Online stores
Selling online, explained in plain terms
Shopify or WooCommerce? Stripe, Square or Moneris? What about shipping and HST? Here’s what we tell clients before they start, so you can make the choice with your eyes open.
Shopify or WooCommerce?
These are the two platforms we build on. Both are good. They suit different businesses, and the difference mostly comes down to who looks after the store and how you pay for it.
Shopify
A hosted service. You rent the store from Shopify, and they run the servers and the software.
How you pay
A monthly plan, plus a fee on each card payment. Many features come from apps, and a lot of apps charge their own monthly fee.
Fees on sales
Shopify Payments works in Canada. If you use a different payment provider instead, Shopify adds its own extra fee on every sale.
Upkeep
Shopify handles hosting, security and updates. There’s very little to break.
Ownership
You can export your products, customers and orders. The design and apps stay with Shopify if you ever leave.
Good fit for
Businesses that want a standard store running quickly, with little upkeep, and possibly Shopify’s in-person card readers.
WooCommerce
A free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store. It runs on your own hosting, so the store is yours.
How you pay
The plugin is free. You pay for hosting, plus a few paid extensions if you need things like subscriptions or wholesale pricing.
Fees on sales
WooCommerce takes no cut of your sales. You only pay your payment provider’s fee.
Upkeep
WordPress, WooCommerce and extensions need regular updates and backups. We handle that as part of care and hosting.
Ownership
Everything lives on your site: the design, the products, the customer data. Nothing is locked to a platform.
Good fit for
Businesses that already use WordPress, want the store and the rest of the site in one place, or need something custom.
Not sure? Tell us what you sell and how you sell it. We’ll recommend one, and explain why.
Taking payments
A payment provider moves the money from your customer’s card to your bank account. They all charge a percentage of each sale plus a small fixed amount, and the rates change, so compare them when you’re ready to sign up. Look at how fast payouts reach your account too, not just the rate.
Shopify Payments
Built into Shopify and the simplest choice there. It also avoids Shopify’s extra fee for outside providers.
Stripe
Works with both platforms and takes cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Sign-up is online and quick.
WooPayments
WooCommerce’s own option. No monthly fee and no setup fee, just a charge on each sale, and you manage it from WordPress.
PayPal
Worth adding as a second option. Some customers would rather not type a card number into a site they haven’t bought from before.
Square
A good fit if you already use Square at a market stall or in a shop, because your in-person and online sales end up in one place.
Moneris
A Canadian processor that many businesses already use for their in-store terminals. It connects to WooCommerce. It works through a merchant account, so sign-up takes longer than with Stripe.
The parts people forget
The store itself is the easy part. These are the questions that take the time.
Shipping and delivery
Flat rates, rates by weight, free shipping over a set amount, local delivery zones by postal code, and pickup. Most small stores do well with a few simple options rather than live courier quotes.
Taxes
In Ontario that usually means 13% HST, but the rate depends on where your customer is, and many basic grocery items are zero-rated. Both platforms can handle this. Check the setup with your accountant first.
Inventory
Stock levels drop as orders come in, and you can get a warning before something runs out. If you also sell in person, the store and your card reader can share one stock count.
Food producers
Selling food direct
A lot of our clients make or distribute food. Selling online to the public, or to restaurants and stores, raises a few questions of its own:
Perishables. Fresh and frozen products usually work best with local delivery or pickup on set days, and fewer long-distance shipments.
Weight-based pricing. Products sold by the kilogram, with the final price confirmed when the order is packed.
Wholesale and retail in one store. Trade customers log in and see their own prices and minimum orders.
Regular orders. Weekly or monthly boxes that renew on their own.
Both platforms can do all of this with the right setup. Getting it right before launch saves a lot of manual work later.
Common questions
What does a store cost to build?
It depends on how many products you have, how you ship, and what you need it to do. After a short call we’ll give you a fixed quote.
Can I switch platforms later?
Yes. Products, customers and orders can be moved between Shopify and WooCommerce. The design has to be rebuilt, so it’s worth choosing carefully the first time.
Can you add a store to my existing WordPress site?
Usually, yes. WooCommerce plugs into the site you already have. We’ll check that the site and hosting are up to it first.
Do you set up the payments and taxes?
Yes. We connect the payment provider, set up shipping and tax rules, and place test orders before launch to make sure money reaches your account.
Who looks after the store once it’s live?
For Shopify, Shopify runs the platform and we help with changes. For WooCommerce, we host it and keep it updated as part of care and hosting.
Thinking about selling online?
Tell us what you sell and who buys it. We’ll tell you which platform we’d use and what it would take, and you’ll hear back from one of us within one business day.