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If you’re just getting into the eCommerce business, it can be tempting to focus on reducing your overhead by finding the lowest website startup cost. Is it really worth it to go inexpensive at the risk of missing out on core ecommerce sales functionality? Can you customize a website building tool to handle the rigorous maintenance involved in running an online store?
Well, if you’re comparing Wix vs. Shopify for your online store, this may be the core part of the argument. Choosing the right backbone for your online store will directly impact how successful your store becomes. It isn’t a decision to take lightly. Read on to find out exactly what factors you should take into account before you choose your shopping cart software platform.
If you’re a new online store owner, you might be tempted when you see Wix’s pricing compared to other ecommerce platforms on the market. Remember: you get what you pay for. Though Wix may have built ecommerce features, the market has plenty of software options built expressly for ecommerce and ecommerce customers. Wix serves a much more vague user base, which means it has split priorities in terms of support and feature development.
Shopify, on the other hand, is a platform built for ecommerce, which gives it the advantage over Wix. But is that enough to make it the right platform for your online store? Does it have everything you need to efficiently manage the elements of your store across your entire business?
Unfortunately, Wix is going to fall a little short in this category as well. For one, Wix lacks a point-of-sale (POS) system that’ll help you make real life transactions. Even if your business is transacted primarily online, merchants tend to make good use of POS functionality in case they want to transact at trade shows, physical stores, or other in-person marketplaces.
Shopify does offer a POS system. But unless you pop for the premium package, it lacks other crucial functionality, specifically real-time shipping calculation, a feature that helps customers understand how much they’ll pay total when shipping is factored into their order. Customers expect to know exactly what they’ll pay when they check out, so it’s a pretty flagrant violation of shopper trust to not include this functionality on your store.
Customers generally like to do things their way, which is why it’s important to make sure they can pay their way.
Finally, Wix lacks in terms of payment processor options. Customers want to pay their way, and Wix only gives you the ability to integrate a handful of different options.
Shopify does a much better job here -- but it comes with a caveat. If you use an outside payment processor, you’re looking at transaction fees ranging from 0.5% to 2.0%. These kinds of fees can be crippling, especially for smaller businesses where every sale counts. Still, in the interest of business growth, it’s important to give your customers the options they need. If you’re worried about transaction fees, you may want to consider another option.
