WIX VS SHOPIFY: WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE TO BUILD YOUR ONLINE SHOP?

Having an online store has become a necessity for companies to offer their products and services on the current market where the internet has become the means by which most people seek information, make their purchases, and hire service.

When developing an e-commerce site, choosing the right platform or tool is a fundamental step. For those who want total control of every aspect of their e-commerce site, tools such as PrestaShop or Magento are ideal, although they imply having knowledge in web design and development.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to create an online store without knowing about web programming, such as Shopify or Wix -- platforms which are simple and intuitive to use, specially designed to create and manage an e-commerce site.

Advantages of Wix for an online store

Wix is a platform that specialises in the creation of e-commerce sites which has great international popularity. Its approach is clearly aimed at users who want to create an online store quickly and easily and who do not have knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other web technologies.

A user without experience in the creation of webpages and virtual stores can build their e-commerce site with Wix in a very short time thanks to its intuitive and simple templates, options, and tools.

The main advantages of using Wix are:

• It is not necessary to have knowledge in web development and design.
• The platform has more than 500 designs to choose from so as to give the store a professional look.
• You can avoid having to hire web hosting and a domain name.
• The platform helps with the site’s positioning in the main search engines.
• It includes the main functions of an e-commerce site (shopping cart, product pages, shipment system, etc.).

Advantages of Shopify for an online store

With Shopify, building an online store and starting to sell products on the internet is a very quick and simple process. The platform offers all the tools and resources needed to create a professional e-commerce site in no time at all and to start uploading products.

This is one of the alternatives to the more popular platforms like PrestaShop, WooCommerce, and Magento. People looking to manage an online shop without having to worry about the technical aspects see Shopify as the ideal solution. Simply hire one of the plans and start to create the e-commerce site immediately with a simple and intuitive drag-and-drop system.

The main advantages of Shopify are:

• It includes hosting, so you don’t have to worry about hiring and setting up the server.
• It is perfect for the dropshipping business model, being able to be used with different suppliers and platforms such as Amazon and AliExpress, for example.
• Unlimited products can be uploaded, making it ideal for small virtual shops but also for e-commerce sites with thousands of products.
• Its system for creating and managing an online store does not require knowledge in web design and development.

Shopify or Wix: Which one to choose for an online store?

Choosing between Shopify and Wix is not an easy decision, since both platforms focus on the same objective: to make the possibility of quickly and easily creating an e-commerce site available to users without technical knowledge.

Let's see what the differences are between the two platforms so that you can select the one that best suits your project and the needs of your business.

1. Ease of use

In this category, both platforms excel. They are based on a simple and intuitive drag-and-drop system in which users can add the different web components and lay them out in the store according to their taste or needs.

Creating an online store with Wix and Shopify is very similar. You select the template you want and add the different elements in the place where you want them. All this is done through a drag-and-drop editing process in a visual environment -- something which greatly facilitates the work and reduces the time you have to invest in the creation of your e-commerce site.

2. Cost of the store

Price is one of the main differences between the two platforms. Wix and Shopify both require a monthly fee and a commission for each transaction or sale.

The prices of both platforms are as follows:

• Wix prices. Wix fees vary from €17 to €35, and sales commissions are 1.9% of the amount, plus 30 cents of a euro.
• Shopify prices. Shopify fees range from €29 to €299 and sales commissions are 1.8% to 2.4% of the amount of the sale, plus 25 cents of a euro.

This is a key deciding factor when you are weighing up both platforms, so you’ll have to take out your calculator to evaluate which of the two platforms is the one that offers the best profitability depending on the type of product you offer and the expected sales volumes you have.

As for payment methods, both platforms support payments with the main payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe, although Shopify offers more variety in this aspect.

3. E-commerce site customisation

The two platforms facilitate the creation of an e-commerce site by providing a series of predefined templates and a series of utilities that can be added.

In terms of templates and design, Wix offers more and most of its themes are free, while the best Shopify templates are paid.

In terms of plugins to add features to your e-commerce site, Shopify beats out Wix because it has more than 4,000 utilities or apps, while Wix has just 500.

4. Number of products and storage space

Two key points that must be analysed to know which of the two tools is better for you are the number of products that can be added to the store and the storage space available (to save images, files, videos, etc.).

In both cases, Shopify offers better conditions, featuring unlimited storage and the ability to upload as many items as you want to the store. Wix limits storage by plan, with the VIP plan offering the most space (50 GB). Although Wix limits the number of items to 50,000, that is still a high figure that will cover the demand of most e-commerce sites, so in this regard the difference would only be for large e-commerce sites or marketplaces.

Wix and Shopify are two very interesting platforms to help you create and manage a professional online store without having to hire a team of web developers or having to make a huge financial investment.

Both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages, and being familiar with them is essential to make the appropriate choice for each and every virtual store project. Both Wix and Shopify are ideal tools for those who want to focus on promoting their products and services and enhance their relationship with customers without getting too wrapped up in the technical aspects of creating and managing an e-commerce site.