Shopify and WooCommerce: who carries the technical work

What to take away

What each platform asks you to own

The Shopify vs WooCommerce choice turns on what you want to own, more than on any feature list. Shopify hosts the storefront, the checkout and the security patching, and charges a subscription for that. WooCommerce is free software you install on WordPress, so the shop is yours, but so is everything that keeps it running.

For a sole trader taking a few hundred orders a month with no technical help, Shopify removes more work. For a business that already runs WordPress and has a developer on call, WooCommerce gives more control over the data layer and the checkout code. Neither route is permanent.

Who does the updates, the backups and the security work

Monthly software is the visible part. Shopify bundles hosting, a content delivery network and support into one bill. WooCommerce carries no licence fee, so a cheap host can look almost free, but a host that survives a sales peak, premium extensions and your own time are not free.

That work is the hidden part of the comparison. A WooCommerce store needs someone to test updates against the theme and restore a backup when a plugin conflicts with a WordPress release, and Shopify merchants buy that work inside the subscription. In practice the WooCommerce owner, or a developer on retainer, keeps a list of the active plugins, applies updates on a staging copy first, keeps off-site backups that have been test-restored, and watches the host's security and uptime alerts. On Shopify, the equivalent list is shorter: the apps you install, the theme you edit and the staff accounts you grant.

Who handles payments and postage

Shopify Payments is the default payment product on a Shopify store, and Shopify's own terms treat third-party gateways differently from its own, so the plan you choose shapes which provider makes sense. WooCommerce takes no commission of its own: you connect the provider you want — Stripe and PayPal are the usual starting points — and hold the merchant account in your own name. A merchant with an existing UK acquirer keeps that relationship on either platform; what changes is how many layers sit between the order and the payout.

Postage is the practical test of the shipping side. Royal Mail's Click & Drop is the usual UK route for buying postage and printing labels, and the platform side of that is handled by an app or extension that writes the tracking number back to the order record. The companion guide to UK payment gateway integrations covers the checkout half of the same question.

VAT settings and consumer rights

VAT settings are where UK stores most often slip. Once taxable turnover passes HMRC's registration threshold you must register and show consumers prices that include VAT. Both platforms can display tax-inclusive prices, but WooCommerce needs its tax settings configured against your own product mix, while Shopify applies rules you should still check line by line.

Distance selling rules apply to either platform. Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, most online buyers have a 14-day cancellation right, and the returns position has to be clear before they pay.

Cookies are the other shared duty. Both platforms set cookies for carts, analytics and advertising, and the ICO's guidance on cookies and similar technologies explains what consent is needed before anything non-essential is stored.

Shopify and WooCommerce side by side

The table below is a prompt, not a verdict. Fill in your own order volume, your gateway's terms and the hours you have available before you compare subscriptions.

Common questions

Is Shopify or WooCommerce cheaper for a UK small business?

On software alone WooCommerce is cheaper, because the core is free and you supply the hosting, the updates and the hours. On total cost the answer shifts with order volume and with who carries the technical risk: Shopify's subscription is fixed and covers the platform, while WooCommerce varies with hosting, extensions and any developer time you buy in.

Do I need to register for VAT to sell online in the UK?

Only once taxable turnover passes HMRC's threshold, plus any other registration trigger. Below it, voluntary registration can still make sense if you sell mainly to VAT-registered businesses.

Which platform handles Royal Mail labels better?

Neither is clearly ahead. Royal Mail's Click & Drop is the usual service for UK labels, but the platform side is an app or extension, so test a live label, a return and a tracking update on each platform before you commit.

Can I move from Shopify to WooCommerce later?

Yes, but plan the redirects. Product and order exports are available, and keeping URL structures intact protects the search visibility you have already earned.