Choose the right e-commerce platform for your business.

Compare the e-commerce platforms Viskan,  Shopify and WooCommerce

As your e-commerce business grows, the simple and low-cost solution you started with can become both expensive and complex to manage. If your e-commerce operation is going to run smoothly as sales take off and volumes increase, your platform will usually need new capabilities and more performance. That’s why you need to understand what different e-commerce platforms can actually do and how well they match your needs as you grow. To help you do that, we’ve compared the common first-time platform WooCommerce with Shopify and the scalable Viskan E-commerce Platform. So you can assess which solution best fits your next step and gives you the right conditions to grow. 

Shopify, WooCommerce or the Viskan E-commerce Platform? 

Get to grips with the platforms and compare their capabilities, features and customisation options

Viskan E-commerce Platform – scalability, customisation and automation that support your growth

If you want the freedom to shape and customise your e-commerce setup, the Viskan E-commerce Platform gives you a high level of control and plenty of options. The platform has a modular composable architecture which, together with powerful Viskan Open API and a wide range of partner integrations, gives you a very high degree of flexibility. From the outset, you get strong built-in functionality that you can extend and adapt with ready-made third-party solutions. That lets you tailor your e-commerce business to your needs and scale without friction.

The Viskan E-commerce Platform is built for growth and increased load. With 99.99% uptime and performance that can handle rising traffic and high volumes, you and your customers get the same secure and stable experience 24/7/365 as your business grows. The platform’s high degree of automation streamlines your processes, so you have more time to focus on sales even as your e-commerce business expands.

Because Viskan is Swedish, you get a local, knowledgeable partner who understands your conditions and can support you quickly in your own language. Viskan’s long experience and deep expertise in e-commerce lay the foundation for a close partnership where, alongside powerful technology, you also get valuable insight into how to develop your e-commerce business further. Viskan also gives you unique access to knowledge, tools and security that few others can offer.

Viskan E-commerce Platform features and capabilities:

• Highly customisable thanks to its composable architecture, open API and many third-party integrations. 
• High stability, performance and security that can handle increased load as you grow.
• Extensive automation options for greater efficiency and time savings. Streamlined processes give you more time for strategic growth and sales.
• An easy-to-use and versatile CMS that lets you manage the entire website without limitations or coding skills.
• Continuous automatic upgrades so you can respond quickly to change, gain new capabilities and always stay on the latest version without having to think about it.

Successful e-commerce businesses that have grown with Viskan:

Shopify – a user-friendly platform that’s easy to get started with.

Shopify is an easy-to-use e-commerce platform that’s quick to get started with because it doesn’t require much technical knowledge for setup and configuration. Shopify also has a plug-and-play design, making it easy to add features and tools through the wide range of apps in the Shopify App Store. Its own template and templating language, Liquid, is designed to help merchants create content for their store pages.

Shopify Markets is a tool that makes it possible for merchants to get started with simpler international commerce.

Shopify features and capabilities:

• A user-friendly setup that makes the platform easy to launch and use. Combined with a free trial, this gives you a low start-up cost.
• Wide access to third-party apps for adding functionality.
• Delivers a smooth shopping experience on any device.
• Its own content management language makes it easy to create content and customise pages within the limits of the theme.
• Focused on merchants with a D2C model.

WooCommerce – the open-source platform for content-driven e-commerce.

WooCommerce integrates seamlessly with WordPress. That makes the platform well suited to content-focused websites that use content and storytelling to sell. It also makes it easy for businesses already using a WordPress site to add e-commerce.

The platform is fully open source, which gives users the freedom to customise design and functionality if they have the technical skills to do so. While WooCommerce itself only provides the core system, the platform can be extended with a large number of add-ons and third-party integrations from a broad plugin ecosystem.

WooCommerce features and capabilities:

• Built on WordPress, which many businesses already use.

• Open source lets users customise their e-commerce setup if they have the technical skills to do so.
• Open source also means users are responsible for and in control of their own infrastructure.
• Has a large plugin ecosystem with both free and paid add-ons.
• Easy to work with content if you’re already used to WordPress.
• Can be adapted to local rules and requirements.

Compare what it’s like to launch, own and develop Viskan E-commerce Platform, Shopify and WooCommerce

Depending on what stage your e-commerce business is at and how you want it to develop, it’s important to look at how the different platforms compare in areas such as implementation, scalability and support. Here’s how Viskan, Shopify and WooCommerce differ.

Getting started with the e-commerce platforms

• Viskan E-commerce Platform: Focuses on customisation and successful long-term use during implementation.

• Shopify: Possible to get started quickly if your needs are simple.

• WooCommerce: Requires technical expertise to install and start using.

Start-up and operating costs

• Viskan E-commerce Platform: Its focus on long-term use can mean a higher initial cost, but it also leads to highly cost-effective scaling and a lower TCO.

• Shopify: Relatively low costs for a simple start. Costs for apps, transactions, external functionality and scaling are added over time, leading to a higher TCO in the long run.

• WooCommerce: The software itself is free, but there are additional costs for hosting, add-ons, updates, maintenance and more. You are responsible for paying for operations, security and upkeep yourself.

