If you’re thinking about starting an online business, you’re looking into several eCommerce options. There are other solutions available, including Shopify and Joomla. Although each solution allows you to create an online store, the frameworks are significantly different. So, let’s get into our Shopify vs. Joomla comparison.
We hope that at the end of this article, we’ll have helped you figure out which, if either, is the best choice for you…
About Shopify
In a nutshell, Shopify is a software as a service (SaaS) that allows users to create and launch an online store utilizing their robust content management system. In addition, you don’t need to research and acquire your web hosting because Shopify can host your entire site.
Shopify also comes with a point-of-sale (POS) app, which allows you to sell in physical places. This program synchronizes inventory between your online and offline selling locations, allowing you to monitor and manage goods from your Shopify dashboard. As a result, Shopify is a great option for entrepreneurs who manage online and offline enterprises.
About Joomla
Simply put, Joomla is a free, open-source content management system for creating and distributing web content.
You can create a blog, a business website, an intranet, and a community website, among other things. Joomla’s framework can manage any web development project, no matter how complicated it is.
Furthermore, Joomla includes a view–controller web application architecture that can be used independently of Joomla’s CMS to create strong online apps.
Joomla has won numerous honors over the years, including Best Free CMS at the CMS Critic People’s Choice Awards in 2020, Best Open Source Application at the Infoworld Bossie Awards in 2012, and 2nd Runner-up Hall of Fame CMS at the Packt Open Source Awards in 2010.
Website Templates
Having a professional-looking template to work from makes the process much easier when it comes to web design. So let’s have a look at what Joomla and Shopify have to offer in this regard:
Joomla
Joomla doesn’t have a specific website template directory in terms of functionality. Third-party developers, on the other hand, have created a plethora of Joomla themes that you can download and use — some are free, while others are not.
Because these templates don’t have an official verification procedure, you’ll have to do your study to verify their quality, customizability, and code cleanliness, among other things.
Shopify
On the other hand, Shopify has a dedicated theme store with a plethora of alternatives. There are ten free themes and 71 premium themes to choose from. They’re all mobile-friendly, have clean code, and are simple to customize with Shopify’s website editor. You’ll have even more customization options if you know how to program in the “Liquid” programming language.
Shopify vs. Joomla: User-Friendliness and Ease of Use
We’ll take a quick look at how straightforward Joomla and Shopify are to use in this section of the review:
Joomla
The backend of Joomla is rather simple, making building and publishing web pages and blog articles relatively simple. Choose a section, write your article, and hit the publish button.
However, to take advantage of more advanced capabilities, you’ll need to know how to write the designs/functionality you want. Alternatively, you’ll have to research, download, and use a variety of Joomla extensions. However, these plugins are occasionally said to be obsolete and buggy. This emphasizes the importance of thoroughly researching potential add-ons before installing them.
Shopify
On the other hand, Shopify is a lot easier to get started with. To take advantage of Shopify’s out-of-the-box functionality, you don’t need technical knowledge.
Instead, all you have to do is register a Shopify account and choose your chosen pricing plan; after that, you’re ready to go. Moreover, the admin area of Shopify is quite user-friendly after that.
If you’re just getting started with eCommerce, there’s a high possibility you won’t need any plugins at all. However, when your business grows and scales, there are many add-ons accessible on Shopify’s app store.
Shopify’s Core Features
We won’t have time to go through all of Shopify’s built-in capabilities because, as we just mentioned, they’re quite broad.
But, since you’re probably reading this comparison to see which eCommerce platform is ideal for you, we’ll concentrate on Shopify’s storefront, marketing, and SEO features:
To begin, there are over 70 professional and customizable themes to select from, like Happy Cog, Clearleft, and Pixel Union, all of which were designed by internationally known designers. Then, it’s simple to tamper with your theme’s settings and aesthetics using Shopify’s easy-to-use website editor to bring your idea to life. You may also access your store’s HTML and CSS to fine-tune every component of your website if you know how to code.
Shopify also has a powerful blogging platform. You may write, publish, and categorize your articles right here. You can also allow readers to leave comments on blog posts, which will encourage conversation and, of course, will need to be moderated. You can also build lookbooks using Shopify’s blogging platform, which is very useful for running a fashion business.
You’ll also be happy to learn that Shopify includes a mobile commerce shopping cart, allowing users to browse your store on both desktop and mobile devices.
When it comes to SEO, Shopify encourages you to use a variety of best practices.
For example, you can change Meta names and tags, and buyers can give product reviews. Shopify also creates a sitemap.xml of your products, web pages, and blog posts, making it much easier for search engines to examine and rank your site.
While we’re on the subject of expanding your reach, when you spend $25 with Google, Shopify will give you $100 in Google ad credits.
