We build on both Shopify and WordPress, so we've got no reason to push one over the other. And honestly, neither is "better". Each is better for a certain kind of business. If you've been going back and forth on this, the next five minutes should settle it.

The short version

If selling products online is the heart of your business, go with Shopify. If your website mainly brings in enquiries, explains your services or publishes content, go with WordPress.

That rule covers about 90% of the people we speak to. Here's the reasoning behind it.

What each one actually is

Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform. You pay a monthly fee and Shopify looks after hosting, security, checkout and updates. You look after products and marketing.

WordPress (the self-hosted WordPress.org version) is free, open-source software that you install on your own hosting. It runs a huge share of the web and can be shaped into almost anything. The trade-off is that hosting, updates and security become your responsibility.

How they compare where it matters

Day-to-day ease of use

Shopify is easier for running a store. Adding products, processing orders and tracking stock are built in and straightforward. WordPress is easy for editing pages and posts, but a WordPress store (usually built with WooCommerce) has more moving parts to keep an eye on.

Cost

WordPress itself is free, but you'll pay for hosting, a theme, plugins and maintenance. Shopify is a predictable monthly plan plus apps. For a simple service website, WordPress usually works out cheaper. For an online store, the gap is smaller than people expect once you add decent hosting, security and payment plugins to WordPress. We've broken both down in our Shopify cost guide and WordPress cost guide.

Selling online

This is Shopify's home ground. Checkout, discount codes, abandoned cart emails, shipping rules and order management all come ready, and the checkout is fast and trusted by shoppers.

Content and blogging

WordPress wins, comfortably. It's still the best content platform around. Shopify's blog is perfectly fine for most stores, but it's simpler.

SEO

People worry about this more than they need to. Both platforms can rank at the top of Google. WordPress gives you a bit more technical control through plugins; Shopify handles the basics (sitemaps, canonical tags, SSL) automatically but has fixed URLs like /products/ and /collections/. In our experience, content, speed and site structure matter far more than the platform. Our Shopify SEO checklist shows what actually moves rankings.

Speed

Shopify is fast out of the box thanks to its hosting and CDN. A WordPress site can be lightning fast or painfully slow, depending on hosting, theme and plugins. On both, the usual culprit is too many add-ons.

Security and upkeep

Shopify handles security for you. WordPress needs regular updates, backups and security checks. That's why we nearly always recommend a maintenance plan for WordPress sites.

Flexibility and growth

WordPress can become almost anything: a booking system, a directory, a membership site. Shopify is flexible for commerce but works within its own framework. On the flip side, Shopify handles traffic spikes and order growth without you thinking about servers, while WordPress needs better hosting as you grow.

So which one is right for you?

Shopify makes sense if you're a D2C brand in fashion, jewellery, beauty, food or lifestyle, you plan to run ads to product pages, or you simply want a platform that works without technical babysitting.

WordPress makes sense if you're a consultant, clinic, school, manufacturer, hotel or any service business, content marketing is a big part of your plan, or you need custom features that aren't about selling products.

Can you use both?

You can. Some businesses run a content site on WordPress and a store on Shopify. It adds complexity, so we only suggest it when content is a major growth channel.

A few common questions

Is Shopify better for SEO? Not by itself. Both can rank on page one.

Can I switch from WordPress to Shopify later? Yes. Done carefully, you keep your rankings. Our migration guide explains how.

Which is cheaper? For a service website, WordPress, usually. For a store, the difference is smaller than it looks on paper.

Still torn? Have a look at our Shopify and WordPress packages, or tell us about your business and we'll give you a straight recommendation.