Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which CMS is Better for SEO?

Between Shopify and WooCommerce, WooCommerce is the better option because it offers more control over SEO features and elements. However, using WooCommerce needs a little bit of technical knowledge whereas Shopify is easier to use.

In this article, we will evaluate Shopify vs WooCommerce’s SEO features to help you make an informed decision. 

Shopify vs WooCommerce SEO Features Comparison

Now, let’s discuss in detail about the SEO features of Shopify and WooCommerce.

Shopify Offers Built-in SEO Features But WooCommerce Doesn’t

To make search engine optimization easier for your e-commerce store, Shopify offers essential on-page SEO features within in system.

For starters, you can optimize your product’s meta title, meta description, and URL directly from the Shopify backend.

Apart from implementing meta tags for your products, you can also set alt texts for your product images. 

Also, you get basic technical SEO features like automatic sitemap and robots.txt file generation and canonical tags optimization.  

On the other hand, WooCommerce is based on WordPress, so you don’t get any basic on-page SEO elements for optimization other than customizing the permalink.

So, even though Shopify offers only basic on-page SEO optimization features, it’s better than WooCommerce because Woocommerce offers none.

Winner: Shopify

WooCommerce Offers a Huge Repository of Plugins While Shopify Offers a Limited Number of Apps

Now, WooCommerce does not provide any built-in SEO optimization features but to make up for it, you get 60,000+ plugins. This huge collection of third-party plugins helps you with every problem, be it SEO or not.

Among all the WooCommerce SEO plugins, there are powerful plugins like Yoast SEO, RankMath, etc., which take care of all your SEO needs. These tools let you optimize your products for certain keywords and give you an on-page SEO checklist to help you optimize your products better.

Besides on-page SEO solutions, you also get complete technical SEO support as well; these plugins will help you with automatic sitemap generation and customization, robots.txt generation, internal linking, and more. That means, with just one plugin like Yoast or RankMath, you get everything.

Other than comprehensive plugins like Yoast, you also get small and lightweight SEO plugins that serve a singular purpose. For example, you can get separate plugins for internal linking, image optimization, sitemap generation, and more. 

On the other hand, Shopify also offers a number of SEO apps to enhance its basic SEO functionality. However, these apps lack in terms of features when compared to WooCommerce plugins like Yoast or Rankmath. Most Shopify SEO apps are for image or speed optimization.

Now, just like WooCommerce, the Shopify app store also offers Yoast SEO. But the catch is, that you have to pay for Yoast Shopify, whereas Woocommerce offers a free version.  

So, based on the number of plugins offered, their functionality, and costing, WooCommerce is superior to Shopify.

Winner: WooCommerce

WooCommerce Provides More Powerful Blogging Options Than Shopify

Blogging is crucial for any kind of business or website that wants to rank in the top search engines like Google, Bing, etc. So, having a blog section about your product’s niche can contribute a lot to your online store’s ranking.

Now, when it comes to blogging, WooCommerce is miles ahead of Shopify.

The main reason why WooCommerce is better than Shopify in terms of blogging is that WooCommerce is based on WordPress. 

WordPress is a CMS that was designed for bloggers and it is now the most popular CMS for bloggers and businesses alike. As a top WordPress plugin, WooCommerce also shares this blogging-friendly ecosystem.

Because of WordPress’s ecosystem, WooCommerce has access to WordPress’s limitless themes, plugins, and page builders. On top of that, you also get WordPress’s flexible post formats, robust content scheduling tools, and in-depth comment management which will let you create a powerful blog section.

Here’s an example of WordPress’s default editor, Gutenberg which is block-based. You get a handful of blocks you can use to enrich your blog posts. Also, you can get even more advanced features if you decide to use powerful WordPress page builders like Elementor or Divi.

As for Shopify, it does have blogging capabilities but it’s not as extensive as WooCommerce or WordPress. 

Although it’s easy, the blogging capabilities of Shopify are pretty basic. It lets you create and publish posts, and offers basic SEO tools, comment functionality, etc. However, it lacks customization options, design flexibility, and content management features.

As you can see, it’s very basic and doesn’t have any blocks or elements to improve user experience. 

So, if you want to start a blog on your online store, WooCommerce is a better choice than Shopify.

Winner: WooCommerce

WooCommerce Offers More Flexibility Than Shopify For Website Speed

Your website’s speed and performance are important SEO metrics that can make or break your online store’s search engine rankings. As far as speed and performance are concerned, both Shopify and WooCommerce are decent.

