#6 Best Shopify Alternatives In The UK

Last updated on February 6th, 2024 at 10:43 am

Shopify in the UK is one of the most popular and well-known e-commerce platforms in the world. It’s easy to use, offers a great range of features, and is backed by an awesome support team. However, it isn’t perfect — after all, we all make mistakes.

If you are reading this then you already know that Shopify has its drawbacks compared to WooCommerce and BigCommerce. Both of these rival platforms offer many of the same features as Shopify but their user interfaces are quite different.

In this article, we will go over the differences between Shopify and its competitors in the UK so that you can make an informed decision when deciding which e-commerce platform to sign up for.

Why Choose Shopify in the UK?

Shopify is the most well-known e-commerce platform in the world. It offers a wide array of features that make it easy for you to create an online store and start selling your products.

Shopify has been a favorite amongst new e-commerce entrepreneurs in the UK since its inception. The platform boasts an impressive collection of apps that can help you grow your business further and expand your product offerings.

There are several reasons why Shopify is considered one of the best e-commerce platforms on the market:

Simple to Use — Shopify has one of the most user-friendly interface designs in the online retail industry. You can easily navigate around the dashboard and use all of its features with ease.
The Theme Store — Shopify offers a free theme store with over 100 themes that you can choose from to customize your website and make it look unique.
The App Store — Shopify’s app store is filled with hundreds of apps that you can use to improve your business’ performance and increase sales like Facebook marketing, Instagram marketing, Google Analytics etc.
Support — Shopify offers 24/7 support through their live chat feature, email support, or phone support if you prefer chatting over talking! Their staff is highly competent as they have been handpicked by Shopify for their knowledge about how to run an online e-commerce store. They also offer online video tutorials which makes it easy for users new to e-commerce to get started immediately without having to read long manuals.

6 Best Shopify Alternatives in the UK for Your Online Store

#1. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world. It’s a free platform that you can use to build your online store and start selling right away. Its features include built-in payment gateways, powerful reporting tools, and more.

Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which One Is Right For You?

Shopify is a great e-commerce platform but it does have many limitations. If you want more freedom to customize your website then you should consider using WooCommerce instead. It allows you to create a truly unique e-commerce experience for your customers which will help you stand out from the competition.

The main advantage of Shopify over WooCommerce is that it’s much easier to set up. WooCommerce can be difficult to install and configure which is why Shopify is a great alternative for beginners. You can get your store up and running in a matter of minutes with Shopify.

Shopify also has more payment gateways than WooCommerce. Popular marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay are not available for WooCommerce but they are available on Shopify.

WooCommerce is free to use (although you will need to pay for a theme, hosting, and other additional features) while Shopify is a paid platform. However, it’s not just a one-off payment. Shopify charges you a monthly fee which is why it’s often more expensive than WooCommerce.

#2. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a US-based e-commerce platform that offers all the features you need to run your online store.

It is very flexible, so you can customize it with ease, and it has a solid reputation in the UK. However, it does not have as many features as Shopify or WooCommerce.

Best Features:

BigCommerce has a wide range of features that are all very easy to use. The checkout process for BigCommerce is also very uncomplicated, making it great for beginners and people who don’t want to spend too much time learning how to use an online store.

Customizable Design: The design of BigCommerce is customizable and can be changed at any time thanks to its drag-and-drop tool. It is also very easy to add extra functionality to your store, so you can do things like adding a blog or a membership program.
Flexibility: The features and design of BigCommerce are both very flexible and easy to use. This makes it great for people who want an online store that is simple and easy to use.
Customer Service: BigCommerce has a good reputation for customer service, which is great if you need help with any problems that you might have with the platform.

What is not so good about BigCommerce?

Expensive For high-volume stores: If you run a high-volume store, BigCommerce could be expensive. There are different packages that you can choose from, but they are all quite expensive and not very flexible.
Steep Learning Curve: BigCommerce is very easy to learn and use, but this can make it difficult for people who don’t have a lot of experience with online stores.
Few Free Themes: There are only a few free themes available for BigCommerce, and some of them are not very good.

#3. Zyro

Zyro is a great eCommerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses. This is because it has a lot of features that are great for smaller businesses and because it is easy to use.

Features:

Zyro has a lot of features that make it suitable for a wide range of different types of businesses. These include, but are not limited to, eCommerce, inventory management, payment processing and tracking, marketing automation, and web hosting.

Flexibility: The design of Zyro makes it very easy to add extra functionality to your store. This makes it ideal if you want to add new features to your site.
Easy to Use: Zyro is very easy to use and its interface is not intimidating at all. You don’t need any special skills or knowledge to set it up, and the free support that Zyro offers is good.
Affordable: On top of being easy to use, Zyro is also very affordable. There are no hidden costs and you get a lot of features for your money.
AI tools: Zyro has built-in AI tools that can help you automate your process. For example, Zyro has an automated email marketing system that can save you time and money.

