Shopify or WooCommerce for a Small UK Business?
Both platforms work. Plenty of successful UK shops run on each. The right answer depends less on features than on how much you want to be responsible for.
The genuine difference
Shopify is a service you rent. It hosts your shop, handles security, processes payments and stays updated whether you think about it or not. WooCommerce is software you install on hosting you control. It is free to download, which is where most of the confusion begins.
What each really costs
Shopify charges a predictable monthly fee, plus transaction costs, plus apps. It is rarely the cheapest option, but you know the number in advance.
WooCommerce has no licence fee, then needs hosting good enough to run a shop, an SSL certificate, a payment gateway, and usually several paid plugins for shipping rules, subscriptions or anything beyond the basics. Costs are lower but less predictable, and someone has to keep it updated. If that is not you, it is a maintenance contract.
When Shopify wins
You want to sell rather than administer. Your product range fits a conventional shop. You value not being responsible when a security patch is released on a Friday evening. You are starting out and want the fastest reliable route to trading.
When WooCommerce wins
You already run WordPress and content is central to how you sell. You need something unusual that Shopify's structure resists. You want full control of hosting and data. You have someone technical, in house or retained, who will actually keep it maintained.
The honest summary
Most small UK businesses without technical support are better served by Shopify, because the monthly fee buys away a category of problems. Businesses with content at their heart, or genuinely unusual requirements, are often better on WooCommerce.
Whichever you choose, speed matters more than the badge. A slow Shopify store and a slow WooCommerce store lose the same customers.
Not sure which fits? Talk to us first.