The eCommerce industry is expected to generate a staggering $4.1 trillion by the end of the year and grow by 9.5% every year after that. If this trend is anything to go by, one thing is for sure: Ecommerce is the future, and the future is now.
If you’ve been thinking about starting an online business, there’s no better time than the present to do it. In this guide, we’ll review two popular platforms – Webflow vs Shopify – to help you decide which one you should get.
Webflow vs Shopify at a Glance
|
Platform |
Webflow |
Shopify |
|
Hosting |
Hosted and self-hosted options available |
Fully hosted solution |
|
Pricing |
There's a free plan available, as well as a variety of other plans that cater to budgets of all sizes. |
While there’s no free plan available, the prices are generally reasonable. |
|
Ease of use |
Its high customization ability also means the platform has a steep learning curve. |
The simple and intuitive interface lets users set up their online stores in minutes. |
|
Template design |
Over 2,000 responsive and customizable templates. |
Over 180 responsive, easy-to-customize themes, including 13 free options. |
|
Payment options and transaction fees |
2% transaction fees for merchants that aren’t on the Plus or Advanced plans. Supports 5 payment gateways. |
0% transaction fees for merchants using Shopify Payments. Supports 100+ payment gateways. |
|
Marketing and SEO |
Several built-in SEO capabilities and dozens of third-party marketing tools available on Webflow Apps. |
Built-in SEO features available, and dozens of third-party marketing apps on the Shopify App Store. |
|
Customer support |
The digital help center, Webflow University, offers in-depth tutorials and user guides. Email support is also available. |
Comprehensive Help Center resources. 24/7 round-the-clock support is available via phone call, email, and live chat. |
|
Security |
ISO 27001 compliant, free SSL certificate, and 2FA. |
Level-1 PCI-compliant and free SSL certificate. |
1. Webflow and Shopify – An Overview
Shopify and Webflow are both fully-hosted eCommerce website solutions that allow users to set up their online stores even with little to no knowledge of web development. In other words, you don’t need to be a programmer to set up a stunning and functional eCommerce website using any of the two platforms.
Webflow also offers a self-hosted option for users who would rather use a different hosting provider. Here's a detailed overview of each provider's offerings.
What is Webflow
Webflow is a cloud-based website builder. It lets users create custom sites without having to write a line of code. If you are a business owner who wants complete control over your eCommerce website and needs a platform that scales as your business grows, Webflow gives you the ability to do just that.
One of the things that makes Webflow stand out from other site builders on the market is its unrivaled customization capability. Whereas your run-of-the-mill builder limits the extent to which you can customize an existing template, Webflow has no restrictions. This explains why the platform is a top choice for web designers and other creative professionals.
Aside from this, Webflow is chock-full of powerful technical features. It integrates seamlessly with third-party plugins and apps such as Google Analytics and comes with built-in SEO tools to ensure your eCommerce website is optimized for search engines.
If you ever need to export your online store to a different shopping cart provider, Webflow generates clean, well-structured, W3C-compliant code. You can have your new website up and running in minutes without having to make major tweaks to the backend.
What is Shopify
Shopify is arguably the world’s most recognizable eCommerce platform. It is a one-stop, cloud-based solution that provides everything you need to set up an online store from scratch without having to code. With more than 4.7 million active sites in over 175 countries globally, it is the leading shopping cart provider on the market with some of the most affordable subscription plans.
Users can choose from tons of themes, which they can then edit with the built-in website editor. However, you won’t get anywhere near the same customization ability as you would with Webflow. If you’re looking for a fast, easy, and efficient way to set up your online store and start selling immediately, Shopify is the way to do it.
See also: Shopify vs WordPress – An In-Depth Comparison.
2. Pros and Cons
Here's a brief overview of the benefits and drawbacks of each platform.
