eCommerce
Uvodo vs WooCommerce | Best WooCommerce alternative
October 6, 2023
Is WooCommerce still relevant?
Is there a better option than WooCommerce?
WooCommerce is the largest and most popular eCommerce platform. It's no surprise that there are 4,292,219 active stores currently operating on the WooCommerce platform.
As an established player in the market with the trust of millions of developers, merchants, and agencies, it might be the first choice when deciding to build an online store. However, it may not always be the perfect fit for every business.
There are some better alternatives to WooCommerce for businesses that require simpler features.
In this article, we will review a WooCommerce alternative - Uvodo.
We will thoroughly compare WooCommerce and Uvodo, highlight their key distinctions, and explain why Uvodo stands out as the optimal solution for solopreneurs, micro and small businesses.
Let's dive in.
Uvodo & WooCommerce overview
WooCommerce is an open-source plugin designed for WordPress that turns websites into online stores.
As an open-source ecommerce platform, WooCommerce gives full access to the software’s source code. This allows users to modify and fully customize the platform. WooCommerce is an ideal choice for developers and tech-savvy entrepreneurs.
Uvodo is a relatively new eCommerce platform being one of the simpler alternatives to WooCommerce.
On the flip side, Uvodo is a closed-source ecommerce platform.
Uvodo is an eCommerce & payments platform for small businesses and solopreneurs. Uvodo allows sellers to start selling online within minutes.
Unlike open-source platforms, you are not able to change Uvodo's underlying code to make big changes or incorporate custom features into the platform.
Set up & ease of use
WooCommerce is the preferred choice for programmers, designers, and tech-savvy entrepreneurs due to its open-source nature and unlimited development opportunities.
It’s not a particularly beginner friendly eCommerce platform. The reason is that to set up a WooCommerce store, you need to:
Purchase a domain and choose a hosting provider.
Install WordPress on your server.
Install WooCommerce plugin from WordPress Plugin Directory.
Most hosting providers offer one-click installations for WordPress like GoDaddy and SiteGround, making it relatively easy. Basic WordPress hosting plans typically start at around $14.99 per month. After subscribing to a hosting service, you can purchase a domain and connect it to your store.
WooCommerce grants users access to the source code, offering complete customization and flexibility. However, this level of customization demands a certain degree of technical expertise, making it more suitable for the sellers with development skills.
Once your online store setup is complete, you can integrate tools and configure settings to start selling.
In contrast, with Uvodo, you can get an instant online store by creating an account on the platform which takes less than 3 minutes.
Uvodo is designed for the general public. Meaning, it is intended to be more user-friendly and accessible to people without technical backgrounds.
Uvodo places emphasis on simplicity and ease of use, facilitating non-tech-savvy users in launching and managing their online stores.
To establish a Uvodo store, you only need to create an account on Uvodo. This will instantly provide you with an online store.
The cool thing about Uvodo is that you don’t have to enable a payment gateway to accept payments on your online store. Native Uvodo Payments is automatically enabled for the store upon creating an account without having to create or connect a bank or merchant account.
Moving forward, you should set up shipping rules, configure tax rates, add products, and begin the sales process.
When you register an account on Uvodo, you are assigned with a uvo.do domain i.e., yourstore.uvo.do. At any time, you have the option to add a custom domain.
In summary:
Creating an online store using WooCommerce requires technical skills and understanding. This involves finding an appropriate hosting provider and plan, purchasing a domain, and installing it on your server before enabling payment gateways, setting up shipping, adding products, etc. for your online store.
Creating an online store with Uvodo is a simpler process, merely requiring the creation of an account without the need for technical know-how.
Cost
WooCommerce is a free plugin designed to integrate eCommerce capabilities into WordPress websites, converting them into online stores. Despite being free, there are both initial and additional expenses associated with its use.
The cost of launching a WooCommerce store includes:
Hosting
Domain name
Security – SSL certificate (optional but highly recommended)
Premium themes (optional)
Paid plugins (optional but often necessary)
Transaction fees are also a consideration: WooCommerce takes a cut of 2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction with U.S.-issued credit or debit cards. Additionally, 1% fee is charged for cards issued outside the U.S.
The actual expenses linked to using WooCommerce can vary based on factors like the type of hosting (shared, VPS, dedicated), the quantity of premium plugins and themes you use, and any additional development or functionalities you require.
Additionally, it's important to consider ongoing expenses such as hosting and SSL certificate renewals, and possible subscription fees for premium themes and plugins.
