SEO (search engine optimization) is a critical aspect of e-commerce, as it can increase the visibility of your website on search engines such as Google, Bing, and others. The objective of SEO is to rank higher in search results and attract more customers to your business.
Two of the most popular platforms for building e-commerce websites are WordPress and Shopify. In this article, we will compare the SEO benefits and drawbacks of each platform to help you determine which one is better for SEO.
Though eCommerce has experienced steady growth over the years. WordPress vs Shopify Is WordPress or Shopify better for SEO? WordPress is a Open source software which you can use to easily create a beautiful website, blog, or app. Shopify is a CMS built specifically for e-commerce. It makes it easy to create an online store or marketplace and get payments from customers.
What is SEO?
SEO(search engine optimization) is a way of improving your website to increase its visibility on search engines like google, Bing, and others search engines. When people search for products or services related to your business search engines. If your pages have better visibility in search results, the more likely you will be able to grab the attention of customers to your business.
Shopify SEO
Shopify is a content management system (CMS) specifically built for e-commerce stores. Some of the pros of Shopify SEO include:
| Pros of Shopify SEO | Cons of Shopify SEO |
|---|---|
| Highly Optimized CSS & HTML5 for SEO | Fewer technical customizations |
| SEO-ready | Less URL optimization |
| Includes SSL certificates | Less blogging capability |
| Built-in mobile optimization | More expensive |
| SEO apps | No rich snippet support |
| High Page Speed |
Pros
Highly Optimized CSS & HTML5 for SEO
Shopify has optimized CSS and HTML5 that is best for SEO. Shopify-backed online stores has faster loading times and better user experience because of SEO-optimized HTML and CSS.
High Page Speed
High Page Speed or Loading time for a website is a major ranking factor for Google. Shopify store is faster.
SEO apps
Shopify’s app store provides various SEO applications to help improve SEO efficiency. Example : Avada SEO Suite.
SEO-ready
Shopify can create XML sitemaps automatically and gives the ability to customize essential SEO data such as META and title descriptions.
Mobile optimization
Most users suffer internet from mobile devices. Google uses mobile optimization as important ranking factor, Shopify store has Built-in mobile optimization.
Includes SSL certificates
Shopify automatically add SSL certificates as part of the monthly fee. SSL improve SEO security on your site.
Cons
Fewer customizations
It has fewer customizations which makes makes difficult for SEO customization.
Limited blogging capability
The content is king in SEO. Quality content has a direct impact on your SEO rankings. Google values the quality content. Unfortunately, Shopify lags behind WordPress when it comes to blogging.
Less URL optimization
Unlike WooCommerce, Shopify does not offer a better custom URL optimization.
Less structured data support
Google structured data is another important part of SEO. Although Shopify provides an some level of control over META tags, there is a lack of complete structured data support.
More Costly
Shopify has $29/month for the basic package which is not expensive. You pay a premium for ease of use, but given that you don’t have the option to get into the nuts and bolts of your SEO, it doesn’t really stack up against WooCommerce’s one-time fee.
WordPress SEO
| Pros of WordPress SEO | Cons of WordPress SEO |
|---|---|
| Uses customizable SEO-optimized code | More manual SEO configurations required |
| Wide range of SEO plugins | Slower average site speed |
| Robust blogging support | Not automatically optimized for CSS and mobile devices |
| Search engine-friendly URLs | |
| Rich snippet support |
Pros of WooCommerce SEO
Customizable, SEO-optimized code
WooCommerce has been designed from the ground up with SEO in mind. Unlike Shopify, the numerous plugins allow you to quickly and easily access the design of your platform, enabling more SEO optimization than Shopify’s restricted access.
Search engine-friendly URLs
With WordPress, you can easily change the structure of your permalink URL to meet the requirements of Google. For example, when Shopify requires all second-level pages to be under the site name/page link structure, WooCommerce stores can have clean, top-level domain structures.
Wide variety of SEO plugins
Running an eCommerce store on WordPress gives you access to various SEO plugins Yoast is by far the most common SEO optimization tool for WordPress.
Rich snippet support
WordPress is well known for its ability to provide structured data support, which is necessary for optimizing the content of your online store to appear as rich snippets in Google search results.
Strong blogging support
WordPress has started as a blogging platform, and the platform has only gotten better and better over time. Running a WordPress-based online store gives you the ability to own an SEO game of content, with blogging capabilities that Shop users can only dream of.
Cons of WooCommerce SEO
More manual SEO expertise required
If you are not technically inclined, you will find the learning curve much higher with WooCommerce than with Shopify.
Themes not automatically optimized CSS and mobile
Although WordPress is extremely SEO-friendly, the vast array of WooCommerce-compatible themes are not mobile optimized.
Slower-site speed
WordPress store has various hosting server problems, site plugins, image compression, database optimization, and a host of other factors that can adversely affect loading speed. So in the Shopify vs WooCommerce site speed matchup, Shopify store is faster.
Bottom Line: Is WordPress Or Shopify Better For SEO
There isn’t an easy answer. Is WordPress Or Shopify Better For SEO debate has been increasing for years. Both platforms have key advantages and disadvantages when it comes to SEO, and the one you select will be decided by your level of technical competence.
Also Read
What is PageRank | Guide to Using PageRank For eCommerce Websites?
