Before a single product is listed, an online store has to sit on a platform — and that choice quietly decides your monthly cost, how much you can customise, and who's responsible when something breaks at 2am. There are effectively four routes: Shopify, WooCommerce, a fully custom build, or headless. Most "which is best" advice is really just a preference dressed as a verdict. Here's the trade honestly, so you buy the one that fits your store rather than the one someone likes.
The four options, plainly
- Shopify — a hosted, all-in-one store you rent monthly. It handles hosting, security, payments, and updates for you, launches fast, and has an app for almost everything. You trade some control and pay transaction fees (unless you use Shopify Payments) for not having to run any infrastructure.
- WooCommerce — a free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store. You self-host, so there are no platform fees and near-total control, but you (or your developer) own the hosting, security, and updates. Flexible and economical if you're comfortable maintaining it.
- Custom build — a store built from the ground up (e.g. Next.js + a payment provider). Maximum control, no platform constraints, best-in-class performance — at the highest build cost, justified only when your requirements are genuinely unusual.
- Headless — the modern middle: a commerce engine (often Shopify's backend) powers the cart and checkout, while a custom front end (Next.js) renders the storefront for speed and control. You get Shopify's reliability with a bespoke experience, at the most complex setup of the four.
Side by side
PlatformThe honest verdict
PlatformShopify
The honest verdictFastest to launch and lowest-maintenance — Shopify runs the infrastructure. Costs a monthly fee plus transaction fees, and you live within its ecosystem. The right default for most stores.
PlatformWooCommerce
The honest verdictMost control for the least platform cost, especially if you're already on WordPress. But it's self-hosted: security, updates, and speed are your job, and a neglected store is a hacked store.
PlatformCustom build
The honest verdictTotal freedom and top performance, highest upfront cost. Worth it only when your store does something the platforms genuinely can't — not for a standard catalog.
PlatformHeadless (Shopify + custom front end)
The honest verdictBest speed and brand experience with Shopify handling checkout. The most complex and expensive to build and maintain — reserve it for high-traffic stores where performance is revenue.
Choose Shopify when…
- You want to sell soon and don't want to think about servers, security patches, or PCI compliance.
- A standard catalog-and-checkout covers you, and an app fills any gap.
- You'd rather pay a predictable monthly fee than manage infrastructure.
Choose WooCommerce when…
- You're already on WordPress and want commerce without moving platforms.
- You want deep control and no platform transaction fees, and you have someone to maintain it.
- Budget is tight and you're willing to trade managed convenience for self-hosting.
Choose custom or headless when…
- Your store needs something off-the-shelf platforms can't do, or performance is directly tied to sales at scale.
- You're building a brand experience where a templated storefront would undersell the product.
- You have the budget to build and maintain a bespoke system — and the volume to justify it.
What we build on, and why
For most stores we launch on Shopify or WooCommerce — a catalog store with secure payments and a mobile-first checkout goes live in a couple of weeks, without you inheriting a maintenance burden on day one. We reach for custom or headless (a Next.js storefront on a commerce backend) only when the store's traffic or brand genuinely earns the extra build. It's the same principle from our website-vs-platform advice: match the tool to how the store makes money, not to what's fashionable. If you tell us your catalog size, your channels, and who'll maintain it, we'll point you to the platform that fits — even when that's the cheaper one.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Shopify or WooCommerce better for a small business?
- Shopify is better if you want to launch fast and never touch infrastructure — it handles hosting, security, and updates for a monthly fee plus transaction fees. WooCommerce is better if you're already on WordPress, want maximum control with no platform fees, and have someone to maintain the self-hosted store. For most first-time stores, Shopify's managed convenience wins.
- When should I build a custom e-commerce store instead of using Shopify?
- Only when your store needs something the platforms genuinely can't do, or when you're at a scale where performance directly drives revenue and a bespoke build pays for itself. For a standard catalog-and-checkout, custom is usually over-engineering — Shopify or a headless Shopify setup covers it at far lower cost and maintenance.
- What is headless e-commerce?
- Headless means the storefront (what customers see) is decoupled from the commerce engine (cart, checkout, payments). A common setup uses Shopify's backend for reliability with a custom Next.js front end for speed and a bespoke brand experience. It offers the best performance and control but is the most complex and expensive of the options to build and maintain.
- Does Shopify or WooCommerce cost more over time?
- It depends on what you value. Shopify has predictable monthly and transaction fees but no maintenance burden. WooCommerce has no platform fees but you pay for hosting, security, and updates in money or time. The honest comparison isn't sticker price — it's whether you'd rather spend money-per-month (Shopify) or attention-per-month (WooCommerce/custom).