Webflow Pros and Cons
Pros
- Users have 2,000+ themes and templates to choose from
- The visual editor offers a wider selection of design tools
- You can host your website anywhere you like
- The platform has built-in backup and autosave functionalities
- It offers unmatched customization capability
- It offers a free plan and generally has more affordable plans
- It has one of the most comprehensive digital help centers online (Webflow University)
Cons
- It only supports five payment processors
- No POS capability
- It has a steep learning curve
- The built-in analytics tools are lackluster
Shopify Pros and Cons
Pros
- It is a dedicated eCommerce website builder
- 0% transaction and payment processing fees when you use Shopify Payments
- It offers better tax calculation features
- It is easier to use
- Merchants have access to powerful POS and cross-channel selling tools
- Compatible with 100+ payment processors
- It has a massive app store with 8,000+ integrations
Cons
- Limited customization capability
- Huge reliance on third-party apps
- High transaction fees if you opt out of using Shopify Payments
- Operational costs can really rack up
3. Pricing and Value for Money – Which is Worth the Investment?
Right off the bat, it’s important to keep in mind that cheaper doesn’t always mean better. It’s about what solution gives you more bang for your buck. Let’s compare the two.
Webflow Pricing
Webflow has a two-prong pricing structure. On the one hand, you have Site plans, which are ideal for individuals and small businesses that want to build and host a single professional website. On the other hand, you have Workspace plans, which are ideal for larger businesses with multiple sites and team members.
The site plans comprise two options—General and Ecommerce—with each having various pricing tiers. Likewise, the workspace plans also consist of two options—“For in-house teams” and “For freelancers and agencies”—each with various tiers to choose from.
Aside from the monthly subscriptions you’re required to pay under your desired plan, you must also factor in additional fees. These include a domain name, a website template, and any third-party integrations you might need to enhance your website's functionality. Depending on your business's specific needs, you can project to spend anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars each month to maintain your site.
If you're just starting and want to get a feel for the platform before committing to the monthly subscription cost, you can sign up for the Free site plan. It comes with basic functionalities such as versioning and backups, form submissions, CMS items, and a staging subdomain. If you need more advanced capabilities, you will need to upgrade to the premium plans.
Shopify Pricing
Shopify gives new users a 3-day free trial and a $1 offer for the first month to experience the full scope of its eCommerce features. The platform has four pricing tiers, each designed to cater to the requirements of differently-sized businesses.
Additionally, there are plans for businesses that primarily sell through social media, in-person, or physical businesses that want to expand online. Like Webflow, you must also factor in operational costs like a domain name, website template, third-party apps and plugins, and transaction fees.
Overall, the plans are reasonably priced and built to serve businesses at every level. However, since no free plan is available, companies with no budget to start with might be at a slight disadvantage if they need to set up a professional-looking website.
Winner
With regard to pricing, Webflow is the clear winner because it offers a free plan and more affordable plans that cater to a wider range of budgets.
4. Ease of Use
Usability is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform. The last thing you want is a solution that forces you to spend the better part of your days tinkering around the backend instead of focusing on what really matters—running your business. With that in mind, which of the two platforms is easier to use? Let’s compare.
Webflow Usability
As mentioned earlier, Webflow is touted for its unparalleled customization capability. As great as that might be, it is somewhat of a double-edged sword. Higher customization also means that you may need to put in more work before your website is finally ready to launch.
Nonetheless, at a very basic level, Webflow’s interface is easy to use, with helpful prompts and questions to help personalize your experience and build your website step by step. For instance, once you create your account and log in, a wizard will ask you to answer a few questions.
These include the type of website you're looking to build, its name, and any functionalities you may need to integrate based on your business's purpose. Webflow will even recommend themes that might be better suited to your website. Since it is a visual editor, you'll be able to see how your website looks at every stage of the process.
The editor has a ton of tools that may take some time to learn and master. However, once you do, there’s no limit on how much you can customize your store.
Shopify Usability
Shopify was built to help anyone set up an online store in minutes—and we mean anyone. The platform is extremely easy to use, and the setup process is a walk in the park. The user interface is well-organized and intuitive. The tools are easy to find, allowing you to build a fully functional Shopify store in a few quick and easy steps.
One of the great things about Shopify’s interface is that it separates the dashboard from the editing blocks. While this limits the extent to which you can customize your website, it ensures that your site remains stable without adversely impacting its performance.
Winner
As far as ease of use goes, Shopify is the clear winner. Its user-friendly interface and highly responsive dashboard are head and shoulders above Webflow's.
