There are many different types of online store and eCommerce platforms. But two platforms stand out among the others due to their features and ease of use. In this post, we will compare the Shopify vs Wix platforms and look at the specific characteristics of each one so that you can decide which is best for you.
If you are an online eCommerce business owner looking for the best online shopping platform solution, we know it can sometimes be confusing to know which one is best. While there is no perfect eCommerce solution, it’s important to analyze the positive and negative points of the platform so that you can make an educated decision.
Shopify
Shopify is a well-known, established online business that focuses on helping businesses have a reliable platform to do business. The features of Shopify make it easy to build an efficient online store that will create a passive income for you.
Integrated eCommerce Platforms
One of the most impressive features of the Shopify platform is the fact that it is completely compatible with other well-known eCommerce sites such as Amazon, Facebook Shop, Pinterest Buyable Pins, and other formats. This means that you can not only set up a store that will make you money on Shopify, but people can also see your items on these other popular platforms that have millions of views.
Just using the extra power of Amazon and their immense traffic potential is a big step forward in promoting your business through their automated marketing tools. This makes Shopify what is commonly known as an “all-inclusive” shopping and eCommerce platform that allows you to market your brand to a variety of other platforms where people are searching for your products.
Comprehensive eCommerce shopping solutions are the most popular among online retailers due to the ease-of-use and ability to integrate it with multiple other systems that you may already use or plan to use to promote your business further.
Virtual Business Solution
Shopify is also a perfect business solution for business owners and independent artists, musicians, and others. Even if you run your business from the trunk of your car like the “Life is Good” company did at one time, you can run your business on Shopify’s robust platform and ship your inventory out from anywhere.
This is important to many entrepreneurs today who don’t have a “walk-in” space or a brick-and-mortar building. Things have changed, and, traditional building spaces are becoming a thing of the past for many businesses. They save thousands of dollars per month in overhead simply by working at home or in a remote location,, and, some have even done away with the need for employees simply by outsourcing work to outsourced workers.
With the growing changes in how people do business these days, it is important to find a solution that meets the needs of various types of firms that do not follow a traditional system of operations. Having an online site like Shopify handling your product inventory, sales, and order processing can take the worry about from you and your staff so that you can work on other aspects of your business.
No Need for Coding Skills
Another big advantage to be derived from a comprehensive solution such as Shopify.com is the fact that it negates the need to know any coding language or technical skills that go beyond a basic drag-and-drop procedure. The most business owners do not have the time to invest in learning to code, so the Shopify system provides everything you need to create a site without knowing any code.
Shopify’s Main Features
Below is a list of some of Shopify’s main features that you may like when considering which eCommerce solution to try.
- Custom domain name– Shopify gives you a custom domain name that you can use to brand your store and your online business. This provides you with a way to handle your domain on the same site location as your online store, making it much easier to make changes to either and to manage your domain.
- Hundreds of themes– One site that Shopify competes with is WordPress. That’s because people love the many themes that you can choose from with WordPress. Shopify allows you to choose a theme that best fits your brand without having to go outside of the Shopify platform to download it.
- Fully customizable online store– Shopify gives you a fully customizable online store that you can add products to any time and change to your liking, as the needs of your business change.
- Unlimited products and inventory– Another important feature of the Shopify platform is the ability to add unlimited products to your store. Some web servers or external platforms only allow you to add a certain number of products. Even the lowest Shopify package allows you to add unlimited products to your inventory.
- Fast order fulfillment– Fast order fulfillment is one of the most important aspects of your online store. Customers shop online primarily to save time in finding and purchasing what they want. You need your store to be fast in serving your customers’ needs. Shopify features a fast ordering process and, customers get their order fulfilled quickly.
- Track sales growth and trends– It’s important to know how your business is doing by tracking your sales progress. Shopify has an onboard metrics tracking system that allows you to see how your store is doing and where you need to tweak it to improve things.
