Whether you are starting a new business venture or wanting to take your existing business online, finding the right platform to do this isn't always as straightforward as you'd think. Although Wix and Shopify offer similar features and at first glance you could be forgiven for thinking they are almost identical the truth is that they are two different tools to be used for different purposes.
Overview
Shopify is purpose built for businesses of any size looking for a serious e-commerce solution. Wix on the other hand is better suited to businesses looking to create a website where brand content and information is the focus and the online store isn't the main goal of the website. Checkout the post below for a more in-depth comparison.
1. How easy are Shopify & Wix to use?
Both Wix and Shopify are easy to use. Shopify's user interface is very well designed and makes it easy to create and manage an online store, however due to the abundance of features that Shopify offers from product variants, shipping rules and multiple payment options the set up can be a lengthy process (SPF can streamline this of course!). Wix claims to be the easiest to use website builder available and it's hard to disagree, the user interface and tutorials provided are easy to use and follow, the ability to create a modern and functional site is a huge pro when deciding which platform to go for. Despite being a bit easier to use and set up, Wix offers less functionality as a result of that and the templates provided are more basic than anything offered by Shopify.
2. Themes and customization
Shopify makes creating your online storefront simple, with 60+ themes to choose from and with an intuitive live editor it is straightforward to achieve the desired look of your store. Shopify's themes are also responsive. This is a massive plus as it means that your shop will look great on both desktops and mobiles with minimal effort. Shopify also allows you to modify themes with custom HTML and CSS code (something SPF specialise in) so you can tweak themes until you have something truly unique and just what you wanted.
Wix has 60 themes available but whereas Shopify themes are mostly paid for (there are 10 free themes), ALL of the Wix themes are free. While these themes are slick and modern unfortunately they aren't responsive that means more legwork making sure everything works on mobile as well as it does on desktop. While the Wix themes are beautiful and offer heaps of flexibility when it comes to customisation they don't offer the same scope as Shopify does with coding, meaning you can't make those little custom or unique styling changes as easily.
3. Products, Shipping & Payments
At first glance it may look as though Wix offers more product features than Shopify, with more variant options and cool carousel product images. While the "out of the box" features are better with Wix, Shopify comes into it's own when it comes to add ons. If you can think of a function you would like for you shop then there is an app for it. From collecting reviews (not possible on Wix) to connecting with Facebook, Ebay, Google Merchant and Mailchimp (+ much more). This is probably the most valuable asset to Shopify as it means you can merge all of your content and products across multiple platforms with ease.
Both Wix and Shopify offer a wide range of payment options. Both platforms support Credit Cards, Paypal, Stripe, Afterpay and Laybuy as well as payments via Facebook and Instagram. Shopify wins here though as it also allows Apple pay, payment through Etsy, Pinterest and Amazon as well as its own Point of Sale system (Wix offers point of sale through the Square app, not currently available in NZ).
When it comes to shipping again both platforms offer a very similar array of features from, flat rates to free shipping, weight based rates and shipping rules. Shopify also offers a built in Print and buy labels (wix offers this though a 3rd party integration).
For a more indepth technical comparison check out this comparison from Website Tool Tester
4. How much do they cost?
Shopify is available at 5 Levels, from Lite to Shopify Plus. The standard Shopify plan is the most common level at $29 USD a month (around NZ$45) and is perfectly adequate for small to medium size businesses with Advanced Shopify being a great option for larger businesses and Shopify Plus being used for huge nationwide stores and online retailers. You can find out more about what is included in each plan here.
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Shopify Lite — US$9 per month
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Basic Shopify — US$29 per month
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Shopify — US$79 per month
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Advanced Shopify — US$299 per month
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Shopify Plus — negotiable, but usually costing around US$2000 per month
Wix also offers a range of business and e-commerce plans at a considerably cheaper price point. This price point although cheaper is an indication to the scale of business you can run from the platform, Wix simply wouldn't be suitable for larger businesses looking to sell thousands of products from a purpose built e-commerce platform. Wix is however a good solution to smaller businesses looking to save money. Find out more about their plans here.
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Business Basix — US$17 per month
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Business Unlimited — US$25 per month
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Business VIP — US$35 per month
Need more info?
If you want to pick our brains on which platform would be best for your business we are always happy to help. To find out more or to enquire about setting up an online store , feel free to get in touch!