Choosing between WooCommerce vs Ecwid for your eCommerce store and not sure which one is the better option? Follow our detailed comparison below to find out!
One of the most important decisions you need to make when opening an online store is which eCommerce platform to choose. Ideally, the platform you choose should have multiple features, easy to use and setup, and be within your budget. We are all aware of WooCommerce and its extensive customization and flexibility that is hard to find anywhere else. But there are other competitors available that might work out for you depending on your requirements, such as Ecwid.
Below, we have compared both WooCommerce vs Ecwid on various aspects so you can make a well-informed decision.
WooCommerce vs Ecwid: What’s Different?
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms and currently holds a market share of 28%. It is an open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress that is extremely flexible and customizable. It offers tons of features out-of-the-box, such as an intuitive interface, product management, unlimited themes and plugins, and much more. WooCommerce is the optimum choice for growing or large-sized businesses as its highly scalable.
Pros
- Can create a website for free.
- Convert any WordPress site into a fully functional store.
- Supports multiple payment gateways.
- Has an extensive library of themes, plugins, and extensions.
- Completely customizable.
- Mobile-optimized platform.
Cons
- Steep learning curve.
- Requires a domain, hosting service, and SSL certificate.
- You need to buy some plugins to add premium functionality.
- Needs coding experience for customization.
Ecwid
Ecwid is a web-based eCommerce platform that turns your existing site into an online store where you can sell digital and physical products. It is not restricted to WordPress sites only and is compatible with other platforms such as Squarespace, Weebly, etc. One of the major features of Ecwid is that you can also sell on social media platforms like Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, etc. Thus, it’s great for small-sized businesses who want to upgrade their site to something more professional.
Pros
- Integrates smoothly with existing websites.
- Compatible with multiple selling channels such as social media.
- Supports multiple languages.
- Consists of multiple features to tailor your existing shop.
- Live support available.
Cons
- Difficult configuration.
- Many features are only available in their highest pricing plans.
- Customization is limited.
Related:
1. WooCommerce vs Magento
2. WooCommerce vs Shopify
3. WooCommerce vs nopCommerce
WooCommerce And Ecwid: Comparing The Reputed E-Commerce Platforms
WooCommerce or Ecwid? Which is the better eCommerce platform for your business? Let’s check out our comparison on different aspects to see which comes out as the ultimate winner.
1. Pricing
Pricing is a crucial factor when choosing an eCommerce platform because who doesn’t want to create a professional site on a budget?
WooCommerce is an open-source platform and is available free of charge. Along with its multiple out-of-box features, you can also add functionality using the free plugins and extensions provided by it. But there are a few things you need to spend money on to get your website running, such as a hosting service ($5-100/mo), a domain ($5-10/yr), and an SSL certificate ($0-100/yr). And that’s it!
Like WooCommerce, Ecwid also requires hosting, domain, and SSL certificate to kickstart your website. Along with that, Ecwid provides 4 different pricing plans, in which the first plan is available for free but supports only 10 products. The remaining three plans are for $15, $35, and $99. Although if you choose the plans annually, you can get 20% off VAT.
WooCommerce vs Ecwid? In terms of pricing, WooCommerce is the better choice because it is available for free and not restricted in the number of products, unlike Ecwid. It is also more cost-friendly for beginners.
2. Ease of Use
As stated above, WooCommerce is a beginner-friendly eCommerce platform that is extremely easy to use and setup. Once installed, a Setup Wizard is activated that guides you step-by-step through the process of setting up different store pages, shipping taxes, payment gateways, etc. Moreover, its dashboard shows all reports and summaries on a single page and is easy to maneuver and simplifies store management.
In terms of ease, Ecwid is a user-friendly platform that is simple to use and extremely powerful. It has an intuitive interface where you can manage product listings, inventory, shipping details, and much more. But a major disadvantage arises when you have to manage two dashboards simultaneously due to omnichannel support.
WooCommerce or Ecwid in ease? It’s a tie as both are user-friendly platforms that are easy to set up and manage.
