Is WordPress or Shopify better for SEO?

Depending on your company's capabilities, Shopify will be better if you don’t have the skills internally to manage your website, as Shopify offers design templates and hosting services in a single package, while WordPress is self-hosted and requires more specialized web development skills to get the best outcome.

Updated: May 11, 2023

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The main difference between WordPress and Shopify is that WordPress is self-hosted, while Shopify offers design templates and hosting services in one package.

Generally speaking, WordPress requires more effort on the part of the user and has a bigger learning curve than Shopify.

But in the world of e-commerce, SEO is the most important factor to consider when choosing between WordPress and Shopify.

After all, better SEO means more traffic, and more traffic means more business. So let’s look at a comparison between WordPress and Shopify to find the best fit for you.

    Do Shopify Sites Have Good SEO?

    Since its inception in 2006, Shopify has consistently improved its SEO offerings, year after year. Shopify has really nailed SEO, both in terms of its own business and in terms of the website designs and services that it sells to its customers.

    Shopify sites come “unboxed” with a well-organized site structure and hierarchy of categories that support the way search engines work.

    All of Shopify’s sites, from the basic level to the advanced tier, come with a free SSL certificate included, which meets Google’s standard for website security.

    Shopify sites also get high scores for other Google benchmarks, like mobile-ready, accessibility, and site speed.

    When a site owner combines all these built-in features and adds some additional SEO customizations, Shopify comes out as a smart choice.

    Which Platform Is Better Shopify Or WordPress?

    Both Shopify and WordPress are powerful platforms that can meet high user demands. 

    Shopify hosts some of the world’s most well-known brands, such as the Kylie Jenner cosmetic line and Sephora. WordPress also boasts famous brands, including Sony Music, Time Magazine, and Mercedes Benz.

    Clearly, it isn’t so much whether one platform is better than the other, but which platform works best for a particular user.

    Shopify is best for users who want to get up and running as fast as possible, with as little configuration as possible.

    WordPress is better suited for users who want more control and are willing to put in more time in order to get a more customized design and function.

    Shopify vs.  WordPress

    A comparison of the pros and cons between Shopify and WordPress illuminates the benefits of each one.

    Here are the pros of Shopify and WordPress:

    Pros of ShopifyPros of WordPress 
    Hosting includedVisual editor
    Visual editorLarge support community
    Visual editorBuilt-in CMS
    Free SSL certificateMassive third-party customizations
    GDPR-compliantFree to download and run
    Automatic site backupsThousands of third-party templates
    Easy user interfaceThousands of third-party apps
    Built-in CMSAbundant opportunities for integrations
    Built-in payments
    Abundant integrations
    Built-in marketing tools
    Built-in fraud protection
    “Plug and play”

    Here are the cons of Shopify and WordPress:

    Cons of ShopifyCons of WordPress
    Monthly fees range between $29 and $299Large learning curve
    Transaction fees for e-commerceCan be buggy
    Limited free apps, additional apps cost moreExtended customization requires third party apps
    Limited content creation design for blogsHosting not included
    Limited design capabilitiesMore vulnerable to hackers
    Limited templatesSSL certificate must be purchased separately
    Limited customization

    WooCommerce vs. Shopify Seo

    WooCommerce is an e-commerce solution for users with a WordPress site and Shopify has its own solutions for e-commerce businesses built-in to optimize this particular niche market.

    Like Shopify, WooCommerce does an excellent job with SEO, but it primarily falls short in three categories; speed, site mapping, and 301 redirects.

    WooCommerce sites tend to be slower than Shopify sites because the coding is more complex. 

    WooCommerce needs third-party apps to generate XML sitemaps, while Shopify automatically generates them.

    Finally, creating a redirect with Shopify just takes a few clicks. And again, WooCommerce, 301 redirects are only possible through a third-party app.

    Can I Move My Website From Shopify To WordPress?

    If a user has a Shopify site and later decides to move to WordPress, a migration process has to be conducted. 

    This can be easily done using a third-party app. There are several to choose from, including one that specifically transfers a Shopify store to a WoocCommerce site.

    To review a list of the migration plugin options, go to the WordPress dashboard and click on Plugins. In the search box on the left, type Import from Shopify. This will bring up a list of vetted plugins to choose from.

    With a site migration from Shopify to WordPress, the end result of the site will most likely not be identical to the original site.

    Some tweaking and editing will be needed to perfect the look.

    How Do You Do SEO Yourself On Shopify?

    Shopify lets users modify title tags, URLs, and meta descriptions, which helps with SEO.

    Shopify also has a ton of built-in SEO features that automatically optimize content, without the need for additional input.

    Apart from this, the best thing that Shopify users can do is to ensure that their images and written content have been optimized for search engines.

    How Do I Set Up SEO on a WordPress Site?

    As mentioned, SEO is not built into WordPress. Many successful WordPress site owners use third-party apps to maximize their SEO. 

    Two of the most popular ones are Yoast and RankMath. Third-party apps such as these guide users through SEO for every page and post on WordPress sites.

    Whether you decide on WordPress or Shopify for your online venture, you need great content to bring in traffic

    Writer Access has thousands of carefully-vetted writers who deliver high-quality content to site owners all over the U.S. and beyond.

    Getting started at WriterAccess is easy. Sign up for a two-week free trial and find out for yourself how well-written content can make a difference on your site.

    And hey, while you’re here, take a minute to check out all the free tools that WriterAccess offers our clients, including ones that will help make your SEO sing like magic. Go on, sign up right now!

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