Wix vs Shopify: Which Should You Choose to Sell Online?
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Wix vs Shopify is a match-up between two popular ecommerce website builders.
In one corner, Wix: an extremely beginner-friendly website builder with excellent ecommerce tools, and over 110 million users worldwide.
In the other corner, Shopify: a dedicated ecommerce heavyweight that’s helped 600,000 businesses generate combined revenues of over $55 billion.
Both Wix and Shopify score an impressive 4.7/5 overall in our research, but those scores break down into very different strengths and weaknesses. Wix is a website builder first and foremost, whereas Shopify is designed purely to help people set up their own online stores. Wix is easier to use and better for small businesses, while Shopify can handle much larger sales.
By the end of this comparison, you’ll know whether Wix or Shopify is right for you.
First, here’s a quick snapshot of Wix vs Shopify. You can compare each platform and sign up for a free trial.
Find out more:
- 5 Best Online Store Builders – a side by side comparison of the best website builders for your ecommerce store.
- Top 7 Ecommerce Platforms – a deep dive into the best ecommerce platforms on the market today, and how to go about choosing yours.
Wix vs Shopify: Pros and Cons
Shopify Pros and Cons
| Shopify Pros | |
|---|---|
| #1 | 24/7 Support Shopify offers round-the-clock support over the phone and live chat. You’re never left alone when running your store. |
| #2 | Powerful ecommerce tools Shopify is one of the market leaders when it comes to in-built ecommerce features. For example, Abandoned Cart Recovery is included with every plan. |
| #3 | Over 100 payment options Wide range of payment options available, including PayPal, Stripe and Shopify’s own fully-integrated payments system. |
| Shopify Cons | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Can be expensive Apps, premium themes and your monthly subscription can add up. Plans are transparent and fairly priced, though, and should be seen as an investment in your store. However, you can save 20% on your chosen plan when you sign up for two years. |
Wix Pros and Cons
| Wix Pros | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Really simple editing interface Thanks to Wix’s drag-and-drop functionality, putting your own stamp on any of its 500+ templates is easy. |
| #2 | Cheap ecommerce plans Wix lets you get your store up and running for as little as $20/month. There’s no hidden costs, and plans include everything you need to sell online. |
| #3 | Useful apps Apps such as Ecwid can be added and ‘plugged in’ to your store, giving you more ecommerce tools. Things like global shipping payments and abandoned cart emails can be used this way. |
| Wix Cons | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Too much creative freedom It’s easy to get carried away with Wix’s large amount of creative freedom, and forget to follow ecommerce design best practices. |
Ease of Use
If you’re selling online, time is money. The easier you find running your store, the more time you can spend attracting and serving new customers.
So is Wix or Shopify easier to use?
Let’s cut to the chase: ease of use is central to Wix’s business model. It’s a drag-and-drop builder; to create an online store, you click on a feature (an image, for example) and drag it to where you want. It’s that simple.
That’s fine when you want to get a website up, but when it comes to online stores, more structure can be helpful.
We tested Wix and Shopify by getting everyday people to build their own online store. The general consensus was that although it’s incredibly easy to edit Wix’s templates, it’s a little harder to actually get the ecommerce side of things set up.
Here are some of their thoughts:
Wix was good because it provided more creative freedom, but was slightly more confusing when adding products and creating categories in comparison to Shopify.
I had no real issue with Shopify as a platform – it was super easy and effective to add products. I can’t imagine it being as simple as Wix’s drag-and-drop interface, but sometimes you just need more structure – and this is where Shopify works better.
Further information:
How to Start an Online Store – Our complete step-by-step guide on setting up your online store
How to Start an Online Clothing Store – A closer look at the things to consider when selling clothes online
12 Best Drag and Drop Website Builders – Discover a dozen of the easiest-to-use platforms around
Shopify keeps its editing interface and dashboard separate. You can add products, manage sales, and create email marketing campaigns, all away from the editor. And although Shopify’s editor is more restrictive than Wix’s, the themes are already set up to help you sell.
