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WordPress vs Shopify: which is right for your business?
It's the question we get asked most. The honest answer is short: if you run a service or content business, WordPress. If you sell physical products online, Shopify. Here's how to be sure — in plain English, with no jargon.
The short answer.
Most of the time, the choice comes down to one question: are you selling products online, or are you selling yourself?
Service or content business → WordPress
Tradies, clinics, consultants, professional services, cafés, anyone whose website's job is to build trust and bring in enquiries.
Selling products online → Shopify
A real online store with a cart, secure checkout, shipping and stock — where customers buy and pay on your site.
Plenty of businesses sit cleanly on one side. If you're somewhere in the middle — say a café that also ships a bit of merch — read on, because the right call depends on where the real money comes from.
When WordPress wins.
WordPress is built for content. If your site needs to explain services, build credibility and rank for what local customers search, it's hard to beat.
Flexibility
Service pages, location pages, galleries, booking links, blogs — the structure bends to fit how your industry actually wins work.
Content & SEO
Deep, page-by-page control over titles, headings and structure makes it well suited to ranking for local and service searches over time.
No per-sale fees
There's no platform taking a cut of an enquiry. You pay for hosting and what you choose to run — and that's it.
Full control
It's open software you can take anywhere. No single company owns the floor your business stands on.
If that sounds like you, here's how we build it: WordPress web design.
When Shopify wins.
The moment customers need to add to cart and pay on your site, Shopify earns its keep. It handles the hard, risky parts of selling so you don't have to.
A real store
Products, variants, collections, discounts and shipping rules work out of the box — purpose-built for selling.
A secure checkout you don't maintain
Payments and the checkout are Shopify's responsibility, kept secure and updated for you — a genuine weight off your plate.
Inventory that keeps up
Stock counts, orders and customers are managed in one tidy admin, so the back office doesn't become a second job.
Worth knowing: Shopify charges a monthly subscription, and unless you use Shopify Payments there can be a small fee per transaction. For a working store, that trade is usually well worth the peace of mind.
Selling online? Here's our approach: Shopify storefronts.
Ownership & lock-in.
Here's the part people worry about — and shouldn't. When we build on either platform, you own it. The domain, the hosting account, the store admin, the content: all in your name, handed over in full at the end.
WordPress is open software you can host anywhere, so there's no lock-in by design. Shopify is a hosted platform you subscribe to, but your store, your products and your customer list stay yours — you can export them and move on if you ever choose to. The difference is real, but neither leaves you a hostage.
We go deeper on this here: why you should own your website.
Cost & SEO notes.
On cost, the running shape differs. A WordPress site means hosting plus whatever you choose to run on top. A Shopify store means a monthly subscription plus possible per-sale fees — the price of a platform that keeps your checkout secure for you.
On SEO, both can rank well when built properly — clean structure, fast pages, sensible titles and headings. WordPress gives you more room for deep content and local service pages, which suits businesses competing on what people search. Shopify is strong for product and category pages. The platform matters less than the build; a tidy site on either will out-rank a sloppy one on the other.
For real numbers, see our guide to what a website costs or try the cost calculator.
Still not sure?
That's completely normal — and exactly what a consult is for. Tell us what your business does and how customers find you, and we'll recommend the platform that fits, with no pressure either way. We don't earn more from one over the other; we just want you on the right one.
Have a quick look at our packages and pricing, then book a free consult and we'll talk it through.
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Let's pick the right platform.
Free consult. Honest recommendation. No lock-in.