Mobile Friendly Web Commerce
Is your online store mobile-friendly? If it’s not, don’t expect to rank very high in Google. Google has made it clear that mobile-friendly websites are essential to keeping your ranking in the search engines as well as increasing your traffic to your site. People on mobile devices should be able to find you quickly and easily. Once they get there, they should also be able to maneuver around your site easily. Shopify makes this easy because of their backend mobile-friendly website engineering.
Shopify Prices
To start an eCommerce site on Shopify, you only need to invest $29 per month. This is the starter package and offers you access to many of the key features, including unlimited product inventory. To move up the chain, you’ll need to purchase either the $79 or $299 Shopify plans, both which give you features such as abandoned cart recovery and calculation of advanced shipping rates, to name a few.
Choose your package or start with the lowest one to see how you like it.
One extra perk to Shopify is that it has the endorsement of some of the most successful entrepreneurs online today. This list includes Mark Cuban and Daymond John, both successful in their own rites and co-stars of the wildly popular “Shark Tank” series on ABC.
So this makes it a more tempting offer since they highly recommend it.
Read more in my Shopify Review
Wix.com
Wix.com is another popular shopping eCommerce site platform that allows you to build your site on their platform quickly and easily. They offer a variety of themes, extras, and add-ons, much like Shopify does. But unlike Shopify, they are not a dedicated eCommerce site.
Instead, Wix is a web builder that allows you to build a website for your business with shopping cart functionality. There is a big difference between these two types of platforms.
Wix lets you create a site using their easy drag-and-drop technology and you may include an eCommerce online storefront within your site. Product pages, coupons, and multiple payment methods are included as options, so you have a lot of flexibility to put in your online Wix store.
Beautiful Designs
Wix allows you to choose from a variety of beautiful web themes that fit your store and branding ideas. Each one is dedicated to a specific type of industry that reflects the nature of the type of business you are in. They are created by professional design artists who create web templates that you can choose from. In this way, Wix is very similar to Shopify, but, some prefer the slightly more professional and minimalist style of Shopify.
Main Features of Wix
There are several features that people prefer on the Wix platform. Below are some of the favorite features of current users.
- Online store integration– The Wix platform allows you to include an online store with your website at no extra charge. Its easy-to-use interface makes it simple to integrate within your website with no need for an external shopping solution.
- Wix video– The video feature allows you to create a stunning video that you can share with your target audience and customers when they come to your site to see your products. You could create a nice sales video for a new product or speak to your customers directly to tell them about your company. However you choose to use this feature, it’s a great add-on because video sells better than any other medium.
- Wix mobile app– The mobile app capabilities of the Wix platform make it a preferred choice of some users. Shopify has an app also but many people prefer the Wix interactive features. You can chat with customers, update your inventory, and many other things using the mobile app. And with an app, you’ll always know that your store is accessible to your mobile customers.
- Wix SEO wizard– The SEO wizard is a new feature within Wiz that allows you to create a personalized SEO plan for your website. This can take the guesswork out of creating SEO content for your website to help customers find you easier.
- Bookings Login– If you have a membership site, this feature will make your life easier. It allows you to let customers who have subscribed to your site to login and interact with you on your site. This feature may increase your level of engagement.
Pricing for Wix.com
The pricing for the Wix.com eCommerce solution starts at $7 per month and the highest package is $25 per month. This means that the lowest cost for a Shopify plan is the lowest cost on the Wix platform.
Read more in my Wix Review
However, when comparing pricing between the two platforms, don’t forget to consider the value you are getting for your price. Most users feel that Shopify gives them a more robust online eCommerce solution and online business owners tend to prefer the dedicated eCommerce platform to the web server that Wix offers with eCommerce as an option.
With a dedicated eCommerce platform like Shopify, all of the features seem to be in one place, and store owners can keep their inventory, shipping, and order management all in one central location.
On the other hand, if you are extremely limited on your budget and you want a solution that focuses more on the website itself, perhaps Wix is the best option for you.
In a Nutshell
If you are still wondering which one to choose, go back and look at both sites and scrutinize the features more closely. What is more important to you? Do you want to have a web server that offers eCommerce on the side but a lot of other cool web features like Wix or is it more important to have a professional and dedicated eCommerce solution?