You’ll find Shopify has a steeper learning curve than Wix. But in the long run, that extra structure will actually make the process of creating your entire online store easier. That’s why Shopify earns a 4.0/5 in our research for ease of use, while Wix comes out with a 3.6.
Wix vs Shopify – Ease of Use: The Verdict
Shopify wins for ease of use. While it’s true that Wix is known for its editing simplicity, the trade-off is that you get less backend control than with Shopify. If you’re looking to build an advanced online store, Shopify is the best platform available.
Template Design and Customizability
Design matters. If you walked past a disordered shop window, you’re less likely to go in the shop, right? It’s no different with online stores.
Both platforms provide a great range of free and paid templates. The big advantage to Shopify’s themes is that they’re geared towards helping you sell.
39% of online shopping in the US is now done on a mobile, and this number is only going up. Both Shopify and Wix’s themes are mobile responsive, meaning your store will work just as well whatever device your customer is using.
Independent designers ensure Shopify’s 60+ themes are up-to-date and cover a range of industries. At $180, some of Shopify’s paid themes are on the expensive side, but it’s a one-off payment that you should see as an investment in your store.
Wix, meanwhile, offers over 500 templates. Most may not be designed for ecommerce specifically (there’s still 57 that are!), but they do cover nearly every industry imaginable. They’re also super easy to edit (more on this in our next section), so you can turn any of them into an online store.
The downside of Wix templates is, unlike Shopify, you can’t switch after you’ve chosen one. This can make it hard if you want to rebrand your store further down the line.
It’s worth noting both Shopify and Wix offer industry-specific features on their templates, which makes designing your online store much quicker and easier.
Can you make custom edits?
Don’t feel like you’ve got enough scope for customization on your template? You can make custom edits on Shopify and Wix using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Wix Code allows you to customize everything from web applications to page scrolling, and can be accessed by clicking ‘Code’ then ‘Developer Tools’ in the Wix Editor. After this, you’ll have total control over how your Wix website looks.
With Shopify, it’s really easy to make custom edits. Simply click ‘Edit HTML/CSS’ on the Shopify Admin page, and you’re ready to code.
Even if coding isn’t your thing, Wix still offers more freedom with its drag-and-drop editor. Shopify only earned a 3.7/5 in our research for design flexibility, whereas Wix earned a 4.0.
Wix vs Shopify – Design: The Verdict
Wix just beats Shopify for design. Its simplicity in design makes it a great option if you’re a small trader. Wix’s templates are packaged to help you do the basics straight away. But if you want an online store that’s more optimized for sales, Shopify’s themes are for you.
Sales Features
Sales features are where Shopify flexes its ecommerce muscles, earning an impressive 4.7/5 in our research. Shopify is like an ecommerce Swiss Army knife – it’s a one-stop-ecommerce-shop.
Wix isn’t quite as powerful as Shopify, but you still have an impressive range of ecommerce features. We’ll dive into the platforms’ differences below…
Product Types
Both Wix and Shopify allow you to sell physical, digital, and service products. As you can see, it’s a close start to the sales features race.
However, with Wix, you will need an app to sell service products, while Shopify requires a third party integration to sell digital products. The ability to sell the other two product types is built into each platform.
Product Presentation
If your products look good, so will your sales figures. Would you buy something online which was shown in a blurry photo? We doubt it.
Shopify gives you loads of freedom when it comes to how your products look. You can add unlimited items with multiple variants, which is a huge plus. However, you’ll need to install apps to enable product zoom functionality, as well as product videos.
Wix really lets your products shine. It offers a built-in product video function to improve your customer’s experience, and you can easily add a product zoom feature.
What’s more, in May 2018, Wix brought out new checkout customization functionality. Building a distinctive checkout page is great for your brand and your bottom line. Plus, card details can be stored via the ‘my wallet’ area of the checkout page, so Wix customers won’t have to go through the hassle of reentering information.
