Why Smart Business Owners Are Leaving Shopify/Bumpa for WordPress
If you think Shopify or Bumpa is the king of eCommerce, wait till you hear how WordPress makes them look like jokes. Because while they drain your pocket month after month, WordPress lets you build freely, no monthly rent, no restrictions, no handcuffs.
Shopify charges: ₦60,000 monthly subscription for the least package + ₦30,000 monthly cost for most plugins (depending on the number of plugins you’re using) + ₦210,000 for premium themes + ₦22,500 for a year custom domain fee = ₦322,500 in total.
Remember you will be paying a monthly fee ₦90,000 for platform subscription and plugin, that will be a total of ₦1,102,000 million in a year, including domain fee. Imagine when you’re using up to 5 plugins or more.
WordPress/WooCommerce: ₦20,000 domain name + ₦75,000 hosting fee, depending on the registrar + ₦200,000 web designer fee, depending on the person, that’s = ₦295,000 in total with a ₦155,000 yearly renewal of domain and hosting.
Now, do the calculation and see how you’re losing ₦947,000 every year.
That’s money coming straight out of YOUR pocket. Money you could use to:
- Buy more inventory
- Run ads
- Hire staff
- Expand your business
It Gets Worse:
Every app you need on Shopify costs extra:
- Email marketing app: $29/month (₦45,000)
- Abandoned cart recovery: $19/month (₦29,000)
- Advanced reviews: $15/month (₦23,000)
- Inventory management: $40/month (₦62,000)
That’s an extra ₦1.9 million/year! On WordPress? Most of this is FREE or one-time payment.
THE HARSH TRUTH IS, THEY OWN YOUR BUSINESS (Not You)
Shopify/Bumpa Can:
- Suspend your store anytime for “suspected violations”
- Raise prices whenever they want (Shopify raised prices 33% in 2023)
- Lock you into their ecosystem
- Control your customer data
- Change their terms and you MUST comply
But With WordPress:
- Your hosting company can’t shut you down randomly
- YOU control everything
- Something goes wrong? Move to another host in 24 hours
- Your business, your rules
Real incidents:
- Stores shut down for weeks due to “fraud suspicion”
- No access to sales, customers, or revenue during suspension
- Your entire business… frozen
With WordPress:
- YOU own everything – website, data, customers
- Move to any hosting company anytime
- No one can shut you down arbitrarily
- Your business, your rules, forever
THE FEATURES YOU’RE MISSING
Things Shopify/Bumpa CAN’T do (or charge you heavily for):
- Advanced Content Marketing: WordPress is built for powerful SEO, blogs, tutorials, videos – all driving FREE organic traffic from Google. Shopify’s blogging is basic and limited.
- Membership Sites: Want VIP sections? Subscription boxes? Course sales alongside products? WordPress does this naturally with free plugins. Shopify requires expensive apps ($29-299/month).
- Multi-vendor Marketplace: Want to let other sellers sell on your platform (like Jumia)? WordPress makes this possible. Shopify makes it extremely expensive or impossible.
- True Customization: Custom checkout experience? Special product configurators? Booking systems? WordPress = unlimited possibilities. Shopify = “Sorry, not allowed.”
- Payment Freedom: WordPress accepts ANY payment method – bank transfers, crypto, local Nigerian gateways, cash on delivery. Shopify limits you to approved gateways only.
- No Sales Restrictions: Sell unlimited products, unlimited orders, unlimited everything. Shopify limits features by plan tier.
THE WAKE-UP CALL
Ask yourself these questions:
Question 1: Do you want to pay monthly subscriptions FOREVER, or pay once and own your platform?
Question 2: What happens when Shopify raises prices? (They increased Basic from $29 to $39 in 2023 – a 34% increase). You’re stuck. Can you afford to migrate when you have 10,000 customers?
Question 3: When their platform crashes, your entire business stops. No sales. Just waiting. Is that acceptable?
