In 2020, you need to get the absolute best eCommerce platform which is why we are looking into Wix vs Shopify. These two are specially picked out from the vast existing market for special reasons that you will soon discover.
When talking about business, we mean exactly that. Having a site that helps you maximize your sales and gives your customers a great shopping experience is what we hope for every online business. As we anticipate choosing the ultimate best between Wix vs Shopify, let us first look at ten fundamental factors to consider when creating an eCommerce site.
How to choose right
Designing an eCommerce site can be hectic and complicated. You must consider site performance and user engagement since the site is not only for showcasing products but also for customers to buy them. The website ultimately loses its importance if there are no sales that are being made.
At the same time, it does not have to be as complicated. The factors below will help you figure out the most important things that you need to include in your site for optimum performance.
Proper Display of Products with Descriptions
This is perhaps one of the most important factors to consider as the main purpose of your site is to sell your products. Therefore, you have to ensure that they are well visible and well highlighted. Use high quality images that will draw the attention of the users. Good images help your customers see how well the products look in reality. Choose a layout that enhances usability by emphasizing your product on every page. When customers are having a hard time finding products, they easily give up.
Poor sales can also be caused by misinformation when you are putting product descriptions. Be very keen to put the correct size, type, weight, thickness, colour, and every other relevant detail to create a clear mental picture of what the customers expect. This is important because online selling is limited to what one can see.
Match the Website’s Design with your Products
Having a consistent website is key to its success. Keeping your design in tandem with what you are selling makes your site look orderly and relevant. In this case, ensure that your colors, images, text, and schemes define your website. This is to say, if your website is selling make-up, the theme should be colorful, fun, and girly.
Shopping cart design
Many designers overlook this part, but you will be surprised to know that it is one of the foundational parts of the website. a good shopping cart enables users to add multiple products or remove them as easily as possible. Ensure that your shopping cart possibly enables you to include functional product images, a search bar, and reviews.
Shipping rates
The most lucrative eCommerce sites are those that offer low shipping costs. When shopping online, customers are always wondering if what you have is the best deal there is. Most of the time they will decide once they see the shipping cost as it will inform them if they can just get the product in a regular store or they can pay a little bit more and enjoy the pleasure of waiting for the product at home.
Guest check out
Nowadays, numerous eCommerce sites require users to create an account and register before making a purchase. This can be helpful in keeping track of your customers, although it is not what most customers want to do. Most of them want to make transactions very quickly and remain as anonymous as possible. Experts have revealed that guest checkouts boost conversion rates as it enables more people to order from you without barriers.
Payment options
Most eCommerce sites have limited payment options which are either Visa, MasterCard, or PayPal. The wise move to make is to have as many payment solutions as possible to cater for a wide range of shoppers. In the long run, you can boost your sales by considering you customer’s payment preference.
Support and Contact information
You can give your customers confidence by letting them know that you are a text, email, call, or live chat away. This way you will earn loyal customers because they have the assurance that you are devoted to helping them. Make sure that you contact information is well displayed on your site contrary to which that could be a red flag and they will be less likely to buy products from your site.
Site Security
A survey conducted by Ponemon Research showed that 90 % of the respondents had their computers breached at least once in the past year. All eCommerce sites are targets for hackers the reason why this is very important. The best way to have a secure site is to support SSL to encrypt information. An SSL certificate enables you to protect your customer’s valuable information, that is credit cards, phone numbers, address, and emails.
Social Proof
You need evidence to show that someone successfully purchased or like your site. Good reviews give new customers confidence in your site.
Full Pros and Cons
At this stage you can objectively choose an eCommerce site that will suit you the best. One of the keyways to do this is by considering the pros and cons of which you will find a good summary below.