Payment Options
Shopify covers nearly all areas. It permits over 100 different payment gateways, but it doesn’t currently support Square. On top of that, you will have to pay transaction fees – unless you use its own gateway, Shopify Payments.
Plus, Shopify now allows merchants to enable tipping during checkout, or customize the text to ask for donations to your business or favorite charity.
Wix supports all the traditional payment options, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square, but doesn’t allow digital wallet payments like Apple Pay and Amazon Pay. Wix does pull one back on Shopify, though, by imposing zero transaction fees on any price plans.
Shipping Options
Shopify runs a tight ship. It helps you every step of the way in the complicated shipping process, from offering free shipping to syncing up with alternative shipping providers. Shopify is also helping merchants offer more flexible and contact-free shipping options, like curbside pickup and local delivery. In summary, you’re never left stranded when organizing shipping with Shopify.
With Wix, you can track orders, set tax rules for each product, and take advantage of dropshipping. However, you’ll still need apps to help with global shipping payments. That said, Wix also offers an app integration with ShipStation, a shipping solution that streamlines the process of sending products out to ecommerce customers.
Inventory Management
As you’d expect, Shopify is the full package when it comes to inventory. You can upload single or multiple products, use stock management tools, get revenue reports, and navigate your way around easily.
Wix is designed for smaller online stores. This means the inventory management is more limited than Shopify, in that you need apps to help with revenue reports and visitor analytics. However, you can add multiple products, which is really useful.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
By recovering lost sales, research claims you can increase revenue by 25%! Think of it like sealing the holes in a leaky boat. Take abandoned cart recovery for example– this lets you email customers who have left your website with items still in their cart before checking out.
Both Wix and Shopify support abandoned cart recovery.
Tax Settings
Wix allows you to enable and disable taxes, include tax in the product price, and more. It’s best if you install the Avalara app, which is an automated tax software program that helps you calculate real-time tax rates.
As you’d expect, Shopify gives you tons of control over your tax settings – you can even set up Shopify to automatically handle common tax calculations to free up your time and reduce brain-ache.
Shopify Plus customers can also access Avalara AvaTax, which automates both your tax calculations and the tax filing process.
Wix vs Shopify – Sales Features: The Verdict
Shopify is the clear winner for sales features, but context is key. Wix includes what you need to sell online. If you don’t want to build a business or sell tons of products, you will enjoy the simplicity of Wix – but for more complex online stores, Shopify is best.
Shopify Review – for a deeper look into Shopify
Wix Review – to get to know Wix inside out
Marketing Features
Shopify relies heavily on third party apps for marketing. While this does give you lots of flexibility, it’s hard to compare the two platforms fairly with so many apps flying around.
On the other hand, Wix has changed the ecommerce marketing game with Wix Ascend. An all in one marketing solution, Ascend is available as a separate subscription, letting you manage your marketing campaigns easily in one place.
Social Media Integration
Shopify’s multi-channel integration lets you connect your store to social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram, as well as marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Similarly, Wix supports the ability to sell on Instagram, so you can seamlessly transfer your ecommerce success to a whole new platform.
These days, 48% of people’s searches for products begin on marketplaces, so integrating across channels is a great way to get a leg up on your competition.
Email Campaigns
As we mentioned earlier, Wix Ascend gives you control over all things marketing, all in one place. While you can still send three email campaigns a month without an Ascend subscription, you get premium features and a much higher campaign quota if you do subscribe.
With Shopify, you can create email campaigns from the admin page. However, for more flexibility, you can integrate a number of apps like Omnisend Email Marketing, and Privy.
Blogging
Wix lets you build beautiful blogs with ease. In reality, the only hurdle it stumbles over is archive functionality (saving old posts for users to read). If you really wanted this relatively unique function, though, you’re better off using a blogging specific tool like WordPress anyway.
Shopify does poorly in the blogging sphere. It has no built-in analytics features, no social bookmarking, and no blog specific search feature. Overall, its blogging offerings are bleak.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the practice of making sure your store appears in a strong position in search engine rankings.
