Guide
WordPress vs Shopify vs Custom Website: Which Should Your Small Business Choose?
Short answer: Choose Shopify if you mainly sell products online, WordPress if you want to edit your own pages and publish content, and a custom-coded website if you want the fastest possible site with no plugins to maintain. All three can look professional and rank well on Google.
All three options can produce a fast, professional website. The right choice depends on how you will run the site after launch. Here is how they compare.
Side-by-side comparison
| WordPress | Shopify | Custom-coded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Service businesses, blogs, booking sites | Online stores and product brands | Speed-focused business sites, landing pages, web apps |
| Edit it yourself | Yes, with a visual editor (Elementor) | Yes, products and pages | Best done by a developer |
| E-commerce | Yes, with WooCommerce | Built in | Possible, but usually not the best value |
| Speed | Good when optimized | Good | Excellent |
| Ongoing costs | Hosting, plugin updates | Shopify monthly plan + apps | Hosting only |
| Maintenance | Regular plugin and core updates | Handled by Shopify | Very little |
| Our starting price | $80 | $85 | $120 |
Choose WordPress if…
- You want to change text, images and prices yourself without calling a developer.
- You plan to publish blog posts, news or market updates.
- You need booking, events or a members area through plugins.
- You might add a small online store later with WooCommerce.
Watch out for: plugins and WordPress itself need regular updates to stay secure. A maintenance plan takes care of that.
Choose Shopify if…
- Selling products online is the main goal.
- You want payments, shipping, taxes and inventory handled in one place.
- You prefer a platform where hosting and security are managed for you.
Watch out for: Shopify charges a monthly plan fee, and many features come from paid apps. Check the current plans on Shopify’s pricing page before you start.
Choose a custom-coded website if…
- Speed matters most: hand-coded sites typically load faster than builder-based sites.
- You want a unique design with no theme limits.
- You do not want to manage plugins, updates or security patches.
- You need custom functionality that later grows into a web app.
Watch out for: day-to-day text edits are usually done by your developer, so this suits businesses whose website content does not change every week.
Our recommendation by business type
| Business | Our usual recommendation |
|---|---|
| Restaurant or cafe | Custom 5-page site, or WordPress if you update the menu often |
| Contractor or home services | Custom 5–10 page site, built for click-to-call and quote requests |
| Salon or spa | WordPress, so you can update services and prices yourself |
| Real estate agent | WordPress, for IDX listings and a blog |
| Product brand or online store | Shopify |
| Startup or SaaS | Custom-coded landing page, then a web app |
See our industry pages for what each type of business needs.
Frequently asked questions
Which is best for SEO?
All three can rank well. SEO depends far more on speed, content, structure and reviews than on the platform. We build every site with technical SEO and structured data.
Can I switch platforms later?
Yes. Content can be moved, and we can redesign or rebuild a site on a different platform while keeping your search rankings with proper redirects.
Which is cheapest to run?
A custom-coded site usually has the lowest running costs (hosting only). WordPress adds the cost of updates; Shopify adds its monthly plan and any paid apps.