WordPress vs Shopify, for a Perth small business, is a job question before it is a software question. This comparison is for tradies, clinics, startups, and retailers who have been told they need both. If customers call or send a quote form, use WordPress. If customers buy products and you need checkout, stock, and shipping, use Shopify. Both can be built as a fixed package. Neither is the “premium” option.
The prices that sit under that choice are on our pricing page: Starter $495 and Business $1,495 for brochure sites, Online Store $1,995 when you need a catalogue. Platform bills, if any, are separate from that build fee.
The difference that matters
| WordPress | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| The job | Services, enquiries, pages you update | Products, checkout, inventory, shipping |
| Software cost | WordPress is free software. You pay for hosting. | A Shopify subscription and transaction fees, billed by Shopify. See Shopify pricing. |
| After launch | You edit text, images, and posts in the WordPress admin | You add products and process orders in the Shopify admin |
| Our build | WordPress website design on Starter or Business | Shopify website design on the Online Store package |
| Skip it when | Selling products is the whole business and checkout should not depend on plugins | You do not have a catalogue. A service business does not need a store admin. |
There is a middle case. A service business with a handful of products can stay on WordPress and add WooCommerce if the catalogue stays small. A retailer whose site is mostly a shop should not start on a brochure theme and bolt a cart on later.
Choose WordPress when
WordPress fits Perth businesses that sell time and expertise: electricians, plumbers, builders, clinics, consultants, and local shops that need hours and a contact path more than a checkout.
You will want it if:
- You update your own prices, services, and photos, and you do not want a developer for every text change
- The conversion is a call, a form, or a booking, not a card payment
- You may add a simple blog or service pages later, inside the page count you paid for
- You want an open platform your next bookkeeper or marketing contact is likely to have used
Hosting is not included in the WordPress software. It can be arranged with the build or kept on a host you already have, if that host is up to the job. Details are on website hosting.
WordPress is a poor fit when the business is a product catalogue. WooCommerce can run a small store. It is the wrong default once inventory, shipping zones, and a testable checkout are the point of the site.
Choose Shopify when
Shopify fits makers, boutiques, and product businesses in Perth that ship across WA or Australia, or that sell in person and online. The platform’s job is checkout, payment methods, variants, discount codes, and basic inventory. You should not have to assemble that from plugins.
You will want it if:
- Product sales are the revenue, not a side note on a services page
- You need order tracking and shipping tools in one admin
- The catalogue will grow, and you do not want to change platforms next year
- You accept a monthly Shopify plan on top of the once-off build
You should not pick Shopify for a five-page tradie site whose only action is “call now”. You would be paying a store subscription to host a brochure. That is more platform than the job needs.
The $1,995 Online Store package covers store setup, a catalogue foundation, payments and shipping basics, and a launch checklist that includes a test order. A large migration or a custom theme is quoted separately before it starts. Shopify’s monthly plan is not inside the $1,995. Current plan amounts are on Shopify’s own pricing page, because they change and they are not our fee.
Same packages, different job
Do not pick the platform because a template looked nicer in a demo. Pick it from what the visitor should do, then match a package.
- Calls and quote forms, up to five pages: Starter, usually on WordPress
- A fuller service site, up to ten pages: Business, usually on WordPress
- A catalogue and checkout: Online Store, usually on Shopify
If you are still weighing the dollars, the breakdown is in how much a website costs in Perth. If you are weighing the calendar, content readiness matters more than the logo on the platform: how long a small business website takes.
Next step
Compare WordPress and Shopify against the packages, then tell us whether you need calls or a checkout.