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TL;DR
Start with the tasks your website needs to support. A business publishing service information has different requirements from a shop managing product variations, stock and dispatch. Write those tasks down before choosing a platform or a design.
This guide separates the platform choices from the decisions your business still needs to make. For the wider project, see the web design overview.
Understand what you are comparing
WordPress is a content management system. Its publishing tools include pages, posts, media and user roles. Themes and plugins shape the finished website. Here, WordPress means the software described on WordPress.org; confirm the hosting and maintenance arrangements separately. The WordPress website page covers the service context.
WooCommerce runs on WordPress and adds shop administration, including products and orders. It is not a separate alternative to WordPress: choosing it means planning a WordPress website with ecommerce requirements. The WooCommerce documentation separates setup, products, orders and store administration into distinct topics.
Shopify is a hosted commerce platform with tools for running an online shop. Review its introductory documentation alongside your requirements. See the Shopify website page for the service context. A hosted platform still needs someone to manage the shop's information and daily operations.
Describe the customer journey before listing features
Write one example from the visitor's first page to the intended next step. For a service business, that might be reading about a service, checking its scope and sending an enquiry. For a shop, describe finding a product, selecting an option and placing an order.
Include exceptions. Does someone need to ask a question before ordering? Are places reserved for a specific course date? Does a product require information supplied by the customer? A label such as “booking system” does not explain these rules. The Oracle Training Consultants project offers a project reference to read alongside a course or booking brief; document your own requirements separately.
Test the work your team will do
Ask for a demonstration using representative content. Try changing a service description, replacing a photograph, adding a product variation or handling a sample order, as applicable. Record who needs access and which actions each person should perform.
Distinguish routine editing from changes to templates or business rules. Ask what your team can edit, which changes need technical input and what handover material is included. Choose against these actual tasks rather than a general description such as “easy to use”.
Check integrations and unusual requirements
List the systems the website must exchange information with: a stock system, booking tool, mailing list or customer database, for example. Specify what moves between systems, when it moves and who investigates a failed transfer.
For each essential requirement, ask whether the proposed solution uses a platform feature, an extension or custom development. Request confirmation for your intended setup. Do not assume that a product page mentioning an integration establishes that every part of your workflow is supported.
For an existing website, include the information that needs moving and how it will be checked. The redesign and migration checklist covers current URLs, replacement pages and launch checks.
Assign responsibilities after launch
Record who looks after content, enquiries and orders. Separately record who handles technical updates, access, backups and faults, where these apply to the agreed setup. Ask which responsibilities sit with the platform provider, which sit with your developer and which remain with your business.
Review the website management page when discussing ongoing work. A maintenance arrangement needs an agreed scope; it should not be inferred from the platform name. Include a practical check of the contact route using the enquiry form checklist.
Make the decision against a short written brief
Keep one record containing essential customer journeys, editing tasks, integrations, migration needs and ongoing responsibilities. Mark each item as demonstrated, confirmed in writing or still unresolved. Separate essential requirements from ideas for a later phase.
The platform decision can then follow the brief. If an essential task remains unresolved, clarify it before agreeing the build. To discuss a project, send your current website and requirements. Leave passwords and other account credentials out of the enquiry form.
Platform reference material
For the proposed setup, check the current WordPress features, WooCommerce setup guidance and Shopify theme customisation documentation. Record any requirements that still need confirmation before choosing a platform.