All Shopify websites also integrate with social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Shoppers on Facebook, in particular, may browse and purchase things without ever leaving the platform.
Finally, if you want to boost sales, Shopify makes it simple to create discount codes and sell gift cards to attract customers.
Joomla’s Core Features
Let’s take a look at Joomla’s most prominent features now that we’ve covered Shopify’s:
Many high-quality templates are available, many of which are free and come with a graphical user interface built by third-party developers (GUI). You can alter their colors, fonts, layouts, and features without writing a single line of code as a result of this.
A WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor is also included. Text, graphics, and formatting are considerably easier to produce and change with this type of website builder. In addition, various pre-installed modules allow you to highlight popular articles, new postings, newsflashes, linked articles, and so on.
Joomla is a good choice for bloggers because of this!
Bloggers can organize their content into categories and tags, for example.
Create an RSS feed from their articles and show it on your website as an external news feed. You can also add a search bar to assist users in navigating your website.
You also get SEO and SEF features right out of the box. You may modify information and optimize pages for keywords, for example. It also gives you the tools you need to design clear and consistent sitemaps. According to reports, Joomla also makes it simple to redirect URLs when necessary, and caching can help your website load faster.
Another important characteristic of Joomla is multilingual, supporting up to 70 languages.
You may monetize your Joomla site by adding banners and other forms of online advertising.
You can register numerous individuals and control their access if you have a small team. You may also send communications amongst admins from there.
Finally, there are over 8,000 extensions in Joomla’s Extensions Directory – extensions.joomla.org – if you want to extend Joomla’s capabilities but can’t or don’t want to code. As a result, you’re sure to find an add-on that meets your requirements!
Shopify and Joomla’s Pros and Cons
Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of Shopify and Joomla:
Shopify’s Pros:
- The Shopify interface is simple to navigate.
- The Shopify themes are both attractive and mobile-friendly.
- All plans allow you to send abandoned cart campaigns, which is uncommon among platforms with similar price points.
- Shopify can automatically calculate tax in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.
- Shopify has built-in email marketing capabilities that allow you to store up to 2,500 subscribers for free.
- Shopify’s point-of-sale solution is quite extensive.
- Thanks to Shopify’s extensive plugin library, you can expand its functionality.
- You will not be charged additional transaction fees if you utilize Shopify Payments.
- Shopify works with various third-party payment processors, including well-known companies like PayPal.
- Shopify is available for a 14-day free trial.
Shopify’s Cons:
- You can create 100 product variations, but they only cover three product options – size, color, style, and so on.
- Professional reporting functionality is only available on Shopify’s more expensive plans.
- Shopify’s native Mailchimp integration is no longer available.
- Although Shopify’s built-in email marketing feature is useful, it is still very basic.
Joomla’s Pros:
- Because Joomla is an open-source platform, you can easily alter and publish the code for your website if you know how to code.
- Joomla is completely free to download and use.
- Producing a blog post feels more like writing a paper in a standard word processing tool than coding software.
- There is a lot of self-help support out there. Joomla’s online community forums are very active, and as a result, there are many support tutorials and materials available.
- By allowing team members user access, you can collaborate with them.
- Joomla is a multilingual content management system.
Joomla’s Cons:
- Joomla has a more difficult learning curve than Shopify. Open-source frameworks are a double-edged sword in that they demand a little more technical know-how to get up and go and create your designs.
- Some Joomla plugins are reported to be incompatible by some users.
- Some of Joomla’s top templates have a price tag attached to them.
- There is no specialized Joomla customer care team that you may contact.
Shopify’s Pricing
Finally, here’s a quick breakdown of Shopify’s price:
Basic Shopify
This is the greatest option for creating a new eCommerce website and making the occasional in-person sale for $29 per month.
Shopify
The Shopify plan costs $79 per month and is perfect for businesses aiming to expand their online and in-person operations.
Advanced Shopify
The price climbs to $299 per month at this point. As a result, this package is best suited to larger businesses seeking extensive reporting capabilities to help them scale their operations.
Joomla’s Pricing
Joomla is available for download and usage at no cost. However, you will need to purchase your web hosting and a domain name.
Our Final Verdict
That concludes our Joomla vs. Shopify comparison. In short, Shopify is easier to use, set up, and launch your eCommerce shop if you don’t have any coding or technical skills. But, most importantly, it is appropriate for newcomers, small firms, and those wishing to expand and develop their operations.
Assume, though, that you’re a web developer seeking a free framework. If that’s the case, Joomla will provide you with the developer-friendly framework you require.
So, which of these systems (if any) do you think best matches your needs? Or are you considering WordPress and WooCommerce, Virtuemart, Wix, BigCommerce, Drupal, or Magento as alternatives?
