Genesis w/ ecommerce plugin or Shopify?

[gmb]

I am a solid amateur in regards to Genesis and WordPress, having found my way to a certain degree with my own site and light modifications. However now my wife needs an Ecommerce site that looks pro to sell a few hundred hi fashion items.

What are your thoughts knowing that I will be the one implementing... StudioPress with a woo commerce or cart 66 plugin or just doing her site with Shopify?

There is only one template using Genesis, designed for use with woo that she likes the design of, there are a few though more expensive with Shopify that match her aesthetic tastes.

A Genesis user friend of mine suggests that there are too many things to worry about and deal with daily, thus making Shopify a simpler solution in my case, in part due to my lack of experience with WordPress and more specifically, E commerce set up and maintenance.

What are your thoughts? Should I immerse myself in a WordPress e commerce site or take what seems to be the simpler approach with Shopify?

I am interested in your thoughts, viewpoints.

Thanks,

GB

[Susan]

GB - I've always used WooCommerce on any Genesis sites I've created. I haven't had any problem with the functionality, and there are hundreds of extra add-ins to give you additional functionality.

You will want to make sure that in addition to installing WooCommerce, that you also install Genesis Connect for WooCommerce.

[Krista]

I've used BigCommerce and was told it was the best for my online shop. The coding was very old school and heavy I found, they used tables for everything. If I did it over again I would try a Genesis site with WooCommerce. Just my two cents.

[gmb]

A Genesis user friend put the fear into me, saying things like the hassles of an ssl certificate, and a host of other daily issues that take you away from the focus of selling.

It sounds like a Genesis site with a woo commerce plugin may not be such a headache for someone like me who is a creative, not focused on programming and just wanting an easy and good looking site to sell our creations.

[DannyM]

Hi gmb,

I own http://www.thebristolshop.co.uk (shopify store) - and also build websites for others - mainly using Genesis these days (www.doitontheweb.co.uk).

I started out with "woo" this and "clip cart" that, then wordpress ecommerce and a whole host of other things, and ended up with Shopify - its whole purpose is ecommerce and the functionality and ease of use compared with any WordPress option I tried it was a no brainer.

I personally would go with shopify every time.

Good luck!

[gmb]

Thanks all for the insights!

[Wirebird]

I did a trial of Shopify a while back and decided against it but I can't quite recall why. I think it felt very heavy time-wise as far as coding and maintenance requirements. It's also a POS system so unless she wants a storefront as well you might find yourself paying a premium for functionality you don't need.

eCommerce is very time-intensive no matter what platform you use. You'll want to really think about who will be listing products and maintaining the store to be sure you pick the easiest platform for that person to use (e.g. if you are needing to do additional coding or special configurations for each product to get the look you want it may be more difficult for your wife to maintain).

I use both Ecwid and WooCommerce on various client sites and have been very happy with both. There is a plugin called Genesis Connect for WooCommerce that helps integrate Woo with Genesis themes.

Overall I haven't had many problems with either platform but I have had a consistent blurry image problem with Woo on one of my sites.

Each has their own drawbacks but that's true with any of the dozens and dozens of ecommerce platforms I've used over the years! There are a few functionalities I'd like to see added to Ecwid and WooCommerce requires you to pay for additional functionality which is ok unless you need a lot of add-on functions.

Ecwid support can be kind of slow since it's based in Europe and support is done through their forum but WooCommerce doesn't provide ANY direct support until you pay for a theme or extension - so your satisfaction with either may depend on how familiar you are with the ins and outs of ecommerce, especially shipping and tax configurations.

I'd recommend WooCommerce for your purposes but you'll want to really look at the core functionality + the number of extensions you'll need to achieve your ideal store (you'll probably need at least a few - e.g. a bulk import function).

---

Sara @ Wirebird Media – WordPress and Genesis web developer based in Bend, Oregon

[Helene]

GB, I am very new to Genesis too, having managed several website over the past 6 or so years, both commercial and blogs. After using WordPress for my online businesses for a few years, and after many, many bashing-head-against-the-wall moments, I opted for Shopify, and I haven't looked back. It's a brilliant system, with amazing support. Yes, you may need to spend some money on a nice theme, and on a few apps to give the functionality you're after, but I think it's well worth it, and very reasonably priced. I'd tried WP e-Commerce with a nightmare of an experience, and was so happy when I made the switch to Shopify. I sleep at night now, and I don't spend my days combing through an endless list of websites trying to find solutions to my problems. Shopify support is a quick local phone call away, day or night, and the app designers must provide a comparable level of support too, in order to have their apps available on the Shopify platform. I also spent a very worthwhile $500 to an endorsed company to help me get set up in the beginning, and they've also been invaluable to me whenever I've had a small question to ask them.
You can check out my shop at stitch56.com, and feel free to ask if you have any questions.
Best of luck to you and your wife.

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