What Is Shopify Online Store Builder And How Does IT Work

This review covers everything you need to know about using Shopify to build your store, including the pros and cons of this fantastic tool. 

The advent of online stores has revolutionized the eCommerce system today. You can now buy all the products you want to sell from a platform like Aliexpress or Alibaba and market them without owning or stocking the inventory. 

However, the invention of online website builders has also helped in this process, as you need to hire something other than programmers to get your store to step up. It would only require you to follow a few steps. 

Below is a concise Shopify review to help you all there is to use this fantastic tool.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an online service as a software tool (Saas) that helps business owners create an online store for their business. 

This ecommerce platform has a wide range of predesigned templates to suit the taste of all its clients, depending on how you want your store to look. 

Building a store on Shopify is not restricted to online businesses; physical business owners can still create stores for offline products.

What makes Shopify distinct from many other online store builders is that even if you have little or no idea of graphics or web design, you can set up your online shop in a few minutes. 

Knowledge of CSS, PHP, and HTML is an added advantage, but without coding, you can still create a well-designed Shopify store. 

It is a hosted platform, so the stress of buying web hosting is drastically reduced, and you don’t need to install any software on your system or mobile phone.

Hence, all the information needed to run a fantastic store on Shopify is designed to be very distinct.

In this Shopify review, you will also learn how to customize your store to meet your Customers’ needs. You can add Shopify apps and other relevant features to your store.

Let Your Store Stand out. Sell more. Scale fast and Easily.

You can customize your Shopify store with your choice of apps from over 7,000 apps available on the Shopify app store. Different online businesses need different Shopify apps.

As the terms of Shopify apply, you would have to pay some money to maintain your store’s ownership based on the shopify pricing plan you choose for your business.

Shopify gives full access to your store from anywhere and anytime you need to do business.

Shopify hosts over 800,000 stores, has at least 1,000,000 active users and generates annual revenue of about $100bn. With this simple analysis, you can understand that Shopify is out for real business.

Shopify does the most needful for you. And it wouldn’t cost you so much to maintain.

Knowing which company to trust in online business is essential, especially regarding credibility and accountability. 

You need a company that successfully resolves issues with your store and a trusted firm that will not close down over time.

As sensitive as this can be, you don’t need the stress of moving your store from one platform to another when the system collapses, as Shopify is built on an idea that will surely stand the test of time. 

It has many users and a well-structured market position, making financial difficulties almost impossible to experience. So, you can maintain your store should Shopify disappear.

This E-commerce platform was founded in 2006 by Tobias Luke, Scott Lake, and Daniel Weinand. Since its inception, it has become one of the leading e-commerce platforms.

It was built with one of the most practical tools for developing an online store. Its diverse pricing system allows small stores and larger businesses to operate online.

It is an easy platform for a beginner who needs to create a product, advertise his products, and manage his business inventory without struggling to take a developmental class.

It is also the best platform for an advanced developer using its HTML and CSS files to upgrade his store using its unique advanced features.

Additionally,  it is designed beautifully and embedded with many modern themes that are simple, stylish, and aesthetically pleasing.

A standout property is that, unlike WordPress or Magento, Shopify does not require development knowledge to keep your online store running smoothly.

It makes scaling up easy. It aims to create a relaxed and hassle-free platform for building your online store and setting up your e-commerce website.

Suppose you desire to own and start your e-commerce business but need a website or previous e-commerce experience.

If so, you are in the right place to get all the necessary information. Our Shopify Review will equip you with the essential knowledge to satisfy your needs.

At the end of our review, you can answer these questions: What makes Shopify stand out among other e-commerce platforms?

Why this Shopify Review?

Without mincing words, Shopify is an online e-commerce platform with various features and tools that allow you to build, manage online stores, and sell your products.

More than 120,000 users worldwide use Shopify, which is designed to allow offline retail.

Shopify is a platform that allows you to create your online store and sell your goods and services.

It enables easy organization of products and services, categorizes each product accordingly, customizes the outlook of your store, allows e-transaction using (online credit cards), and enables the tracking and giving responses to your orders, which can be done using a well-simplified user interface.

Shopify offers a well-simplified and well-integrated user interface that provides solutions for sophisticated design.

It provides a ready-to-use online store to customize, tweak, and arrange to achieve your desired website structure.

It should also be known that Shopify’s payment plan is based on monthly billing, which is important for any business entrepreneur running a profitable store.

Its process is less complex and straightforward to understand. You need to sign up first and follow through with the other steps.

Sign up for a free trial and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for $1/month on Select Plans.

