Most agencies recommend the platform they are fastest on. That is not corrupt, but it is not advice either. The choice is genuinely decidable, and it turns on four properties of your business rather than on anyone's preference.
The four questions that decide it
- How weird is your pricing?Flat per-product prices fit every platform. Customer-specific rates, slab discounts, pricing by weight or length, or quotes that need approval do not — and bending a platform into that shape costs more than building it.
- What must it talk to?A store that stands alone is easy. A store that must stay in step with Tally, an ERP, a POS on the shop floor or a warehouse system is where platform limits start to bite.
- Who runs it day to day?If a non-technical person adds products and runs sales, the admin panel matters more than the storefront. Platforms are strong here and it is worth real money.
- How fast do you need to be selling?A platform store can be live in weeks. If the opportunity is seasonal, that gap is the whole decision.
What each one is actually good at
- ShopifyFastest to launch, most reliable checkout, best admin. You rent it: a monthly fee plus transaction charges, and you accept its rules. Excellent for D2C brands with straightforward catalogues.
- WooCommerceYou own it, it is endlessly extensible, and hosting is yours to choose. The cost shows up as maintenance — plugins are how it gets powerful and also how it gets slow and how it breaks.
- Custom (Next.js and a real backend)Highest up-front cost, lowest ceiling on what is possible, best performance. Right when the catalogue, the pricing or the integrations are the business rather than a detail of it.
The honest downsides
Shopify takes a cut and holds the keys; a platform policy change is not something you can argue with. WooCommerce is only as good as its maintenance, and an unmaintained WooCommerce store is a security incident waiting for a date. A custom store has no community to lean on — every feature is built, including the boring ones the platforms give you free.
We build all three, and we say so plainly on the first call, because the one thing that reliably costs a client money is being sold the platform the agency finds convenient.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move from Shopify to a custom store later?
Yes, and it is a normal path. Products, customers and orders all export. The parts that need rebuilding are the theme, the apps you were relying on, and any automation wired into the platform — plan for redirects so you keep the search rankings you earned.
Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
Cheaper to start, not always cheaper to own. There is no monthly platform fee, but you are paying for hosting, plugin licences and someone to keep it patched. Over three years the totals are usually closer than the first invoice suggests.
Which is fastest for SEO?
A well-built custom store, because you control the markup, the rendering and the Core Web Vitals. But a fast Shopify theme beats a neglected custom build easily — the platform is rarely the reason a store does not rank. Content, internal linking and page speed are.
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