers a wide range of plugins for marketing functionalities.

SEO Tools
Email Marketing		(via plugins)
Blogging
Social Media Integration	Advanced integration for selling directly on social platforms	Via plugins
Analytics and Reporting	Detailed analytics for in-depth insights	Via plugins
Ads and Promotions	Google Ads integration; sophisticated ad campaign management	Via plugins

8.6

5.0

🏆 Winner: Shopify

. Shopify clearly outperforms WordPress in this category with a customer support score of 8.6 compared to WordPress’s 5.0. Shopify provides 24/7 support through chat, email, and phone, and offers a range of online resources, including tutorials, forums, and a marketing blog.

On the other hand, WordPress lacks direct customer support due to its open-source nature. While users can find assistance through community forums, the WordPress codex, hosting provider support, and plugin and theme support, the absence of a dedicated support team can make resolving issues more challenging.

9.0

6.7

🏆

Winner: Shopify

. Shopify’s security measures are comprehensive and robust, including secure infrastructure, encryption, two-factor authentication, regular audits, and a dedicated incident response team. These features ensure the safety of user data and the overall security of the website.

On the other hand, WordPress’s security largely depends on the hosting provider and the use of plugins. While WordPress provides numerous functionalities and resources to enhance website security effectively, the level of security can vary greatly depending on the hosting provider and the specific plugins used. Therefore, Shopify is the clear winner in this comparison.

7.9

6.1

Personalized Design	Shopify AI Builder offers personalized design suggestions	WordPress relies on AI plugins like AI Site Builder and Zita
SEO Optimization	AI-driven recommendations for better search engine visibility	AI plugins like Rank Math and Yoast SEO offer SEO analysis
Customer Behavior Analysis	Advanced analytics to understand customer preferences
Sales Predictions	AI-powered sales forecasting tools
Inventory Management	AI tools to assist in efficient inventory handling
Content Generation	Shopify’s AI features Content Assistant for content generation	AI plugins like GetGenie and AI Power offer content generation

🏆 Winner: Shopify

. Shopify, with a score of 7.9, utilizes AI mainly to enhance the ecommerce experience. Its AI features focus on customer behavior analysis, personalized shopping experiences, inventory management, and sales predictions. While Shopify’s AI is powerful, it is more business and data-centric compared to WordPress’s plugin-dependent AI.

WordPress, with a score of 6.1, does not have a built-in AI builder. However, its open-source nature allows for integration with various AI plugins for website building, ecommerce, content generation, and additional AI features. This makes WordPress flexible but also requires more effort from the user to integrate and manage these plugins.

6.5

8.8

🏆 Winner: WordPress

. Managing your online team with Shopify and WordPress involves different approaches to website editing access.

• Shopify enforces staff account limits based on plans, ranging from 2 to 15, with Shopify Plus offering unlimited
  accounts. Collaborators with limited access are also an option.
• The editing access for a WordPress.org website depends on user roles and additional controls. User roles, ranging from Super Admin to Subscriber, dictate the level of permissions, while plugins and controls such as role management plugins and revision control offer further customization for specific editing rights and collaboration.

Shopify User Roles and Access Levels:

WordPress User Roles and Access Levels:

Additional Features

SSL Certificate
Custom Domain
Free Custom Domain Included
International Domains
Mobile Responsive
Page Speed
Website Builder Mobile App
Convert a Website To An App
Website Analytics
Multilingual Sites
Multiple Users

User Feedback

Shopify

4482 reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

Wordpress

8655 reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

Shopify’s high rating on G2 Crowd can be largely attributed to its specialization in ecommerce. Its comprehensive features, ease of use, and robust customer support cater specifically to online businesses, leading to high user satisfaction among those seeking a dedicated ecommerce solution.

WordPress, on the other hand, is praised for its user-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, extensive themes and plugins, customization options, and supportive community. However, users mention technical challenges, security concerns, a learning curve, and a lack of direct support. Despite these challenges, it remains a widely used and versatile platform, especially beneficial for startups and small businesses.

FAQ