Shopify vs WordPress: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

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

• 
  Shopify (Overall Grade: 8.1/10)
  
  excels as an ecommerce platform, offering a comprehensive suite of tools designed for online store creation and management. It shines in areas like ecommerce features, customer support, security, and AI capabilities, making it the preferred choice for users looking for a robust, all-in-one ecommerce solution.
• 
  WordPress (Overall Grade: 7.1/10)
  
  , as an open-source content management system, offers unparalleled customization and flexibility through its extensive themes and plugins. It stands out for design functionalities, ease of use, and plugins and integrations, appealing to users who prioritize content management and customization over built-in ecommerce functionalities.

	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	N/A
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 those seeking a dedicated ecommerce platform with robust features, while WordPress appeals to users desiring extensive customization through plugins and themes.

• 
  Shopify
  
  : Boasts a comprehensive suite of ecommerce tools, including advanced inventory management and multi-channel selling. Its focus on ecommerce makes it a go-to for businesses aiming for growth and scalability.
• 
  WordPress
  
  : Offers a flexible platform through WooCommerce, allowing for deep customization and a vast ecosystem of plugins. Ideal for those who prioritize flexibility and have specific ecommerce needs that can be addressed through customization.

Best for informational & business websites

6.8

9.2

• 
  Shopify
  
  : Shopify, while robust and user-friendly for ecommerce, falls short in flexibility and customization for informational sites. It’s best suited for users whose primary focus is on ecommerce rather than content-heavy or informational websites.
• 
  WordPress
  
  : With its open-source nature, extensive customization options through themes and plugins, and a strong community, WordPress stands out as the best platform for creating rich, dynamic informational and business websites. Its versatility makes it suitable for almost any type of website.

Detailed comparison

8.2

9.0

🏆

Winner: WordPress.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers more creative control, a wide array of design features, and extensive customization options, 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

. With a score of 7.5, Shopify is generally easier to use than WordPress, which scored 7.2. Shopify’s user-friendly design and comprehensive support make online store management accessible for all, while WordPress requires some learning to fully utilize its extensive customization options.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: WordPress

. Both platforms offer solid learning resources, but WordPress stands out with its vast array of detailed documentation, community forums, online tutorials, and courses. This extensive support network is beneficial for users of all skill levels.

9.2

8.4

Shopify, with a score of 9.2, is a leading ecommerce platform that provides a comprehensive set of features for online businesses. It offers tools for creating and customizing online stores, managing products, processing payments, and handling order fulfillment. On the other hand, WordPress, scoring 8.4, is an open-source content management system that enables users to build and manage websites with ease. It offers extensive customization options through themes and plugins, making it suitable for blogs, business sites, and online stores.

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 has a limit of 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.

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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. 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 WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface, a Design panel on the left and a live preview on the right, and various blocks for customization. Changes can be applied globally, including Header and Footer templates. The editor also offers features like undo/redo, List View, Command Palette, and customization tools.

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.

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 users to manage their 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, including premium ones. WordPress, also scoring 8.1, is an open-source platform and thus free to use, but it does not offer a trial version or the possibility to test premium features.

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

8.2

5.9

Shopify, with a price score of 8.2, offers a more streamlined pricing structure with discounts on annual subscriptions and enterprise plans for larger businesses. On the other hand, WordPress, with a price score of 5.9, is an open-source platform where costs can vary depending on the hosting provider and additional services.

	Offerings	Offerings
Free	No offering at this amount.	Free Plan ($0/month): Open source software that is free. Necessary to purchase a domain, web hosting, and website builder subscriptions separately. Offers extensive variety of templates and designs. Lacks built-in ecommerce and AI-assisted builder, but offers solutions through plugins.
$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 included in all of their plans, with unlimited bandwidth and storage, a global CDN for speedy website loading times, and a 99.99% uptime guarantee. On the other hand, WordPress itself does not directly provide hosting services, and the type of hosting, uptime, and data centers depend on the hosting provider chosen by the user. Therefore, Shopify has a clear advantage in terms of hosting quality.

