WooCommerce vs Shopify: Which Store Is Best For Your Business?

Starting a dropshipping business these days is almost too easy. Creating a successful dropshipping business which can eventually replace your 9 to 5, on the other hand, is a bit more difficult. And yet – it's totally doable.

One of the first things, which will require some research and brainpower, is deciding which ecommerce store platform to use for your shopfront.

There are plenty of store platforms to choose from, and it can depend on what and where you want to sell. When it comes to skincare and cosmetics, there are two major players – Shopify and WooCommerce (Woo).

Both platforms make it easy to build and launch your ecommerce website, from finding a domain name to adding marketing and sales plug-ins. Between the two, there are an estimated 5 million-plus users who've earned billions of dollars, globally. They are complete commerce platforms that allow you to sell in multiple places (including online), sell in multiple currencies, and easily manage products and accept payments.

Oh, yes, and they both integrate with Selfnamed as easy as 1, 2, 3!

So, how to decide, which of the platforms is the right choice for your skincare business? In this article, we go over the main pros and cons of both platforms to help you pick the best for your brand.

Woo vs Shopify at a glance

WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin built for the WordPress platform. Open-source is a software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. This allows for more creativity and freedom in the design elements.

Woo creates a hassle-free selling experience for store owners. It's a great choice for businesses looking for a flexible and free (or affordable) option for building an ecommerce platform.

In 2024, Forbes has rated Woo with 4.1 (out of 5) stars, highlighting its vast selection of themes and plugins to choose from, customisability and SEO performance.

Shopify, similarly, allows businesses to create an online store, accept payments and manage inventory as an all-in-one ecommerce solution. Its biggest advantage is that it takes the complicated technical aspects out of running an online business and offers users easy-to-use tools, allowing for easy setup within minutes.

Shopify was designed for users without any programming background, so the platform takes care of web hosting, security, and caching. This makes it an especially appealing option for those, who consider themselves beginners in the technical space.

In 2024, Forbes has rated Shopify with 4.5 stars, highlighting its 24/7 customers service, automatic integrations with a selection of apps, and its included all hosting software, particularly security. And at the beginning of 2024, Shopify introduced more than 100 new updates, which seriously improves the user experience.

Set up and user experience

Shopify is designed, so that anyone could use it, while people with some knowledge in programming and/or design will lean towards Woo.

If you opt for Woo, there might be a steeper learning curve to get things started. Whereas Shopify automatically takes you through a step-by-step setup process, and by the end of it, you'll have a ready-to-go store. Shopify is easy to navigate, and running your store is pretty much an intuitive process, with a guide advising the user what details to fill in next.

Woo is easy to navigate as well, but since it's not a subscription-based platform, you may need to go through integration steps yourself before you can start adding products. Not to worry, though, we have guides on how to integrate Selfnamed with both, Woo and Shopify.

If you're asking which is easier to use, we'd have to say Shopify.

Designs and themes

As soon as you sign up for a Shopify account, you gain access to over 70 free themes, along with all the paid themes. They are already polished and easy to implement, but you can also use different design elements to customise it for your needs.

Woo offers hundreds of designs and themes, which can be automatically programmed to be mobile responsive. It might take more time to ensure that the design of your website is clear and easy to understand for your potential customers.

For more customisation options and ecommerce layouts, Woo would be a wise choice. However, be ready to invest both time and money into developing a store front that looks good and is highly effective.

If you need to get things started quickly and with as little investment as possible, Shopify has great themes that are ready to be used immediately. Just remember, this way you might end up using the same theme with multiple other online stores.

Costs

Shopify has a three-day free trial period, then one month for $1. Their basic plan starts at $29 per month, the next level at $79 per month and the top-of-the-line package for $299 per month.

If you want a domain name without the Shopify in your URL, you're looking at an additional fee of $14 per year.

You also need to keep in mind the transaction fees. For basic package, you're charged a flat fee of 2% for all transactions. Whereas the top package reduces this to 0.5% on transactions. Depending on the sales volume you're processing, it can be worth it to retain more of the overhead profit on your offerings.

Woo also has a free initial service, but you'll need to pay for additional services, like domain name, SSL certification and other things. The prices for each of the services differ. For example, a custom domain name can cost about $9 per year, but SSL certificates can cost anywhere from free to $100 per year.

Depending on how you plan to mix-match third-party apps on Woo, you can easily create a shopfront for a fairly low cost. But the more plugins you end-up using, the more you'll end up paying.

Support

Both platforms offer support, however Shopify has a more superior system. Their customer support team works 24/7, and because all errors can be documented, they can efficiently provide a solution to your problem.

Since Woo allows for anyone to integrate add-ons, it's impossible for their support team to have a solution for every lodged issue.

SEO

Shopify has a built-in SEO plugin, which helps with basic SEO practices, like meta information and site copy. Shopify's sites usually also tend to load faster, compared to Woo sites, and this can give your store even more boost in the Google rankings.

Woo is integrated into WordPress, which is a blogging platform. Therefore, users can alter body content, URLs, meta descriptions, alt tags and other on-page elements with amazing SEO tools.

In other words, when it comes to which store will rank better on Google, you have far better chances with Woo.

Woo vs Shopify: which to choose?

Every business has its own set of unique requirements that need to be met. And only you, the seller, know what they are and how to prioritise them. If you're ready to jump into the world of ecommerce, you'll need to pick a platform that best suits your needs.

Choose Shopify if you want an all-in-one platform for your store that gets everything running quickly while offering lots of easy-to-use features and apps. You'll have a great support staff waiting to assist you, as well as loads of integration options.

Choose Woo if you already have a WordPress website or are planning on creating one, and you want to take on more control of your store or have time to dedicate to the details of design on this platform. It's highly adaptable, serves better SEO purposes and can be scaled up enormously.

Choice is yours!

How To Start Your Own Skincare Line Using Selfnamed

Selfnamed is here to help create your own skincare line by making the process as simple and seamless as possible. As soon as you decide on your ideal customer and product range, there are only a few simple steps to take:

Select product sample sets. You can choose from more than 30 high-quality, organic or natural certified skincare products made in Northern Europe.
Add your style. Selfnamed offers an easy-to-use design studio to create labels and packaging. You can work with pre-made print-ready templates or create your design from scratch. You can also choose our design service.
Start selling your products. There are no minimum orders, meaning you can easily adjust the volume to your needs.

Before making a custom order, we recommend looking at our sample set selection. These sets contain curated product lines for different skin types, letting you choose the best products for your brand. This way you can test the products — their consistencies, textures, fragrances, as well as packaging quality.

There are the basic steps on how to start a skincare line from the comfort of your home. Best of luck with your new endeavour!