One of the most important thing to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform is whether or not you want your site to be built on a custom, open-source platform. While Shopify may have more features than Nexcess StoreBuilder, they offer little in terms of customization and security.
Nexcess StoreBuilder is built on top of WordPress and WooCommerce. This gives you complete control over the design, functionality, and security of your site.
In this article, we will explore the difference between Nexcess StoreBuilder and Shopify, including the open-source nature of StoreBuilder and its website portability, as well as auto-scaling, transaction fees, and more. I will walk you through the differences between the two platforms and the outstanding features they both offer.
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StoreBuilder and Shopify Overview
StoreBuilder is a Nexcess product that allows you to build your online store using managed WooCommerce resources by Nexcess. It uses drag-and-drop features by beaver builder to enable you to launch your online store quickly.
You can Try StoreBuilder risk-free for 30 days. To learn more about StoreBuilder see Our StoreBuilder review
Shopify is a complete commerce platform that lets you start, grow, and manage a business. The subscription-based software allows anyone to set up an online store and sell their products.
It provides you with a wide range of ‘themes’ that you can customize to meet your own branding requirements. It allows you to sell either physical or digital products. To learn more about Shopify, see our Shopify review.
Key Differences: StoreBuilder vs Shopify
The key differences between StoreBuilder and Shopify revolve around store design and functionality. If you are only looking to sell a handful of products online, the sticker price of building a customized website may be impractical. However, once your online sales have hit a certain point, Shopify’s limitations can become problematic. That's when you will need to switch to Shopify Plus.
StoreBuilder, on the other hand, is an all-in-one solution that allows you to create a custom eCommerce website with ease. The key differences between Nexcess StoreBuilder and Shopify revolve around store design and functionality.
Because StoreBuilder uses WordPress, you can customize your design even more with a range of premium woo extensions.
When setting up your store on StoreBuilder, you have two payment options, PayPal and Stripe.
StoreBuilder and Shopify are two of the most popular eCommerce platforms. Both have their pros and cons, but which one is better for you? Lets take a closer look.
If you can dream it, you can sell it with Shopify
Shopify
Build your business here. Take it anywhere.
The Advantage of StoreBuilder by Nexcess
When you choose to build your own eCommerce website with StoreBuilder, you are in full control over your process. There are no restrictions on the type of plugins you can use to build your store. This also means that you can easily update your site as needed without having to worry about compatibility issues.
How you decide to build your store and customize it is up to you, StoreBuilder is the best option to build a custom eCommerce store. If your online store grows, it auto-scales its resources to meet the needs of your eCommerce business. See our StoreBuilder Review for more information on customizing your online store using StoreBuilder. Alternatively, you can try StoreBuilder risk-free for 30 days to see for yourself.
Shopify however, has poor scalability and can get more expensive when your business grows to higher sales volumes. You can just switch templates because that would mean reformatting your website.
StoreBuilder on the other hand allows you to switch themes and it takes up what you have already designed. This is not to say Shopify does not have great qualities as an eCommerce platform - it does.
With Shopify, you can launch your online store quickly, design less, and get tools to manage your online business. This includes Shopify POS and its easy-to-use dashboard. For more on Shopify, you can check our Shopify Review to see how Shopify can work best for you.
If you can dream it, you can sell it with Shopify
Shopify
Build your business here. Take it anywhere.
StoreBuilder vs Shopify Pricing
It does go without saying that pricing plays an important role in choosing the right eCommerce website builder for you. StoreBuilder by Nexcess pricing start from $19 a month, you can also try StoreBuilder risk-free for 30days. This means you get a month free to get started building your online store.
Shopify’s basic plan starts from $29, and if you are a physical store with multiple locations you will have to pay for Shopify POS pro for each store. But that’s only If you have a physical store.
To get more advanced reporting features you will need to go with Shopify Advanced. If you are looking for an enterprise solution, try Shopify plus.
By the look of things, Shopify can get more expensive as you scale your business because to get lower transaction fees you have to upgrade to a higher plan.
StoreBuilder by Nexcess is Open Source
There are many benefits to building an eCommerce website with Nexcess StoreBuilder. One of the most significant is that it is an open-source platform, giving you the power to customize your store to your needs. This means that you have full control over all aspects of your eCommerce business and can build it exactly how you want.
The most important thing to consider when choosing an e-commerce platform is whether or not you want your site to be built on a custom, open-source platform. One of the biggest advantages of using an open-source platform is that it allows for greater customization.
When building a custom eCommerce site on Nexcess StoreBuilder, there are no restrictions on what type of content or design elements can be included in your store design. You can create exactly what suits your needs best.
An online store builder with the best already built-in
Nexcess
Get started with StoreBuilder at $5/mo for 3 months.
Website Portability
Another great benefit is that Nexcess StoreBuilder allows you to move your store if you change providers or migrate services. This is a huge advantage as it means that if something goes wrong with your current provider, or if they decide to close down, you won’t lose all of your hard work.
