Choosing A Platform

Choosing the right platform to build your online store is a critical step that should be addressed before you start building. Below are 2 options, choosing the right option depends if you’re tech-savvy or not.

  • Option 1: Shopify eCommerce Website Builder ( recommended if you’re not tech-savvy )a
  • Option 2: WordPress WooCommerce With Bluehost Hosting ( recommended if tech-savvy )

Shopify eCommerce Website Builder Pro & Cons

Let’s go over some of the pros and cons of using Shopify to build your online store.

Pros:

  • Free 14 day trial for new customers
  • Easy to use website builder interface
  • Fixed pricing regardless of the amount of traffic starting at $29 /month
  • Included SSL certificate with fixed pricing
  • Included enterprise-grade security with fixed price
  • Quick to get up and running
  • Easily Integrates with Facebook Merchant, Google Merchant, and now TikTok Merchant.
  • Ability to run Google, Facebook, Instagram ads from admin.

Cons:

  • Most plugins are paid plugins

WordPress WooCommerce With Bluehost Hosting

Let’s go over some of the pros and cons of using WooCommerce with Bluehost to build your online store.

Pros:

  • Variety of themes to choose from
  • Very Customizable and Developer Friendly
  • Tons of great free plugins
  • Seo friendly and blog ready
  • Low hosting costs if you have low traffic.

Cons:

  • Most Integrations to selling channels requires developer knowledge
  • Hosting costs can become expensive for high traffic websites.
  • Website security is at your own hands
  • SSL certificate not included

As you can see Shopify is much easier if you don’t have a team of developers or if you’re not that tech-savvy while WooCommerce can be a great option for custom features and if you are tech-savvy or if you have a team of great developers.

Pre-requisite For The Next Steps:

Before we get into designing your online store, let’s make sure you have chosen a platform, below you will find links to both solutions.

 

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