After signing up, you will have to choose from a well-researched and previously written optimized keyword; it enables you to choose from more than 100 streamlined designs available so that you would neither need to go through the stress of designing it yourself nor pay for the design.

Shopify offers a top-quality design and significantly optimized platform to give your website visitors a well-presented and interactive experience. 

This Shopify Review will help you decide between Shopify and WordPress.

How Is hosting handled?

Absolutely. Shopify provides users with convenience and the liberty to host their online stores.

It means that, unlike other platforms, you do not need to sign up for an external web hosting provider.

Shopify will help you achieve that by using an optimized server structure to create a well–presented e-commerce store.

It operates on a cloud-hosting e-commerce platform, which offers a ready-made solution for quickly setting up online stores.

Who is Shopify Designed for?

Shopify is best suited for businesses and individuals who want to set up an e-commerce or online store. It stands out mainly due to its multi-purpose nature.

• It is fast and straightforward to set up primarily for entrepreneurs starting online stores.
• Shopify offers an attractive, affordable, responsive, and easy-to-use platform for small businesses that have just started growing and helps them minimize their costs.
• Shopify offers many Template designs and professionally designed themes, so you won’t need to hire anyone to help you set up the store. You can set up, modify, manage, and launch your online store yourself and still allow your store to maintain a corporate look.
• Shopify offers an offline solution. For example, it allows you to use its platform as a brick-and-mortar e-commerce store or to integrate it with an already-setup system.
• Shopify allows you to set up an online store that Shopify itself hosts. This will reduce your worries about the technical aspects of running and maintaining your online store because Shopify offers you a well-secured and updated server.
• It allows you to recover the abandoned carts automatically.
• Shopify enables you to create an outstanding marketing feature while possessing your desired payment gateway.
• Finally, on Shopify, you get around-the-clock customer support, regardless of the number of your products, customers, or sales.

However, Shopify offers different plans and features, allowing beginners to grow and get the most out of the platform. It enables its users to get the best possible experience in online business, helps them minimize their starting-up costs, and offers them beneficial features.

This leads us to the most essential part of the Shopify Review:

What is the pricing Packages?

First, Shopify offers beginners a 3-day free trial, which allows them to test the platform’s built-in features and working model before choosing a plan.

Before listing the available plans, you can cancel your trial mode at any point within 3 days.

Start your Shopify journey with a Free 3-day trial—no credit card required! Plus, enjoy your first month for just $1 when you sign up today.

Choosing A Suitable Plan

Before launching your online stores, set out your requirements and list the relevant and required information; having done this, you can choose a suitable plan for your desired store.

The pricing includes:

1. Shopify lite ($9$ per month)—This package allows you to sell your products on social media or an existing website.

2. Basic Shopify Plan ($32 per month)—This package is excellent for entrepreneurs who want to launch a new online store.

It is equipped with the necessary tools and features, offers online credit card rates and in-person credit card service, handles basic payment methods, and offers a secured backend for your online store.

It allows you to connect a custom domain name to your online store (either the one you bought on Shopify or registered through a third party).

1. Some of the distinct features of the $32 per month plan include:
2. An online store module from Shopify
3. It enables the creation of two staff accounts.
4. It allows you to use a point of sale (POS) system for offline transactions.
5. It will enable you to display an unlimited number of products.
6. It gives you access to the website and blog model. E.g., the ability to sell directly on Facebook and Pinterest platforms through the (Facebook and Pinterest modules).
7. You will have access to the Shopify Buy Button, which allows you to add a custom ‘buy button’ to each product displayed on your online store and a manual order creation button.
8. It offers unlimited file storage, a comprehensive fraud analysis, and 24/7 customer support service.

You should also know that a Shopify transaction fee is not part of the pricing system.

It is mainly for those who do not use the Shopify payment method; they are charged a subscription transaction fee on all orders processed at their store.

You can learn more about Shopify transaction fees by visiting the Shopify website.

3. The Shopify plan is $99 per month. This plan enables you to use online credit cards, gives you access to 5 staff accounts, retrieves abandoned carts, gives you access to professional reports, and allows you to offer a “Gift card.”

Note: The Shopify credit card incurs additional fees billed in your selected currency. Other expenses, such as monthly subscription fees, will be paid in US dollars and subject to tax and other charges.

Security Features

Undoubtedly, many e-commerce platforms promote themselves as an “easy to use” platform. Meanwhile, only a few of them live up to expectations.

A platform that is easy to use should create a standard, friendly, and interactive model from the start to the launch and maintenance of the store without any glitches or complexities.

