ShopWired and Shopify are two leading options for building an eCommerce store in the UK. They offer a similar range of features and tools essential for setting up and running an online business. But which one is an ideal option for UK eCommerce businesses?
In this in-depth ShopWired vs Shopify review, we will compare some of the vital aspects, such as design flexibility and features. We will also discuss their ease of use, pricing, payment gateways, and security to help you choose the best platform for your business. Read on to learn more!
| ShopWired | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | Simple set-up process and intuitive dashboard | User-friendly interface and does not require |
| Themes | 20 free themes | 9 free themes and 100+ premium themes |
| Pricing | 14-day free trial and four premium plans ranging from £26.96/month to £249.95/month | A free three-day trial and three pricing plans; £25, £65, and £344 per month |
| Customer support | Available Monday to Friday (9 am – 10 pm) and Saturday (11 am to 5 pm) | Available 24/7 via phone, FAGs, live chat, and email |
| Payment gateways | 30+ | 100+ |
| Best for | Small stores, digital products, and boutiques | Drop shipping, small stores, print on demand, brick & mortar, and boutiques |
Sections
Overview of both platforms
ShopWired is a fully hosted UK eCommerce platform that touts itself as (the UK’s best eCommerce builder.” Since its establishment in 2013, it has launched over 10,000 eCommerce websites. Shopify is a famous, fully hosted eCommerce builder founded in 2006. To date, it has helped over 2 million businesses make $200+ billion in sales with their Shopify stores.
Design
Both ShopWired and Shopify offer design flexibility. However, ShopWired provides more free themes.
ShopWired features twenty (20) free, mobile responsive themes. It also offers bespoke theme design services starting at $3,495 for users who want to customize their online store. This platform allows you to preview the themes and customize them accordingly. For instance, you can modify colours, images, and text snippets. It also gives you control over the list of links. However, ShopWired has some design limitations. For instance, you can not modify the layout as the theme itself controls it. Besides, the amount of design and customization you can do on Shopify varies from one theme to the other.
Shopify has a limited number of themes. However, they are well-designed and attractive to users. You can select from 9 free themes, with an additional 70+ premium themes, costing between $140 to $180. The premium themes will give you more design flexibility without needing to be a coding guru. For instance, you can customize, design, and personalize your website by adding your store logo, changing fonts and colours, and adding a background image.
Features
Both ShopWired and Shopify come with a wide selection of essential features needed to set up an online store. Shopify edges ShopWired by offering more apps and features in its App Store.
ShopWired boasts a wide selection of features to help you build and run your eCommerce website, including eCommerce tools, marketing & SEO tools, reporting mechanisms, and payment gateways. Some of these features come pre-installed with your ShopWired store. Besides, ShopWired has over 70 apps that add extra features, integration, and functionality to your website. Most of these apps are free to integrate, while the premium apps range from £1 per month to £10 per month.
Shopify offers you all the essential features and tools required to set up and run your online store, including eCommerce tools and drop shipping integration. It also has marketing & SEO tools, payment gateways, reporting, and POS capabilities. It also has an App Store with 4000+ apps that add everything from marketing & SEO and inventory management to eCommerce features. However, not all apps are free; you need to pay a couple of dollars a month to access all the features.
Plugins and Integrations
Both ShopWired and Shopify support a variety of plugins and integrations. Shopify’s App Store offers more apps, plugins, and integrations.
ShopWired has a wide range of apps, plugins, and extensions that are easy to integrate into your eCommerce store. For instance, it integrates with;
- Drop Shipping Integration
- eBay 2-Way Sync
- Mailchimp
- Facebook Sync
- Google Ecommerce Analytics
- Google Product Data Feed
- Review Snippet Structured Data
- Email Marketing Automation
- Paypal Checkout
- Printing On Demand Integration
Shopify features over 5000 apps and plugins, which you can easily & seamlessly integrate into your eCommerce store. These plugins and integrations are divided into various categories: inventory management, marketing & SEO, orders & shipping, payment gateways, etc.
