Summer Nguyen | 07-01-2024
2024 is the year of the development of technology applications. Along with that, online shopping is becoming increasingly popular. The two names that people mention the most are Shopify and Weebly. They wonder what the difference between them is.
In this article, we will help you answer that question and provide information on which platform your business should use. Let’s compare them!
Shopify started back in 2006. It’s a platform for online stores and also for shops in real life. It offers a lot of services to online shops, like handling payments, helping with marketing, shipping stuff, and tools to keep customers engaged.
What is Shopify
Currently, Shopify has more than 5.4 million active websites, and many famous brands like Tesla, Netflix, BBC,… also use Shopify as a way to create an online website. Shopify is well known for its user-friendly interface, scalability, and lots of impressive features to make it easy for users
The story of Weebly comes from a familiar tech story that starts with a handful of college buddies messing around with new technology. It started with a group of 20-year-old students at Penn State University who set out to create software that is suitable for anyone to build a personal website, regardless of technology, comfort level, or experience.
What is Weebly
Currently, Weebly is becoming the world’s first website builder, reaching more than 40 million users and 325 million visitors each month.
As we know, Shopify and Weebly are e-commerce solutions for business owners to sell or showcase their products. But which one should they choose? A hard question! Yeah, we need to see if Shopify or Weebly is suitable for which types of business. Let’s check with us!
| Factor | Shopify | Weebly |
| Price list | Start at $19/month | Start at $6 per month |
| Ease of use | Shopify’s more complex setup makes the actual running of your online store easier | Weebly won points in our ease-of-use testing with its simple drag-and-drop editing and easy customization tools. |
| Template Choice | Shopify has 74 themes in its library – most themes come with multiple design options, therefore there are plenty of styles to choose from. | Weebly has around 50 themes to choose from, including various industries such as business, portfolio, and blogs. |
| Customization | Shopify’s editor has more of a divide. | Weebly uses drag-and-drop editing tools, which is a super easy way to customize your theme. |
| Marketing Features | Shopify was a close runner-up with its large range of marketing integrations and international selling options. | Weebly is the standout winner for marketing features with beginner-friendly SEO guides, and its comprehensive blogging tools,.. |
| Apps and Integrations | Shopify is no usual competitor – it blows Weebly’s app store out of the water with over 5,000 apps in total! | Weebly has a well-stocked app store with nearly 400 apps in total. |
Shopify’s plans start as low as $9 per month but increase quickly to $25 per month ($19 per month when paid annually) for those who want to build an online store. But Shopify costs don’t end at its subscription price. You’ll also need a domain name (around $10 to $15 per year) and potentially a premium theme and premium plugins to maximize your online store’s functionalities.
Prices for Shopify’s plans
Here is the overview of Shopify’s cost plans, and you’ll see there’s a big difference
Shopify Lite
Shopify Basic
Shopify Standard
Shopify Advanced
Shopify Plus:
In addition to the cost of Shopify plans, you often pay for a domain name ($15 per year) and premium theme ($75 – over $300 per year).
Weebly’s price plans start at a fee for users, and the highest price your business needs to pay is $26.
Weebly’s price plans
Weebly Free Plan
Weebly Professional Plan
Weebly Performance Plan
Shopify’s choice of templates is more impressive. It has 74 themes in its library – most themes come with multiple design options, so there are plenty of styles to choose from. All of Shopify’s themes are designed for online stores – while some may feature a blog, primarily they’re meant for selling products. Shopify has nine free themes at the time of writing, and 65 paid themes – premium designs range in price from $100 to $180 one-off payment.
Read more: Discover The 25 Best Shopify Themes For SEO
Weebly has around 50 themes to choose from, including various industries such as business, portfolio, and blogs. Its designs are all free for users, whether you’re on the free plan or using a paid subscription.
Weebly has 50 themes in its library
Shopify’s editor has more of a divide. You enter product information in the backend, which populates your storefront. You can customize your storefront design, but it’s not as free as Weebly’s drag-and-drop editor, and certainly not as easy! Shopify’s editor is clunky and your design options are a lot more limited.
