Customers often ask us what the best e-commerce platform is to support their business. Usually people want to know if Shopify is the way to go or whether there are other options out there. Often, they also bring up Wix. In our last showdown between Wix and WordPress, Wix proved to be a great platform that can do simple things very well but isn’t quite up to the task when it comes to creating more complex scalable websites. So how does Wix shape up against the industry standard Shopify e-commerce platform? For this showdown we will look at Design, Functionality and Price to determine whether Wix is a good fit for scalable easy to use e-commerce sites.
DESIGN
Wix offers a huge selection of themes for you to choose from. Many of these themes are e-commerce ready however most are not. With the right theme, you can get a simple e-commerce shop up and running rather quickly with Wix. Unfortunately, if you are already using a Wix theme and it doesn’t support e-commerce then you will have to start with a new theme.
Shopify is a dedicated e-commerce platform that offers hundreds of free and paid themes built specifically for the Shopify platform. Depending on your needs there are many options to choose from that will allow you to best showcase your products and convert site visitors into customers. Shopify themes in general offer more design flexibility than Wix themes especially when it comes to more complex designs that include animations, hover effects and other elements that make your e-commerce site shine.
Conclusion: Wix will do the trick for a small simple E-commerce site but if you want a design with all the latest bells and whistles, Shopify is the way to go.
FUNCTIONALITY
Wix offers all the basic functionality of an e-commerce shop including categories, shipping rules, and secure payments. Many of the features that our clients have come to expect from an e-commerce shop are not available within Wix, these include Variable Products and Advanced Collections. Because of this you will want to keep your Wix e-commerce site simple and to the point. Wix is great a for a few products but is fairly limited when it comes to creating a fully functional e-commerce site with all the bells and whistle you would expect in a full shop experience. Wix can also be a great way to get your products on to social media through their Instagram and Facebook channels.
Shopify does not offer everything you would expect from a basic e-commerce platform, however, it features some really useful tools for managing your shop and how to sell your products. Some features such as advanced backend filtering and reporting, advanced collections and variable products are available to you out of the box, while other such as product subscriptions, location finders, advanced discounts, custom fields and even the option to sync with other POS systems are add-ons that can be purchased through the Shopify App Store for prices ranging from free to $29USD/mo. In addition to your online store Shopify offers multiple sales channels including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon and even offers a “Buy” button that can be embedded on any blog or website. In addition, Shopify offers a POS option that can be used to setup a Point of Sale on your iPhone, iPad so that you can sell wherever you are. Finally when it comes to payment gateways Shopify has you more than covered with more than 70 payment options available compared with Wix’s 17.
Conclusion: Wix offers the basic functionality needed to get your online store up and running but if you want a robust scalable e-commerce store you are better off starting with Shopify.
PRICING
Both Wix and Shopify are subscription services which means that you will be paying for their service each month. Wix e-commerce ranges in price from $20 to $35 USD/mo depending on which package you sign up for. Each package includes basic e-commerce functionality and varying amounts of storage and included add-ons.
Shopify pricing ranges from $29 to $299, though most of our customers only need the $29 or $79 option. Shopify pricing is based on the number of users you need for your account. In addition, the higher your monthly fee the lower your credit card transaction rates and the deeper your shipping discount gets. Depending on monthly sales the $79 a month option often ends up being the most economical as it offers the best balance of a lower CC transaction fee and discounted shipping. Finally, Shopify’s premium price also comes with premium support which means that their team (as well as ours) is there to help when you encounter difficulties.
Conclusion: Wix is the cheaper option but Shopify gives you a lot more bang for your buck, making it our choice for e-commerce websites.
THE FINAL WORD
Wix is a great option for small e-commerce sites that need basic functionality in order to get you up and selling online, however if you want to create an e-commerce website that can grow along with your business, we suggest using Shopify. It offers far superior theme and design customization, greater functionality and competitive pricing that comes with great support.