Both Shopify and Wix make it easy to:
- Add and edit meta titles/descriptions – the headline and text that appears in Google
- Customize URL slugs – the text that comes after your domain e.g. www.websitebuilderexpert.com“/ecommerce-website-builders/comparisons/wix-vs-shopify/”
- Attach alt text to images – text that Google reads to understand what your images actually depict
- Get further guidance with ‘SEO best practice’ prompts
However, Wix has the edge here. It offers keyword support, suggesting popular words or phrases worthusing – something which Shopify does not offer.
Wix vs Shopify – Marketing Features: The Verdict
Wix wins the marketing round! It’s very close, but Wix simply offers more than Shopify – particularly when you consider the superior blogging features and the power and simplicity of Wix Ascend, offering all your marketing tools in one manageable place.
App Stores
Integrating apps can benefit your online store by giving you access to more tools and features to help bolster your store’s performance. Both Shopify and Wix have app stores, offering various free and paid integrations to help with all areas of ecommerce.
Shopify’s App Store gives you even greater scope to grow your store. You can add a customer wishlist, set up dropshipping, add product reviews, and use currency conversion. Plus, the recently added Shop App is a personal shopping app that lets customers view their favorite Shopify stores, get product recommendations, and track orders. It’s already being used by over 16 million users!
Within the Wix App Market, the search bar pulls through relatable apps based on what you’re searching, so you’ll always get the best option for your needs. Still, for ecommerce-specific apps, the Wix store cannot match Shopify. However, we thoroughly recommend Ecwid for all Wix online stores. This app gives you access to powerful features, such as abandoned cart emails and global shipping payments.
Wix vs Shopify – App Stores: The Verdict
Shopify has a better app store than Wix in terms of ecommerce integrations, in that it simply has more to choose from. Wix is fine for smaller online stores, but for bigger and better ecommerce functionality (like global shipping payments), you can integrate the Ecwid app.
Monitoring Performance with Analytics
Keeping track of your website’s performance is important. It helps you grow your business by showing you what is and isn’t working!
Both platforms provide access to Google Analytics, which gives you superb insight into what your customers are doing. This means you know exactly how to customize your website to earn more cash.
It’s worth noting that for Wix, you’ll need to be on an ecommerce price plan to use Google Analytics – but with Shopify, it’s available on all plans.
Shopify goes the extra mile with plenty of built-in analytics features, including customer behavior, stock levels, and conversion tracking. So it doesn’t take much analysis to see which platform wins here.
Wix vs Shopify – Analytics: The Verdict
Shopify provides more built-in analytics features than Wix, and so clearly wins this round. Wix also doesn’t grant access to Google Analytics on the free plan because you need a personalized URL without a subdomain, so you’ll need to upgrade to an ecommerce plan.
Customer Support
If you’re stuck between Wix and Shopify, think about the level of support you’ll need.
Both platforms offer:
- Phone and email support
- Dedicated help accounts on social media
- Forums and a help center
Shopify’s phone support is 24/7, though. It also offers live chat support – a feature Wix currently doesn’t have.
If your store experiences problems at 4am, having support available immediately is crucial.
One massive point in Wix’s favor is its in-editor help. It can be frustrating having to click back and forth between a guide and your store, but with Wix, you can receive help directly within the editor.
Hover your mouse over the editor’s question marks and you bring up small speech bubbles, which answer common problems. In Shopify, this process is clunkier and requires you to visit a separate page.
Wix’s Help Center has hundreds of articles and videos to support you. The layout is clearer than Shopify’s Help Center, which doesn’t include videos. That said, both hubs have more than enough information to answer your questions.
Wix vs Shopify – Customer Support: The Verdict
Overall, Wix has better customer support than Shopify. Having around-the-clock support with Shopify is great, but it’s the quality of Wix’s support which makes it the winner. A more comprehensive help center and support directly in the editor mean Wix edges Shopify here.
Value for Money
No Wix vs Shopify comparison is complete without a look at pricing. Let’s find out which one offers better bang for your buck.
