Choosing a platform
Shopify vs WooCommerce: who handles maintenance?
The responsibilities differ. Compare the actual support arrangement, not a claim that one platform never needs maintenance.
Ask who fixes a failed update
With a self-hosted WordPress store, clarify who handles the host, WordPress, themes, plugins and recovery. A managed hosting contract may cover some of that, but check its scope. With Shopify, the platform manages its service while you still maintain theme changes, apps and store configuration. In either case, name the person who investigates a broken buying flow and keeps backups or recovery records. Cheap hosting and managed maintenance are not the same purchase.
List the tasks
Identify software updates, backups, account access, third-party extensions and customer-facing content. WordPress documents backing up both files and the database. Record which tasks a host or managed service performs and which remain with your team.
Plan changes safely
Use a suitable preview or staging process and a rollback plan. Review payment, shipping and language journeys after significant changes. Confirm whether custom code or extensions create additional update dependencies.
Clarify response responsibilities
Agree who investigates an outage or failed integration and how quickly they can respond. Keep business recovery access. The decision should reflect your support arrangement and the team’s capacity, not a blanket claim that either system never needs attention.
Ask who responds when something breaks
Give each supplier a realistic incident, such as an integration failing after an update, and ask who investigates and restores service. Compare response scope, exclusions and access. Managed platforms and managed service contracts solve different parts of the job; the business still needs clear ownership.
Official references
Request a free call
Considering Shopify for your business? Request a free call to discuss your products and priorities. We agree the scope before work starts.
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