If you've ever done some research on e-commerce because you wanted to build your own store, chances are you've heard about Shopify.
Shopify is one of the largest e-commerce platforms available today. It is well used by many mainly because it eliminates the need for a lot of technical knowledge to be able to create a website.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows you to create online stores and sell your products on it.
In short, it's a software that gives you all the tools you need to be able to create and maintain a website (an online store.) This ranges from stock control, the perfect aesthetic achievement for visual purposes, and even post-sales notifications that customers receive via email.
Shopify's main objective is to act as a facilitator and break the barrier of entry into the world of e-commerce.
How Does Shopify Works?
All tasks involved in managing an e-commerce store are covered by Shopify. In other words, all you have to do is subscribe to one of the company's annual plans to be entitled to a variety of options befitting a good virtual store.
Regardless of which product you plan to sell on your website, Shopify has a structure that can work with different types of stores. Simply choose the interface that best fits your target audience/market and start optimizing your e-commerce results.
To get started on Shopify, the first step is to choose a plan. Note that a 14-days free trial is available so that you can get to know the tool better before any longer commitment.
You can choose from hundreds of templates designed exclusively for Shopify by some of the most highly regarded designers on the market. Even in the most basic plan, the different layouts allow your store to have a greater personality and convey your brand values.
A unique selling point is the fact that it is very unlikely you find an e-commerce store that is remotely similar to yours when you use Shopify. This makes them different from other platforms that tend to have similar styles and formats.
What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Shopify?
In any decision process, it is important to know the benefits and harms that a particular tool or strategy can offer your business. Below we have listed the Pros and cons of Shopify.
Pros
Ease of use is literally the barest minimum. You don’t have to worry about technical know-how or management.
Usability and responsive design of the templates available to customers. In other words, you can rest assured about the quality of your website both the desktop version, as well as the mobile version.
Shopify facilitates the management of products and stock in your online store especially if you don’t have much free time.
Cons
Despite offering SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies, Shopify uses some subdirectories that end up harming your page's SEO performance a little. The URL of common pages such as “About Us” does not have the ideal structure to optimize your page's search results.
Domain names are not included in any of the available packages and your page hosting needs to be purchased. For example, to host an email with its own personalized domain, it is necessary to use an external tool such as G Suite. Your brand's credibility can be affected with a non-unique email
If your audience is international, Shopify may not be the best option for your business. The tool does not offer the possibility of setting up a multilingual store but you can use third party apps to help.
Shopify, therefore, is the ideal tool for those looking for greater productivity and better results within their e-commerce.
This platform is especially recommended for those who do not have a very large team to take care of all the demands or the time needed to manage the various tasks of a virtual store. However, if your store is just a small part of your business, this may not be the ideal solution for you, and it is advisable to look for a cheaper and simpler tool.
Want to discuss Shopify for your business? Contact us today and see how we can help you make small changes that make a big impact.