Customisation options with the e-commerce platforms

• Viskan E-commerce Platform: A composable platform with dynamic templates, an open API and a wide range of partner integrations that give you extensive customisation options. You get a high level of control over your e-commerce business and the freedom to shape your store and ecosystem yourself.

• Shopify: Templates, themes and a broad marketplace of apps let you customise your e-commerce business, but not with the same scalability and possibilities as a composable platform.

• WooCommerce: Built on open source, which can be customised with code and plugins if you have the technical expertise. Requires the right hosting and optimisation to scale well.

Performance

• Viskan E-commerce Platform: Built for stability, high performance and secure operation. 99.99% uptime, even at very high volumes and heavy traffic. Viskan Open API is a powerful API solution with no call limits, and it is updated every week to ensure reliable operation and functionality as volumes increase and requirements change.

• Shopify: Cloud-based and scalable, but a lot depends on which plan you are on. The basic plan has limitations at high traffic volumes and also in the number of API calls. Growing merchants often need to move to the more expensive Shopify Plus plan to get performance that fits their development.

• WooCommerce: A lot depends on how you implement your e-commerce setup. Performance and stability depend on your choice of hosting and how well it is optimised and maintained. It can become slow if not properly optimised.

Complexity

• Viskan E-commerce Platform: Has most features built into the platform from the start to reduce dependence on external add-ons. The platform and its tools are built to be easy to customise without external help or coding skills.

• Shopify: Customisation and development happen by adding apps for new functionality. That increases both costs and complexity. Changes in one part of the platform can affect other parts.

• WooCommerce: Open source and WordPress require technical knowledge both to launch and to develop the solution. Overall, the platform demands more expertise, involvement and work, as you are also responsible for operations, updates and maintenance.

Support

• Viskan E-commerce Platform: Is a Swedish provider offering fast, personal support in Swedish, Finnish and English. It also has a comprehensive support site with guides, webinars, insights and instructions. Every customer gets a dedicated account manager who takes the time to understand the business and its conditions.

• Shopify: Has a support site with a help centre, virtual assistant and user community. Offers 24/7 support, but without personal contact.

• WooCommerce: Is self-hosted open source, which means you are responsible for solving problems yourself. There are user communities on sites including WordPress.org and Stack Overflow.

Customer relationships

• Viskan E-commerce Platform: Focuses on close, long-term customer relationships to help you get as much value as possible from the platform. Every customer gets a personal account manager for support.

• Shopify: Its focus on a fast and simple start means many customers, but also high customer churn. Most leave Shopify within a year.

• WooCommerce: Is more geared towards developers and users with technical knowledge who manage their e-commerce business themselves.

* Depending on configuration and hosting

Which e-commerce platform is best?

Viskan E-commerce Platform, Shopify or WooCommerce?

The right e-commerce platform for you depends on your needs, goals and the conditions your business operates under. If you want to get a new venture up and running quickly, one platform may be more suitable, while another is a better fit when you’re facing rapid growth and want to expand internationally. Here’s how the Viskan E-commerce Platform, Shopify and WooCommerce fit depending on your plans for your e-commerce business.

The Viskan E-commerce Platform is a good fit when you:

• Want to tailor the platform to your needs and conditions, and have the freedom to develop it as your e-commerce business grows and changes.

• Are facing rapid growth and want flexible, stable technology support that can smoothly handle changes such as higher volumes, new markets, more brands and the new demands that come with growth.

• Need powerful, flexible and user-friendly support that makes it easy to manage and combine business models such as B2B/B2C sales, omnichannel and subscription.

• Plan your e-commerce business for the long term and want a low TCO as your business grows over time.

• Want a high level of automation and advanced tools that minimise manual work, free up time and help you work more strategically and in a more sales-driven way.

• Want to work closely and long term with an experienced, knowledgeable and local partner who can contribute expertise and help you develop your e-commerce business.

Shopify is a good fit when you:

• Want an out-of-the-box solution with the core functionality you need to get your e-commerce business up and running quickly.

• Want to get started quickly without major costs or technology investment.

• Are starting on a small scale with lower volumes and want to launch your store without needing deep technical knowledge.

• Have a simpler e-commerce business that doesn’t require extensive functionality and is easy to manage.

• Have D2C as your business model.

• Want to draw inspiration and support from a large user community.

WooCommerce is a good fit when you:

• Already work with WordPress and want to add e-commerce.

• Want full control over your website and have the technical skills to handle configuration, operations, maintenance, updates, security and development yourself.

• Want to own your e-commerce infrastructure and data yourself.

• Have a content-driven strategy for your e-commerce business focused on content and storytelling.

• Prefer to manage everything related to hosting, themes and plugins yourself.

• Have strong technical skills, know open source and can manage without support.

Choose the right e-commerce platform to make your business successful

Choosing an e-commerce platform is a major strategic decision. When you think through what you want from your e-commerce business, list your needs and identify which features and capabilities matter most for your goals, you can compare solutions and find the one that’s right for you. Both for your current needs and for what comes next.

It’s also important to ask questions when you’re unsure which option is the best fit. At Viskan, we don’t just have long experience in e-commerce, we’re also driven by helping merchants succeed. Talk to us and we’ll tell you more about our e-commerce solutions for brands, retail, B2B, B2C, omnichannel and subscriptions. 

Want to know more about the Viskan E-commerce Platform?