NopCommerce vs WooCommerce - Which E-commerce Platform is the Better Option?

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Launching a new e-commerce business can be a hassle. You need to do a ton of research which takes effort and time. One of the most important things you need to research is the platform you will use for your online store.

Choosing an e-commerce platform that supports multiple payment and shipping methods and offers a variety of marketing and sales tools is essential.

However, in order to find the option that works best for you, you also need to consider your business needs and objectives. For example, if you want to sell subscriptions, you need a platform that supports recurring products. Or, if you want to rent out specific products, you need to choose a platform that supports rental products.

No matter what your business needs and goals are, finding an e-commerce platform that provides all the necessary functionality can be hard.

But given that you’re here, you most likely have narrowed your choice down to two of the major e-commerce platforms out there - nopCommerce and WooCommerce.

We know that evaluating one platform’s features and capabilities can be very time-consuming. Let alone comparing two platforms. This is why we will give you a bird’s eye view of nopCommerce and WooCommerce. We will discuss their architecture, features, add-ons, pricing plans, and more so that you can define which one is better suited for your business.

So, get comfortable and let’s get started!

NopCommerce

NopCommerce is an open-source .NET Core e-commerce platform. It is suitable for businesses of any size. From small-size online stores to corporate level multi-store retailers.

Architecture & Technology

ASP.NET CORE. NopCommerce is built on top of the latest ASP.NET Core meaning that at its foundation lays one of the most popular, robust, highly scalable, modular and performant, open-source frameworks that is backed by the ASP.NET team at Microsoft.
Open-source. NopCommerce is community-driven, which means that it leverages the power and work of many developers and partner companies. As such nopCommerce is actively being developed and new features and improvements are being added to it constantly.
Extendable architecture. Themes and plugins can be easily developed without any interference with the platform’s core architecture. This means that there is an easy and structured way to extend the platform with whatever capabilities you need.
Security. Being an ASP.NET CORE application, nopCommerce is one of the most secure e-commerce platforms out there. In the 10 years of its existence, it has seen only one security patch and no reports of security breaches whatsoever.
RESTful API plugin that allows you to access and manage your nopCommerce website’s data (customers, products, orders, etc.) through an easy-to-use HTTP REST API. The RESTful API plugin is developed by Nop-Templates. You can download it for free by clicking here.

Built-in Features

Multi-store support. You can create and configure as many stores as you want. All stores share one database. Thus, managing them will be a breeze. In addition, your customers will be able to log in to all of them using the same credentials which significantly improves their overall customer experience.
Multi-vendor support. You can create a marketplace and allow other vendors to sell their products on your website.
Single management portal with a responsive design. Easily manage your e-commerce business from your office, or on the go.
Responsive design for the public area of your store. People browse and shop online on their phones while waiting in line at the supermarket, or having their afternoon coffee. It’s 2018 and having a mobile-friendly online store is a must.
Multilingual support including RTL (right-to-left) support enables you to reach customers all over the world.
SEO friendly markup, URL slugs, canonical URLs and sitemap support guarantee that Google will love your store.
Reward points-based loyalty program helps you nurture long-lasting and valuable relationships with your customers.
Anonymous checkout. By offering this feature, you are sure to never miss a sale because a first-time buyer is in a hurry and doesn’t have the time to register at your website, for example. Note that nopCommerce doesn’t offer one-page checkout out-of-the-box. If you want to add such feature to your store you will have to purchase a one-page checkout extension.
Multi-currency support.
Tax configuration with VAT support. This will come in handy if you sell your product to companies or customers who live in countries where VAT applies.
Integration with more than 50 payment gateways among which PayPal, Square, 2Checkout, Skrill, etc.
Additional payment options including credit card, cash on delivery, in-store pickup, and more.
GDPR compliance.
Google Analytics integration.
Microsoft Azure integration. Build and run your online store directly in the Microsoft Azure cloud.
Rental products. Store owners not only can sell products but also can rent them out.
Recurring products. Shoppers can subscribe to a product or service for a specific period of time and pay on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis.
Related products. Shoppers can see products that are similar to the one they intend to purchase. This gives you the opportunity to upsell without being too intrusive.
Wishlists. People can create a list of all the products they would like to buy from your website. When their birthday is coming up, for example, they can send their wishlist to their family and friends. This way they are sure to receive a gift they will truly love.
Downloadable products, and more.

These are some of the more significant features nopCommerce offers out-of-the-box.

Note that since the platform is open-source, you can easily add more advanced custom features to your store. You can also fully customize the way your website looks and feels. As a result, it can perfectly match your brand identity.

Themes & Templates

Even if people don’t always judge books by their covers, they will most likely judge your store by its design. After all, who would buy from a website that looks outdated?