Question 4: Do you want to build YOUR business or rent someone’s platform forever?
THE TURNING POINT
Why Successful Businesses Choose WordPress:
Nike, Sony, Microsoft, TechCrunch, The New York Times – they all use WordPress. Why? Because serious businesses need:
- Complete Control
- True Ownership
- Unlimited Flexibility
- Long-term Cost Savings
THE REAL COMPARISON
| What You’re Paying For | Shopify | Bumpa | WordPress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | $39-$399 | ₦5,000-₦25,000 | ₦0 |
| Annual platform cost | $468-$4,788 | ₦60,000-₦300,000 | ₦0 |
| Domain cost | $15/year | Varies | $9-$14/year |
| Hosting cost | Included | Included | $24-$47/year |
| Transaction fees | 2.4-2.9% + extra 0.6-2% if not using their payment | Gateway fees apply | 2.9% (no extra) |
| Apps/Plugins | $20-$100/month each | Limited options | Mostly FREE |
| Themes | $140-$350 | Limited options | Thousands FREE |
| Custom features | Expensive or impossible | Very limited | Possible with FREE plugins |
| Data ownership | They own it | They own it | YOU own it |
| Can they shut you down? | Yes | Yes | No |
THE BRUTAL TRUTH
Shopify and Bumpa are RENTING you space. Every month. Every year. Forever.
WordPress is OWNERSHIP. One-time setup, then just annual domain and hosting renewal.
It’s Like This:
Shopify = Renting a shop for $39-$399/month. Forever. The landlord controls everything. Raises rent whenever they want.
Bumpa = Renting a kiosk for ₦5,000-₦25,000/month. Limited space. Limited features. Forever paying.
WordPress = Building your own shop. Pay ₦50,000-₦79,000/year for land (hosting + domain). The building is YOURS. Forever.
THE COST OF WAITING
Every month you stay on subscription platforms:
- You’re paying monthly fees that never stop
- You’re building on rented land that’s not yours
- You’re making it HARDER to switch later (more customers = harder migration)
- You’re limiting your growth potential
- You’re losing the freedom to do what YOU want with YOUR business
The longer you wait, the more you lose in subscription fees and the harder migration becomes.
THE BOTTOM LINE
“But WordPress is harder!”
Yes, there’s a learning curve. But here’s the reality:
- Learning WordPress basics takes 1-2 weeks
- You can hire someone to set it up for ₦50,000-₦200,000 one-time
- After setup, managing it is just as easy as Shopify
- You’re learning a SKILL that gives you total control
- The money you save in Year 1 alone covers setup costs
“But I’m not technical!”
Neither were thousands of successful WordPress store owners. They either:
- Learned it (YouTube has thousands of free tutorials)
- Hired someone for initial setup
- Used managed WordPress hosting that handles technical stuff
Now they own their business. Not renting it.
“But Shopify/Bumpa has support!”
WordPress has the LARGEST community in the world:
- Millions of tutorials online
- Thousands of developers available to hire
- Active forums and communities
- Most hosting companies offer WordPress support
Successful people think long-term.
Lazy people choose easy now, expensive forever.
Which one are you?
THE FACTS:
WordPress/WooCommerce:
- Software: FREE
- Used by 43% of ALL websites globally
- Powers businesses from small startups to Fortune 500 companies
- 75,000+ FREE plugins available
- 10,000+ FREE themes available
- YOU own everything
Shopify:
- Monthly fees: $468-$4,788+/year
- Transaction fees on top
- Limited customization
- They own the platform
- You’re a tenant, not an owner
Bumpa:
- Monthly fees: ₦60,000-₦300,000/year
- Limited scalability
- Features locked behind plan tiers
- Built for small Nigerian businesses (which is great for starting)
- May need to migrate as you grow
The Real Question: Do you want to build a REAL business you OWN, or rent someone else’s platform forever?
Choose WordPress. Own your future.
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