You can simply migrate all of the content and data from one platform onto another which will save time and money in the long run.
With Nexcess StoreBuilder, you never have to worry about losing access to your data because they store all information in their cloud servers instead of locally on each computer system where it was developed.
If you decide to switch platforms in the future, it is important to have the option to move. With Shopify and BigCommerce, this isn't always possible because they're not built on an open-source platform.If you want to move your site to another platform in the future, you'll likely need to start from scratch again with a new theme set up.
Nexcess StoreBuilder is built on top of WordPress and WooCommerce, so moving your store between platforms won't be an issue at all. All of your content will be compatible with any WordPress hosting service.
Transaction fees
Ecommerce website builders charge transactions fees which is the percentage of revenue for items sold on your store.
Shopify has transaction fees, but Nexcess StoreBuilder does not. You only get charged by the payment processor you choose, such as PayPal or stripe. To avoid transaction fees on Shopify you will have to use Shopify payments.
Ease of use
Though StoreBuilder makes it easy to launch your online store on WordPress, Shopify is much easier to use. StoreBuilder by Nexcess significantly improves the website setup on WordPress by giving you an easy-to-use interface.
They give you what you need to have a fully functional store in a step-by-step guided approach. When it comes to ease of use, Shopify wins. There is a range of themes available for your to choose from and simply add your store information.
For a beginner, Shopify is perfect because you won't need to know your way around WordPress to get started.
Shopify does give you too many options when setting up your online store. So, you can do it much quicker than with Nexcess StoreBuilder.
Themes and Design Flexibility
Nexcess StoreBuilder has more flexibility in terms of themes and design, while Shopify does. To create a custom theme in Shopify you will need a Shopify developer to help you archive that. If you want more control over the way your store looks, Nexcess StoreBuilder might be better suited to your needs.
Shopify offers a wide range of themes that you can customize to fit your brand's needs. However, it doesn't allow users to create their own themes or customize existing ones. Nexcess StoreBuilder allows users to create their own custom theme or use one of theirs.
The downside is that there aren't as many options as with Shopify. Kandace Pro themes and Blocks are used to create StoreBuilder themes, which are very useful in creating the best-looking website for your business.
Marketing Features
Shopify offers more marketing features. If you're looking for an easy-to-use platform with good marketing tools, Shopify is probably your best bet.
Both platforms offer discount codes and gift cards as well as automatic sitemaps, customizable URLs and headers, analytics for product performance, and finance summaries.
Nexcess StoreBuilder also provides analytics for product performance and finance summaries so you can improve your marketing efforts by seeing what works best for your business and what doesn't work.
Customer Support
Both StoreBuilder and Shopify offer great support, support options are available in the following:
- 24/7 phone support
- 24/7 live chat support
- Help center
- Community forum
- Email support
- Video tutorials (StoreBuilder has WP101 tutorials within the dashboard).
An online store builder with the best already built-in
Nexcess
Get started with StoreBuilder at $5/mo for 3 months.
What About if you are a Big Business
If you are an enterprise business, then StoreBuilder can be a great option for you with managed ecommerce hosting resources. Shopify does also offer Shopify Plus starting from $2000.00 per month. They also offer great Shopify plus tools to pair with their offer for great results in your business.
Hosted vs Proprietary
Hosted eCommerce platforms are hosted on servers owned by the company providing them, in this case, it's Shopify. On the other hand, with proprietary platforms like Nexcess' own StoreBuilder can be installed on your own server so all data and security remain under your control at all times.
This means better reliability and less risk when it comes to hosting costs going up in price or down as well as being able to host multiple websites easily through one installation rather than having separate instances per site which adds up quickly.
Related: The Best Web Hosting services
Open Source vs Closed Source
Open source means that anyone can view or edit code used to create an application while closed source prevents access unless granted explicit permission by an administrator account holder who manages access rights carefully so only trusted employees may work with sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers stored within those systems.
If you are only looking to sell a handful of products online, the sticker price of building a customized website may be impractical. However, once your online sales have hit a certain point, Shopify’s limitations can become problematic.
StoreBuilder is an open-source platform based on WordPress. As such, it offers the same functionality as a WordPress eCommerce website using WooCommerce including the ability to scale with Auto Scaling.
StoreBuilder enables any design you want and if your current WooCommerce store is already built, then migration takes hours versus weeks with a platform change.
In Summary: StoreBuilder vs Shopify
With that said, it does take longer to build an optimized custom solution and it will cost more upfront. However, once live, this investment pays for itself many times over.
For those who want to get started on an open-source platform with a minimal upfront cost and the ability to customize their website, StoreBuilder is a great option. You can try StoreBuilder risk free for 30 days to set up your ecommerce business.
With that said, it does take longer to build an optimized custom solution and it will cost more upfront. However, once live, this investment pays for itself many times over. If you are not into custom solutions, Try Shopify to get started selling online.