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%	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	Analyze CWV, reliable host, optimize images, minimize plugins, use lazy loading, employ a 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 website’s Core Web Vitals (CWV). It suggests analyzing CWV, choosing a reliable host, optimizing images, minimizing plugins, using lazy loading, and employing a CDN. Tools like Core Web Vitals, WP Rocket, and Hummingbird are recommended for this purpose. WordPress also considers AMP for mobile speed. However, the load times and PageSpeed score ranges for WordPress vary widely and are dependent on optimization.

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8.7

8.8

🏆 Winner: WordPress.

WordPress, with a score of 8.8, slightly edges out Shopify’s 8.7. WordPress’s open-source nature allows for a vast array of over 60,000 free plugins, extending its functionality across various domains. Shopify, while offering over 8,000 apps, is more focused on ecommerce enhancements. Both platforms offer a wide range of integrations, but WordPress’s sheer volume and versatility 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, while offering a wide range of marketing features, relies heavily on plugins for these functionalities.

SEO Tools
Email Marketing		✓ (via plugins)
Blogging
Social Media Integration	Advanced integration for selling directly on social platforms	Direct linking, automatic posting, and social feeds display (via plugins)
Analytics and Reporting	Detailed analytics for in-depth insights	In-depth analysis via plugins like Google Analytics for WordPress
Ads and Promotions	Google Ads integration; sophisticated ad campaign management	Support for Google Ads and ad management through various plugins

8.6

5.0

🏆 Winner: Shopify

. Shopify clearly outperforms WordPress in this category with a score of 8.6 compared to WordPress’s 5.0. Shopify provides 24/7 support through chat, email, and phone, and has a dedicated program for enterprise-level businesses. The tutorials are typically clear and beneficial, and the extensive community ensures that answers can be found in the numerous forum threads. Additionally, Shopify’s outstanding marketing blog offers valuable information on business growth strategies.

On the other hand, WordPress lacks direct customer support due to its open-source nature. While no official support team is employed, users can find assistance through community forums, the WordPress codex, hosting provider support, and plugin and theme support. However, this is not as comprehensive or direct as the support provided by Shopify.

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. Shopify also provides free SSL certificates, with options for upgrades, and a built-in Web Application Firewall that filters and blocks threats.

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, such as site backups, monitoring, malware scanning, user activity tracking, permission control, and spam protection tools, the level of security can vary depending on the hosting provider and the specific plugins used. Therefore, Shopify is the clear winner in this comparison.

7.9

6.1

AI Builder	Shopify AI Builder offers functionalities like Theme Section Builder, Content Generation, SEO Optimization, and Email Marketing Tools	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
AI Ecommerce	Shopify pioneers AI-driven eCommerce with personalized recommendations, dynamic search, and automated marketing	WordPress lacks built-in AI eCommerce features, but its open-source nature allows integration with various AI plugins
AI Content Generation	Shopify’s AI features Content Assistant which helps to brainstorm ideas, overcome writer’s block, and generate outlines for product descriptions, blog posts, social media captions, and more	While WordPress does not have a built-in AI-assisted builder, but its open-source nature allows for an ecosystem of AI plugins for specific tasks such as AI Engine, GetGenie for content writing, and AI Power: Complete AI Pack for various AI-powered features
Additional AI Features	Shopify offers additional AI features like Demand Forecasting, Automated Replenishment, Smart Fraud Detection, Chargeback Management, AI-powered Chatbots, Sentiment Analysis, Route Optimization, and Warehousing Optimization	WordPress has a wide range of AI powered plugins and tools that can help to improve your website’s performance

🏆 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-based AI.

WordPress, with a score of 6.1, relies on a variety of AI plugins for website building, ecommerce, content generation, and additional features. While this offers flexibility, it may require more setup and management compared to Shopify’s built-in AI features.

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.

Both platforms support simultaneous editing. Shopify uses avatar icons to indicate co-workers, while WordPress displays a warning for concurrent editing, preventing accidental overwrites.

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 starts

Wordpress

8655 reviews

4.4 out of 5 starts

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, receives praise 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