To create a store on Uvodo is free, without upfront charges. When you create a store with Uvodo, a free uvo.do domain is given to you which you can use for as long as you want.
Moreover, Uvodo doesn’t charge commissions on sales. However, if you enable third-party payment gateways, they may apply fees for transactions. The only cost associated with Uvodo is when you use Uvodo Payments, which incurs a fixed, small transaction fee.
Here are the associated costs of using Uvodo:
Uvodo’s paid plan starts from $19 to $199 monthly
Custom domain registration (optional)
SSL certificate (optional but highly recommended)
In short:
While WooCommerce is initially free, it involves upfront costs and potential additional expenses.
On the other hand, creating a store on Uvodo is free, and it does not entail any upfront or additional costs.
Performance
WooCommerce is a community-driven eCommerce platform and there's a wide range of expertise among developers. However, some part of the platform can receive less attention while others receive more.
Some plugins might be well-coded and regularly updated, while others might not receive the same level of attention. This can result in potential compatibility issues, security vulnerabilities, or even inefficient code that negatively impacts the overall performance of your online store.
WooCommerce relies heavily on third-party plugins and themes to extend its functionality.
And, it’s important to note that, to have a fully functional online store with WooCommerce, you often need to add about 10 extra plugins.
These tools are developed by various individuals and groups. However, not all plugins are well-coded or regularly updated. This can, again, lead to compatibility issues, conflicts, and negatively impact your store's performance and stability.
Furthermore, installing 10 plugins can lead to a reduction in the performance speed of your online store.
For this, WordPress has the following resources to help fix with the slow sites:
At Uvodo, we have developed eCommerce tools for small businesses. These tools are essential for online selling and product marketing and seamlessly integrated into the admin panel. This eliminates the need for users to go through separate installation processes; instead, they can simply enable the specific tool they wish to use for their online store.
For example, if you plan to utilize ShipBob for shipping, there's no need to install anything separately. You can directly access the shipping settings and activate it. In contrast, using WooCommerce requires a different process — heading to the plugin directory, installing, and then activating it.
At Uvodo, all the tools undergo extensive development and testing by the team's developers before they are rolled out for production.
We take pride in the fact that we haven't encountered any performance issues with our stores. Uvodo's online stores feature lightning-fast storefronts that are optimized for mobile devices.
Furthermore, updating your WooCommerce is under your responsibility. Beside updating WooCommerce, you also need to update the plugins when updates are available. And, sometimes plugin updates can result in crashes due to compatibility issues.
WooCommerce, like any open-source software, requires regular updates to address security patches. Failure to do so can expose your store to potential security breaches.
It's essential to implement best practices for WooCommerce performance optimization, choose reliable hosting, regularly update plugins and themes, and ensure proper coding standards during customization.
In short:
To establish a properly functioning online store using WooCommerce, you often need to install at least 10 plugins. Unfortunately, this can result in a slowed-down speed and store performance.
Conversely, at Uvodo, all the necessary tools are built into the admin panel. You only need to enable the needed tools.
Payment solutions
By default, WooCommerce provides WooPayments, PayPal, Direct bank transfer, Check payments, Cash on delivery as payment methods, which you can enable and configure.
Within the Plugin Directory, you have the option to discover and install various well-known payment service providers. However, it's important to note that you might come across several choices, some of which could be complementary (parent & child) plugins. This means you may need to individually install each option, which can be an overwhelming process.
Uvodo takes a different approach.
Uvodo includes native Uvodo Payments automatically enabled upon creating your account - online store. With Uvodo Payments, you can start accepting card payments in more than 135 currencies globally without a merchant account setup.
You can also create a payment link for your products and services, share it with your clients or customers and accept payments.
After you accept the payments, you can either pay out to a bank account or start spending your earnings with a virtual Uvodo Card.
Learn more: how to get paid faster with Uvodo?
Other than that, 3rd party payment gateways and methods (Cash on Delivery) are also integrated directly into the admin panel. To set up a payment gateway, you simply need to enable and configure your preferred options.
Uvodo includes both global payment gateways, which support over 100 currencies, and region-specific payment gateways tailored to specific areas such as Flutterwave, Razorpay, Vipps, Mollie, and Paystack.
One of the advantages of Uvodo is that unlike some platforms, Uvodo does not impose transaction fees for 3rd party payment gateways from its end.
