The biggest drawback of using Shopify for your ecommerce store over WordPress is that it’s easier to build up content on a WordPress website to get more targeted SEO traffic than on Shopify.
Shopify doesn’t offer much of a content management system. It’s primarily a product management system with ecommerce built in.
Michaelsecom Tweet about WordPress vs Shopify
Drawbacks of Shopify
The main drawbacks of using Shopify for your ecommerce store over WordPress are:
- Limited content management environment for building on-page content to drive organic SEO traffic to your website.
- Limited categories for products (Shopify uses collections).
- Shopify has a higher monthly expense than typical WordPress website hosting options.
- Shopify requires you to use their merchant Visa, MasterCard, and Amex system at their fix rates that depend on your package. You can’t use third-party competitor credit card merchant providers, so you will pay more as your business grows.
Plan feature | Basic ShopifyAll the basics for starting a new business | ShopifyEverything you need for a growing business | Advanced ShopifyAdvanced features for scaling your business |
---|---|---|---|
Monthly price | USD$29/month | USD$79/month | USD$299/month |
FEATURES | |||
Online StoreIncludes ecommerce website and blog. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Unlimited products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Staff accountsStaff members with access to the Shopify admin and Shopify POS. | 2 | 5 | 15 |
24/7 support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Sales channelsSell on online marketplaces and social media. Channel availability varies by country. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
LocationsAssign inventory to retail stores, warehouses, pop-ups, or wherever you store products. | up to 4 | up to 5 | up to 8 |
Manual order creation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Discount codes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Free SSL certificate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Abandoned cart recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Gift cards | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Professional reports | No– | Yes | Yes |
Advanced report builder | No– | No– | Yes |
Third-party calculated shipping ratesShow calculated rates with your own account or third-party apps at checkout. | No– | No– | Yes |
SHOPIFY PAYMENTS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Fraud analysis | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Online credit card rates | 2.9% + 30¢ USD | 2.6% + 30¢ USD | 2.4% + 30¢ USD |
In-person credit card rates | 2.7% + 0¢ USD | 2.5% + 0¢ USD | 2.4% + 0¢ USD |
Additional fees using all payment providers other than Shopify Payments | 2.0% | 1.0% | 0.5% |
POINT OF SALE | |||
Shopify POS LiteAccept in-person payments instantly at pop-ups, markets, fairs, and more. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Shopify POS ProStore management tools and omnichannel features essential for brick-and-mortar businesses. | +plus$89 USD/moper month | +plus$89 USD/moper month | +plus$89 USD/moper month |
Shopify Merchant Costs |