5. Template Design
When it comes to template design, we were interested in which of the two platforms has the better collection of professional-looking themes. Even with no web design knowledge, you want your online store to look stunning. Here’s how each platform performed in that regard.
Webflow Templates and Themes
The Webflow theme library boasts 2,000+ templates in a wide range of categories, including eCommerce, portfolios, agencies, and blogs. Prices for these templates run around $49 on the lower end to $129 on the upper end.
All themes are responsive and easily customizable using the platform’s code-free editing tools. From a design standpoint, we liked what we saw. The templates looked professional and stunning, and there were so many options to choose from.
Shopify Templates and Themes
Shopify doesn't have a selection as big as Webflow's. The template library has about 180+ themes, with paid options ranging between $140 and $400. If you're on a tight budget, there are 13 free themes to choose from, each of which we thought was quite stunning.
Shopify’s themes are all designed for eCommerce. You can choose from various store categories, including restaurants, services, home and décor, arts and crafts, and many more. As far as their visual appeal goes, the templates looked great. Users can use Shopify’s Liquid code to customize their theme and make it stand out.
Winner
While Webflow and Shopify’s themes and templates are all stunning, Webflow takes the cup based on the sheer number of templates users can choose from.
6. Payment Options and Transaction Fees
Payment processing is central to the functionality of any eCommerce website. The two questions we were interested in addressing were:
- Which platform has more payment gateways?
- Which one has lower overall transaction fees?
Here’s what we found.
Webflow Payments
Webflow only supports a handful of payment gateways, namely Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and Amazon Payments. The platform has also partnered with Donately for charity websites that collect donations.
Webflow merchants not only have to contend with the fewer payment options available, but the platform also charges a 2% transaction fee on every sale unless they’re on the Plus or Advanced plans.
Shopify Payments
Shopify supports 100+ different payment gateways, including the major ones like Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and Amazon Payments. What sets it apart from other eCommerce providers is that it has a payment gateway of its own, Shopify Payments.
While most (if not all) payment processors require merchants to pay a fee on all transactions, Shopify Payments is free. By making it the default payment gateway for your online store, you don’t pay a single dime extra when customers pay for products. If they pay $50 for an item, you’ll receive the $50 in full if you use the payment gateway.
On the other hand, if you opt not to use Shopify Payments and instead use a different payment processor, you will pay both commission and transaction fees, which are generally higher than average.
Winner
As far as payment options and transaction fees go, Shopify wins. Not only is the platform compatible with several payment gateways, but users don’t incur any additional fees when they use the platform’s own payment gateway—Shopify Payments.
See also: Shopify vs eBay: Which is the Right Ecommerce Platform for Your Business?
7. Marketing and SEO
Online visibility on search engines is critical to the success of any eCommerce website. For this reason, the platform you pick should have a host of marketing and SEO features to bump up your website’s ranking on Google. Here’s how Webflow and Shopify measure up.
Webflow SEO and Marketing
Some of the built-in SEO capabilities you can expect from the platform include:
- 301 redirects
- Automated SEO
- AWS hosting stack
- Easy sitemap controls
- The addition and customization of schema markup
As far as marketing capabilities go, Webflow gives users access to a powerful editor that’s easy to work with, in addition to a wide range of marketing tools. Here are some of the ones that stand out:
- Email marketing tools, including AWeber, HubSpot, and ActiveCampaign.
- Event marketing tools, including Facebook Events, Bizzabo, and Eventbrite.
- SEO tools, including Moz, Keyword Hero, Semrush, and Ahrefs.
- Social media marketing tools, including SocialPilot, Buffer, BuzzSumo, and Hootsuite.
These tools are all available as third-party integrations on Webflow Apps.
Shopify SEO and Marketing
Shopify adopts a strict URL structure that’s not easily accessible to users. For this reason, it is impossible to modify. Nonetheless, the platform has a ton of built-in SEO features that more than made up for this shortcoming, including sitemaps and redirects. You can also enhance your website’s SEO value by installing third-party integrations from the Shopify App Store.
When it comes to marketing features, Shopify has no shortage of them. With tools like Shopify Inbox, Shopify Email, Automation, and Segmentation, you can expand your reach and increase your customer base. If you want to craft email marketing campaigns, you can leverage Shopify's vast collection of email templates and customize them to appeal to your target customers.