That is precisely how the Shopify e-commerce platform works. It does not require you to be a technology expert before you can set up your online store; it allows you to launch your e-shop quickly.

The main qualities that make Shopify an easy-to-use platform different from other e-commerce platforms are its robust feature set, which either includes a built-in tool or allows you to install your tool with an app.

Shopify has a very flexible starter plan, with the Shopify Lite at $9 monthly, which is affordable for new sellers. The most fantastic part of this plan is that you can easily add any products you like.

However, the only setback is that Shopify Lite needs to give you the ability to create a customized standalone store, but you can do the following.

• You can manage your inventory and use Shopify services in a physical business place.
• You can sell with Shopify on the predesigned website or blog with the help of Buy Botton. 
• You can market and sell your products on Facebook pages.

This tool lets you easily track orders and know when products are delivered.

It was just as effective as the popular global payment gateway PayPal’s “Buy Now” button; you can use the button to display all the types of products you have on the store on other websites.

If you have an existing business website and want to add a feature Shopify features to spice up your store, you can easily integrate it into the Shopify platform and keep track of your business. 

However, it would help if you had a fully functional standalone store. In that case, the Basic Shopify plan at $32 monthly, the Shopify plan at $99 monthly, and the Advanced Shopify plan at $399 monthly will give you all the needed access to host, customize, and create your store to taste into a standalone online store.

Hence, if you have an already established mega business and want access to all the advanced comfort and security features a significant business needs, the Shopify Plus plan is a choice you have to try out.

You will be given access to advanced security and APIs and a well-organized store. 

Significant differences between Shopify plans

The following are the main differences between Shopify plans to aid in your decision of which plan to choose:

• You can only access real-time carrier shipping services on the Advanced Shopify plan.
• You can get a professional report on your store functionality from the Shopify plan and above.
• In a business where you work with other members as a team, you are allowed two staff accounts on the Basic Shopify plan, five on the ‘Shopify’ plan, and 15 on the ‘Advanced Shopify plan. So you can grant access to information to any staff member you deem fit.
• The Advanced and Shopify Plus Plans give you access to advanced reporting tools, which allow you to create custom reports.
• You can get Gift cards if you purchase from the Shopify plan and above.
• Only users on the Shopify plan and above can use the Shopify POS (Point of sale) Features.

For users who want to pay in bulk, i.e., for annual or biannual, Shopify gives a 10% discount on every yearly plan and a 20% discount on biennial plans. So you can save money and pay for an annual or biannual plan today.

However, Shopify’s pricing system is consistently compared to competitors like Volusion and Bigcommerce, which do not offer relatively expensive plans like the Lite plan. Though you don’t get a wholly standalone online store, you get access to all the features at a very affordable price.

One con to note is that benefits like professional reporting and gift cards are available only for plans above the entry-level plans.

You can only access these features if you pay for a more expensive plan.

Online store-building platforms like Bigcommeerce offer a more flexible entry-level approach. They offer access to many features to help you set up your store well.

Let’s examine how Shopify lets you accept payments for your products; at this point in the review, you should see the benefits of using this platform.

Is Shopify indeed a secure platform to use?

Undoubtedly, many e-commerce platforms promote themselves as an “easy to use” platform. Meanwhile, only a few of them live up to expectations.

A platform that is easy to use should create a standard, friendly, and interactive model from the start to the launch and maintenance of the store without any glitches or complexities.

That is precisely how the Shopify e-commerce platform works. It does not require you to be a technology expert before you can set up your online store; it allows you to launch your e-shop quickly.

The main qualities that make Shopify an easy-to-use platform different from other e-commerce platforms are its robust feature set, which either includes a built-in tool or allows you to install your tool with an app.

Other quality features are;

It gives you a working e-commerce shop that does not require you to start building your store piece by piece. Instead, you have to modify the already established content and fine-tune it to suit your needs. In case you need an external tool, it permits installing tools that are not built on the platform.

It provides ready-made user templates that are automatically responsive, giving your store a proper look and maximum optimization for mobile, tablet, and desktop users.

It gives you a flexible and complete control panel and dashboards that help you manage your tasks, process your orders, and manage your inventory.

Shopify handles your online transactions, so you do not need to worry about credit card data. It even allows you to sell your products to customers on social media sites like Facebook, TikTok dropshipping, and Pinterest.

It provides access to a specific partner’s section, like the Shopify Partners section, which allows you to test-run or play around with a new website without constantly using the free trials.

