TL;DR: Shopify. easier setup, hosted, scales easily. WooCommerce. more flexibility, cheaper, need WordPress management. Both can rank. Shopify for non-technical. WooCommerce for technical/custom needs.
The Comparison
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium-Hard |
| Monthly cost | $29+ ($39 Basic) | Free + hosting ($15+) |
| Flexibility | Medium | High |
| Technical SEO control | Medium | High |
| Themes | Curated | Thousands |
| Apps | Paid marketplace | Free + paid plugins |
| Schema defaults | Good | Excellent (with plugins) |
| Blog | Basic | Full WordPress blog |
| Performance | Good (hosted) | Depends on hosting |
Shopify. Pros for SEO
- Speed out-of-box good.
- HTTPS automatic.
- Schema built-in for products.
- Mobile-responsive themes.
- CDN built-in.
Shopify. Cons
- URL structure rigid (/products/, /collections/).
- Blog pretty basic.
- Can't edit robots.txt fully.
- Certain code customizations restricted.
WooCommerce. Pros
- Full control everywhere.
- WordPress blog. powerful.
- Yoast or Rank Math plugins. deep SEO control.
- Can customize any URL.
- Cheaper for small stores.
WooCommerce. Cons
- Need WordPress expertise.
- Security. need hosting + updates.
- Speed depends on hosting + plugins.
- Plugins can conflict.
Recommendation
- Non-technical seller. Shopify.
- Content-heavy strategy. WooCommerce (better blog).
- Complex customizations. WooCommerce.
- International with multi-currency. Shopify.
- Small budget, willing to learn. WooCommerce.