What happens when we don’t know where to set up our online store? Which platform do we choose? How much will it cost us? These are frequently asked questions that come up when wanting to start our business journey and establish our business online. Let’s know “Shopify Vs Wix Comparison: Which is the best CMS eCommerce?”
Options are not lacking, and today you have a wide selection of e-commerce platforms to choose from. Each of them, as expected, has its strengths and weaknesses, but surely you have heard of some of them.
Shopify Vs Wix Comparison: Which is the best CMS eCommerce?
The first one we want to talk to you about is Shopify, a CMS ( content management system, for its acronym in English) specialized in electronic commerce, with great robustness, simplicity of use and popularity in the current market, with which you will hardly need knowledge technicians to start selling from day one.
On the other hand, we have Wix, a web development platform with a very intuitive interface that makes things easier for those who do not have advanced knowledge of web design. It is estimated that there are more than 100 million web pages created with Wix, and although in principle it is not expressly intended for electronic commerce, many users use it to sell their products.
So which one is the best for you? Let’s see it in detail.
Introduction to Shopify vs Wix
Shopify‘s rise as an e-commerce platform has been steady over the past few years, and we’re not surprised at all. In international markets, this popular CMS has been characterized as a powerful option to establish your brand and product on the web.
The numbers speak clearly: more than 800,000 stores were created with Shopify and revenues of more than 55,000 million dollars in total.
The store is really easy to create and does not require the user to know the ins and outs of web programming or other technical aspects. What’s more, with Shopify Plus you’ll be able to set up a multimillion-dollar store with enterprise-grade tools and still have the benefit of an easy-to-use CMS.
Wix is not focused on e-commerce from minute 1. Since it is a platform designed to help beginners to create a web page with drag and drop capacity, that is, drag and drop. In this way, the user will be able to create a web page in the easiest and simplest way.
If you want to take the first steps both in the creation of a website and in the establishment of your online business. Wix is confirmed as a very attractive option.
What is the fundamental difference between Shopify and Wix? Shopify has more tools to grow as a business. Even if you reach millions of dollars in annual profit. They are specialists in e-commerce for a reason.
While Wix works as a website builder in the first place, we can sell within our newly built store. However, it is not expressly designed for this and it is easier to get lost in the design options, leaving aside the best practices of online commerce.
In the following sections, we will make a step-by-step comparison of each of the functions of both platforms.
Easy to use: Shopify vs Wix Comparison
Let’s be clear, most of us choose a platform basically for its ease of use. As long as the costs are not excessive. Time is money, and we want to use it efficiently for what interests us. It is dealing with the client and the sales process itself.
The first thing to keep in mind is that Shopify separates its interface when editing. So you can add products, manage inventory, and marketing campaigns, and manage all aspects of your sale separately. In the next paragraphs, we will tell you the relevance of this.
Its installation is simple: it does not require technical knowledge or the manual download of the software. We create the account, follow the wizard and voilà. We will be ready to start selling. All relevant information will appear on your screen from minute 1 and the menus are seamless. The day-to-day is sewing and singing.
In terms of simplicity, nothing to envy about Wix, since its dragging functionality allows you to create complete web pages in just a few minutes. Their templates are really easy to edit. However, there is a clear disadvantage: it is not specialized in e-commerce.
This is not to say that Wix is not suitable for eCommerce, just that the creativity it offers makes it more confusing to add products and categories. When a platform is not native for eCommerce, we will need a little more time to adjust it to our purposes. This is why we specified the importance of Shopify separating editing from its functions.
While Wix may seem more editable at first glance, it also offers less control over the actual store structure ( back end). In this section, Shopify wins the battle.
Design and customization: Shopify vs Wix Comparison
We never tire of highlighting the importance of design in an online store. It is not enough to consider that we have the best product, the best marketing campaign, the best SEO and a shiny business. We have to give an image of it, and we have to believe it. As in a physical store, the window of an online store must be elegant and attractive. A large part of the sales conversion depends on this. The percentage of users who decide to finish the purchase within the web.
Shopify Design and customization
At Shopify, the themes are exclusively aimed at eCommerce companies, how could it be otherwise. Themes are also very flexible and will help us stand out from our competition. We will be able to delete sections or edit them in a “safe zone” so as not to have to duplicate the theme.