Like a sandbox user interface, this is an enticing package for those who have a high volume of clients and need to present a website build-up before they can land a job.

Shopify also allows you to install new themes, customize your website, and create an easy transition from any Shopify partner’s website to an already launched site.

It also provides you with a commission on every client you refer on board to Shopify.

It allows you to manage your product catalogs, sell your products in a retail setting, and sell your products offline, taking advantage of the hardware and software models.

The software model requires you to use a mobile phone or iPad application, which makes selling your products easier in a retail setting or buying a hardware component such as a cash register, receipt printer, or even a barcode device from the store.

The above features are easy to use and do not require technical skills or support. Having reviewed the elements, let’s now examine Shopify in depth.

How Does Shopify Store Builder Work?

2006 saw the birth of Shopify, led by Tobias Luke, who became the CEO alongside Scott Lake and Daniel Weinand.

Right from its inception, Shopify has grown leaps and bounds from a minor player to be among the leading, if not the leading, e-commerce solutions in the league of Magento, Volusion, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce.

As of December 2019, Shopify had over a million retailers on its wings. There’s no doubt a reason why Shopify has grown this famous, holding its position in the marketplace for over a decade.

Shopify’s primary advantage is that it balances functionality and ease of use. On the one hand, beginner users who’ve never operated an e-commerce site have an incredibly friendly platform in Shopify.

On the other hand, it has all the features a store owner requires. Besides, you can skip web or coding classes.

Advanced users can access CSS and HTML files and upgrade Shopify perks to gain robust features as the store expands.

Generally, Shopify is beautifully constructed and awash with modern and stylish themes, but it is only minimal if that’s what you want.

To quell your curiosity about Shopify’s legitimacy, you should know that notable brands like Tesla Motors, Encyclopedia Britannica, Amnesty International, General Electric, GitHub, Foo Fighters, and many more use Shopify.

Let’s assume you have signed up on Shopify (filling in your name and email address, setting up your password, etc.).

Then, you go through the Shopify wizard, which helps you select and set up the desired look of your e-commerce store.

You are required to fill out a few things. You will be asked about the products and services you want to render.

You ought to provide accurate answers, as that is a prerequisite for the success of your online shop. So, do not just select anything randomly.

After that, you must select a couple of options, the first of which is a “create an online store” button. You must click the icon, as that is the purpose of using Shopify.

Pros of Shopify

• You do not need technical skills to use Shopify.
• You’ll find anything: digital products, shippable goods, services, etc.
• Shopify has an excellent selection of modern store themes that are beautifully optimized to the maximum in sales.
• If you’re interested in selling merchandise on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, Shopify’s Lite Plan, which costs $9/month, lets you do that.
• There are multiple outlets for selling products, not just online. Shopify allows you to integrate your brick-and-mortar storefront with its POS system.
• You do not need to self-host, meaning server-related issues or maintenance are out of the window.
• There’s 24/7/365 customer care.
• With mobile apps for both Android and IOS, connote management of the store is possible on the go.
• Using Shopify’s payment processing module results in zero transaction fees.
• The Shopify app store has over 2,000 apps available. This opens the floodgates to integrating with infinite third-party services, thus adding new functionalities.
• Shopify lets you scale up your store quickly.
• It offers a 3-day trial.
• Shopify does well with drop shipping.
• It has a fantastic inventory module that works just perfectly with shippable goods.

Cons of Shopify

• Features that let clients rate and leave reviews get paid for through extensions.
• Since Shopify exclusively owns hosting servers, you do not exercise absolute control over your store; thus, your store can get pulled down at any given time. Thankfully, that’s only possible if you breach a license agreement.
• Professional reporting is supported only in Shopify’s higher-tier perks.
• Failure to use Shopify’s payment module attracts additional fees over and above the standard credit card payment rates.
• Shopify’s blogging module has an interface that could be more user-friendly, especially if you intend to publish blog posts occasionally.

Shopify Payment Gateways and Transaction Fees

On Shopify, you can add your credit card details in two ways:

The first option is to use the Shopify payment system. It is the easiest to use, though not available in all the countries.

For customers in the United States, you are expected to pay at least 2.4% to 2.9% on all credit card transactions and an additional 30 cents on some plans. Countries like the United Kingdom have lower credit card rates of about 1.5% to 2.2%.

Your credit card rate depends on your plan, with the lowest transaction fees available for Advanced Plan users.

Secondly, you can use a third-party payment platform to process your transactions. Shopify offers over 100 payment gateways, which is its edge over its competitors.

