More than 1.7 million retailers use the Shopify platform. Surprising right? Shopify has been one of the most renowned e-commerce platforms all over the globe. It is a multinational Canadian e-commerce business with its main office in Ottawa, Ontario. The online shops can access a variety of services via the Shopify platform, including facilities for payments, marketing, shipping, and customer interaction. Continue reading to know more about Shopify, its features, price, pros, and cons.
Overview of Shopify
Contents
Shopify is a SaaS; Software as a Service eCommerce platform. It provides the most necessary tools all in one place to assist and build one’s store. The e-commerce platform has been serving people since 2006. The platform was founded by Tobias Lutke and Scott Lake. Shofily now has more than millions of businesses that sell their products through their online stores.
The platform is the most popular and fastest growing e-commerce platform and had a 26% global e-commerce market share in 2021. With the help of Shopify, businesses can sell their products all over the world through many different channels. As Google, eBay, Wholesale, and Amazon.
Shopify is used all across the world to sell physical products, digital products, Point of Sale (PoS), dropshipping, etc to sell online products in person. It is a subscription-based e-commerce solution that helps set up an e-commerce store or migrate the exciting online store to other platforms (WooCommerce, Magento, etc).
The platform aligns with the company’s objectives. Therefore, is considered best for start-ups, and small or medium enterprises. Shopify offers its advanced version, ‘Shopify Plus’ for large businesses with different comparative advantages.
Features of Shopify
- High Loading speed
- User friendly
- Easy Customization
- App integration
- Security and reliability
- Smartphone friendly
- Scalable platform
- Shopify POS
- Amazing SEO tools
- Dropshipping
- Shopify Analytics
How to Get Started with Shopify?
Shopify is easy to use. Unlike other website-building platforms, Shopify allows managing all the different aspects of your online store. To get started with the Shopify tool you do not need advanced web designing skills, one can easily create an online store using Shopify. Following are the simple steps to use the Shopify store:
STEP1: Add your first product
- Click on ‘Shopify Admin’.
- Now choose ‘Products’, and ‘Add Product’.
- Once done, enter the title and other details of your product.
- Click ‘Save Project’.
STEP 2: Choose a theme
After adding your product, you will see a default theme applied to your e-commerce store. However, businesses can customize the theme according to their preference. One may choose a free theme within the admin or can even buy paid themes. Now publish them to your e-commerce store.
Choose a theme by heading to Online Store > Themes. Then, to ‘install your unique Shopify theme’, scroll down to the ‘Theme Library section and click the ‘Upload Theme option.
STEP 3: Setup a Domain
It is important to set up a domain for your store. It is the URL through which customers can easily find your store. You have to buy a domain or transfer your existing domain to the site.
STEP 4: Add payment Gateways
This is the last step before you start selling your products. Adding a payment gateway is necessary. To do so, first go to ‘settings’ now click on ‘select payments’. Now you may easily connect to your PayPal and then use a third payment gateway.
STEP 5: Start selling your products
To make sure the store appears amazing on all sizes of screens, place a few test orders, alter the settings, and test your shop and product pages on various platforms. Now, you may start selling your products.
Further, Shopify offers competitive plans for businesses. Continue reading to know about different plans and pricing of the Shopify platform.
How much does Shopify cost?
Shopify offers different plans and pricing to its customers. It starts from $29 per month for basic plans. Before finalizing a plan, one may sign up for a 14 days trial to see how Shopify can help sell its products online. Also, after buying a plan, one does have the opportunity to upgrade the plan and use new features and functions. Following are the different plans offered by Shopify:
1. Shopify Basic plan
The plan costs $29 per month and provides all necessary features you need to run an online store. One will find a digital store through the Shopify Basic Plan. The interest rate on credit cards is 2.9% + 30 ¢. With this, 2.0% is an additional payment for External payment gates.
2. Shopify Plan
The price of the Shopify Plan is $79 per month. Including all the benefits of the Basic Shopify Plan, one also gets an online store with 2.6% + 30 ¢, face to face 2.5% + 0 ¢. With this, 1.0% is an additional payment for External payment gates.
3. Shopify Advanced Plan
Large businesses can benefit from the more sophisticated payment system offered by Shopify Plus. The plan is designed to meet all the needs of its customers. The most cutting-edge Shopify POS is one of the great benefits of Shopify Plus. It provides you the benefit of unlimited staff accounts and selling on a custom domain.
All these different plans have their own merits and demerits. Shopify offers unlimited advantages through all of these plans. Below, I have mentioned the pros and cons of using the Shopify platform.
Benefits of Shopify
There are many different benefits of Shopify. Following are the top benefits of the same:
- Easy to use: You don’t have to search for web hosting, set up the software, or connect domain names if you use Shopify to set up your business. The platform takes care of all the technological tasks. In a few minutes, you may start selling your products after creating a store. Additionally, manage your inventory, fulfill orders, take care of shipping, and manage all taxes in one location.
- Sell on different platforms: Shopify makes it simple for you to advertise and sell your products on social networking sites. Both Facebook and Instagram, Amazon, and eBay may easily be integrated with the app.
- PoS system: With Shopify, you can sell your goods in person and take credit card payments with the help of the Point of Sale system. Offering cash on delivery as an alternative is ideal. Likewise selling your online products at your brick-and-mortar stores.
- Take fuller advantage of apps: Shopify has an app store with both free and paid apps for enhancing the capabilities of your store. You may combine these apps with dropshipping platforms, payment gateways, and other third-party services.
- Customer service: Shopify’s ability to give free, round-the-clock customer service to its users is one of its best advantages. Customers may easily fix their problems by using the business’s online forums, chat help, and voice support services.
Demerits of Shopify
- Expensive: You must pay a monthly charge to access Shopify. Including, there are additional fees for any premium services.
- No email hosting: Shopify does not take control over miscellaneous expenses. Email hosting is not included in Shopify’s plans. If one wishes to create an email address, one will need to look for another provider. Though email marketing is a straightforward process, you still need to factor this expense into your entire budget.
- Limited Design Customisation: A website with a poor design discourages potential clients from engaging with your business. Shopify does provide a large selection of themes, but there are limits to how much you may customize the design. You should work with a designer if you want to make big changes to the way your store looks and feels.
FAQs
- How does Shopify pay individuals?
Depending on the payment gateway you’re using and the country you are residing in, there are many ways to withdraw earnings from your Shopify store.
For example, Your earnings can be withdrawn via Shopify Payments if you’re a user of that service. However, if you use PayPal to execute orders, you can withdraw your money from your PayPal account. Similarly, your residing country also affects the withdrawal. Orders placed from some countries are handled in 2 days. Processing orders from other countries may take up to 4 days to get paid.
- What all things can I sell on Shopify?
You can sell practically any kind of product through Shopify. Your store can sell anything, including custom printed T-shirts, handmade goods, clothing, beauty products, electronics, and many more. Even the sale of digital goods and subscriptions is supported by Shopify.
- How much money do I have to pay for Shopify?
There are different plans for Shopify. One can get a plan for $9 as well as a plan for $299 per month. You will get different benefits on different plans.
- Can I do marketing automation on Shopify?
No, unfortunately, Shopify doesn’t offer marketing automation.
Conclusion
Shopify is a dependable, secure, and scalable eCommerce platform. Custom design, development services, intuitive setup, and configuration models are all helped by the e-commerce platform, Shopify. It offers a wide range of tools and capabilities.
Overall, The user-friendly platform, Shopify is a great option for people who want to start selling their products online. Feel free to ask your doubts through comments.