Shopwired Vs Shopify: Which ecommerce platform is better?

If you are deciding to choose between the best ecommerce platforms to build and launch your first online store, you’re in the right place.

When choosing an ecommerce platform, everyone wants an easy to understand and simple to use interface.

Creating and customizing your store should not be time consuming, nor should it feel like brain surgery. The platform should save you some cost, give you exposure, should be mobile friendly while having all the necessary ecommerce and marketing tools to get you growing.

Two such ecommerce platforms that you might have come across are Shopify and Shopwired. Both are well reputed, efficient, and known to be performance driven. But which one is better? How do the features compare?

Let’s find out in this Shopwired vs Shopify comparison.

Shopwired Overview

Shopwired is a Uk based ecommerce platform that has headquarters in Birmingham, Uk. The company is owned by CEO Rob Bearly under the legal name Platform 21 Ltd.

Shopwired comes out as the UK’s most popular e-commerce platform and has been in operation since 2013.

If you’re wondering who uses Shopwired, the answer is almost anyone with a business willing to sell online. Shop wired is used by merchants who wish to build and grow their online stores.

Shopify Overview

Shopify is a user-friendly ecommerce platform that works like a selling channel for businesses looking to sell their physical and digital products. Shopify was founded back in 2006 and is a Canada based company.

Its owner and CEO Tobias Lutke along with Daniel Weinand wanted to establish Shopify as a modern, digitized shopping cart system.

As of 2023, Shopify has over 4.4 billion stores owned and controlled by businesses of all sizes, from all around the globe.

Quick Comparison Table For Shopwired & Shopify

Shopwired Vs Shopify: In-Depth Comparison

Several factors make Shopify and Shopwired different, as well as, similar to each other. For instance, Shopify is more on the global side with a global market, while Shopwired is based more on the UK market. Likewise, each of the platforms is lopsided or balanced in terms of different features.

Let’s dive into each of these attributes to get a better understanding of which of the two ecommerce platforms stands out in which facet.

Ease of Use

One of the greatest perks you notice about Shopify is its easy to use, easier to navigate interface.

Shopify has an intuitive website builder, meaning that the builder understands your actions as you keep using it. The layout is simplified and all the options you would need are right in front of you. The UI of Shopify is particularly beginner friendly because of its drag and drop editor.

As with Shopwired, the interface is neat and organized. Most of the features are located on one side with clearly defined menu items. With a simple sign-up ritual, you are given a tour of the platform which helps you understand the interface better.

Customization Tools, Templates & Themes

Although Shopify has about 100 unique templates to choose from in its free and premium selection, customization tools are limited. However, third party customization tools can be used. With the latest OS 2.0 upgrade, you get 9 free themes but access to 70 unique ones once on paid plans.

Shopwired is far advanced when it comes to customization tools. They allow you to fully customize any theme with the integrated builder. However, you only hand your hands on 20 themes for free which can be upgraded with better pricing plans.

The latest Version 5 framework on Shopwired includes a fully customizable builder.

E-commerce Tools

In Shopify, you get the best of e-commerce features including the likes of drop shipping integration, flexible shipping charges, payment processors, order and inventory management tools, content management, and reporting features. Moreover, you can also enjoy Shopify management app, product reviews, and gift vouchers.

Shopwired too has a plethora of ecommerce tools to choose from with the highlights of different currency transactions, multiple buying offers, reward points, and gift vouchers similar to Shopify. You can also use their digital downloads and eBay integration to enhance your e-commerce experience.

Payment Processing

Payment processing in Shopify is convenient, secure, and simple. With their gateway, Shopify payments, you get everything done under Shopify’s protection and monitoring. Additionally, you can also get other payment processors like Paypal Express, Amazon pay, Sagepay, and Word pay.

Unlike Shopify, Shopwired does not have a payment gateway of its own. However, you can easily integrate other payment gateways to carry out the necessary payments. Gateways that you can use are Paypal express checkout, Stripe, and Amazon pay along with Klarna, world pay, and Barclaycard.

Inventory Management

The inventory management system of Shopify is easy to use, thanks to the one-page layout. They have categorized the organization well, with two basic modes to choose from in their collections. There is a manual mode and there’s an automated mode. Plus, you would be able to add and edit digital products all under the same layout.

Shopwired to access the inventory management system and also has a single page layout where you only have to move from one section to another. You would be able to add and edit products without having to switch pages.

The organizing is category based which lets you create sub categories as well.

Managing Orders

Unfortunately, despite having order management features, Shopify does not excel in this section as Shopwired does. Basic options like printing invoices need a third-party app to be installed. Although you can complete most of the activities you need to manage orders such as bulk orders and status updates.

Order management with Shopwired is more systematic and simpler. You can get your invoice directly from Shopwired, whether you want to print it, convert it to pdf, or get it exported to some other file format. You can also update your status and collect payments like Shopify.