To use this process, you need to open an “Account” with the Payment platform, and you might have to pay a particular percentage of a transaction fee, monthly fee, or both in some cases.

Depending on your plan, a third-party payment gateway will attract a transaction fee of 0.5% and 2%. 

However, the cost of choosing Shopify Payment or a third-party payment gateway depends on which payment gateway you intend to work with and your plan on Shopify.

One thing worth noting about Shopify Payments is that it is available only for users based in certain countries.

These are the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Ireland, Spain, and the United States.

What options do you have while working with different variants of Products?

However, sellers outside these countries would need to take the alternative of payment gateways, which incur transaction fees.

However, one fantastic thing is that you can skip out the payment gateway that best suits your location, as the platform has over 100 options.

So far, you can see the fantastic features this great piece holds. Next, in this Shopify review, data is imported and exported on the platform.

Importing Data into Shopify

Like most online store builder platforms, Shopify allows you to add information from Comma Separated Value (CSV) files.

It is effortless, especially if you want to upload many products to your store or transfer information to another e-commerce store or platform.

For Shopify Plus customers, you can import products into your store with the Transport app or the command-line tool.

If you want to import posts from WordPress or other blogging platforms like Tumblr, you can use the Shopify API, the copy-and-paste text method, or third-party apps like Blogfeeder. 

Exporting Data from Shopify

You can also export your product data to a CSV file; this method is straightforward.

However, for more convenience in exporting blog and static pages, you can use Shopify’s API to transfer them from Shopify or try copying and pasting, though it is time-consuming.

As a drop shipper, you can offer up to 100 different variants of a particular product, though you can only offer three options.

Let’s say, for instance, you sell bags. Shopify allows your store to hold up to 100 variants of a single suitcase, each with three options: Size, color, and style. 

Due to Shopify’s strict rules of just three product options, you would resort to workarounds if you need to facilitate other client requirements, which usually result in extra payment to these third-party apps. 

Another option is to include the ‘line item property’ code in your store to cover more product options, but you’ll need to know how to code and be comfortable editing code to achieve the desired result.

If you are dropshipping products that only require a few variants and product options, Shopify is an option you should try.

Shopify should allow more flexible product options like its competition, Bigcommerce, so users can add as many product variants as they see fit for their online stores. 

How to use Product Category

This Shopify review will be complete only if you understand how the platform’s product category works—one of its unique functionalities.

Shopify has a superb product collection compared to most other online store builders. 

If you have many products, the Shopify platform allows you to add them to your store collections manually.

You can also automatically add these products to your right collection with “Automated collections.”

This method would save you a lot of stress and time, especially when you add many products to your online store.

You only need to tag your products consistently to help the features redirect them to the specific collection; the automation process only works for products with a consistent name tag convention.

Shopify themes 

Shopify grants you access to ten free themes that can be applied to your online stores. Each of the themes comes in up to three variants, so you have a good number of designs to play around with. 

These fantastic templates will give a lovely user outlook on all devices.

However, if you don’t find the free themes fascinating enough, you can also choose from a selection of premium themes. 

Premium theme prices range from $140 to $180, and they all come in different variants, like the free templates.

The Theme Store offers all these themes, including free and paid templates, via various filters. You can search for your desired choice by layout style, industry, and more, so you can quickly locate the best theme for your store in seconds.

Regarding attractiveness, all the templates are professionally designed to appeal to the eyes, and you obviously would fit the best for your online store with no query.

In some Shopify Premium themes, you can use contemporary features like motion backgrounds, parallax scrolling, etc. You can also get the best e-commerce marketplace theme templates on Shopify.

Apart from offering the best design templates, Shopify allows you to create your theme. You might want something different from what you get.

You can quickly get all the theme codes and many support materials to develop a standard Shopify theme in just a few steps.

However, when deciding on the best theme for your store, it is essential to know if Shopify supports the template. ‘

Though Shopify supports all the free themes, contacting a developer for help customizing and installing your premium templates is vital.

Boost your ecommerce sales with Debutify Theme – the AI-powered, user-friendly, and stunningly designed shopify theme with advanced customizations, all without needing any code.

