18 Reasons Ecwid Is the Best WooCommerce Alternative (for Sellers and Partners)

Posted 4 years ago by Max Komonov

You’re thinking of starting a dropshipping business, or taking your brick and mortar store online, right? What’s that? You already have a store website hosted by WordPress? So you need an ecommerce platform that will allow for integration with what you’ve already got set up? We bet you’re already considering a platform like WooCommerce to start selling online.

Nearly 2.5 million websites use WooCommerce Checkout to sell their stuff on the Internet. These numbers make WooCommerce the most popular e-commerce solution in the world (excluding China).

But is WooCommerce the best e-commerce tool for your business?

Despite its popularity, there’s an army of sellers unhappy with WooCommerce. Usually, they’re frustrated by the following things:

Costly modification and maintenance of customizations.
Issues with servers and other technical issues.
Lack of security
Conflict with other WordPress plugins.

What if it’s only so popular because it’s free?

Continuing your research on existing e-commerce solutions (that can sell through WordPress), you’ll find Ecwid. Ecwid is a cloud-based e-commerce solution with tons of features. Ecwid also has a forever free plan, and allows you to sell on WordPress. Yes, we’ll say that again: Ecwid is a free, cloud-based e-commerce tool for WordPress. Interested?

Here are 18 reasons we think Ecwid is better than WooCommerce. If you like what you read, create a free account and try it yourself today.

For Merchants

Reason 1: Ecwid is cloud-based (SaaS)

It’s difficult for merchants to back up their stores on WooCommerce. The process usually requires an outside vendor. As a hosted cloud solution, Ecwid backs up all store data so it’s safe if your site goes down. Plus, we give merchants a backup storefront so they can keep selling, no matter what’s happening in cyberspace.

As for updates, with Ecwid, they happen automatically. That means you don’t have to keep an eye on looming updates and fix bugs. They just happen.

With WooCommerce, updates must be done manually by the store owner and hosted on their existing hosting account or server. What happens if something goes wrong and your storefront suddenly doesn’t look so good? According to WooCommerce, that’s your problem to solve.

Reason 2: No technical background needed

Ecwid is available for both WordPress.org and WordPress.com. In other words, it integrates seamlessly with existing websites, with no coding knowledge required.

WooCommerce forces merchants to manually update their stores and add additional plugins. Ecwid’s automatic updates mean no disruption to stores, and no worrying about manual downloads or security patches.

If you’re looking for a no hassle solution, Ecwid certainly feels like the best option.

Reason 3: Ecwid is embeddable into any platform

Are you thinking about leaving WordPress, but don’t want to lose your Woo-store? Ecwid doesn’t tie you to any one platform. It’s an e-commerce widget that works with all major website hosts: WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Joomla, GoDaddy, Tumblr, Blogger, and any other CMS or platform that allows you to embed new tools. Take your store with you to any site builder.

On the other hand, WooCommerce only works with WordPress. Sorry.

Reason 4: No vendor lock

WooCommerce might have you feeling a bit…locked down. Additional features — like selling on Facebook — cost extra money, and WooCommerce doesn’t allow selling on platforms simultaneously. WooCommerce also requires additional 3rd party plugins (typically at a cost) for many of their features and sales channels.

Ecwid has built-in capability to sell on social sites and marketplaces like Facebook, Instagram, and Amazon.

Reason 5: Ecwid is secure

Ecwid is a PCI DSS Level 1 Certified Service Provider, ensuring all payment and transaction data is secure.

WooCommerce stores are not secure by default. Merchants are reliant on their host and additional security features. WooCommerce also requires merchants to attain PCI-DSS certification from their hosting provider, since they do not host stores themselves.

Reason 6: Ecwid is business-ready (fastest-to-market solution)

Ecwid helps you automate your selling, meaning less manual work. You don’t have to worry about design, coding, integrating services — it’s all already there. To start selling with Ecwid, all you need is a product, one hand and 10 minutes of your time. The current start-to-launch record is 3 minutes 51 seconds.

Can you beat that? If so, send us a video to show us how!

Needless to say, with WooCommerce this is impossible. You’ll have to go through the entire website building process just to get your products listed and ready to sell.

Reason 7: Ecwid has more valuable built-in features (product options, abandoned cart)

The keyword here is built-in. Adding functionality by installing extensions (plug-ins or applications) is an excellent opportunity for your e-commerce shop. But plug-ins (and 3rd-party code) slow down your store’s load speed, and might be insecure.

Ecwid has a ton of tools accessible right from your control panel. You don’t have to compare available solutions, don’t need to install apps (which might mess up some code), or bother with additional registration — it’s all ready to go! Available Ecwid features that WooCommerce doesn’t have by default:

Google Shopping allows you to sell on Google.
Snapchat advertising gets your products in front of Snapchat users.
Pinterest advertising showcases your best deals on Pinterest.
Advanced product filters make searching for products easier.
Abandoned cart emails remind buyers to return to orders they left incomplete.
Favourite product reminder pings shoppers about the products they liked.
Wholesale pricing groups can set special prices for specific buyers.
Local delivery zones let you define delivery zones and prices as easy as drag-n-drop.
Tips on checkout unlocks the ability to accept appreciation from loyal customers.

None of these features require installing apps. However, some are only available on Venture or Business plans. Learn more about Ecwid’s plan pricing here.