Lucky for you, you won’t have to worry about this. NopCommerce offers a wide variety of great looking themes.

You can find 170 themes in the nopCommerce marketplace (119 commercial and 51 free themes). Having so much choice gives you a much better opportunity to find the perfect theme for your store. You can find a theme that was built specifically for the type of products you offer - electronics, clothes, sports gear, jewelry, beauty products, toys, home decor, and so on. One that matches your brand identity and offers all the capabilities you need to successfully run your online business.

Aside from design, capabilities, and cost, there is one more thing you should consider when choosing a theme for your store - that it is compatible with your version of nopCommerce.

Note that there are 29 Nop-Templates themes in the nopCommerce marketplace. They come with a set of 13+ premium plugins. In addition, all 29 themes are responsive and compatible with nopCommerce 4.10.

However, keep in mind that even if you purchase a high-end theme, you may still need to purchase additional plugins.

The good news is that there are plenty of extensions on the nopCommerce marketplace.

Plugins

Тhere are over 1,500 plugins in the nopCommerce marketplace that are divided into 8 categories:

Language packs
Payment modules
User interface & Widgets
Shipping & Delivery
Marketing & Sales
Administration
Customers
Security

You can find a plugin for almost anything - checkout enhancements, order fulfillment, discount and promotions management, content or product management, remarketing, abandoned cart recovery, SEO, email automation tools like Storakle, and much more.

In addition, if you cannot find a plugin that meets your requirements, you can always turn to a certified nopCommerce expert. Be it a .NET developer, or a recognized nopCommerce partner, they can build a custom solution for your store.

Some of the best nopCommerce experts include Nop-Templates, DotControl, Irvine Software Company, Aperture Labs, and more.

Partners

NopCommerce partners with more than 150 of the world’s leading .NET development companies, design companies, digital agencies and hosting providers.

Whether you need a small theme tweak, a full-blown customization of your storefront, or a custom plugin, you can find a partner who will do an outstanding job.

The nopCommerce partners are divided into 3 categories:

Solution partners - You want to redesign your website? You need to add more advanced functionalities to your store? Or, maybe you want to outsource digital marketing or project management? In this directory, you can find more than 130 certified professionals who can help you.
Technology partners - Payment modules, tax compliance solutions, marketing tools, delivery tracking software… you name it. They can offer it.
Official hosting partners - Not sure where you should host your nopCommerce store? Look no further than this directory and the list of hosting companies that have been approved by nopCommerce themselves. Everleap and A2 Hosting, for example, are such companies.

Pricing

You can download nopCommerce and start developing on the platform for free.

There might be additional costs in several cases:

If you purchase a theme or a commercial extension from the nopCommerce marketplace.
If you work with a certified nopCommerce expert on a project.
If you host your website in Microsoft Azure.
If you want to remove the nopCommerce copyright from your website you will have to purchase the copyright removal key.
If you need support from the nopCommerce team you will need to purchase one of their premium support plans.

Support Plans

NopCommerce offers free forum support for all store owners, developers, and .NET enthusiasts.

However, if you need dedicated support from the nopCommerce core team, you will have to purchase one of their premium support plans.

Purchasing a support package guarantees you:

24 hours response time (excluding weekends and holidays)
5 days bug fixing warranty (excluding weekends and holidays)
Technical advice
Code reviews from the nopCommerce core team, and more

However, it does not mean that nopCommerce will offer you support for any themes and add-ons developed by their partners. In this case, you will have to turn to the vendor who developed the theme or the add-on.

Who is nopCommerce suitable for?

If you’re searching for an open-source .NET based e-commerce platform, nopCommerce is an extremely viable option - it sports amazing built-in features, it is fully customizable, and it is one of the most cost-efficient choices out there.

In addition, developers can use the latest ASP.NET CORE technology to create highly sophisticated e-commerce websites.

However, this does not mean that you have to be a .NET wizard in order to build your online store on nopCommerce. NopCommerce is strongly supported by its community and partners. There are hundreds of certified professionals you can work with. All of them offer installation and store set up as part of their services. So, no matter what you need and how tech-savvy you are, they have you covered!

If you want to get started immediately with nopCommerce, check out this Step-by-step guide on installing nopCommerce.

WooCommerce

Note that WooCommerce is not your typical e-commerce platform. To be exact, it is a free e-commerce plugin for Wordpress CMS.

* If you want to have more than one store, you will have to purchase WooCommerce Multistore. The price of a single network license is $199. If you need a license for more than one network, the price is $299.

** If you want to allow multiple vendors to sell their offerings through your WooCommerce store, you will need to purchase an extension. There are themes that offer multi-vendor support as well. Or, you can work with a certified developer who can add such feature to your store. In any case, there will be additional costs.