There are only two tools that I recommend to build a website. If you want to build a blog, the way to go is WordPress.
But if you want to build an online store for your own products or for dropshipping, you can choose between Shopify and WordPress powered with WooCommerce.
Let us review each one.
Shopify: Great for e-Commerce | Online Store
Shopify was built for a single purpose: online stores.
I highly recommend Shopify if you are putting up an online store because it is easy to use, it is affordable, and it has support by thousands of app developers.
Here are some stats about Shopify:
- More than 1 million merchants who use Shopify for their online stores
- Shopify is present in more than 175 countries
- Shopify is the third largest source of retail products, next only to Amazon and eBay
- Major brands use Shopify for their stores, such as Nestle, Penguin Books, Pepsi, Unilever, Tesla Motors, Budweiser and more.
What is in it for you?
Below are the pros of using Shopify for your online store:
- 14-day FREE trial
- Choose from three types of plans
- Pay monthly, not annually
- Cancel anytime
- Fully hosted web store
- Supports dropshipping
- More than 2,500 apps to choose from
- You can blog in your store
- Can be integrated to other sales channels like Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and more
- Accepts more than 100 payment processors
My Shopify Ratings:
EASE OF USE
PRICE
FUNCTIONS
SUPPORT
DESIGNS
- 14-day free trial | no credit card required
- Create your store with drag-and-drop features
- Sell your items in different channels
- Get paid in more than 100 ways
- Hundreds of free and paid themes
WordPress: Great for Blogs, Affiliate Marketing Sites, Info Products and e-Commerce
WordPress is one of the biggest web building platforms in the world. I use WordPress for my blogs and affiliate marketing niche sites. With WordPress e-Commerce Plan, you can add physical and digital products to your website, which customers can buy and download.
Here are some stats about WordPress:
Here are some stats about Shopify:
What is in it for you?
Below are the pros of using Shopify for your online store:
- WordPress powers 35% of the internet
- It is used by huge companies like Sony and Forbes
- 70 million posts are made on WordPress per month
- More than 1.1 million new webtsites are made on WordPress every six months
What is in it for you?
Below are the pros of using WordPress for your online store:
- Great for blogs
- Thousands of plug-ins for SEO, marketing, e-commerce, etc.
- Great customer support
- High-performance
- Self-hosted
- Mobile-friendly
My WordPress Ratings:
EASE OF USE
PRICE
FUNCTIONS
SUPPORT
DESIGN
- Choose from several price plans
- Thousands of plug-ins to support any thing you need to run a website
- Hundreds of e-Commerce features and payment gateways
- Thousands of free and paid themes
- Highly flexible web-building platform
- Build from Bluehost, WordPress, or WooCommerce–the choice is yours
NOTE: WordPress is easy to use if you only want to put up a blog. If you want to use it for e-commerce, it certainly beats Shopify in flexibility and functionality, but it is more difficult to use.
To use WordPress for an e-commerce site, you have three options:
- Create the e-commerce site from WordPress
- Create the e-commerce site from BlueHost
- Create the e-commerce site from WooCommerce
For blogging, go straight to WordPress.
If you have the skill and the patience, use WordPress for your e-commerce store. If not, I recommend Shopify.
Click on the images below to view my other recommendations.