What is not so good about Zyro?

Zyro has a lot of good things about it but there is also a few things that aren’t so good.
Product limits: Zyro has limits on the number of products that you can sell. The limit is based on the number of unique SKUs (stock keeping units) that you have.
Slow mobile speeds: While the site is fast on desktop, it doesn’t have the same performance on mobile. This means that Zyro may not be as good for selling products on this platform.
Limited features on the free plan: Zyro has limited features on the free plan. You can only sell 5 products, and you can’t use advanced features like email marketing.

#4. OLITT

OLITT is one of the best Shopify alternatives in the UK. It is used by brands such as Patagonia, Nordstrom, and Nike.

In fact, OLITT is the only online store builder in this list to allow custom domains on the free plan.

What is so great about OLITT?

OLITT has a lot of great features that make it excellent for eCommerce. It allows you to sell a lot of products without having to spend too much money on it.

This online store builder is easily customizable and easy to use. They have an easy-to-use custom code functionality that makes it possible for you to integrate with third-party services like Stripe and Mailchimp (if you want).

They also have an excellent customer support team that can answer any questions you may have about their product.

What is not so great about OLITT?

There aren’t a lot of things that are not so great about OLITT but there are some things that are worth mentioning here.

First, the app has some limitations on its free version which might make it hard for you to use for your business if you don’t have a lot of money to spend on eCommerce tools yet.

Also, there are no built-in tools like email marketing or social media marketing which can be useful if you want your business to grow faster or if you want more people to join your mailing list or follow your social media pages.

Lastly, while OLITT’s design is good and very easy to use, it is not the most attractive and aesthetically pleasing one.

Either way, OLITT makes it up by offering you a free version, free hosting, and a custom domain.

#5. Wix

Wix is a website builder that allows you to create beautiful websites without any coding knowledge. You can use drag-and-drop elements to build your website and Wix also has a variety of templates to help you get started.

What is Wix not so good about?

Wix has a lot of good things about it:

Drag-and-drop editor: Wix has a drag-and-drop editor that makes building your website a breeze. You can use it to create pages and upload images and videos.
Mobile optimized: Wix is fast on mobile platforms. This means that you can easily market your website on mobile platforms like iOS and Android.
Built-in SEO tools: Wix has built-in tools for SEO. This means that you can use these features to optimize your site for search engines so that you will get more traffic from them.
Built-in payment gateways: You can also use Wix to accept payments from customers through various payment gateways such as PayPal and Stripe.
Rich features: Wix has a lot of features like social sharing, email marketing, and analytics. You can use these features to increase your conversion rate.

What is not so great about Wix?

Bandwidth and traffic limits: Wix has a limit of 5 GB per month. This means that you cannot upload large files on your website.
Limited templates: The templates that Wix offers are boring and limited. They do not have many customization options to make your website more attractive, which is why many people rely on WordPress for their websites instead of using Wix.
Limited apps vs Shopify: Wix has limited apps. This means that you cannot integrate third-party apps on your website, which is an important feature for many people.

In terms of pricing, Shopify charges $29 in their lower plan, while Wix asks for $17.

And that is why Wix is one of the best Shopify alternatives in the UK.

#6. Shift4Shop

Shift4Shop is a cloud-based eCommerce platform that allows you to sell physical goods online. The platform is designed for small and medium businesses, and it’s easy to use.

On the surface, Shift4Shop looks similar to other platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Volusion. However, it has some unique features that make it better than these platforms.

What is so good about Shift4Shop?

Supports 70+ payment gateways: Shift4Shop supports a wide variety of payment gateways, which is great for your business.
Unlimited product listings: Shift4Shop has unlimited product listings on its free plan. This is great if you have a lot of products to sell.
More features than Shopify: Shift4Shop has some advanced features that make it better than Shopify. It has a built-in inventory system, which is great if you sell physical products.
No additional transaction fee: Shift4Shop doesn’t charge an additional transaction fee. This is great if you sell physical products, and you don’t want to pay extra fees to your credit card processor.

What is not so good about Shift4Shop?

Single website limit: Shift4Shop has a limit of one website. This means that you’ll have to use multiple websites if you want to sell more than one product.
Shopify has better mobile UX: Shopify has better mobile UX than Shift4Shop. Switching between tabs on your phone is a lot easier with Shopify.
Negative reviews of support: Shift4Shop has a lot of negative reviews of support. Many people said that their requests were not answered.

Final Thoughts

Shopify is a great e-commerce platform but it does have many limitations. If you want more freedom to customize your website then you should consider using OLITT instead.

It allows you to create a truly unique e-commerce experience for your customers which will help you stand out from the competition.

If you are looking for an alternative to Shopify in the UK that offers similar features but is cheaper and easier to use, then check out some of the other platforms on this list!