Shipping Options

Shopify offers 3 different shipping options to get your product to your customer. You can choose from local delivery, local pickup, or shipping. Depending on what your application is, Shopify lets you decide the shipping method.

The shipping option will also depend on what type of business you are in and where you set your location in.

Shopwired, too, gives you a range of options to choose from. On their shipping page, you would get to choose shipping display and option You will also be able to change the country and currency you want your product to be delivered. 

Shopwired does have a delivery pricing system based on the weight and price of the product.

Marketing & SEO Tools

There are plenty of SEO and marketing tools that you would be able to integrate your Shopify with to have a better reach. Google Adwords and Facebook marketplace are two of them.

You can also use automated sitemaps, and abandoned cart recovery options, along with blog meta data and social media sharing.

Shopwired marketing and search engine optimization facilities are similar to Shopify. Here you do get to use Google feed and Mail chimp which are not available in Shopify. You also get a SEO friendly URL that you can share about anywhere from social media to blogs.

Third Party App Integrations

When it comes to third party app integrations, Shopify comes out with the medal. They have an app store of their own. Shopify app store is a piazza with over 6000 different apps that you can integrate with. 

The applications range from landing page builders to social media like Twitter and TikTok, drop shipping tools, product personalizers, and many more.

Shopwired, too, offers you a variety of apps to choose from, each designed to enhance the functionality of your ecommerce store. 

You can gain a bigger audience through integrations with most blogging sites and other ecommerce stores like eBay.

Migration & Flexibility

Shopify is considered to be a lot more flexible in terms of importing, migrating, or exporting content. If you need to migrate content from other platforms like Weebly, or Etsy, you can easily do so. 

To migrate, you would need to go to the Shopify app store and download the store’s importer to integrate with Shopify.

Shopwired also allows you to migrate your content from other platforms but you would not be able to pick and choose where you import it from. 

Shopwired lets you migrate from Bigcommerce, Bluepart, EKM, and not to forget, Shopify. Yes, you can import your content from Shopify to Shopwired.

Customer Support & Resources

Customer support and resources are one of the pivotal reasons why hosted ecommerce platforms are so popular.

Shopify is always available to help you. Whether you want to reach out to them through phone, text, live chat, or email. You would get a response in the shortest time. 

They have 24/7 online support available as well.  However, the quality of support you receive would largely depend on the agent, which can either be excellent or below par.

The knowledge base of Shopify is vast and updated and includes video tutorials as well as documentation.

Customer support for Shopwired is accessible through phone calls, emails, and live chats. They also let you reach out with support tickets. Although it’s not a 24/7 on-call support, you can reach them through the UK’s business hours, that is from Monday through Friday their office hours of 9 am to 10 pm.

Shopwired too has a pretty impressive resource hub with comprehensive guides and step-by-step video tutorials.

Hosting and Performance

Both platforms are considerably similar when it comes to hosting. For instance, both offer unlimited storage and bandwidth, along with a near perfect uptime. Shopwired and Shopify are PCI compliant and have an internationally compliant delivery network.

While you can’t fault much for that, you might be surprised to know that the two platforms vary greatly in speed. Shopify takes about 2 to 3 seconds to load each page whereas Shopwired only takes about 1;17 seconds!

You would want to keep in mind that the speed and performance of Shopify on mobile are a lot more effective than Shopwired. 

Pricing Plans & Transaction Fee

What may come down to many of you, is the pricing plans. When starting an online store, you would want to start small, invest little at first, and then grow as you go. Here are the Pricing plans available for both Shopify and Shopwired:

Shopify

Shopify pricing plans range from $39 to $399 billed monthly. The basic plan costs $39, the Shopify plan costs $105 and the advanced plan costs you $399. Each of these plans has varying transaction costs to them and has different credit card rates both online and in person

The most expensive plan has a transaction rate of 2.4% while the basic one has a transaction rate of 2.9%. While these may look expensive on paper, the upgrades in prices come with better features, more staff accounts, and more inventory locations. Shopify does offer a free trial along with an extension offer.

The limited time extension offer is available with all three plans where you get a 3-month extension by paying $1 per month.

ShopWired

Shopwired offers a 14-day free trial where you would not require any card or payments. At the end of the 14 days, you would have to choose the pricing packages.

ShopWired also offers 3 pricing plans: Pro plan costing £31. 46 per month, Advanced plan costing £62. 96 per month, and the Premium plan costs £116.96 per month. All of these plans are based on Uk’s rates and are billed annually.

All three plans come with an SSL certification and no transaction fees. This way, Shopwired becomes a lot more affordable compared to what is billed in Shopify for each of your sales.

While the top-tier plans offer unlimited products, the pro plan allows up to 750 products. You do, however, get unlimited access to their customer support and resources.

The number of admin accounts you are allowed to use goes up with prices, and you are allowed to use trade accounts for free for advanced and premium plans. Other than these,

Shopwired also offers enterprise packages that can only be accessed by bigger businesses and are designed for businesses making sales in thousands and millions.

