Is Shopify the number one ecommerce platform today?
This question could easily start a debate because most ecommerce platforms have their respective pros and cons. But it’s safe to argue that you can enjoy many benefits of Shopify that would make it suitable for online business owners.
After all, over two million sellers can’t be wrong to choose Shopify for their online store!
After spending many years trying various platforms for my e commerce business, I can attest to the benefits of Shopify. And I will share those benefits to help shed light on whether the Shopify platform is right for your ecommerce businesses. Shall we get started?
Article Overview
Key Takeaways
- Shopify offers free web hosting and an easy-to-use interface that makes it easy to build your website from scratch, even without technical expertise.
- Shopify makes it easy to build a custom website with over 100 themes and app integrations.
- Shopify offers support for all kinds of business models and industries.
- Shopify is a fully hosted and secured platform that ensures your business complies with prevailing data security regulations.
- Shopify supports multiple payment processors to enhance the online shopping experience.
- Shopify has 24/7 support for all businesses.
- Shopify has built-in marketing tools to promote your business on social media, email, and more.
Top 9 Benefits of Shopify
Discover the top benefits of Shopify and why you need this platform to create and succeed in your online store.
1. Easy to Use eCommerce Platform
The ease of use and user friendly interface of the Shopify platform areamong its critical benefits. Once you set up an e commerce store, you want to launch it as soon as possible.
The Shopify ecommerce platform makes it possible with its extensive tools to get your website up and running. No technical expertise is required to create your business website because the visual editor on Shopify allows you to drag and drop elements.
Aside from not requiring advanced knowledge or technical expertise, starting an ecommerce website with Shopify is quick.
2. Customizable e Commerce Stores
Speaking of the user friendly platform, you can customize the look of your e commerce website to align with your brand identity. Your website represents your business online.
Therefore, you must carefully develop the store theme to fit your brand and attract your target customers.
Shopify themes makes it easy to do that with hundreds of themes available, both paid and premium. You can browse the themes and filter them according to the specific industry.
Choosing a theme based on the industry makes it easier to customize your website for ecommerce and appeal to a specific audience within your niche.
If you find that your options within the Shopify Theme Store is limited, you can find third-party themes that you can integrate into Shopify’s platform. After that, you can add further customization to your theme based on your desired functionalities with the drag-and-drop editor.
3. Support for Various Businesses
Shopify is a true all-in-one solution for ecommerce businesses. This platform supports all kinds of business idea and business models. Indeed, you can sell anything in Shopify as long as it isn’t among the restricted products. Shopify merchants can sell physical or digital products.
In addition, merchants can also engage in the dropshipping business model, which appeals to many store owners because of the lack of inventory management and physical locations for your store.
Shopify sellers can build an online business selling beauty and cosmetic products, fashion and clothing, outdoor gear, home and décor goods, handcrafted items, gifts, and online classes!
You can choose from various business models, such as dropshipping, print-on-demand, affiliate marketing, subscription services, and more.
When it comes to selling goods, Shopify allows almost any product. Obviously, you are not allowed to sell anything illegal on the platform. However, it is a good platform for businesses of all shapes and sizes to attain global reach through an e commerce presence.
Shopify makes it easy to start your business idea and find more customers.
4. Flexible Startup Costs
You can start with a free trial account if you want to set up your Shopify store. However, this free trial is only available for a limited period, after which you must choose your pricing plan.
The Shopify cost will vary depending on the various subscription plan levels you choose for your store. The pricing plan is flexible because you can pick a plan that suits your budget and needs.
You can also update to a higher-tiered pricing plan once your budget allows or as your business needs change.
Remember that your pricing plan determines the number of product listings you can add to your store. However, you must pay a fee for every listing you add to your store that exceeds your account’s allowed number of monthly listings.
This flexibility appeals to many store owners, especially those with small businesses because you can start small and then adjust your plan once your business grows.
5. Safe and Reliable
Shopify is more than just a website builder. It is also a self-hosted ecommerce platform, which sets it apart from other platforms.
Therefore, you can enjoy a fully hosted platform for your ecommerce needs, reducing the need to purchase additional web hosting. You can use Shopify to build your online store website without additional costs, as Shopify takes care of the hosting.
