Shopify and eCommerce are almost inseparable for a good reason. It is among the most popular eCommerce platforms and is a companion of around one million businesses from over 175 countries. But just because this platform is popular doesn’t mean it always suits you best. That’s why so many businesses are searching for the best Shopify alternative.
Here, we’ll review some of the best alternatives for Shopify, including the pros and cons of each option. So let’s read on for more information!
Why You Probably Want a Shopify Alternative
Avoid using Shopify Payments
If you don’t use Shopify Payments powered by Stripe (Shopify’s proprietary payment gateway, you may be charged a transaction fee of up to 2% of each sale. Moreover, not using Shopify Payments will cause you to lose access to several features, such as the ability to transact in many currencies. Also, you can’t sell a higher-risk product like vaporizers.
Have a Large Complex Catalog
Suppose you are running a clothing store and trying to be very inclusive. Thus you offer:
- Multiple sizes, from extra small to 6XL.
- Various color options.
- Many designs, such as long sleeves and tank tops.
- Options for babies, children, men, and women.
So your product catalog will quickly get very complex, while Shopify couldn’t keep up because you are capped at 100 SKUs per product and three options per product.
Want to get more control over site SEO
SEO (Search engine optimization) plays an essential role in eCommerce. Although Shopify is handling basic SEO tasks well, some might want to get more control over their site, especially if they rely significantly on organic search.
For instance, Shopify does not allow to use access to or edit robot.txt files. This is the file used to tell Google how to index your site so that only the pages you need show up in the search engine result. While this initially may not be a big problem, as your site grows over time, you will want more say in how Google crawls as well as indexes your website.
Other Reasons
Maybe there is e something else making you frustrated with this platform and prompting you to look for alternatives. Perhaps you don’t like the Shopify Help Center’s design, you are frustrated with customer support, or you have heard about the bad experience of someone else, and you believe that this could happen to you. Whatever, you need other options.
Top 3 Shopify Alternatives
WooCommerce
This open-source plugin was launched in 2011 and was designed to transform WordPress blogs and webs into eCommerce sites. Hence, if you are already familiar with WordPress, cónidet opt for this option.
Pros
- This plugin is free to use with your WordPress site.
- It is a breeze to integrate with your existing WordPress site.
- You can customize your store’s code cause it is open source.
- You can access various free and paid extensions.
Cons
- You are still responsible for the costs of an SSL certificate, domain hosting, finding an email provider, etc.
- You will need the help of a dedicated designer or developer if you don’t know CSS or HTML.
BigCommerce
This open SaaS e-commerce platform was founded in 2009. It allows businesses of all sizes to build and scale their eCommerce stores. So if you want to grow and scale your business, it is your best bet.
Pros
- Robust features are included with every plan.
- Support for over 50 payment gateways without additional transaction fees.
- Doesn’t require coding knowledge.
- Extensive SEO capabilities, like fully customizable URLs.
- Support is available 24/24, with around 80% of issues resolved on the first phone call.
- A large ecosystem of Agency and Technology Partners.
Cons
- There are five free themes, while Shopify offers nine for free.
- There’s a minor learning curve.
Magento
Magento was first released in 2007 and was acquired by Adobe in 2018. If you love Adobe’s other products and boast developer skills, you might prefer Magento.
Pros
- You can access the backend to customize everything in your store.
- This platform has a huge network of over 260,000 developers worldwide, creating extra functionality.
- You can access a wide partner ecosystem for third-party add-ons and apps.
Cons
- Magento features an extremely extensive setup, resulting in high costs to complete the builds.
- No matter how you host your website or which version you choose, you’ll need an in-house IT team, a developer, and an agency to manage the build as well as maintenance.
Conclusion
Shopify is great, but it’s not perfect and may not be right for many businesses. So if you’re looking for the best Shopify alternative for your eCommerce business, consider one of the three options above.
