Shopify, WooCommerce or custom: how to choose a platform
Three ways to run a store, three different lives. How to choose between Shopify, WooCommerce and a custom build on volume, team and control.
The short answer
The three options differ less in features than in who is responsible when something breaks at night. On Shopify, checkout, payments, hosting and security are Shopify’s job. On WooCommerce they are yours, or your developer’s. On a custom build they are your developer’s by design, and in return anything is possible.
For an ordinary store that difference decides it in Shopify’s favour. The exceptions are real, and they are listed below.
Side by side
| Shopify | WooCommerce | Custom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted platform | Plugin on a WordPress site | Software built for you |
| Checkout and payments | Shopify’s, maintained for you | Plugins, your responsibility | Built or integrated, your developer’s responsibility |
| Hosting and uptime | Included | Yours | Yours or your partner’s |
| Security patching | Shopify | You, constantly | Your developer |
| Design freedom | Within theme limits, or full with headless | High, within WordPress | Total |
| Apps and extensions | Large app store; speed cost per app | Large plugin ecosystem; stability cost per plugin | Built as needed |
| Unusual business logic | Possible with apps and Functions, limited | Possible with plugins and code | Native |
| Monthly running cost | Platform fee plus apps and payment fees | Hosting, maintenance, premium plugins, payment fees | Hosting plus maintenance contract |
| Best for | An ordinary store | Teams that run WordPress well and want control | Stores where selling itself is unusual |
When we recommend Shopify
Almost always for a store that sells products in a reasonably standard way, which is the ordinary case. The checkout converts well and is maintained by a team that does only that. Hosting and security are not your problem. The app store covers most needs, with the warning that every app costs speed. When the theme becomes the limit, a headless storefront gives full design freedom while Shopify keeps doing the rest.
When WooCommerce makes sense
You already run WordPress well, with someone who patches it, backs it up and knows the plugin stack. You want full control and low platform cost, and you accept that checkout, payments, hosting and security are your responsibility every month. Under those conditions WooCommerce is a reasonable choice. Without them it is a self-hosted platform nobody is maintaining, and that is where incidents happen, not because the software is bad but because nobody was maintaining it.
When custom is right
- The way you sell is unusual. Configurators, quotes that depend on many variables, B2B approval flows, made-to-order products with complex rules.
- Integration is the core. The store must talk deeply to your ERP, planning or production systems, in both directions, in real time.
- The platform is the product. You are building a marketplace or a sales tool, not a shop.
- You have the volume and the team. Custom means software, and software needs an owner.
If none of the four applies, custom is an expensive way to rebuild what a platform already does well.
What this means for you
Answer three questions: is the way you sell standard, do you have someone who will maintain a self-hosted platform every month, and is the store itself the product. Standard and no maintainer: Shopify. Standard with a strong WordPress team: WooCommerce is defensible. Unusual selling or store as product: custom, scoped as software. Then read about apps, because that is where the next decision hides.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify not more expensive than WooCommerce?
Per month on paper, often yes. In practice WooCommerce needs hosting, security, updates, backups and someone to keep the plugin stack working, and those cost money or time every month. Compare the total including the person, not the subscription against the free plugin.
Do we lose control on Shopify?
You lose control over checkout, which is the point: it is fast, secure and maintained by Shopify. You keep control over design, content and most of the store experience, and with a headless storefront you get full control over everything the shopper sees before checkout.
When is custom the right answer?
When the way you sell is genuinely unusual: complex configurators, pricing that depends on many variables, B2B flows with approvals, or deep integration with your own systems. Then the store is software, and it should be built as software. That is a small minority of stores.
Can we switch platforms later?
Products, customers and orders can be migrated, and URLs can be redirected to protect rankings. Themes, apps and customisations do not carry over. Switching is a project, so choose for the next three years, not the next three months.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center: Web performance (accessed 2026-09-11)
- WooCommerce documentation (accessed 2026-09-11)