Themes & design
With WooCommerce you can create a custom layout for your online store by directly editing a theme's code through the theme file editor. Or, you can also create a custom theme and install the zip file.
However, this requires investing time and money into development.
WooCommerce also has hundreds of free and paid themes that you can choose from.
You can also buy themes from places like ThemeForest for a one-time fee, but this might not suit everyone due to the need for thorough research.
Before purchasing, it's wise to assess factors like support duration, SEO effectiveness, code cleanliness, overall performance, compatibility with your WooCommerce current system version. This process takes time, and it's crucial to also weigh theme update frequency and user reviews.
At Uvodo, currently we develop online store themes ourselves based on what our customers request from us. Though we don’t give access to the source code, Uvodo provides a no-code drag-and-drop theme builder to customize the themes.
In short:
WooCommerce provides the opportunity to fully customize your storefront, but this demands an investment of time and resources for development.
Uvodo offers a more limited selection of pre-built themes and presents a no-code theme builder option.
Marketing opportunities & sales features
Online stores need conversion optimization tools for effective selling, including discount popups, lead generation popups, social proof notifications, and top bars.
At WooCommerce, you can find these sales features and on-site conversion tools in the Plugin Directory. The thing is each plugin may offer only specific features, often requiring the installation of multiple plugins to install. There are hundreds of marketing tools available in the Plugin Directory which can be overwhelming.
You can also add a plugin you’ve purchased or developed.
However, this can lead to extra costs, compatibility issues, and slower store performance.
On the other hand, at Uvodo, like payment gateways, conversion optimization tools are integrated into the admin panel. No installations are needed, as all essential marketing & tracking tools are already built into the admin panel.
In short:
In order to optimize your online store for selling more, you may need to install 3-5 plugins that might require additional costs and badly affect your store performance.
At Uvodo, the conversion optimization tools are natively built and require no additional costs.
Support
If you consider using WooCommerce, know that you’ll be a lone rider. Though WooCommerce has a rich knowledge base, there isn't a direct contact person from the WooCommerce team available for communication through chat or other means.
However, you can seek help from your chosen hosting provider or pay for remote support services.
On the other hand, Uvodo provides 24/7 live chat & phone support. Additionally, Uvodo offers Discord community and Help Center that offers comprehensive how-to resources.
TL;DR of Uvodo vs WooCommerce
Let’s wrap up our comparison.
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce platform which is ideal for tech-savvy individuals. WooCommerce offers endless customization and lots of eCommerce opportunities.
Uvodo is the easiest eCommerce platform with a mobile-friendly management dashboard and a quick storefront. With Uvodo, you can launch your store in minutes, start selling and accepting payments without a setup.
WooCommerce is a perfect option if you're willing to invest time and money for a completely customized online store.
On the other hand, if you're looking to quickly launch your online store and begin selling and accepting payments without any initial costs or setup, Uvodo is the right choice for you.
The major differences between Uvodo and WooCommerce are:
Time to market:
WooCommerce requires significant time to set up the store and commence selling, while Uvodo enables you to launch your store in under 3 minutes.
Payment solutions:
To start selling online with WooCommerce, you must enable a payment gateway or a method, which requires going through legal regulatory challenges, creating a bank account etc.
At Uvodo, native payment processor - Uvodo Payments is automatically enabled, and does not require any bank account or payment gateway setup to accept payments. Learn more about how to accept payments online with Uvodo.
Cost structure:
WooCommerce involves initial and ongoing costs due to setup expenses and paid plugins/themes.
Uvodo provides a free plan for beginners, allowing them to use it as long as it suits their needs. Additionally, Uvodo offers paid plans without any extra charges for features.
Customization flexibility:
WooCommerce, being open source, supports limitless customization options.
Uvodo currently accepts custom theme requests and features several themes that you can edit visually.
Performance:
WooCommerce relies on plugins, and you may need to utilize at least 10 plugins, impacting overall performance and store speed.
Uvodo incorporates marketing, sales, and conversion tools directly within the platform.
That said, if your goal is to craft a fully customized online store, backed by developmental resources, time, and budget, then WooCommerce is the fitting choice. Its extensive customization options and integration capabilities provide the flexibility needed to create a store that aligns precisely with your vision.
On the other hand, Uvodo is a better WooCommerce alternative for those seeking a simpler and faster way to establish their online presence. As a budget-friendly solution, Uvodo eliminates the need for additional costs or third-party installations. Uvodo speeds up the process of getting your online store up and running.
