Hosted E-Commerce Platforms
Shopify
Anyone looking to get into the e-commerce game for the first time (or any time, for that matter) would be wise to consider Shopify. At the time of writing, more than 500,000 businesses spanning 175 countries worldwide were powered by Shopify. Even more impressive, the number of merchants on the Shopify platform has grown annually at an average rate of 74%, achieving total sales of more than $40 billion.
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It’s clear from these figures alone that Shopify is a pretty big deal. But in terms of what it brings to the table more specifically, Shopify is best described as a turn-key e-commerce (aka “hosted e-commerce”) solution that provides business owners with everything they need to get up and running (shy of their products, USPs, and business savvy, of course). The idea being that if you select Shopify, you’re provided with a complete set of tools and resources to sell your brand and your products in one user-friendly package.
How Does Shopify Work?
Shopify owes much of its popularity to the fact that it makes the initial setup process so easy. While it may be a simplification of the wider process, it’s essentially a case of the following.
Select one of the available Shopify plans that suits your needs and your budget.
Buy a domain directly via Shopify or direct your account to your existing domain.
Choose from a wide range of templates and themes – some free, some paid – in accordance with your preferences.
Populate your site with your products, general content, payment options, and so on.
Implement the marketing strategy of your choosing to bring customers to your store.
As you can see, it’s just about as easy as it gets to set things up to begin with. Not that the above represents a guaranteed formula for success, but it’s nonetheless a solid start in the right direction.
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Like many of its counterpart turn-key e-commerce solutions, Shopify has been designed to seamlessly integrate with popular online marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, Etsy, and so on. Great for anyone looking into multichannel sales, which we’ll be discussing in a later chapter.
Shopify also features a brilliant “Buy button” feature which provides merchants with the opportunity to sell/promote their products pretty much anywhere online. Facebook, WordPress, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc., simply position the button anywhere you like and give your customers the option to make purchases from anywhere. Great for tapping into the power and reach of social media in particular.
Why Should You Use Shopify?
Search the web for Shopify reviews and you’ll come out with a mixed bag of results, as is the case with all e-commerce solutions across the board. The reason being that you can’t please all of the people all of the time; plus, far too many failed store owners are pretty quick to blame anything but themselves.
In truth, Shopify brings a world of fantastic features and functionalities to the table that aren’t to be overlooked. Just a few examples of which include:
Site speed. As an optimised all-in-one solution, Shopify allows for the creation of e-commerce sites that perform with precise perfection at all times – the reliable speed and performance today’s consumer expects.
Security. Shopify allows merchants to hand essential security responsibilities over to the pros who take care of things like hackers, phishing, compliance, and other issues as part of the all-inclusive service package.
Feature-rich. Store customisation, integrated payments, simplified inventory, analytics, and tracking – Shopify boasts all the features you’ll need to own and operate a successful store.
Customer support. One of the biggest draws of all to Shopify is the provision of high-quality customer service on a 24/7 basis. With many other platforms and free e-commerce services, you’re on your own.
Marketing. Email marketing, AdWords, SEO, and the basics of marketing in general are all served up by Shopify. Perhaps not to the most complex or comprehensive extent, but a solid start for businesses of all sizes.
Design. The combination of a rich library of themes and the option to customise the designs of your choosing adds up to near-total flexibility for the look and feel of your online store.
Add-ons. It’s the same case with optional extras, of which there’s a near-endless library to choose from. There are an abundance of free and paid add-ons to create the one-of-a-kind retail experience your customers deserve.
Are There Any Disadvantages to Shopify?
Sure there are, but none so severe as to detract from the appeal of this primo package for online sellers. And given that no online selling platform is perfect, it’s easy enough to look past the following downsides and focus on the positives.
Pricing. As it stands, there’s no such thing as a free lunch with Shopify. There’s a free trial to get a taste for how things work, but after 14 days you’ll be looking at a monthly rate of $29, $79 or $299 as of this writing.
Customisation. While the option to customise Shopify themes is great, the system provided for making it happen is a little ‘unique’ to say the least. Not the most convenient customisation feature.
Blogging. Shopify provides merchants with full blogging functionality, though it’s far from the best in the business, particularly when compared to full-function blogging tools/platforms like WordPress.
Setup time. While the initial setup process isn’t rocket science, it does take far longer than you might expect and can get a little on the fiddly side along the way.
Who’s Using Shopify?
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A global audience of hundreds of thousands of merchants, including some of the biggest retailers in existence, use Shopify. Along with catering to the needs of smaller and newer businesses, Shopify has the power, the scope, and the flexibility to work wonders for huge international brands. Just a few examples of these include the likes of Red Bull, Tesla Motors, Budweiser, Water Aid, Penguin Books, and The Economist. Chances are that if Shopify does the business for them, it’ll suit your needs to the letter.
If Shopify was free, it would probably outperform every other e-commerce platform out there. But if it was free, you wouldn’t get the same total package of customer service, site security, and the general involvement of experts. Hence, it can’t be free!
In any case, considering what’s on offer for as little as $29 per month, Shopify is more than worth checking out. And if you’re still not convinced, give the free trial a shot and see if Shopify measures up when put to the test