Basic features of Shopify

We would look into the various functions in Shopify according to the plans:

These features are available to users on the Basic Shopify plan ($32) and above

• Wide range of themes (free and paid)
• Ability to print labels for product shipping
• Discounts on Courier Services (Shipping fees, Depending on the country)
• Content Management (CMS) Feature
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)Features
• Discount or Coupon codes on some services
• Credit card processing through Shopify Payments, as well as other third-party payment gateways
• Ability to sell digital and physical products in categories of your choice and with minimal shipping rates 
• Integration with Paypal
• Blogging Features
• Users can abandon the Cart if they wish.
• Ability to Import and export customer/product data
• You can create multiple staff accounts (the number of accounts you can create depends on your plan).
• You can easily edit your store’s HTML and CSS
• And most importantly, the ‘buy now button that helps you to sell goods on another blog or site
• Access to a point-of-sale (POS) app
• Ability to integrate your store with 100+ payment gateways
• Shopify Plan gives you access to the following:
• Gift cards
• Professional reports
• The complete point of sale Feature
• Users on the ‘Advanced Shopify’ plan, on top of all the above, get the following additional functionalities:
• Real-time carrier shipping
• Advanced report building

Furthermore, Shopify Plus’s features make it very distinct: It is a mega-business plan that gives you access to the following unique features.

• Advanced security features.
• Guaranteed server uptime
• Users on this plan get a VVIP type of support via a dedicated ‘Merchant Success Manager.’
• API support
• Special SSL / IP address

Let us look at some Shopify delicate parts you might want to try.

Shopify POS

It is one of Shopify’s most compelling features and deserves special notation. The ‘point of sale’ (POS) options and hardware make Shopify stand out.

This POS hardware lets you sell using Shopify, both online and to customers in a specific location, as long as you have an Android or iOS phone.

Many pieces of hardware ( receipt printers, barcode readers, tills, etc.) are available to purchase to help you do this.

Shopify’s point-of-sale tools have several applications. For example, they allow you to sell in a pop-up shop from a market stall at an event or even in a permanently located retail outlet.

And you are yet to keep your inventory and stock count automatically synchronized.

Note that you need to be on the ‘Shopify plan or higher to get the most out of the point-of-sale (POS) Services.

Why do I say this? Even though the ‘Lite’ and ‘Basic’ plans also let you sell in person using a card reader, they do have to:

• Facilitate staff PINs 
• Register shifts

Shopify Interface compatibility

Shopify is straightforward to use and has a brilliant, professional outlook. The platform allows you to set up and manage various sales channels.

The major ones include the following:

• An online store: This is the platform itself.
• Facebook: a section on your Facebook page where your clients can browse and buy your products
• Messenger: With this feature, you can communicate with your customers directly to know what they want.
• Buy Button: You can add different eCommerce features to your store from any website or blog.
• Amazon: It allows you to manage product listings from Amazon that are available in your location.
• eBay: You can list your products on eBay through Shopify.

Many more channels are also available, including Buzzfeed and Instagram. Finally, using these sales channels and the Shopify interface is very straightforward. 

But there are some other things worth mentioning, like:

Uploading Product images (Online Store channel)

Let’s say you upload images on Shopify that don’t have a consistent aspect ratio; Shopify does not automatically crop them.

This means that your product catalogs will include a series of differently shaped images, which is not suitable for online store design.

Alternatively, you can use photo editing software to ensure a consistent image ratio for all your store product images.

But it might not be easy, especially if you have many products to upload unless you do this before uploading your pictures.

Selling on Facebook with Shopify

This part of the review is worth flagging so that you understand that Shopify’s integration on Facebook might differ from what everyone wants.

However, using the Facebook Channel feature to drive enough traffic to your page’s shop section is relatively easy.

 The only disadvantage is that your customers can only buy one product from your store at a time, so you do not have an ADD TO CART option.

It might be convenient for some merchants, but it would be a severe issue for sellers with customers who buy in bulk, and they might find it very hard to cope.

You are also not allowed to sell digital products through your Facebook feature. You can only sell products that can be shipped through your Facebook Channel.

It is vital to note those points before using Shopify to sell on Facebook. Until Shopify fixes this problem, sellers will only be left with the choice of telling their Facebook followers to click a button that will redirect them to their store.

With this part of the review addressed, Shopify’s user interface is superb, with well-designed template options.

It is elementary to understand how to get around it. Below is an overview of the vlog-style video to help you through:

How to recover abandoned Cart Orders in Shopify

This feature is designed to help you sell products to people who might have gone far into the transaction process and finally change their minds.

The Abandon cart feature is only available for users on the Shopify plan or higher, but Shopify has recently introduced it on all plans.

This implies you can access the abandoned cart saver features at a lower price than its key competitors, Bigcommerce and Squarespace. 

Whereas Shopify offers the full functionality for just $9, Bigcommerce and Squarespace only provide it on $79.95 and $46 monthly plans, respectively.