At Shopify, themes are created by independent designers and can be both free and paid. For example, going up to a one-time payment of $180. Of course, they are prepared to be adaptable to mobile devices. Every year the number of users who buy online only increases. You won’t have to worry about updates or theme compatibility like you do with other e-commerce platforms. Once you purchase the theme and configure it to your liking, worrying about it is over.
Wix Design and customization
As you can imagine, at Wix we have a point against. It is true that it offers more than 500 templates to install. But since they are not only focused on e-commerce, not all of them are intended for online sales. However, a significant number of them are designed exclusively for this and are very easy to edit.
The biggest disadvantage in this section is that you cannot change the template in Wix. Once you have chosen one, at least not in an easy way. Both it and Shopify, however, allow code editing if you know HTML and CSS. Or if you have the help of a web design expert.
Shopify wins again at this point; their templates are meant for e-commerce optimization. If we have to highlight something in Wix, it is that editing the design is made more intuitive due to its drag function.
Add-ons and complements: Shopify vs Wix Comparison
Shopify calls them add-ons and Wix calls them plugins. For tastes, the colors. These add-ons that can be installed in our store or website, provide additional features that will help us boost our business, such as integration with social networks, payment gateways, advanced SEO features and specific tax settings.
Spoiler alert: One of the biggest upfront costs of eCommerce is purchasing add-ons. Although there are many that are free, the most powerful are naturally paid.
The Shopify Add-on Store is its own App Store. As its name suggests, you can browse through its catalog, consulting each add-on with its corresponding reviews, description, price, specific features, etc.
Featured add-ons will appear on the main page, those whose relevance is increasing ( trending, to use modern words and not get stuck), as well as some that are designed to help you start from scratch.
Here something similar happens to the section on themes and design. Wix’s add-on store, the App Market, has plenty of them, but not all of them are for eCommerce. And even finding those that are, they are no match for Shopify, both in functionality and numbers.
The winner is clear again. Wix plugins are an interesting option and the added functionality is attractive, but it simply cannot compete with Shopify.
The product: Shopify vs Wix
Let’s leave aside the design and plugins to focus on the main functionalities of the two platforms, starting with the product.
Both Shopify and Wix offer the ability to sell physical products, digital products, or services. Specifically, Shopify requires integration with third parties to be able to sell digital products, while Wix needs a plugin to be able to offer services.
We come to the catalog. How do we present the products? After the showcase, a good presentation of the product or service, with a great quality of photography and a detailed description of the most outstanding attributes. It is the most important factor that you are going to have to work on.
Shopify will allow you to add an unlimited number of products with your own variations to each of them. If you want the option to zoom when you mouse over the product photo or insert a video to introduce it. You will need to install add-ons from their store.
Wix stands out in the presentation since it incorporates a native option to add product videos. And also the possibility of adding the zoom function in an easy way. In this section, Wix would stand out above Shopify.
Payment gateways
Here we certainly highlight almost 100 different payment gateways that Shopify supports, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. If you don’t want to pay third-party transaction fees, you’ll need to use Shopify Payments, the eCommerce platform’s default payment gateway.
If we choose not to use Shopify Payments, the charge that we will be charged for each transaction will depend on the plan that we have contracted. Namely:
- Shopify Lite and Shopify Basic: 2.0% for all transactions.
- Shopify (Medium Plan): 1.0% for all transactions.
- Advanced Shopify: 0.5% for all transactions.
And if we’ve already decided to sign up for Shopify Plus, you can pay up to 2.15% + $0.30 per sale (US prices). With an additional 0.15% commission on the sale, if you use a third-party gateway. Don’t forget to visit their add-on store to configure even the smallest details of the payment process.
Wix, on the other hand, also supports all the payment options we’ve come to expect from an online store, including PayPal and Stripe. But doesn’t currently accept digital card payments like Amazon Pay and Apple Pay.
The biggest difference is that Wix does not charge any transfer fees on any of its paid subscriptions. In this section, it would win over Shopify. Although in this case, a higher cost usually translates into a more robust service with more features exclusively for e-commerce.
It should be noted that both Shopify and Wix offer an abandoned shopping cart recovery service. Allowing you to send an email to potential customers who have not yet completed their purchase after adding products to our online store. It is an option of tremendous importance for the conversion of sales.
The shipment
Shopify will help you with every aspect of the shipping process, like the ability to specify free shipping. Or the ability to integrate with shipping companies directly.
