Introduction
Shopify and Wix are two of the most popular ecommerce platforms used by online businesses. With intuitive interfaces and robust features, they make it easy for entrepreneurs to create professional online stores. However, Shopify and Wix have key differences that business owners should understand before choosing one.
This in-depth Shopify vs Wix comparison looks at 10 key factors – ease of use, pricing, ecommerce functionality, design customization, marketing features, scalability, inventory management, SEO optimization, customer support and integrations. For each area, I highlight the pros and cons of each platform to help you determine the best choice for your business.
Ease of Use
Shopify: Shopify is beginner-friendly, with an intuitive interface and easy store setup. The dashboard makes it simple to access key information. Shopify also offers a mobile app to manage stores on the go.
Wix: Wix uses an intuitive drag-and-drop website builder for ease of use, even for non-tech users. There are 500+ designer-made templates along with lots of customization options.
Verdict: Both Shopify and Wix are easy to use, with Shopify tailored more for ecommerce and Wix better for building websites. Shopify has the edge for ecommerce simplicity.
Pricing and Plans
Shopify: Shopify has a 14-day free trial then paid plans range from $29 to $299/month. More advanced features come at higher price points. Transaction fees apply if using external payment gateways.
Wix: Wix provides free basic plans. Upgraded paid plans range from $14 to $49 per month for more storage, features and ecommerce capabilities. Wix charges no transaction fees.
Verdict: Wix has better pricing flexibility with free options, while Shopify offers more advanced ecommerce capabilities and support even on its basic paid plans.
Ecommerce Functionality
Shopify: Shopify offers robust native ecommerce features – cart and checkout, shipping rates, multiple payment gateways, reporting. There is also an app store with thousands of integrations.
Wix: Wix provides adequate ecommerce functionality for basic online stores – cart, checkout and payment processing. However, fewer app integrations compared to Shopify.
Verdict: Shopify has much more advanced ecommerce features out of the box. Wix works for simple stores but cannot match Shopify‘s depth.
Design and Customization
Shopify: Shopify has over 70 free and paid themes with lots of customization options for images, fonts, colors etc. Sections can be easily rearranged.
Wix: Wix offers hundreds of designer templates across categories, all customizable with the drag-and-drop editor. Great flexibility over layout and design elements.
Verdict: Wix provides significantly more design flexibility for non-ecommerce sites. But Shopify also allows enough customization options for most stores.
Marketing and Sales Features
Shopify: Shopify allows easy marketing including coupons, gift cards and email campaigns. Integrates with MailChimp and many other marketing platforms.
Wix: Wix offers built-in mailing lists, coupons and promotions. Also integrates seamlessly with MailChimp, Google Analytics and Microsoft Office.
Verdict: For core marketing features, Wix and Shopify are almost on par in terms of breadth and integration options.
Scalability
Shopify: Shopify can scale from small to very large operations with customizable storefronts, hosting infrastructure and enterprise support.
Wix: Wix is suitable mostly for small businesses and lacks the robust infrastructure to scale to very high volumes. Enterprise options also more limited.
Verdict: Shopify clearly beats Wix in terms of power and flexibility to scale up an ecommerce business over the long run.
Inventory Management
Shopify: Shopify lets merchants manage thousands of product variants across sales channels. Features like low stock notifications further aid inventory optimization.
Wix: Wix provides inventory tracking at a basic level – adding stock quantities and getting notified on low levels. But advanced optimization features lacking.
Verdict: For advanced multi-channel inventory control, Shopify has a clear edge over Wix.
SEO Capabilities
Shopify: Shopify offers SEO-optimized themes, custom metadata fields, built-in blog and automatic sitemaps for search indexing.
Wix: Wix builds SEO-friendly sites but optimization requires using third-party apps. Less control offered over metadata and indexing.
Verdict: Shopify saves merchants effort with better SEO capabilities out of the box. Wix requires more manual optimization.
Customer Support
Shopify: Phone, chat and email support offered 24/7 to all Shopify merchants. Active community forums provide additional help.
Wix: Wix provides 24/7 customer support via live chat and email. Comprehensive self-help resources in the Wix Help Center databases.
Verdict: Both Shopify and Wix offer excellent customer service through multiple channels, at no extra charge.
Conclusion
While both Shopify and Wix allow creating professional online stores, Shopify specializes in advanced ecommerce functionality while Wix focuses more on website building.
Shopify clearly beats Wix in critical ecommerce areas – it has better scalability, inventory management, SEO and integrations. However, Wix offers greater design flexibility for non-store websites, more basic plan options and lower transaction fees.
Ultimately, Shopify is the platform of choice for building a high-growth online business. But microbusiness owners on a tight budget may find better value with Wix.
I hope this detailed feature comparison of Shopify vs Wix has provided clarity to help you select the right platform for your website or ecommerce store!
FAQs
Does Shopify have more template options than Wix?
No, Wix provides significantly more templates and design options compared to Shopify. Shopify has around 70 themes while Wix has over 500 templates.
Can I use my custom domain name on both Shopify and Wix?
Yes, both Shopify and Wix allow you to use a custom domain purchased independently or via their integrated services. The process of connecting your domain is simple.
Which is better for dropshipping stores?
Shopify is better suited for dropshipping because it integrates easily with Oberlo and AliExpress. Shopify also provides more options for setting up automation rules and location-based stores.
How good is Wix SEO compared to Shopify?
Shopify has better built-in SEO capabilities while Wix requires more optimization work and third-party apps. However, with effort Wix sites can also achieve good search rankings.