Reason 8: No design labor (save yourself the struggle!)

Just because you don’t need to customize your Ecwid site doesn’t mean you can’t! We know every merchant wants their online business to stand out. Not just because of the great products they sell but also with an eye-catching store design. In that case, Ecwid’s got you covered!

We have 70+ free professional design themes optimized for different niches, all ready-to-use with a single click. Sounds good, right?

WooCommerce offers only one free theme that needs manual modifications to align with your product’s unique look.

Also read: Ecwid 70+ Free Design Themes for Online Stores

Reason 9: Mobile store management application

The Ecwid Store Management Mobile App is a simple, convenient and secure tool to control and manage your store. Think of it as a one-stop-shop for your shop! Take your store on the go and get things done much faster by:

Creating and managing products
Fulfilling orders
Running promotions
Keeping in touch with your customers

But the real thing that makes Ecwid Store Management app unique is that it allows you to launch online sales with just your smartphone. With this app, you won’t need a website (although Ecwid can create a storefront for you automatically when you’re ready).

The Ecwid app is not only the perfect tool to manage an existing store, it’s also the only tool that can create one — the first mobile-only e-commerce solution. And guess what? It works for both Android or iOS.

WooCommerce also offers a mobile app, but you need a desktop to adjust your design and layout.

Reason 10: Localization

It may sound strange, but going global is all about playing local.

This means you have to consider where your customers are based, and try to fit your product to their specific needs. The strongest factor in this type of global success is language localization. Think about it: a customer is more likely to complete a purchase if they can read the Buy Button.

Similarly, the emails that you send to inform customers about their order status or abandoned cart reminders should be translated into their language, to foster better understanding, engagement and response with your e-commerce platform.

And don’t forget about the merchant (you!). It’s much more comfortable and efficient to manage your store with an admin panel that speaks your language!

Ecwid is an excellent platform for your localization needs. With 50 languages available to automatically localize the most important content of your store, as well as 20 languages for the admin and 12 for emails. All for free.

What about WooCommerce? They do provide localization options, but when it comes to action you have to install the language packs manually or use 3rd party localization apps.

On top of that, not all WooCommerce themes support content localization workflow and sometimes glitch on the storefront.

Are you ready to free yourself from vendor lock, improve security, and free up time to get down to real business instead of wasting it on admin tweaks? Read about how you can easily Migrate from WooCommerce to Ecwid — the one of a kind cloud-based e-commerce tool for WordPress.

Level up your store

For Partners

Our partners have their own customers (or users) that pursue unique business goals. If they need an e-commerce solution, Ecwid is an excellent white-label partner solution that embeds perfectly not only with websites, but also with a variety of business models!

Because partners offer e-commerce solutions to their customers, they want to feel safe in terms of an e-commerce platform’s infrastructure, finance, and reputation. And it’s exactly our dedication to those things that makes Ecwid different.

Reason 11: Flexible branding

Ecwid is a white-label platform, so partners can completely rebrand it as their own — a big win for expanding their unique brand voice and menu of services. If partners want to showcase their partnership with Ecwid they also have the option to co-brand the platform — an excellent way to build trust.

WooCommerce does not allow stitching their brand to any other. They don’t offer a white-label solution at all.

Reason 12: Ecwid is embeddable

Ecwid can be integrated into a partner’s platform. For example, if a site builder wants to offer e-commerce websites, they can add Ecwid right into their builder. Their customers can manage their websites and stores all from one place. It’s a great way for partners to expand their offerings and attract new business.

Reason 13: Flexible reseller program

Ecwid has a unique reseller program that can be scaled for each partner’s needs. This includes unique perks and tweaks around the platform or the way it’s delivered to the end-user.

WooCommerce does not offer this level of partnership and customization.

Reason 14: Advanced monetization model

While our reseller program has a membership fee, partners get wholesale discounts on Ecwid plans and can charge their merchants any price they want (either standalone or bundled with their other services). The ability to set their own prices and manage their own customer billing lets Ecwid partners scale their business and maintain control of their services.

Reason 15: High average ROI

Given the ability to set their own prices to the end-users, our technology partners have greater control on their ROI. This ability to change their prices and influence their income from integrating with Ecwid unlocks excellent opportunities to increase profit margins and scale rapidly and securely.

WooCommerce doesn’t offer this to their partners at all.

Reason 16: Free of processing/transaction fee

Ecwid works with any payment gateway without fees (we’ve touched on this for merchants, but it’s also a huge selling point for partners!). Partner’s clients can use their preferred payment, partners can integrate their own payment system, or additional payment gateways can be integrated into the platform for all merchants. Ecwid works with your payment needs to set up the right plan for you.

As always, this comes with no processing fee for partners and no transaction fees for merchants. What could be better?

Reason 17: Fast Project Turnaround

With Ecwid, you can launch your online store in less than a day. For partners, the benefits are huge: they can turnaround projects for clients more quickly, guarantee fast delivery, and even charge more for an accelerated launch, without worrying about store setup slowing them down.

Reason 18: Ecwid can look and feel the way you want it

Partners can customize plans and features for their clients. For example, if they only want to offer a certain payment gateway or certain apps, we can customize their store control panels.

Can WooCommerce do that? You guessed it: no!

About The Author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.