The founder of Shopify’s competition, Bigcommerce, claims that using abandoned cart recovery tools can boost revenue by up to 15%. If true, this is undoubtedly very significant.

As regards how to perform an abandoned cart recovery in Shopify, you can do either of the following:

• You can view a list of people who’ve abandoned their carts and send them an email manually.
• You can tell Shopify to automatically email your store visitors who abandoned their Cart and your store where they left it. This last option is, however, the best as it helps sellers save time and the energy of randomly following them up.

You can tell Shopify to email your abandoned Cart at least 10 hours after your site visitors leave it.

According to Shopify, this time interval generates the best conversion. You can also email them a reminder an hour to 24 hours after they abandon the Cart.

Custom fields and file uploads

Some merchants will want this feature to allow a user to provide some text at the point of purchase (for instance, jewelers would need dedication copies).

Shopify will help you pick this information, but it is almost a manual process: You must create a ‘line item property’ by manually adding HTML code to your design template. Another option is to use a paid app to do this job, which is not advisable. 

It’s the same case with file uploads: if you want to give your customers a chance to upload a file (for instance, an image to be used on a Bag or t-shirt), you’ll have to get a programmer to code or, yes, pay for an app that will upload it. 

Shopify SEO functionalities

Shopify’s SEO functionality is generally fantastic compared to other hosted store-building platforms, especially Squarespace.

The most important aspect of Shopify’s on-page SEO is the ability to easily manage activities like page titles, meta descriptions, and headings.

You can easily add 301 redirects without even fixing them; if you can create your page’s URL, Shopify automatically redirects you to it.

However, it could be improved by changing image file names for SEO reasons, which you would have to do and upload again manually.

 Shopify App Store

 In addition to the basic features of Shopify, you also get an app store. This is a unit where you can get apps for your store. Depending on the situation, these could be paid apps or free apps.

The app store has a sufficient number of apps available, more than you can find on some other platforms that offer similar services.

These apps are designed to talk to other apps or add features or functionality to your online store. A good example is Zendesk or Xero.

This massive number of apps is one of the most persuasive arguments for using Shopify over its rivals and possibly a case against it.

Additionally, it means you have a massive range of options, not only when adding functionality.

But also to your store when it comes to integrating it with other tools and platforms.

On the downside, there are a lot of situations when getting the functionality you need. 

For Instance, you usually need to install a paid app to access AMP format, more product options, or custom fields.

Bigcommerce and Squarespace, the most glaring competitors, tend to include more features like this out of the box. This means you don’t end up paying so much for apps but can’t integrate with as many third-party tools as easily. 

Let Your Store Stand out. Sell more. Scale fast and Easily.

You can customize your Shopify store with your choice of apps from over 7,000 apps available on the Shopify app store. Different online businesses need different Shopify apps.

The following are some Shopify apps available on the App Store:

• Data capture apps
• Abandoned cart saver apps: They work more efficiently than the out-of-the-box cart saver.
• Advanced reporting apps.
• Accounting apps

Hence, if the ‘out-of-the-box’ functionality does not satisfy your taste, you might still consider checking the app store to see if any other add-on would be helpful.

Integrating third-party apps like Zendesk, Freshbooks, Xero, and Campaign Monitor is also possible.

It is essential to concentrate a bit on an app with official integration like MailChimp.

Unfortunately, the Shopify-MailChimp integration was withdrawn from the App Store due to Privacy and Data protection issues.

But thanks to the platform, you can still manually use MailChimp with your Shopify.

You can choose to use another email marketing platform. You can still get unusual solutions like Campaign Monitor or Getresponse to help with your store’s e-commerce functions.

Dropshipping with Shopify

Many intending Shopify users will wonder how it facilitates drop shipping, a fulfillment method in which you don’t keep what you’re selling in stock.

You need to place the order and forward it to a supplier who delivers the goods to your client. Your online store serves as an intermediary between the supplier and your customers.

The good news is that Shopify offers an extensive range of dropshipping apps, allowing you to source and sell various suppliers’ goods online efficiently. 

Shopify is the most viable option for compatibility with dropshipping. 

How to use VAT MOSS in Shopify

One of the essential parts of Shopify that is not often picked up on in most Shopify reviews is that it caters exceptionally well to VAT MOSS and uses its entire title, “VAT Mini One Stop Shop.”

VAT MOSS requires sellers of digital products to consumers in the EU to add value-added tax (VAT) to every digital product in their specific country. This implies that a special VAT rate would apply to a country like Ireland, another to the UK, and many more.

Bigcommerce and Squarespace are Shopify’s most significant competitors, and they do not automatically calculate the appropriate rate as the platform does.