However, they have one big difference; Shopify is a hosted platform and WooCommerce is an open-source platform. That means, with Shopify, you get built-in hosting depending on which plan you choose and with WooCommerce, you have the option to choose your own hosting provider.

Now, the problem with a hosted platform is that you don’t know exactly what you are getting. For example, let’s see what Shopify offers in terms of hosting.

As you can see, the hosting features are vague. 

Now, let’s check out what Hostinger, one of the best SEO-friendly hosting providers, offers for WooCommerce.

The feature list is endless. So, it should be clear to you now that with WooCommerce you get more flexibility with hosting, which directly impacts your store’s speed and performance. 

Other than the flexibility with hosting, WooCommerce also offers many speed optimization plugins like WPRocket, Litespeed Cache, etc. to further optimize your store for speed.

The same thing can also be said about Shopify as it offers apps for speed optimization.

Another factor that affects your store’s speed and performance is the theme you use. Almost all the Shopify themes you can find in their app store are mobile-responsive and performance-optimized.

However, the same cannot be said for WooCommerce as not all themes, page-builders, or plugins are SEO-friendly. That’s why, you need to choose an SEO-friendly WooCommerce theme for the best possible performance. 

So, considering everything, WooCommerce wins this round because it offers more flexibility with its hosting options. 

Winner: WooCommerce

Both WooCommerce and Shopify Can Be Equally Secure

Security is another aspect that affects your store’s search engine optimization. Search engines, especially Google, prioritize secure websites.

When it comes to security, both WooCommerce and Shopify are secure; but the difference lies in their approach. 

As a hosted platform, Shopify gives you built-in essential security options which include an SSL certificate, DDoS protection, two-factor authentication, and more. 

All these features are essential for any kind of website, but an online store requires a bit more security, especially for payments. Shopify also takes care of that with Shopify Payments, which is powered by Stripe. 

Shopify is also certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, which extends to all stores using the platform. This ensures the secure handling of credit card information. On top of this, you can find security apps to further strengthen your online store’s security.

WooCommerce is equally secure as Shopify, if not more, and provides all the necessary security features, but through plugins. The WordPress repository offers tons of plugins and among them are a lot of security plugins. 

These security plugins will take care of your store’s security from basic to advanced level. But you must choose your plugins carefully because using too many plugins will drag your store down performance-wise.

Your online store’s security also depends on your website’s hosting. For Shopify, you don’t need to worry about it because it’s all done for you.

But if you choose WooCommerce, you must choose a hosting provider that comes with all the necessary security features.  

So, the summary is, that both WooCommerce and Shopify are equally secure but Shopify offers built-in security tools and WooCommerce lets you choose your tools.

Winner: Tie

Final Verdict: WooCommerce is Better Than Shopify for SEO

So, considering everything, WooCommerce is a better choice for SEO than Shopify. 

WooCommerce is the better choice because being built on WordPress, it allows for much more granular control over SEO elements. You can access and modify the underlying code, URL structures, and technical SEO aspects that are more limited in Shopify.

WooCommerce users can take advantage of powerful SEO plugins like Yoast SEO. These plugins offer top-to-bottom SEO tools and guidance. Shopify’s SEO apps are more limited in comparison.

Moreover, WordPress’s blogging capabilities give WooCommerce an edge in content marketing and SEO. Creating rich, SEO-optimized content is easier and more flexible compared to Shopify’s more basic blogging features.

However, getting started with Shopify is easier than WooCommerce because Shopify handles all the technical aspects for you, compromising flexibility. So, if you do not have any technical or SEO knowledge, it’s better to go for Shopify.

FAQs about Shopify vs WooCommerce

Is Shopify faster than WooCommerce?

Yes, Shopify is faster than WooCommerce out of the box. However, WooCommerce can be just as fast as Shopfiy when optimized with plugins.   

Is Shopify SEO Ready?

Yes, Shopify is SEO-ready and optimized for beginners. With Shopify, you get built-in SEO features that make it easy for you to implement your SEO strategy.

Why not to use WooCommerce?

You should not use WooCommerce if you are a complete beginner. Because of its superior flexibility and customization options, WooCommerce requires technical knowledge. 

Shopify, WooCommerce, or Otherwise: SEO Success Starts with the Basics

It doesn’t matter if you use Shopify, WooCommerce, or something else. What really counts is doing the basic SEO things right. An SEO-friendly CMS will only help you get the basics right. 

So, after choosing a CMS, you need to focus on high-quality content, keyword research, and excellent user experience.