How does it stack up and is it right for you?
Choosing the right platform is crucial
We have been building ecommerce sites for 14 years,
let us help guide you
Which platform you choose is crucial to the success of your ecommerce business. There are many different platforms available and there is plenty of information available that highlights the advantages and disadvantages, the difficult bit is understanding how these will affect your business.
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Wordpress was designed and launched in 2003 as a blog platform and used later to create websites, its ecommerce functionality was added via WooCommerce in 2011 and in May 2015, WooThemes and WooCommerce were acquired by Automattic, operator of WordPress.com and core contributor to the WordPress software.
Flexibility
Yes WooCommerce is flexible
One of the main reasons you might want to choose WooCommerce is its flexibility.
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It is open source and can be customised to give you the look and feel you desire. Wordpress was designed as a blogging platform, it was then adapted to be used to build websites and adapted further to run ecommerce functionality and because of this there are downsides you should consider.
Size
It is the most used platform
Another reason to choose WooCommerce might be that Wordpress has the biggest market share of 26%.
This is a good thing and well worth considering as there will be more developers available to help you.
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That said there are some quite major disadvantages with using Wordpress which we cover below.
Speed
It is not an ecommerce platform
Wordpress is not by its nature an ecommerce platform, it replies on a WooCommerce plugin to provide that functionality, you will also require additional plugins to provide other functionality eg. payment, shipping.
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Plugins slow things down and this puts Wordpress on the back foot straight away. The speed of your site is very important to your customers and to Google.
Customers want a fast site so they have no hassle ordering and Google wants a fast internet and will penalise / reward sites for their speed. It is a big factor in their algorithm.
Security
It is the biggest target for hackers
Did you know that an estimated 30,000 websites are hacked every day and Google 'blacklists' 10,000 sites per day, with WordPress representing over 80% of infected sites?
If you have a WordPress site, brace yourself for the following risks:
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There’s a >12% chance of being hacked this year
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There is a >4% chance of being blacklisted this year
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Also consider the fact that hackers can rely on search engines to research over 500,000 YouTube videos about 'How to Hack a WordPress Site'.
Cost
There are hidden costs
You will need several different plugins to manage the payment, shipping and other functions within your ecommerce requirements. These are quite commonly purchased via a subscription and costs can mount up.
Plus there are costs in keeping the site up to date with upgrades from Wordpress, the theme and all the plugins you are using.
Ease of Use
It is not easy to use
WooCommerce is not particularly easy to use and there is no customer support available.
You will experience coding and scripting conflicts between plugins and so to run WooCommerce efficiently you will require the help of a developer with the knowledge and experience to get things done properly.
SUMMARY
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Wordpress was not built for ecommerce
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Running WooCommerce slows it down
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It is the biggest target for hackers
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It is not easy to use,
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You will need the help of a developer,
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No customer service should you need it.
We think you can do better
The fastest Ecommerce Platform
We have been working in the ecommerce business for the last 14 years. We started with Magento in 2008 (the best ecommerce platform in the marketplace) and have since built sites for our clients on all the main platforms. To complement this we build bespoke IT systems, plugins and extensions that link in with these ecommerce platforms and we use a framework called Laravel to help us do this.
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It is based on this experience that we suggest a different solution to any that you might have been considering.
For large companies with big budgets, Magento is the number 1 ecommerce platform and has been for many years. It was built for ecommerce and it is rich with an incredible number of features straight out of the box complimented with a large extension community of plugins. Unfortunately, Magento is very expensive to build and manage and so is for big companies with multi-million pound turnovers.
Shopify is the best for new companies that are just entering the market and have a fairly straightforward way of selling. It is a hosted solution and you pay a set amount per month, however, this solution is not very customisable and to be frank, they all look like a Shopify site.
THE MIDDLE GROUND
Then you have the middle ground where Wordpress with WooCommerce are placed. It is for established companies that are already selling in some form, maybe online, through a shop or through a catalogue.
For this middle ground we use an ecommerce platform called Aero Commerce which is built on the Laravel framework.
Aero has been designed and built to do ecommerce and it does it brilliantly. It is built using a framework called Laravel that developers absolutely love for its ease of use, the speed at which you can develop and the great results that are achieved.
As part of your research into which ecommerce platform is best for you we wholeheartedly believe you should take a very serious look at Aero. We offer free advice on which platform is best for you and a free demo.
So how does Aero compare on the points raised for WooCommerce.
Flexibility
Laravel is a developers dream
Laravel is a developers dream and helps us develop excellent well written code, quickly.
Aero is built on Laravel, is open source and this makes Aero the most flexible ecommerce platform in the marketplace today.
It is highly customisable and we can make it look and do exactly what you want.
Size
The best framework in the World
Laravel is the biggest, most widely used and recognised as the best framework in the world.
Loved by developers, the Laravel community is the biggest in the world and this helps future proof your decision to use Aero.
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Because it is built on Laravel there are a world of developers available who have the knowledge and skills to work on Aero.
Speed
Aero is the fastest ecommerce platform
Aero is the fastest ecommerce platform in the world.
Google, you and your customers will love the speed at which pages load and you are able to work.
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Having been designed and written to do ecommerce and having so much built in means there is nothing to slow it down. So it is fast !
Security
Amazing security
Aero relies on Laravel for its security.
Security patches for Laravel are released regularly to keep it as secure as possible.
These will need to be installed by a developer but the process is quick and effective.
Cost
Amazing features, built in
You will need a developer to help you with Aero and this is the same as for WooCommerce.
As mentioned previously, Laravel is the biggest, most widely used and best framework in the world and there is a huge community of developers throughout the world available to help.
Ease of Use
Dedicated support
Aero have a dedicated support team with a wide skill base that are ready and able to help.
Most of the functionality is prebuilt into Aero and so you require hardly any additional plugins so do not have the problem of 3rd party plugins conflicting with each other and causing problems.
Overall Rating
Overall Rating
Overall Rating
Ease of Use
Ease of Use
Ease of Use
Design Flexibility
Design Flexibility
Design Flexibility
Features
Features
Features
Help & Support
Help & Support
Help & Support
Value for Money
Value for Money
Value for Money
SUMMARY
Aero is a very well thought out ecommerce platform that has many great ecommerce features built in as standard.
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Aero is easy to work with, it is built to do ecommerce not adapted to it, and on top of this, it is built on the Laravel framework that has the largest developer community in the world.
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In short, a dedicated ecommerce platform that has the flexibility to adapt. A complete Winner !
Ecommerce runs through our DNA. We happen to think Aero is a great alternative to WooCommerce but we build on all platforms, including WooCommerce. It all depends what is best for your business.
So if you have a question, call us. Our advice is free and we love talking about eCommerce.
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