Wix eCommerce Vs. Shopify

Choosing a website builder used to be more straightforward. Most sites didn’t require any fancy tools–all they needed was a platform to host content. But with the boom of ecommerce and the increasing number of businesses transitioning online, website builders bulked up their offerings. 

Now, platforms come with features such as payment processing, marketing tools and customer service. Two major ecommerce website builders lead the race in popularity: Wix and Shopify. But each platform also has its pros and cons. Here, we’ll list the differences between the two to help you decide which one better fits the needs and goals of your business.

Pros Of Wix eCommerce

Wix eCommerce carries the strength of its already established Wix website building ecosystem. It’s great for first-time ecommerce businesses.

Easy Drag-and-Drop Interface

Unless you’re getting help from a creative marketing agency, chances are you only need the simplest interface to get started on building your website. Wix eCommerce has an easy drag-and-drop interface that allows you to add, remove and edit elements on your page to make it look exactly the way you want. The options can be overwhelming at first. But once you get the hang of it, it’ll feel as if you’re adding features on a customizable canvas.

Massive Library Of Templates

If you’re not up to building your site from scratch, you can use one of Wix eCommerce’s well-designed templates. There are over 500 different choices—many of which are completely free.

Outstanding Marketing Features

You have to pay attention to ecommerce digital marketing statistics generated by your website to better manage and grow your online business. Understandably, it’s a big plus to have these important tools integrated into your platform. Wix eCommerce, through Wix Ascend (an all-in-one subscription-based marketing solution), makes this possible through social media integration, blogging, and search engine optimization (SEO)  marketing features.

Affordable Plans

You can start a Wix website for free at any time, and upgrading to their most basic business plan only costs $17/month. The next tier, which may be the best option for most online businesses, is still affordable at just $25/month.

Cons Of Wix eCommerce

Scalability isn’t Wix eCommerce’s forte, which may deter business owners from using it in the first place. Here’s more information about this issue, plus some other cons of the platform.

Limited Scalability

The constraints of Wix eCommerce make it difficult for small businesses to expand their inventory and widen their reach. Additionally, it’s almost impossible to migrate a Wix eCommerce site to another platform. You have to rebuild everything from scratch.

Basic Integration

Though Wix has a rich library of built-in tools, it lacks third-party integration. That means you might not be able to connect to other sites that could potentially bring your site more traffic.

Pros Of Shopify

Shopify was designed for e-commerce and is a robust foundation for online shops. 

Made-For-Ecommerce Features

Since it was made specifically for e-commerce, Shopify comes with multiple features that make selling online easier. It is also more intuitive and convenient to use. Shopify includes shopping carts, payment gateways, shipping, reports, inventory management and third-party integrations.

Clean Inventory Management

There’s no cap on the number of products you can add to your Shopify store—even if you’re on their most basic plan. The platform also has an intuitive inventory management system that makes it easier to see your products at a glance.

Easy Checkouts

Shopify gives you access to over 100 payment gateways (e.g. PayPal, Stripe, etc.). It allows you to sell products in multiple currencies, anywhere in the world, which is especially helpful for international businesses. Its checkout process is also very customer-focused (i.e., it's more convenient for online shoppers to checkout).

Great Analytics Features

Shopify comes with built-in analytics capabilities for information on sessions, sales and customer behavior, on top of product-related reports. You can gather insights right from the site to make better business decisions.

Excellent App Store

The Shopify app market contains hundreds of tools designed to customize your store experience across multiple categories.

Cons Of Shopify

Shopify is a behemoth—which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Here are the downsides of this ecommerce-focused platform.

Limited Themes

Shopify has great themes, but most of them are expensive (upwards of $100), limiting your choices for easy site-building. Plus, if you want to make changes beyond the appearance of your page and how the products look in them, you’ll have to learn the back-end code.

Expensive Plans

Shopify has no free plans (only a free 14-day trial). You’ll have to start with their most basic premium option, which is $29/month just to get started. The next two plans come in at $79 and $299 per month.

Which Is Better: Wix eCommerce Or Shopify?

You can use either Wix eCommerce or Shopify to create an ecommerce website. But choosing which one is better for you depends on several factors, including budget, business size, and manpower. For small businesses that only need a basic ecommerce set-up, Wix does the job. And it has a convenient integration option if you already have an existing Wix website. However, for large-scale shops, especially those that handle huge inventories or conduct business internationally, Shopify provides a more robust and scalable ecosystem that can help you achieve your business goals.