Weebly uses drag-and-drop editing tools, which is a super easy way to customize your theme. Simply click on the elements (such as text boxes) you want to add or move and drop them where you want them on your page. This is exactly how visitors will see your design once it’s live – there’s no back and forth between a backend and a frontend preview.
Shopify was a close runner-up with its large range of marketing integrations and international selling options. Shopify has more third-party marketing apps if you want a tailored marketing strategy.
Shopify will help you reach your potential customers
Weebly is the standout winner for marketing features – we were impressed by its thorough but beginner-friendly SEO guides, its comprehensive blogging tools, and its built-in email marketing suite Weebly Promote. Weebly has superior blogging tools – you’ll find features that Shopify doesn’t provide, including:
Shopify is no usual competitor – it blows Weebly’s app store out of the water with over 5,000 apps in total! In Shopify’s app store, you can easily see the filter including Category, Price, and Popularity or you can use the search bar to find the information you want. Currently, 3000+ Shopify apps are free, which means that over half of Shopify’s stores are free. About Shopify’s premium apps, they have a wider price range, starting at $3 per month to $1500 per month
Read more: Top 30+ Must-have Shopify Apps for 2024 [Free & Paid]
Weebly has nearly 400 apps in total
Weebly usually wins the apps and integrations around head-to-head with other platforms – it has a well-stocked app store with nearly 400 apps in total. Weebly has nearly 60 free apps available. In general, Weebly’s apps tend to be on the cheaper side than Shopify’s, varying between $3 and $300+ per month.
| Pros and cons | Shopify | Weebly |
| Pros | – Shopify App Store: Currently, there are more than 8000 apps for you to choose, of course, including free and paid apps
– Customization: Shopify always tries to make the app easy for users to design your store and make it unique – Easy to Use and Setup: The platform has a modern, attractive interface and provides a good user experience. – Great Customer Service: In Shopify website, it has a Help Center, a tool that will help you provide detailed information, from how to start selling or expanding your store – Payment Processing: Shopify now has 2 main ways: Shopify Payments, and some third-party payment gateways like Paypal, Amazon,… Shopify Payments is Shopify’s built-in payment systems – A Wide Variety of Themes: About the platforms of Shopify, it now has over 150 templates, which look well-designed. It is a good choice for you to design your store | – High Design Flexibility With Themes: These aren’t simply run-of-the-mill designs, but a mix of free and premium themes that are quite widely available. The ecosystem is amazing and you can be assured of lots of sources if you’re planning to build on Weebly.
– Free Domain: It is suitable for not spending money to buy a domain, because, in Weebly, it is free. – Editor Is Simple And Easy To Use: Many businesses say Weebly is quite simple and easy to use, because it has a lot of templates to choose from, even adding content and images |
| Cons | – Limited Design Customization Options: We can easily see the diversity of customization, but if you want to customize your store following your idea, it has quite limited options
– Expensive Paid Themes: New or upcoming store owners may find Shopify to be pricey, which means they have to decide whether to buy or not – No Email Hosting: Shopify does not provide email hosting, which can cause some complications in your email marketing efforts. | – Limited Blogging Tools: Weebly’s blog posts are sort of made up like their site builder in which you drag and drop bits and pieces onto a canvas.
– Simplistic Images and Photo editing: There are fewer options for customization. This can be a downside for businesses that want more control over their website’s appearance. |
Considering to use Shopify or Weebly, it is hard for your business to choose. You need to understand clearly each platform’s strengths and weaknesses, and how they are suitable for your specific business too.
Shopify is best for businesses that
Weebly is best for businesses that
Overall, there’s no clear winner in the Weebly vs. Shopify battle. That’s because these are two well-performing options for many small businesses. Weebly might be easier for beginners to use, as it holds your hand more through the design process. But Shopify’s nearly endless customization features through apps can help you take total control of your online store.
Summer is the CMO and Digital Commerce Solution Expert with 10+ years of experience. She specializes in Magento, Shopify, ERP, CRM, AI, and Blockchain, delivering strategic solutions that transform businesses. With a deep understanding of digital commerce, she helps brands scale and stay ahead in a competitive market.
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