To save time and costs, they now allow labels to be printed directly. So packages can be prepared without the need for additional equipment or waiting in long queues.
Wix, as expected, also allows you to track your shipments and configure tax rules. As well as configure the dropshipping process, that is, the sale by which the retailer gives the order to the warehouse for the transport of the items. goods to the final customer.
Although Wix is optimal for small businesses and startups, we find ourselves with a tie in this section.
Marketing and SEO
Shopify marketing and SEO depend a lot on the add-ons you need or decide to install. Without a doubt, the Shopify store add-ons offer unlimited possibilities when it comes to performing SEO and boosting the relevance of our business in the search results of the most famous engines. (Yes, we are talking about Google, why are we going to fool ourselves ).
Instead, Wix has a specialized marketing solution called Wix Ascend. It works as an independent subscription to the web plans. And its control panel allows you to carry out the entire marketing campaign from one place, including email marketing (which is an option included natively in Shopify).
Integration with social networks would not be a problem on either of the two platforms. Both allow stores to be connected to Facebook and Instagram. Shopify also offers integration to other marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. If you want to sell on Instagram, you can also do it with Wix.
Markets embedded in social networks are increasing in relevance year after year. According to BigCommerce, up to 48% of product searches begin on the respective marketplaces, something to sleep on.
And finally, how do they respond to more technical SEO?
Our goal should always be to appear on the first page of Google (we would also say the second. Bbut let’s be honest, what percentage of users end up on the second page?).
With both Shopify and Wix, it will be easy for you to add meta titles and meta descriptions, that is, the text that will be displayed in Google. When our website appears in the results, as well as customize the structure of the URLs and add alternative text for the images that cannot be loaded or due to accessibility issues.
Wix has a clear advantage here, in that it has more accessible and simpler blogging options than Shopify, which does not have built-in analytics or blog-specific search tools. Which one to opt for? It depends on the use you want to make of the marketing tools. Although Wix Ascend is a great asset, it also comes at a cost. If blogging is your thing, Wix stands out above Shopify.
Customer Support
There will always be a time when we feel stuck in the process, and that’s when we need some help. Both Shopify and Wix have phone and email customer support, dedicated support social media accounts, and help forums.
Problems can arise at any time, regardless of the time of day. Shopify offers 24/7 phone support, and also offers chat support, something Wix currently doesn’t have.
However, Wix has the advantage to compensate for this fact, you will be able to receive help in the same editor and thus avoid visiting a separate page to clear your doubt. Something that you will have to do with Shopify in this way.
Shopify wins on availability, but Wix wins on the quality and presentation of its built-in help.
Prices
We could not finish this article without consulting the prices of the two platforms. We have decided to share again a table that we made for the Shopify and Shopify Plus comparative article. Both the basic plans and the Shopify Plus plan intended for companies with a more than considerable billing are clearly seen.
[ Prices for the United States]
These prices decrease slightly if we opt for the annual contract or the contract for two years. Be that as it may, the main cost will be found in the price of the themes and add-ons that we buy, especially when we start our online store or when we want to expand it with more advanced options.
The Wix plans that allow you to sell online are divided into three:
- Business Basic: $20 per month
- Business Unlimited: $25 per month
- And Business VIP: $35 per month (including priority customer support).
Although at first glance, choosing Wix seems cheaper and more logical for that reason. The price to pay on Shopify is worth every penny. In the most advanced plans. You will have advanced professional reports, the creation of gift cards and the calculation of shipping costs directly with third parties.
Conclusions
Now you know “Shopify Vs Wix Comparison: Which is the best CMS eCommerce?” The price to pay is important, especially when we are starting our way in the world of electronic commerce. We do not deny it. But we also have to put the emphasis on the scalability of the business. On the platform’s responsiveness with respect to an increase in traffic and operations in our online store.
Wix is cheaper and has adequate scalability on the most basic plans, just like Shopify. But as your business grows (which will surely be your goal), the options of the more advanced Shopify plans are very attractive. And, if we talk about Shopify Plus and we can afford it. We will be dealing with an e-commerce platform with infinite potential, which includes the automation of a large part of your sales and the personalized help of experts.
And speaking of experts, at Webrito we specialize in Shopify. We understand that it is a very powerful e-commerce tool, with a great future and with which it is worth working. Contact us whenever you want and we will be happy to help you create or develop your online store.
