Choosing an ecommerce platform is one of the most consequential early decisions for any online business. Switching later is possible but expensive and disruptive — so it’s worth getting it right the first time. Here’s how the main options actually compare.

Shopify

Shopify is the most widely-used dedicated ecommerce platform and the one we build on at First Pier. It’s designed specifically for selling, which means most of what you need — checkout, inventory management, shipping, payments, POS — is either built in or available through a well-integrated app ecosystem.

The main advantages: it’s reliable (99.98% uptime), handles high traffic volumes without configuration, and the checkout experience (particularly with Shop Pay) consistently converts well. The admin is approachable without being oversimplified.

The main limitations: less flexibility for highly custom storefront experiences compared to a headless setup, and the monthly cost structure means your total spend includes both the platform fee and your app stack. For merchants doing over $1M/year, Shopify Plus offers significantly more flexibility and a better fee structure.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source plugin that runs on top of WordPress. Because it’s free to install and highly customizable, it’s popular with developers and businesses that want maximum control over their code and infrastructure.

The main advantages: no monthly platform fee, deep integration with WordPress (good if you already have a significant content presence there), and essentially unlimited customizability with developer resources.

The main limitations: you own the hosting, security, backups, and performance — which means ongoing maintenance overhead that Shopify handles for you. The total cost of ownership for WooCommerce is often comparable to or higher than Shopify once you account for hosting, developer time, and plugins. It’s also more vulnerable to security issues if not properly maintained.

WooCommerce makes sense for businesses with strong WordPress expertise in-house, highly custom requirements, or a meaningful content-driven business where WordPress integration is genuinely valuable.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a Shopify competitor with a similar hosting model — managed infrastructure, no transaction fees regardless of payment gateway, and a focus on enterprise and mid-market merchants.

The main advantages: no additional transaction fees (unlike Shopify when using third-party gateways), strong B2B features natively, and good multi-channel selling capabilities.

The main limitations: a smaller app ecosystem than Shopify, a steeper learning curve, and annual revenue thresholds that can force you to upgrade plans as you grow. The platform has a smaller community and fewer agency partners than Shopify.

BigCommerce is worth evaluating if you’re doing significant B2B volume, use multiple payment gateways, or need enterprise features at a lower entry price than Shopify Plus.

Squarespace and Wix

Both offer ecommerce as part of their broader website builder products. They’re reasonable for very small stores with simple catalogs where the website design and content experience is more important than ecommerce depth.

The main limitations: both become constraining quickly as stores grow. Inventory management, variant handling, shipping configuration, and app ecosystem depth are all significantly behind Shopify and WooCommerce. If ecommerce is your primary business, starting on either platform typically means migrating later.

How to Choose

Start with Shopify if: you want to focus on selling rather than managing infrastructure, you’re a DTC brand, you sell in person as well as online, or you expect to grow significantly.

Consider WooCommerce if: you have strong developer resources, you’re already on WordPress with a large content library, or you have highly custom requirements that benefit from open-source flexibility.

Evaluate BigCommerce if: you sell to businesses (B2B) as a primary channel, you have complex multi-gateway payment needs, or you’re at a scale where Shopify Plus pricing is a concern but you want a managed platform.

Skip Squarespace/Wix for ecommerce unless your store is genuinely simple and you don’t anticipate growing it significantly.

If you’re evaluating platforms and want a second opinion on what makes sense for your specific situation, we’re happy to talk through it.