Wix Pricing
The three Wix plans which let you sell online are:
- Business Basic – $20/month
- Business Unlimited – $25/month
- Business VIP – $35/month
All come with unlimited bandwidth, 20GB-50GB storage, and $300 in ad vouchers. Upgrading to Wix’s Business VIP plan gets you priority response and VIP support.
Shopify Pricing
Shopify’s three main pricing plans are:
- Basic Shopify – $29/month
- Shopify – $79/month
- Advanced Shopify – $299/month
It’s a little more expensive than Squarespace, but Shopify is easily worth the money.
Save Up to 20% on Your Shopify Plan
Do you love discounts? Who doesn’t? Well, you could save almost $190 per year on the Shopify Plan if you sign up for two years, or $94 per year if you sign up for one year.
You could put those savings towards household bills, someone’s college fund, or your holiday pot!
Unless you’re a large store, Shopify Basic will be able to cater to your needs. You’ll get discount codes, unlimited products and storage, and multi-channel integration. Upgrading to Shopify or Advanced Shopify gets you better analytics and reporting.
How do They Compare?
The fairest comparison is between Wix’s Business Unlimited and Shopify Basic as they’re similarly priced. These are the two plans you should be looking at if you’re building your first online store. Wix Business Unlimited comes in cheaper at $25/month versus $29/month for Basic Shopify.
Both plans are a great way to get online and selling. Which one is right for you will depend on the scale of your business, and your ambition.
Wix offers fantastic value for money. For the price of a few Starbucks coffees and a sandwich, you get ecommerce tools, hosting, security, storage, and enough bandwidth to handle 2 million visitors per month. With a 4.5/5, Wix scores a full point higher than Shopify’s 3.5 in our “value for money” research category.
Wix vs Shopify – Value for Money: The Verdict
Wix offers better value for money than Shopify. The more advanced your store, the more you will appreciate being on a Shopify plan – but Wix eCommerce offers plenty of scalability for less cost.
What About Alternatives to Wix and Shopify?
When it comes to building your online store, Wix and Shopify are both great options. But if neither are calling out to you, there are plenty of alternatives to explore, too. Below, we’ll quickly introduce three great alternatives…
BigCommerce
Big business ambitions? BigCommerce is for you. It’s best for fast growing companies, providing the most and best built-in features of any platform we tested. It can help turn your online store into an ecommerce empire, with the highest price plan suitable for stores generating up to $1 million in annual revenue.
Squarespace
Delighted by design? Squarespace has the sleekest templates around to help your online store really stand out. It also has awesome built-in features and a strong inventory system, but it’s relatively tricky to use compared to other website builders with ecommerce functionality because it demands more creative skills.
Square Online Store
Cost conscious? Square is the best value for money option. It’s also really easy to use, so it’s perfect for users without much tech skill who want to create a nice website. However, design flexibility is pretty limited, and there isn’t much room for customization.
Why not check out our comparison of the 5 best ways to build a online store, or the top 7 ecommerce platforms?
Or, if you’re keen to see how Wix and Shopify fare against other competitors, check out some of the reviews below:
- Wix vs Squarespace – the battle of the builders.
- Shopify vs BigCommerce – sophisticated inventory meets sophisticated features. Who will win?
Wix vs Shopify: Overall Winner
Wix vs Shopify is a battle between two excellent online store builders. Which one you pick depends on what you want from your ecommerce business.
Ask yourself: are you a regular user, or an aspiring ecommerce entrepreneur?
Shopify works with some of the world’s biggest businesses, such as Budweiser and Tesla Motors. It’s better for large-scale businesses.
Wix is better for small-to-medium sized ecommerce stores. Shopify is only suitable for building online stores, whereas Wix is also suitable if selling online isn’t the main focus of your site.