This platform is highly secure, and you can leverage Shopify’s security infrastructure to boost your website’s security. Give your customers peace of mind when you choose Shopify for your e commerce website.
6. Quality Customer Support
Leverage Shopify’s excellent customer support to ensure a hassle-free method of building and managing ecommerce businesses. Access to quality customer support is vital for technical products like ecommerce platforms.
When you experience a technical glitch or other issues, you want to get hold of the support team responsively to ensure you can address those issues and avoid a negative shopping experience.
A responsive customer team ensures you can resolve issues quickly, allowing you to pass on that positive experience to your potential customers. Knowing that your website will run smoothly and efficiently gives you peace of mind.
7. Apps Integration
One of Shopify’s primary advantages over other platforms is its integration opportunities for third party apps. Shopify allows you to choose from a large app store ecosystem that offers over 1,500 apps.
You can easily and seamlessly integrate these apps into your store functionality to improve your website’s look and usability.
In addition, you can choose to integrate additional SEO and marketing tools into your website. These features increase your ability to measure and analyze your website results and store performance.
With so many apps available, you can find an app that fits your needs!
8. Support for Multiple Payment Gateways
Providing multiple payment gateways to your online store is critical to your business success. Whether you run a small or large business, you must provide several payment options to your potential customers to make it convenient for them to make their purchases from your website.
On the contrary, offering limited payment methods might cause them to abandon their cart.
The ability to add as many payment options as possible to your Shopify store is another distinct advantage of using this platform. While they have an in-house payment processor with Shopify Payments, you are not limited to this payment method because you can always add your preferred third-party processors.
However, they offer incentives for you when you choose Shopify Payments for your store’s payment processing, such as non-payment of transaction fees for every sale. Note that choosing third-party payment gateways comes with transaction fees, but that is a fair compromise if you can increase your sales volume.
9. Marketing Tools
Shopify offers numerous marketing tools that Shopify store owners can employ to optimize their marketing and sales results. These marketing tools allow you to set up targeted campaigns to reach your ideal audience and expand the reach of your products and online stores.
The Shopify ecosystem offers many built-in marketing tools to help you develop a marketing strategy for your store.
The first is Shopify Email, which allows you to send marketing emails built for commerce. You can save time crafting the perfect marketing emails for your customers and achieve automated workflows for increased business efficiency.
You can also build your email marketing campaigns in one place to achieve organization and detailed analytics so you can tweak them in the future.
Shopify Forms also helps you capture leads for your business. Thus, you can grow your email list and convert visitors into customers.
You can also integrate this with customer segmentation tools to develop unique marketing approaches suited for each type of customer segment.
Meanwhile, you can employ chat and email messaging tools to market your business to your customers. Set up automated messages and replies for common queries or build a positive customer experience through a responsive chat feature.
When you choose Shopify as your e commerce platform, you can enjoy uncheckered growth for your business. It offers support for every business, regardless of the size.
It reflects the platform’s commitment to supporting online store owners by addressing the needs of all businesses, big or small. And because Shopify equips your business with the tools it needs to succeed, there is no reason for your business not to grow!
Final Thoughts on the Benefits of Shopify
There are more benefits of Shopify for building an e commerce website, but these are the most notable ones. Consider these benefits when comparing Shopify with other e commerce platforms to find the right fit for your business goals and needs.
However, it’s important to note that while there are many benefits to choosing Shopify as a platform for your e-commerce needs, there are also some cons. You must be aware of the potential drawbacks to using Shopify so you can plan for them and make the best decision for your store.
FAQs
What are the disadvantages of Shopify?
The main downside sellers have cited about using Shopify is that it is difficult to leave if you decide this platform isn’t working for you. A lock-in feature prevents you from moving your store to another platform when desired.
Therefore, it is crucial to carefully consider before choosing Shopify as an e commerce platform to avoid the hassle of moving your store in the future.
Is it worth upgrading to Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus offers increased customization, particularly on the checkout page. A personalized checkout process is one of the best ways to increase conversion in an online store.
The Shopify Plus plan is worth the investment if you are looking for a feature-rich package.
However, it is best to start with the low-tiered plans before choosing the advanced ones, as you can easily upgrade later if your current plan is limiting.
Is Shopify worth it for a small business?
Yes, Shopify is worth it for small businesses that require a scalable, easy-to-use platform.
