WordPress, Shopify or Webflow: which one do you need?

If you mainly sell products and want the least technical work, choose Shopify. If content matters as much as sales, or you want full control and low running costs, choose WordPress with WooCommerce. If your brand lives on design and you sell a small range, Webflow is worth a look.

All three can run a good online shop. The right one depends on what you sell, who looks after the site, and how much you want to change it later. Here’s how I’d decide.

How the three are different

The biggest difference is who looks after the technical side. Shopify and Webflow are hosted. You pay a monthly fee, and they handle the servers, security and updates. WordPress is free software you install on hosting you choose. You get more freedom, and you (or your developer) look after it.

Prices are from each platform’s pricing page at the time of writing. Webflow charges in US dollars.

Choose Shopify if selling is the main job

Shopify is built for one thing, and it does it very well. Checkout, payments, stock, shipping and tax all work on day one. If you sell in person too, the same system runs your point of sale.

• You want to launch quickly without thinking about hosting or updates.
• You have lots of products, or plan to.
• You want an app for almost every problem, from reviews to bookings.

The trade-off is monthly fees that grow with you, and less control over how some parts work. Apps also add up. Shopify’s plans start at A$56 a month, or A$42 a month paid yearly. My guide to which Shopify plan you need helps you pick one. You can start a Shopify trial here.

Choose WordPress with WooCommerce if content matters

WordPress runs a huge part of the web, and WooCommerce turns it into a shop. Both are free. It’s the best fit when your shop sits next to a blog, guides, courses or a big services section.

• You want to own your site and move it to any host.
• You need something unusual that other platforms can’t do.
• You’d rather pay for hosting and a few plugins than a monthly platform fee.

The trade-off is care. You need good hosting, regular updates and backups. Some extras, like subscriptions or bookings, are paid WooCommerce extensions. A slow or neglected WordPress shop is a common sight, so my post on speeding up a slow WordPress site is worth a read. It’s a bit like owning a house instead of renting. You can knock down walls, but you also fix the gutters.

Choose Webflow if design comes first

Webflow lets a designer build almost any layout without a theme holding them back. It’s great for brand-led sites where the look is part of what you sell.

• You sell a small range, fewer than a few hundred products.
• You have a designer, or you enjoy design yourself.
• Your site is mostly marketing pages, with a shop on the side.

The trade-offs are real for bigger shops. The Ecommerce plans cap your products at 500, 5,000 or 15,000. The Standard plan (US$29 a month, paid yearly) adds a 2% transaction fee, and payments go through Stripe or PayPal. There’s also far less choice in add-ons. Flowout, a Webflow agency, says “there’s no equivalent to Shopify’s 8,000+ app marketplace.” If you don’t need a shop yet, Webflow’s site plans start at US$15 a month.

Three questions to decide

1. Is selling products the main job of the site? Yes, and you want it simple: Shopify.
2. Will you publish a lot of content, or need something unusual? Yes: WordPress with WooCommerce.
3. Is the look of the site the thing that sets you apart, with a small range? Yes: Webflow.

If two answers are yes, I’d go with the first one on the list. You can move platforms later, but it’s real work. Products move easily. Designs, links and apps usually have to be rebuilt.

If you’d like me to help you choose or build, have a look at what Riksi does. Otherwise, pick the one that fits today and start selling.