With that in mind, which one should you choose? Let’s have a quick recap of which builder performed better through our comparison, before giving you some final pointers on choosing the best one for you.
| Wix vs Shopify | Wix | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | With Wix, editing the front end of your website couldn’t be easier, but you lack control in the backend | Shopify is easy to use in all areas, particularly when managing your inventory |
| Design | Beautiful templates which are really simple to edit | Offers templates designed purely for helping you sell online |
| Sales Features | Lets you sell physical, digital, and service products, but overall has pretty simple sales tools | The market’s best sales features, including excellent built-in analytics and inventory management tools |
| Marketing Features | Outstanding marketing features, particularly with blogs | Great for social media integration and SEO, but lacking the overall power of Wix’s features |
| App Stores | Huge app store, but offers less ecommerce specific integrations than Shopify | Excellent app store, with endless ecommerce integrations to help boost your site’s sales |
| Analytics | Simple in-house analytics, plus access to Google Analytics tracking | Access to Google Analytics, as well as more advanced built-in analytics features to keep track of your store’s success |
| Help and Support | Email, social media, and phone support, plus an incredibly helpful forum | 24/7 phone and live chat support, but doesn’t have any onsite editor help |
| Value for Money | Can build a store for free, and paid plans are affordable and feature-rich | Offers a 14-day free trial. For larger stores, advanced features can be worth the higher cost |
Wix is best for small online stores with a strong focus on branding and marketing. It’s ideal for websites expanding into ecommerce, combining solid sales tools with great customization. Shopify, on the other hand, is designed to drive larger stores towards success, and has the power-tools to prove it!
Shopify costs more, but you’re paying for a much better range of sales features, and ultimate control over your store. Wix is cheaper, making it an affordable option for smaller businesses.
So how do you decide whether Wix or Shopify is right for you?
Why Choose Wix instead of Shopify?
- Suited to websites selling a few products
- Lots of creative control
- More templates
- Better blogging features
- Can build a store for free
Why Choose Shopify instead of Wix?
- Suited to bigger businesses
- Best sales tools on the market
- Built-in analytics tools
- Supports more payment gateways
Wix is the best all-around website builder on the market, and Shopify is a dedicated ecommerce builder with tons of powerful tools. You can’t go wrong with either platform, but Wix is best for smaller stores, while Shopify impresses for its scalability.
Wix vs Shopify: FAQs
What’s cheaper, Wix or Shopify?
You can sell online with Wix at lower cost than with Shopify. With Wix’s Business Basic plan, you can sell online for as little as $20/month whereas Shopify’s cheapest plan is $29/month. Shopify do have a 14-day free trial though, so you can try before you buy.
Can I code on Shopify and Wix?
Yes! Shopify has its own template language called Liquid which you can access to make advanced customizations to Shopify’s themes. Wix code can be accessed through Wix’s editor and also lets you make advanced changes to its templates.
Do Wix and Shopify have a multilingual capacity?
Wix allows you to set up multiple versions of the same page in different languages – in fact, it makes it very easy to do so. You can translate text, links, SEO settings and Wix Stores with a click of a button. Shopify also offers multilingual apps, such as GTranslate, but they aren’t quite as user-friendly.
Do Wix and Shopify have a discount functionality?
Yes! With both Wix and Shopify you can create discount codes for your customers. With Wix, this has to be a specific amount of money, though. Shopify is a bit more advanced here, in that you can offer percentage discounts.
Can I sell products on Wix?
Yes. While you can build your Wix online store at no cost, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the three ecommerce plans to sell products. These premium plans are: Basic ($20/month), Unlimited ($25/month), and VIP ($35/month).
Which is better for SEO, Wix or Shopify?
Wix just edges it. Both platforms will allow you to edit meta titles, meta descriptions, and URL slugs – however, Wix goes the extra mile by offering keyword support. Wix also provides stronger blogging features than Shopify, which can help your site appear in more searches online.
Are Wix and Shopify themes mobile responsive?
Yes. Wix has 71 templates with ecommerce capabilities, while Shopify has 10 free themes and 50+ paid options which you can buy for $140 – $180. Every theme provided by each platform is mobile responsive, so your store will look good on any sized screen.
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