Shopify is a Canadian multinational e-commerce software platform and services company based in Ottawa, Ontario. Shopify is a subscription-based ecommerce platform that helps businesses of all sizes sell physical and digital products. Shopify’s proprietary ecommerce platform powers websites, retail point of sale systems, and e-commerce stores.
Key Stats:
- Over 1,700,000 businesses in 175 countries around the world have made over $200 billion in sales using Shopify
- 15% of all online businesses around the world use Shopify
- In 2020, Shopify contributed $307.4 billion in economic activity worldwide
- Shopify is a leading ecommerce platform that requires minimal maintenance and is one of the best ecommerce solutions for small to medium businesses. Shopify also offers an enterprise version for larger businesses known as Shopify Plus.
Table Of Contents
- Advantages Of Shopify
- Setup
- Customizable Themes and Apps
- Security
- Analytics And Reporting
- Customer Service
- Â Disadvantages Of Shopify
- Poor CMS
- Scalability
- No HTML or CMS Access
- No Custom URL
Expensive
- Â Shopify Vs Shopify Plus
- Why Choose Pros
- Conclusion
Advantages of Shopify
Shopify, being a hosted platform has a wide variety of benefits that include personalized setup, customizable themes, comprehensive analytics, logistic and shipping solutions,, etc. these features make Shopify one of the best choices for ecommerce businesses.
Given below are 5 advantages of Shopify over its competition.
Setup
The main goal of a business owner is to increase their sales without having to be bogged down by technology and other tedious administrative tasks. Significant advantages Shopify provides that other eCommerce platforms don’t include assistance with managing the store’s technological needs.
Setting up a Shopify store is relatively less complicated as compared to open source platforms. It required minimal time and resources to setup and launch a Shopify powered ecommerce store.
Shopify has in-built features like marketing solutions, logistics and shipping solutions, themes, etc that help businesses build a robust ecommerce store.
Customizable Themes and Apps
Every business has different requirements which cannot possibly be accommodated at once. To cater to the different needs and requirements of a business, Shopify provides apps and themes store that provide customization options to its users.
Apart from their core features, businesses can now download hyper-specialized apps which plugs-in into the Shopify platform and provide the desired feature. Shopify theme detector allows merchants to identify a theme used by other businesses to implement it to their use.
Payment Gateway Integration
Shopify e-commerce solution has inbuilt payment services like Shopify payments, Amazon, Apple pay, PayPal, etc. Shopify’s website integrates over 100 different payment processors, allowing merchants to accept payments in multiple currencies. This makes it easier for businesses to be international. It also allows businesses to accept payments from different countries and makes the business global.
Analytics and Reporting
Integration of analytics and reporting features is crucial for the most successful Shopify store to analyze key data. This data helps in building a comprehensive report of business performance and improvements.
The powerful reporting integration tools like Google Tag Manager, Google Search Console, Google Analytics provide an insight into customer behavior, conversion trends, etc.
Customer Service
One of Shopify’s most reliable features is that it provides free customer service to its customers. Clients can quickly resolve issues by using the company’s community forums, chat, and voice support services. Shopify e-commerce solution also has a large database of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that users can use to self-resolve their issues.
Disadvantages of Shopify
Apart from the above-mentioned advantages, Shopify does not come without an array of drawbacks as well. From the point of view of establishing an e-commerce business, Shopify also comes with a few disadvantages.
Poor CMS
Content marketing is an excellent way to promote eCommerce stores. Shopify is not a content management system and it’s optimized for only selling products. Shopify may get the job done but it needs to be improved upon. Besides, exporting blog posts is not a pleasant experience on Shopify. Between Shopify or Magento, Magento provides better CMS.
A good CMS is thus essential for ensuring effective marketing for your eCommerce website, especially if content marketing is your primary marketing strategy.
Scalability
Ecommerce solutions such as Shopify and BigCommerce are ideal for small. In the long run, a Shopify-powered online store will face scalability issues. As your customer volume and transactions increase over time, you will need to switch to better solutions, as Shopify may not be able to meet your needs. This is where Shopify Plus comes in, Merchants can upgrade their existing Shopify subscription to Shopify Plus which is ideal for enterprise-level ecommerce stores.
No HTML or CMS Access
Another disadvantage of using a hosted platform like Shopify e-commerce solution is that you will not be able to access the code. This can be limiting because it means you’ll always have to add elements to your site through the Shopify dashboard.
No Custom URL
Another disadvantage of Shopify e-commerce solution is that users cannot change the URL of their website, which can be inconvenient when rebranding stores. Once a store is set up, there is no way to edit this information, and it becomes part of their brand’s online presence.
Expensive
Shopify users heavily rely on add-on apps that Shopify offers. Every add-on app and service comes with its price tag. Just like all hosted platforms, Shopify is also going to be gradually more expensive than a self-hosted store. If you live in a place that requires a third-party gateway, you have to pay certain fees. This could range from anywhere between 05% to 2% per transaction.
Shopify vs Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus inherits all of Shopify’s best features and offers extra ecommerce benefits. The Shopify Plus e-commerce for b2b and b2c platform is the enterprise version of the Shopify e-commerce platform. The difference between the two is that Shopify Plus was designed for larger businesses, whereas Shopify is widely used by small and medium-sized businesses. Shopify Plus provides all of Shopify’s services as well as an extensive list of features for enterprise-level businesses that include:
- Launch Manager
- Multi-device support
- Shopify Launchpad.
- Shopify wholesale channel
Why Choose PROS
Since 1996, PROS has been delivering marketing and web development solutions. PROS designed over 100,000 web pages, delivered over 10,000 marketing campaigns, and integrated technology, Shopify site maintenance, and marketing solutions. PROS delivers an end-to-end Shopify e-commerce solution for businesses of all sizes from small to large enterprises.
Conclusion
Shopify is one of the largest and most successful eCommerce platforms in the market. Shopify has successfully built customer trust in a short period with its reliable and efficient ecommerce solutions. However, this does not imply that it is appropriate for all types of businesses. There are a few flaws that may cause business owners to avoid using this platform.
After reviewing Shopify’s ecommerce advantages and disadvantages, it appears that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. It is widely regarded as one of the most popular platforms for small and large businesses alike. It could cost quite an amount but it is necessary that you look into it deeper and then decide on whether or not you want to choose Shopify e-commerce solution.
PROS has vast experience in developing some of the most complex and successful Shopify e-commerce stores that include ShopMelissa, Amourprints, etc. Our expert Shopify developers will help you set up and configure your Shopify store according to your requirements. Get in touch with us today
Deepak Wadhwani has over 20 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 60 countries. Deepak has worked on Internet marketing projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Huntsville. Deepak has been a founder of technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing and technology expert & co-founder for a San Diego Internet marketing company.
