WooCommerce, Shopify or custom development: how to choose your online shop platform

Your shop’s platform conditions what it will cost to maintain and what you will be able to do with it. There is no “best” in the abstract: it depends on your catalogue, your team and your plans.

Quick comparison

Shopify: when it fits

• You want to sell as soon as possible and with little maintenance.
• A standard catalogue, without very special business rules.
• You prefer the platform to take care of security and hosting.

Keep in mind: the monthly subscription, commissions if you do not use its payment gateway and the cost of apps that add up.

WooCommerce: when it fits

• You already use WordPress or want to combine shop and content (blog, guides).
• You need flexibility: custom fields, shipping rules, integrations.
• You want to own everything: data, code and hosting.

Keep in mind: it requires care with performance, security and updates, and poorly chosen plugins slow it down.

Custom development: when it fits

• Your business has its own processes: configurators, complex pricing or delivery rules, several product origins.
• You need deep integrations with ERP, warehouses or suppliers.
• Volume or complexity make a standard solution a straitjacket.

Keep in mind: it is the most expensive and slowest option at the start, but gives you total freedom. It usually works well in phases: first the essentials and then expand.

What to ask yourself before deciding

1. How many products will you have and with what variations?
2. Do you sell only in your country or in several, with different taxes and currencies?
3. Do you need to connect with suppliers, warehouse or accounting?
4. Who will run it day to day?
5. How much can you invest now and how much per month?
6. What happens if your business grows five times over?

Costs that are forgotten

• Payment gateways and commissions.
• Recurring apps, plugins or extensions.
• Development of special features.
• Maintenance, backups and support.
• Taxes, invoicing and legal compliance.
• A future migration if you change platform.

Our recommendation

• Starting out with a simple catalogue: Shopify or WooCommerce, whichever fits your team better.
• Content and SEO as pillars: WooCommerce.
• Special business rules or complex integrations: custom, or WooCommerce with custom development.

If you are not sure, we analyse your case and recommend with numbers.