Winner
Based on our assessment, both Webflow and Shopify's SEO and marketing toolkits are at par with each other. While both platforms have a decent amount of built-in SEO tools, most of their marketing capabilities come from third-party integrations. If you’re looking to expand your website’s reach and have identified the plugins you need to help you do that, both platforms will deliver on that front.
8. Customer Support and Security
This section sought to answer the questions: Which of the two platforms is safer for your online business, and how easy is it to get help if you run into any issues? Here is our assessment of what we found.
Webflow Customer Support and Security
Webflow has one of the most comprehensive digital help centers online—Webflow University. It is home to several in-depth tutorials to help you master the platform’s visual editor and learn everything you need to build an online store from the ground up. You can also dig into the comprehensive FAQ list for answers to common issues.
If you need to contact customer support, you must log in to your account and submit a ticket. Webflow doesn’t offer phone or live chat support.
Regarding security, the platform is ISO 27001 compliant and provides a free SSL certificate for your website if you host it on their servers. For even more security, simply enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your online store to prevent access from unauthorized third parties.
Shopify Customer Support and Security
Shopify has a customer support team that’s on call 24/7 to resolve any issue you run into. You can reach them by phone, on email, or through live chat. Alternatively, you can leverage Shopify's comprehensive Help Center, where you’ll find useful documentation related to how to start, sell, manage, and market your online store.
As far as security is concerned, Shopify is Level-1 PCI-compliant. This means that customers who transact with debit and credit cards can rest easy knowing their payment information is secure against hackers. Additionally, merchants get a free SSL certificate for their websites, which increases the level of encryption for their databases.
Winner
Both platforms have in-depth Help resources that users can leverage whenever they run into challenges. However, Shopify is the clear winner in this category simply because merchants have access to 24/7 customer support through multiple channels—phone, email, and live chat.
The Verdict
The jury is in. Both eCommerce solutions are outstanding in their own right. Here’s what we mean.
If you value customization and control over every aspect of your online store, Webflow would be the better option. This is particularly the case if you’re a programmer, web developer, or a quick study who can figure your way around the platform’s visual editor.
The learning curve might be steep if you don’t have a coding background, but it will be well worth it in the end. You’ll be able to build a website that looks exactly the way you want and does everything you need it to do.
Alternatively, if you want to get your online store up and running in the shortest time possible using a simple, intuitive website builder that practically does everything for you, Shopify is the way to go. It may not be as customizable as Webflow, but the result will be a fully functional, professional-looking eCommerce website.
Whether you want to migrate your online store from Webflow to Shopify, Shopify to Webflow, or any other eCommerce platform, Cart2Cart can help you do just that. With our automated shopping cart migration tool, you can move your website to a platform of your choice in a few simple clicks. You don’t need to worry about downtime or data loss, either. We’ve got you covered.
Ready to see Cart2Cart in action? Sign up today for a free demo.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Should I migrate from Webflow to Shopify?
The choice of one over the other comes down to the level of customization you need, your budget, and how quickly you want to set up your online store. With Shopify, you can build and configure your online store in minutes, unlike Webflow. However, Webflow provides unlimited customization capability, which isn't the case for Shopify.
Can you use Webflow for eCommerce?
Yes, Webflow offers a wide range of eCommerce tools to build your online store from scratch. With the intuitive visual editor, you can customize your eCommerce website to no end. Webflow allows you to create checkout pages, connect payment gateways, configure taxes and shipping, manage inventory, and more.
Is Webflow compatible with Shopify?
Yes, you can integrate Shopify with Webflow in several ways. For instance, you can sync product data in your Shopify store with your Webflow website using tools like Shopify-to-Webflow by Udesly. You can also embed a Shopify “Add to cart” button on your Webflow website. That way, customers can checkout via Shopify once they buy a product from your Webflow site.
Can I sell products on Webflow?
Yes, Webflow eCommerce allows you to build an online store, manage products and orders, personalize your customers’ checkout experience, customize your cart, and more. With the visual editor, you can set up your eCommerce store without writing a single line of code.
August 30, 2024 
