What is Shopify and how does it work
2024 review

Shopify eCommerce Platform Review. Pros and cons, example of shops on Shopify

What is Shopify

Shopify is a platform that provides tools for creating and running an online business. All tools are combined in one place: online store, inventory control, analytics, CRM, loyalty systems, multi-channel marketing (sales through marketplaces, social networks, email, contextual advertising, etc.)

Shopify is currently the most popular e-commerce platform in the world. In total, more than 4,000,000 stores have been launched in the world by 2024.
Shopify Reporting Dashboard

Who should use Shopify?

Shopify will work best for those who want:
  • Launch an online store as quickly as possible
  • Get a beautiful product catalog
  • Sell ​​on domestic and international markets
  • Combine multiple sales channels in one place (Online store, Google, Instagram, Amazon, etc.)
Start Free,
then get your first month for $1.

Pros of using Shopify

  • All-in-one for online selling
    All the main online trading tools are combined in one place: online store, inventory tracking, CRM, loyalty programs, analytics, marketing tools.
  • Multi-channel marketing
    Manage advertising and sales in one place: sales through marketplaces, contextual advertising, email marketing, advertising on social networks, etc.
  • Applications for extending functionality
    There are 4,000+ apps in the Shopify App Store to expand your functionality. Most of them are paid and distributed on a monthly basis. But there are also free ones, as well as apps with free plans.
Example of Apps in the Shopify App Store
  • Ready-made integrations
    Ready-made integrations with payment systems and delivery services (more than 100 options) for sales in any country in the world.
  • Quick launch of the store
    The high speed of creating a store on Shopify is possible due to the large number of ready-made elements, their coherence and the ability to create a simple store in the designer mode (for something advanced, you will need a developer)
  • Large community of developers
    There are a lot of freelancers and agencies working on Shopify, so you won't be left without technical support.
  • High quality design templates
    Shopify theme store has some really good store template options. Just upload your content and you'll have a quality store that looks great.
Templates in the Shopify Themes Store

Cons of using Shopify

  • The site does not belong to you
    Shopify is a cloud platform. The site files are located on the platform hosting. And the store is as if rented. Plus, not all files are accessible.
  • You have to pay for extended functionality
    The extenstion of functionality is achieved mainly through paid applications. Thus, the monthly subscription fee for the store increases. But the good news is that you get all the basic and most necessary things for free.
  • Checkout page cannot be edited
    The “Checkout” page cannot be edited on regular plans (this option is only available in Shopify Plus, which costs from $2,000 per month). This complicates setting up your own fields, and customizations in checkout as well as setting up your own analytics.
  • Limited website optimization capabilities
    There is no access to hosting settings. There is also no access to many system files. Therefore, the ability to optimize the site's performance is quite limited. And the more you develop the store, install new applications, the more difficult it is to have a fast site.
  • High fees for acquiring payments online
    To pay the minimum commission of 2.4-2.9% you have to use Shopify Payments, which is not available in all countries.

Preliminary summary

Shopify has significant limitations. But, overall, Shopify's advantages still outweigh them. Ultimately, Shopify is chosen for its "all in one": online store + advertising + sales through different channels + the ability to quickly develop the store through applications + the ability to scale to different markets.

Shopify store examples

Shopify Pricing

The minimum Basic tariff costs $24 per month for a year's payment. This tariff is suitable for most beginners, as it has everything you need to get started.
The more expensive plans feature more professional reports, also available number of users and warehouses. And on the more expensive plans Shopify reduces its commission while accepting payments.
Shopify Yearly Plans
For large businesses, there is Shopify Plus. It is relevant when you need multi-stores (different stores for different countries), B2B sales, the ability to edit the Checkout page, and increased performance for high traffic. The cost of the tariff is individual - from 2000$ per month.
In addition to the subscription fee, Shopify takes a commission on store sales. The commission ranges from 0.5 to 2% depending on your tariff (Basic - 2%, Shopify - 1%, Advanced - 0.5%). This commission is absent in one case - when using the payment system Shopify Payments. You should also keep in mind that each payment system in addition has its own commission for accepting payments - 2-3%.

How to create a store on Shopify

To create a store on Shopify, the steps would be as follows:
  • Choose a template
  • Using the page builder you edit the appearance and content
  • Customize your store (currencies, payments, shipping)
  • Upload your products
  • Fill in auxiliary pages (delivery, return, etc.)
  • Connect the domain
And if you need help, you can order store development on Shopify.
Start Free,
then get your first month for $1.

Summary

So, Shopify has great opportunities for sales in the international market. One of the key pluses of the platform is the ability to manage sales from one place through all channels (website, marketplaces, social networks, email, sms, etc.) Also, the platform is convenient for quick creation of a store, given the large number of ready-made components.

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Shopify Official Partner
Walnut Agency
We utilize best practices in design, development, and marketing to create successful online stores and scale sales

What we do

Our services
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Shopify Development
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Attracting customers to the online store
Creating and developing an online store