The backend aspect of the platform is also important. How much technical support can you expect to receive from both options? Shopify has a dedicated “Help Center” that you can choose when you run into any issues as you build your store. They also offer a variety of learning tools such as introductions to the Shopify system if you are migrating your store over to their platform. They also offer a complete solution for reports and analytics so that you can keep up with how your store is doing.
The Wix system also has dedicated support if you need help designing your website and they will also create your site for you if you would rather turn it over to them.
Shopify tends to cater to the slightly more experienced user who has some previous background and experience in web design and eCommerce, while Wix can easily be put together in a just a few minutes by an amateur designer.
Wix simplifies the process significantly by offering total automated design options that you can put together in one sitting. Shopify takes a bit longer to learn all of the features and is slightly more time-consuming for the average users.
Creative Freedom
One important point to make here is the fact that the easiest and simplest platform is not always the best solution for everyone. While Wix offers the simplest, fastest way to put up a website, if you are looking for a long-term option for your online store and don’t want to have to migrate it later in the future, Shopify might work for you.
We are not saying that Shopify or Wix are best for everyone. It depends on what you want to do and your goals for your online store. I have no doubt that both platforms are capable of making you money and helping you to create an online conglomerate. But which one is going to be the best suited to your needs concerning your product line?
Which one offers you the most creative freedom so that you can feel free to change anything you need to change to improve the customer experience? Creative freedom is important, and it has often been the main reason that I have switched from one online platform to another.
If you know some simple code, for example, such as HTML or CSS, you do not have any ability to place this in your pages on the Wix platform. More customization sometimes means more headaches. So if you want to insert raw code in your website, Shopify might be better for your needs.
Shopify has an onboard CSS and HTML editing tool that allows you to tweak the HTML or CSS so that you can shape and format your page to your liking. For some eCommerce owners, this is enough to persuade them that they should choose the Shopify platform solution.
In this regard, Shopify is best because it has an easy drag-and-drop interface but also allows you to add CSS and HTML coding to the mix as well. So the customization elements of Shopify are much stronger and allow you to do much more than the Wix platform does.
How to Choose
We cannot make your decision for you when it comes to choosing between Wix and Shopify. They are both good eCommerce solutions if you are looking for a way to get your products out there to your target audience. But you have to decide which one does what you need where it concerns your business goals.
In fact, whenever you are trying to decide something, it’s a good idea to ask yourself what your goals are for that project. If you want a professional more customized look to your site and the shopping experience is your number one priority, it’s best to use Shopify. This is because you should always think of the goal that you hold most important and find a solution that meets those needs.
Shopify is the best solution for businesses that place the shopping experience over everything else.
On the other hand, if you wand a website that is more about the website experience such as telling your customers about your business and giving them a chance to interact with you, the Wix mobile app, the online chat feature, and other functions of the Wix platform make it seem a better solution.
It’s not Just About the Sale
Because online websites today are about more than just making sales, you may want to consider the Wix platform to start. If your goal is more about your website, getting your brand out there, and communicating with customers, Wix has you covered.
On the other hand, Shopify throws itself into being the go-to site for online sales. So ask yourself if sales are your most important goal and if you want to have more customization options. If you answer “ye” to these two questions, Shopify may be more down your alley.
Try them out
One thing you could do if you are still at odds as to which solution is best is to try them both out for a test run. You can do the trial of either option for free and then upgrade as you see fit once you decide which is best for you. This is a great way to test drive them both without making a solid commitment until you are ready.
By exploring the features of both side-by-side, you’ll be able to make a better judgement on which solution truly matches your goals and budgeting options.
Don’t overstretch yourself
Part of the value of any online solution or any business venture is the fact that is will increase your ROI and save you time and money (or both). Try both platforms and see which one will save you the most time or money before deciding which is best.
Always guide your business decisions on which solution will best serve your needs. Wix has a lot of great features if you want to grow and build your website into a large multi-page virtual property.