Ease of Use
Both ShopWired and Shopify are intuitive and easy to use. You do not require coding skills to use them.
Getting started with ShopWired is a pretty straightforward process. You only require an email address and a strong password. It also has comprehensive guides to walk you through all the set-up steps. ShopWired dashboard is intuitive, user-friendly, and easy to use. For instance, it has a left-hand sidebar where navigation menus are clearly labelled. Besides, most of the additional features can be accessed with a one-click app installation. Furthermore, if you get stuck, ShopWired has a responsive and professional support team that can be easily accessed 24/7.
Shopify has a simple, clean, and clear user interface that makes setting up your website easy, even for users with no technical knowledge or background. You only need your email address, store name and a strong password to sign up. After signing up, you will be greeted with a short guide to help you set up and run your eCommerce store. The dashboard is intuitive, user-friendly, and easy to navigate. For instance, the sidebar navigation menu and tools are laid out with clearly labelled sections.
Payment Options
Both ShopWired and Shopify integrate with most of the UK’s major payment gateways. ShopWired edges Shopify as it does not charge any transaction fee for using any of the payment options.
ShopWired integrates with 60+ payment gateways, including credit/debit cards, Stripe, Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal and many other popular payment methods. This platform does not charge extra transaction fees for using any of these payment options on any pricing plan.
Shopify accepts nearly all major payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, Square, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, etc. However, your geo-location can restrict access to some payment options. The platform also has an in-house payment option known as Shopify Payments. Shopify will not charge you any transaction fee if you use Shopify Payments. Other payment options charge you up to 2%.
Security
Both ShopWired and Shopify are PCI-compliant and offer secure eCommerce platforms.
ShopWired-powered stores and websites are PCI DSS compliant by default. It also offers a free 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption. Besides, the customers’ data and information are protected by HTTPS secure protocol.
Shopify is a secure eCommerce platform. For instance, it is Level 1 PCI-DSS compliant by default. The platform also includes an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate to protect sensitive and vital information, such as payment details, from hackers.
Pricing
Both ShopWired and Shopify offer free trials and affordable pricing plans. ShopWired does not charge extra transaction fees.
ShopWired offers a 14-day free trial, with no card or obligation required. If you need more than 14 free trial days to decide, you can contact ShopWired support to extend the trial. When the trial finishes, you can choose one of the four premium pricing plans, which include;
- Pro: £26.96 per month
- Advanced: £62.96 per month
- Premium: £116.96 per month
- ShopWired Enterprise: £249.95 per month
However, you can save up to 30% by choosing annual pricing. Besides, ShopWired does not charge extra transaction fees.
Shopify offers three (3) pricing plans, including all the primary eCommerce features and website hosting. The packages include Shopify Basic (£25 per month), Shopify Standard ( £65 per month), and Shopify Advanced (£344 per month). It also has a custom package, Shopify Plus. This eCommerce builder offers a 3-day trial that you can use before committing to a paid plan. Shopify has a transaction fee for all payments, except when using the Shopify Payments gateway. The fee depends on the chosen pricing plans;
- Shopify Advanced: 0.5%
- Shopify Standard: 1%
- Shopify Basic: 2%
Conclusion
Both ShopWired and Shopify are excellent choices for building an eCommerce store. However, ShopWired is rated higher than Shopify in most software review platforms.
For instance, ShopWired scores 4.9 out of 5 on TrustPilot and 4.9 out of 5 on G2
Shopify scores 1.7 out of 5 on TrustPilot and 4.4 out of 5 on G2
In my opinion, ShopWired offers the best platform for UK eCommerce businesses as it provides more free design themes and does not charge transaction fees on its pricing plans. On the other hand, Shopify is an excellent eCommerce platform, but the transaction fee and not being UK-focused means it falls short in our ShopWired vs Shopify comparison.
However, this does not mean that my pick can work for you. You can take the free trial with either platform to see which solution is the best choice for your UK business.