Amazon, Shopify, and WordPress are arguably the biggest names in the ecommerce industry. Amazon gets millions of visitors per month from all over the world. Shopify is known for achieving massive revenue goals—at scale. Similarly, WordPress remains the most popular platform for anything web, powering over 70 million shops on the internet.
But which one is the best fit for starting your eCommerce journey? Where do you get to enjoy the most benefits and perks? Should you go with Amazon or Shopify? Or is WordPress the best option to build your online store?
In this blog, we’ll help you make the right decision for your journey by comparing WordPress, Shopify, and Amazon. We will discuss their pricing, flexibility, ease of setup, customer support, and much more.
So without any further ado, let’s get started.
WordPress vs. Shopify vs. Amazon - The Difference
WordPress for eCommerce
Nearly one in every three websites on the internet is built on WordPress. And while WordPress isn’t pre-tailored for an eCommerce setup, it allows a bunch of external options and themes that help you run your business operations smoothly.
You have plugins like Woocommerce, Ecwid, Cart66 Cloud, and WP Easy Cart that add complete eCommerce functionality to your WordPress site, from product display to shopping cart and checkout. Talk about total control!
WordPress Pros
- WordPress is a powerful, scalable platform, and best of all, it’s free!
- WordPress offers solid content management features and several add-ons, including free and paid themes. You can add some great functions using custom plugins.
- WordPress is constantly up-to-date with security patches.
- Although there is no direct support as most of the add-ons are from third parties, WordPress does have a super supportive community. You can always seek assistance online regarding any issue you’re having with WordPress.
- In addition to these hallmarks, WordPress allows you to add a blog, a forum, or any relevant page you want with ease.
WordPress Cons
- WordPress is slightly complicated to work with, opening up a learning curve for you. You might need coding or web-development knowledge to customize the store as per your preferences.
- You’ll need to do quite a lot of customization to comply with the PCI secure environment standards.
- It requires a complex security setup for eCommerce. Aspects like disabling the trace and track and proxy comment posting hold a question mark.
When to Use WordPress
Is WordPress good for eCommerce? The answer is yes, yes, and yes.
- It’s best to use WordPress if you are tech-savvy or comfortable using the WordPress interface.
- Use WordPress if your business doesn’t heavily rely on prompt customer support.
- Using WordPress is favorable if you already run a branded blog and don’t want to invest in any new e-commerce platform.
- As part of your marketing strategy, SEO might be your biggest weapon. When comparing Shopify vs. WordPress vs. Amazon in terms of SEO, WordPress always wins.
Shopify for eCommerce
Shopify is an all-around eCommerce platform, best for individuals with no coding skills. It is a fully hosted solution and provides all the essential sales tools you need to set up and run your online store.
Whether it’s inventory management, financial evaluations, or typical shipment and payment processes, Shopify can handle it all. Furthermore, you can always access your store whenever and wherever needed; the only requirement is internet connectivity. That’s why so many merchants choose to migrate to Shopify so they can quickly boost the store’s performance.
Shopify Pros
- Shopify allows you to create a website easily without any of the WordPress complexities. No more assistance from a professional designer or web developer!
- It enables powerful eCommerce features, including shopping carts, checkout flows, payment processing, fulfillment and integration facilities, simplified management for product pages, financial reporting, refund and returns management, 24-hour support, and much more.
- Shopify offers an auto-sync feature through POS to align your orders and inventory–online and offline.
- Shopify offers a vast range of 100+ online store themes, both free and paid.
- Best of all, you get a custom subdomain free of cost with Shopify. You don’t need to pay third parties for hosting or security management with Shopify.
Shopify Cons
- The blogging features in Shopify are much of a disappointment and are only good for occasional commercial updates.
- Shopify is a paid tool starting from $29 to $299 per month. Moreover, unless you’re a user of Shopify’s payment gateway, the added transactional fees (0.5% – 2% per transaction) can make it a bit expensive.
- Making changes on Shopify is hectic; you need to reformat your content if you are to change your theme.
When to Use Shopify
- If you want to build an online store from scratch and hate managing web-development stuff, Shopify is for you.
- Use Shopify if you are looking for an option to integrate your brick-and-mortar store with your online store.
- Use Shopify if you’re looking for a tailor-made eCommerce solution that can be set up in minutes.
Amazon for Ecommerce
Amazon undoubtedly stands among the largest and best eCommerce platforms, having more than 150 million monthly visitors in the US alone.
Fascinatingly, almost half of the sales on Amazon come from third-party sellers. This means there is a massive demand and opportunity for you if you launch on Amazon.
You can even sell refurbished items on Amazon. Using the smiling A to boom your online store is the insurance of greater customer reach, higher engagement, and improved conversion rates.
Amazon Pros
- Amazon is the prime place to find willing customers. It gives your business “ready to buy” leads, allowing you to generate more sales.
- Amazon has 175 fulfillment centers globally. The eCommerce giant provides complete pick, pack, and shipping services for maximum convenience.
- Amazon ships to over 100 countries worldwide, meaning that your online store will have an enormous reach and scope of international expansion.
- You don’t need a big budget to market your eCommerce store on Amazon.
Amazon Cons
- Competition is fierce on Amazon. There are hundreds and thousands of sellers selling similar products as yours. Sometimes, you get to compete with Amazon itself. Not ideal!
- Your branding efforts are pretty much limited to the Amazon ecosystem. In Shopify vs. Amazon, Shopify definitely wins here.
- Amazon charges a hefty commission on every unit sold. The seller plan (professional and individual) fee is another expense. And if you do FBA, be prepared to keep some profits aside to cover storage and fulfillment costs.
When to Use Amazon
- Use Amazon if you are a small vendor with a low initial investment budget. It is relatively cheap to list on Amazon as an individual seller (a Professional Seller account is just $39.99 a month), and you will not be charged until you make a sale.
- If you want to leverage the reach and authority of an already reputed and trusted eCommerce platform, Amazon should be your first choice.
- Amazon is the right choice for you if you don’t want to look after the shipping and fulfillment process. Fulfillment by Amazon is here to save the day.
WordPress vs. Shopify vs. Amazon: Final Verdict
WordPress, Shopify, or Amazon – every platform has its boons and drawbacks. What is the best eCommerce solution for your store is a million-dollar question, which boils down to what exactly you’re looking for.
If you love coding, we recommend going with WordPress. But, if you prefer a flexible interface with little to no tech assistance, Shopify is the one for you. Amazon is perfect if you are a small business owner looking to make a quick first buck with little investment.
All in all, assessing your needs, skills, and biz goals will help you pick the best eCommerce platform for your online journey. Make sure to do your homework before making a final decision.
To your continued success!