Shopify
| Pros | Cons |
| -Quite easy to use -Attractive and fully responsive templates -Abandoned cart saving is available for all plans -A good option for those interested in drop shipping -It enables multicurrency selling although you need an app to implement this -You can create different versions of your site in a other languages -Contains an inbuilt email marketing tool that allows you host up to 2500 subscribers for free -You can use the Lite plan buy button to sell products on other websites -Handles creation and application of item categories impressively -Comprehensive point-of-sale options -Contain a wide range of third-party apps that one can use -Built-in blog Android and iOS apps are available which enable you to manage your store anywhere anytime -No transaction fees when using the inbuilt payment processing system. You can try Shopify for free before committing to it. | -You can only create 100 variants of up to 3 products only -Some key functionalities are not readily available but require installation of an app -Adding custom fields like text boxes and file uploads is quite complicated -The inbuilt payment processor only allows you to sell from certain countries -For you to access professional reporting, you must use more expensive plans -Using third party payment options implies paying the transaction fees -Product images must be uploaded at the same aspect ratio to display properly -When using drop shipping it is difficult to be confident if the products you are selling are ethically produced -There lacks an official Mailchimp-Shopify integration -The email marketing functionality is quite basic |
Wix
| Pros | Cons |
| -Very affordable as it gives you great value for your online store as compared to other sites in the market -It is very easy to use to the extent that beginners can set up an online store very fast. -It allows you to sell physical and digital goods -Wix does not charge sales fees (commission)It contains a real time shipping calculator which uses USPS | -Wix has slow backend loading speed especially when you are managing a sizeable store of 50+ items. -It is recommendable to use it for smaller stores -It has limited customization capability, for example emails can not be fully customized. |
You can also consider looking at the Wix overview and Shopify overview to get a more in-depth view of the eCommerce options.
Before we give a final verdict of Wix vs Shopify, let us look at what you will expect to get for the value of your money.
Wix Ecommerce Pricing vs Shopify Pricing
Wix offers some of the best deals there is in the market. For starters, you can create a free online site and when you decide to pay for the premium plan, you have a 14-day money back guarantee. Below is a summary of Wix Pricing for the eCommerce option and the features each plan offers.
Shopify about us will direct you to the homepage where you can get more services on the site builder. This site is specially developed for helping you create, customize, and manage an online store. It may seem to be more expensive in the market, but you are assured of great value for your money in effectively running your online store. Below is a snapshot of Shopify plans and the features that come with each package.
Alternatives to Shopify
Bigcommerce is probably the next best solution after Shopify. The prices are almost similar, and the features are widely comparable to Shopify. Check out the full Bigcommerce review for more information. You can also get the best comparisons at either Bigcommerce vs Shopify. If you need a more flexible platform in terms of laying out content in showcasing images, blog posts or videos you can check out Squarespace which gives a great approach in managing content.
Additional recommendable options to look out for include Commercehq and Woocommerce as well as the comparison Shopify vs Woocommerce.
Which is better for 2020?
Wix offers a cheaper option for creating an eCommerce site and it is effective for smaller online businesses which sell a maximum of 50 products. It is also very easy to create and customize your site.
On the other hand, Shopify is easy to create, offers great outlook for your products and gives you the best security for your website. it has the capacity to effectively contain any size of an online business without slowing down.
This makes Shopify the best eCommerce option for Wix vs Shopify.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
What is the difference between Shopify and Wix?
If you are planning to grow your online business, Shopify is the best option. This narrows down the Wix vs Shopify question to the basics. Our comparison will give you an informative overview to help you find what is best suited for your online business.
Can you sell on Wix?
Wix allows you to sell online at a lower price than Shopify. Using the Wix Business Basic Plan, you can sell at as low as $20 per month while the cheapest plan with Shopify is $29 per month. Shopify offers a 14-day free trial which allows you to try it before buying.
Is Wix worth it?
For most people who are looking forward to owning an online store, the probing question is Wix vs Shopify. These two are the most popular options which are worth considering. Shopify has stood out as the best for people who want to transform their business into successful online stores.
Is Shopify better than eCommerce?
In the simplest terms, Shopify is a better ecommerce site for large sites that have complex needs and require multiple sales channels. If you want to create a large-scale online store, Shopify is the best option for you! However, Wix is highly recommended for creating a small online store.