Shopwired Pros and Cons

To narrow it down, here are the good and low sides of what Shopwired has to offer.

The benefits of using Shopwired are:

• The interface is easy to use and requires no coding experience to get used to
• You have great freedom to customize and personalize themes and templates
• The loading speed of the page is less than 2 seconds and offers high speed navigation and performance
• Product management is simplified with the ability to categorize and subcategorize
• Easy to use order management page which is well organized within a single page layout

The drawbacks of using Shopwired are:

• Although customer support is excellent, you only get to reach out for limited business hours
• Few of the extensions, apps, and plugins require coding knowledge to operate.
• The Pricing depends on revenue and will increase as your turnover increases
• Third party integrations including payment processes require research

Is Shopwired Better Than Shopify?

Shopwired, when compared to Shopify, is better in aspects like product management and order management. The entire process involving adding, organizing, and managing products in Shopwired may feel a lot simpler due to the single page layout. 

It can be said the Shopwired order management system overpowers Shopify. One of the advantages that you can enjoy with Shopify’s order management is the ability to print out or export invoices, a very basic order management feature that is missing in Shopify.

Additionally, if you are someone who requires fast loading pages for your store, Shopwired does give you more. You can also choose Shopwired to avoid the high transaction fees and increased priced plans.

Shopify Pros And Cons

The perks of using Shopify are as follows:

•  They provide round the clock, active customer support through multiple channels and mediums
• You get to choose between multiple payment gateways along with Shopify’s payment gateway
•  There are hundreds and thousands of themes and templates to choose from both in free and premium plans
• Due to the availability of Shopify’s app store, you can easily integrate and choose from a range of different third party apps
• Easy to use interface with a simple drag and drop editor
• The categories in Shopify are versatile and they support all niches of goods and services.

The disadvantages of Shopify are:

• Shopify’s plans are not the cheapest with their extra transaction costs
• You cannot create a unique brand identity due to limitation is customization and personalization
• Shopify does not offer any email hosting facilities for businesses
• You just cannot deactivate or delete your Shopify store without clearing out dues and other formalities

Is Shopify Better Than Shopwired?

Comparing it all, if I am to state more generally, I would say Shopify wins the race by a small margin when it comes to being the better ecommerce platform.

Shopify’s ease of use and editor qualify as one of the top reasons. But what I particularly love about Shopify over Shopwired is the diversity and availability of services and app integrations.

Shopify has its own app store, knowledge base, and payment gateways. All of it makes the user experience a lot more refined and smoother when it comes to building an online presence.

There’s little to complain about when it comes to Shopify’s mobility, flexibility, and security. With Shopify, you may be paying a slightly higher process, but the value you receive is far greater. 

Click here to get the Longest Available Free Shopify Trial Today! (No one else has any trial longer than this btw.)

Shopwired or Shopify: Which One Is Right For You?

Shopwired and Shopify are both great in terms of features and e-commerce tools. Which one is right for you depends on what type of business you are in, but more importantly what market you plan to target.

If you have seen Shopwired reviews, You should keep in mind that Shopwired is centered in the UK. 

The payments, point of sale, transactions, and markets are all based in the UK and are best suited for any business that operates in the British market or targets the UK audience.

With that said, Shopwired is currently being used by over 500 companies all of which are small to medium in size. If you have a business with about 1 to 10 employees and you have a revenue that is under 1 million dollars, Shopwired is right for you.

The most advanced enterprise plan offered by Shopwired is considered to be suitable for a 1 million or less revenue earning business.

On the other hand, Shopify is best suited for businesses of all sizes and all categories. The platform supports even the rarest of niches and has a market of customers for it. If you wish to know, online t-shirt stores, rug stores and graphic designing businesses on Shopify are the ones earning the most annually.

There’s also a huge market for cosmetics, makeup, drop shipping, and fitness. With the popularity, reach, and reputation that Shopify has, it is easy to start an online business under any niche.

Click here to get the Longest Available Free Shopify Trial Today! (No one else has any trial longer than this btw.)

FAQs

What is shopwired best known for?

Shopwired is best known as the UK’s most popular ecommerce platform that helps small to medium sized businesses to sell their products and services online.

Can I dropship on ShopWired?

Yes, you can dropship on Shopwired. The platform offers a segment for drop shipping called DropWired where hundreds of merchants engage in drop shipping business.

Can you make money on ShopWired?

Yes, you can make money on Shopwired by building and launching your store. You can also earn regular income through dropshipping, building new websites, or transferring content from other platforms

Final Thoughts

ShopWired and Shopify are comparable and lock horns as two of the best ecommerce platforms. The overall user reviews of both have more glory than whines.

If you have a business that is focussed on the UK market, you would want to choose Shopwired. It will save you costs and give you a better order management system. As for Shopify, it gives you the best of everything e-commerce.

You get a platform that is easy to use and manage with its own mobile apps and payment systems.

Click here to get the Longest Available Free Shopify Trial Today! (No one else has any trial longer than this btw.)