Related: Ultimate Guide to Speed Up WooCommerce Store – 15 Best Tips
3. Customer Service
Good customer service is crucial for managing an eCommerce business and tackling errors or troubleshooting. Let’s see how both platforms rate in this regard.
WooCommerce, although an extensive platform, does not offer customer support. But you can find detailed information regarding the workings of WooCommerce and its plugins and extensions through blog posts, online community, WooExperts, guides, and various documentation available.
On the other hand, Ecwid provides live chat and call support in its higher-tiered plans. Whereas in its free plan, you can only ask for support via email. Other support resources involve online guides, documentation, and blogs.
In terms of customer service in WooCommerce vs Ecwid, Ecwid wins due to its live call and chat support..
4. Design and Themes
Creating a storefront that captures the audience’s eye is important as well to run a successful site. WooCommerce provides unlimited themes, both free and premium, to its users for elevating their storefront. The official WooCommerce theme, Storefront, which is available for free has 14 child themes that are suitable for any type of business. Moreover, all of these themes are completely customizable.
As Ecwid is integrated with existing sites, it does not provide any themes of its own. Although you can customize the existing design and pages with a basic site-builder, you don’t have many options.
In terms of themes in WooCommerce vs Ecwid, WooCommerce is the clear winner as it provides unlimited theme options and also enables the flexibility to customize the design according to your business needs.
Related: Best WooCommerce Product Addons Plugins (With Complete Guide)
5. Features
We are going to consider the overall features required to run a site with WooCommerce or Ecwid. Which can help better manage products? How many plugins they have? Who has a better reporting system? Let’s find out.
When it comes to WooCommerce, it is a robust and powerful eCommerce system that has the support and update by being built upon WordPress. It has a comprehensive dashboard with an excellent reporting system. It supports multiple types and an unlimited number of products. WooCommerce also supports over 100+ payment gateways and doesn’t charge a transaction fee of its own. Moreover, it has built-in marketing tools such as SEO, coupons, etc.
Ecwid is somewhat similar in this regard as well. It is deeply integrated with WordPress and other site-builders, moreover, it also enables selling on social media platforms, thus giving you two dashboards to manage, unnecessary added work. Moving on, it supports unlimited products in higher-priced plans and product filters. Ecwid also has built-in marketing tools like automated email systems, SEO, search engine product listing, etc.
Choosing between WooCommerce vs Ecwid regarding features depends entirely on your business needs. Ecwid is suitable for beginners and non-developers as all features are easy to set up. Whereas WooCommerce is suitable for beginners and developers alike and is scalable.
6. Customization
As stated above, WooCommerce is a highly flexible and customizable eCommerce platform. You can easily customize the existing themes, designs, plugins, and much more according to your business style as it is an open-source platform. The sky is the limit when it comes to scalability and customization and it is suitable for all sizes of businesses.
Whereas Ecwid is limited in its customization as you don’t have access to the source code. However, it does mimic the complete theme and style of your website when integrated.
Thus, in terms of customization, WooCommerce is the king.
Related: Best WooCommerce Review Plugins – Show Customer Reviews
Conclusion: WooCommerce vs Ecwid – Who’s The Winner?
So it all comes down to this, WooCommerce or Ecwid? In our opinion, WooCommerce is the ultimate winner and there are multiple reasons for that. It offers multiple features, all with unlimited capacity and scalability. Moreover, it’s developer-friendly and suitable for large-sized businesses as well. Its integration with WordPress makes it a powerful tool in SEO optimization and blogging. And it has robust eCommerce tools like themes and plugins that can set you apart from your competitors and you can do all this within your budget.
Ecwid put up a tough fight, that’s for sure. The unique advantage Ecwid provides is that it can sell on social media platforms as well. But many of its features are limited by its pricing plans. Thus, it could be a bit more expensive than using WooCommerce. If you are looking for a quick and small online store startup, Ecwid would be a great choice for you.
