“Should I use Shopify or WordPress?” It’s one of the questions I get asked most, usually right at the start of a new website project. When it comes to WordPress vs Shopify, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but for most small businesses I work with, WordPress comes out on top.
I get why Shopify is tempting. It’s everywhere, the ads make it look easy, and you can have a store up in an afternoon. But I’ve also had a fair few clients come to me after outgrowing Shopify, or after getting a shock when they finally added up their monthly app bills.
If you’re a small business owner weighing up your options, here are the four reasons I recommend WordPress to most of my clients, plus an honest look at when Shopify can be the better fit.
1. You actually own your website
With Shopify, you’re renting space on their platform. Your store lives on their servers, under their rules, and you pay every month to keep it there. If you ever decide to leave, your theme and a lot of your setup stay behind, and you’re largely starting again.
WordPress is open-source software, which means nobody owns it and nobody can lock you in. Your website, your files and your content belong to you. You can move to a different host, hire a different developer, or take a full backup of your site whenever you like.
For a small business, that’s real peace of mind. Your website is one of your biggest business assets, and it should be yours.
2. The monthly costs add up quietly
The Shopify plan price is only the start. Most of the features small businesses want are add-on apps, and many of those apps charge a monthly fee of their own. Product reviews, better filters, bookings, subscriptions, wholesale pricing: each one can be another line on your bill.
Individually they don’t look like much. Together, I’ve seen them add up to more than the Shopify plan itself. And because they’re subscriptions, you keep paying for as long as you use them.
With WordPress and WooCommerce, the core shop software is free. There are thousands of free or one-off plugins for almost anything you need, so you pay for good hosting and then choose exactly what you add. Some premium plugins do have yearly licences, but you’re in control of what you take on, and you’re rarely paying for features you don’t use.
3. Content and SEO are built in, not bolted on
WordPress started life as a blogging platform, and it’s still one of the best tools around for publishing content. That matters, because helpful content is one of the main ways small businesses get found on Google.
Shopify is built to sell products first. Its URLs follow set formats such as /products/, /collections/ and /pages/, which you can’t fully change, and its blog is fairly basic.
On WordPress you get:
- Full control over your page URLs and site structure
- A proper blogging platform with categories, tags and author pages
- SEO plugins like Rank Math or Yoast to fine-tune titles, descriptions and schema on every page
If you want your website to bring in new customers, not just process orders, this one is a big deal. Not sure how your current site is tracking? An SEO audit is a great place to start.
4. It grows with your business
Your business won’t look the same in three years, and your website shouldn’t hold it back.
Maybe you’ll want to take bookings, open a members-only area, sell an online course or add a quote request form. On Shopify, each of those usually means another app subscription or a workaround that never quite fits.
WordPress can do all of it on one website. Your shop, blog, bookings, memberships and courses can sit side by side, sharing the same design, customers and login. No starting over and no juggling three different platforms.
WordPress vs Shopify: when Shopify can make sense
To be fair, Shopify isn’t a bad platform. It can be a good fit if:
- You’re purely selling physical products, with little need for content
- You want a completely hands-off setup and don’t mind paying monthly for that
- You’re testing a product idea and want to launch quickly
But if your website is how people find you, get to know you and buy from you, WordPress gives you far more room to grow, and you own every part of it.
Frequently asked questions
Is WordPress cheaper than Shopify?
Usually, yes, over the long term. WordPress and WooCommerce are free, so your main costs are hosting, a domain and any premium plugins you choose. Shopify charges a monthly plan fee plus monthly app fees, which tend to grow as your business does.
Is WordPress harder to look after than Shopify?
WordPress needs regular updates, backups and security checks, which Shopify handles for you. The good news is you don’t have to do it yourself. A WordPress care plan takes care of all of that, and if you’d like to do it yourself, here’s how to safely update WordPress plugins.
Can I move my store from Shopify to WordPress?
Yes. Products, customers and orders can be moved from Shopify to WooCommerce, and your old URLs can be redirected so you keep your Google rankings.
Shopify is renting. WordPress is owning the house.
That’s the simplest way I can put it. Renting is quick and easy to start, but you play by someone else’s rules and the costs never stop. Owning takes a little more setup, then it’s yours to shape however your business needs.
I’m a WordPress website designer based in Adelaide, and I help small businesses build, move and look after WordPress websites. If you’re thinking about switching from Shopify or starting fresh, book a discovery call or get in touch and we can work out what’s right for you.