But Shopify is going to focus your efforts on the sales end. So if increasing your revenue is the most important, you may want to go with that option instead.
Whatever you do, live within your budget. This is the most difficult thing for new business owners to do or even for business owners who have been in business for awhile. Think about how much you can afford to spend before committing to any subscription service. Remember that a subscription service is going to cost you every month, so you need to take everything into consideration before deciding which is best for your business.
Shopify Examples
Some examples of what some of the Shopify sites look like are shown below. They are all different in their way, but, this will give you an idea of what your site might look like if you use the Shopify platform.
- Calm the Ham– This site shows you the way that Shopify focuses on a minimalist look while putting all of their energy into the eCommerce experience. You only see a few pictures and some simple links at the top, making the customer feel that there’s not a lot to stay on the main page for. Again, if you want to focus on the shopping experience and less on the website, Shopify is probably a good choice.
- Greats.com– Shoes, anyone? This site shows you that they are all about shoes, great shoes, nonetheless and nothing more. In the grand scheme of things this website definitely says, “It’s not about us.”
- Sarah and Abraham– The Sarah and Abraham site is a site that specializes in stuff for kids. You can plainly see that when you come to the site due to the pictures of kids at the top of the page and the photo album of various baby items available on the site. The main part of the page remembers on minimalism but the side navigation has a large number of links, making it more like a traditional site than most.
Wix Examples
Below are some examples of Wix sites. Note the vast difference in the sites we showed you from Shopify and these sites that were designed using the Wix technology platform.
- Jade and Andy– This is not an online site but it’s a design template that you can use if you choose the Wix platform. It is also heavily influenced by minimalism but it also incorporates perpetual scrolling that leads the viewer through the user experience. This may serve to minimalize user frustration and create a more positive user experience for them. Some visitors are annoyed by infinite scrolling, however, so keep this in mind when choosing a web template.
- 3D Designer Portfolio– This is a beautiful page template that can be used by a designer if they want to immerse the user in the web experience. This is something that you are likely not to find on Shopify but you can look at more of their samples to find out. Try the link above for the 3D designer portfolio and see if you think this would provide your users with something unique. Individual designers could include samples of their designs with this template and get visitors in the mood for hiring you to do their web design.
Marketing Extras
We haven’t talked a lot about marketing in this post, but both Wix and Shopify have some marketing options for you. Shopify has slightly more help in this regard but you’ll want to check them out for yourself to see what you get.
The Coin Toss
Well, we hope that you have gotten some better ideas of these two platforms through our blog post today. Both platforms offer some highly specialized features. Wix is a great platform to build a new website in which you want to include a lot of things without the fuss or without spending a lot of time in building it.
We told you that Wix is the simpler platform that lets you put up a site in about the same amount of time it takes you to put a tent up. It is that simple. So you have to think about whether spending more time and perhaps even learning a little CSS or HTML is worth the time you’ll spend to create a site on Shopify, which allows you more creative freedom but which requires a bit more technical prowess and skills than the Wix platform takes.
We also mentioned that if your business goal is about making money, increasing traffic, and revenue, Shopify is probably best. If it’s about your website and all of the various other features that you want to include on your site, choose Wix.
Pick the one that best suits your needs and remember that value is not just about the price you’re paying. It’s also about what you get for your money and how easily you can adjust, change, and upload new product inventory.
We’ve armed you with many of the tools you need to succeed with the knowledge of some of the best features of both. Now you have to decide which one will best serve your interests as a business owner and which one you can afford to pay for on a monthly basis.
The return on your investment is what it’s all about. If you spend $29 per month for a lower end solution, is it the best deal if you could be making more money and more sales on a stronger platform?
You should do some deep analysis to determine which solution best meets your needs before deciding. But remember, it’s not as big as buying a car. If you don’t like the features of one of the solutions, you can always come back and change your mind later.
So, choose Shopify if you want a complete eCommerce solution from product placement to shipping and delivery. Choose Wix if like all of the other features that it offers and if your website development is more important than sales.