You don’t have to fix the tax rules manually. This is an essential feature in Shopify and a Unique Selling Point (USP) on the platform when discussing digital products.

Selling digital products with Shopify.

Selling a digital product on Shopify is accessible and achievable but takes a gradual process. Most importantly, this is because of how the platform is structured.

The good news is that this tool is free and very easy to use. You can configure it to work automatically so that a download link is given to the Customer immediately after checkout. 

They also receive a link in the email when their order is fulfilled. You can also choose to vet your sales manually.

One present setback is that you can only sell all your digital products, and the file size limit is 5 GB. 

However, you can maneuver by using different third-party apps that can host your files or let you use file-sharing services like Dropbox to deliver your data. 

Shopify Reporting

With Shopify, you get a very detailed report; the options include the following:

• Customer reports: This part of the story contains information on where your customers come from, the percentage of new vs. returning customers, detailed information on how much they spent, and when they last placed an order.
• Marketing reports: These include how you got the customers.
• Search data reports: Tell you what products customers look for in your online store.
• Finance reports: Includes your sales, tax reports, etc.
• Abandoned cart reports.

However, these features are available only to users on the Shopify, Advanced Shopify, or Shopify Plus plans, which is unfair for users on lower monthly plans.

Users on plans lower than the three plans mentioned above only get necessary statistic reports on their dashboard. 

This is where Shopify falls short, unlike its competitors, which grant users complete report access on all Shopify plans.

Shopify also provides advanced report builder services, which allow you to customize your reports. However, this is available for users on the $299 and above plan.

Blogging in Shopify

Blogging is one of the primary ways to increase traffic to your online store, and fortunately, the platform has a blogging feature built-in. You can create unique features that will improve your store presence on Search Engine ranking.

Hence, it is not as sophisticated as what you’d find on a WordPress site. For instance, you will not find Yoast-style SEO plugins and content versioning on this blogging tool.

You can only use tags to categorize posts on the blog, whereas other competing platforms allow you to categorize posts.

Hence, the built-in blogging functionality in Shopify is generally exceptional and will meet most merchants’ requirements perfectly well. You can also work with a little configuration 

connected to a handy comment tool, “Disqus.”

Earlier in this review, it was stated that exporting Shopify blog posts is not straightforward. 

Shopify’s recommendation on how to do this is to manually copy and paste your blog content into a new location.

It is more convenient to use the API option, as it proves to be more sophisticated. 

Not all sellers might like the choice, especially those with little or no blogging skills who want to move their content to another site.

Mobile Device store management of Shopify

You can manage your Shopify store on your phone through two apps: ‘Shopify’ and ‘Shopify Point of Sale.’ 

The Shopify app allows you to view and fulfill orders, add / edit products, view reports, and communicate with your staff or team through a tab called the ‘timeline.’

Also, the ‘Shopify Point of Sale’ app works better for sellers who want to use Shopify Point of Sale services.

It can track inventory, make card payments, send client receipts, and more.

The ‘Shopify’ iOS app

Additionally, the app store has a new app called ‘Ping.’ It makes sharing product details on Messenger and answering queries more convenient. As Shopify suggested, Ping will soon have advanced chatting services. At the moment, it is only available to iOS users.

Other mobile-supporting apps are available in the management store: Entrepreneur articles app, business card designer, and logo maker. However, only sellers using Android devices can access the first two apps.

Of all the apps discussed in this review, the Shopify app is used by most available merchants and might thoroughly saturate the market soon.

How to use Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in Shopify

The AMP is a Google-backed program that helps facilitate content delivery to mobile devices. It was done by merely stripping out individual bits of code from web pages.

It has recently become the most widely used tool because it helps increase your site speed, thus growing visitors’ engagement.

AMP is also SEO-friendly. As stated, Google’s algorithm prefers AMP posts over other results.

Fortunately, Shopify is AMP enabled, not only for blog content but also for product pages. 

The good news is that Shopify is one platform with this rare integration.

So,, with AMP, you can fully engage your potential customers with your winning product collection and still see them even if you are on a slow connection.

But you won’t be able to access this feature ‘out-of-the-box’ unless you choose to pay for a paid app to add it to your store.

Though additional costs may apply, given Google’s preferences for AMP posts, getting an AMP version of your store on Shopify is imperative.

Shopify Support

Shopify’s support is very comprehensive and responsive. You can reach the platform’s helpdesk by phone, email, or live chat at any time of the day. 

There are a few facts worth highlighting anyway:

If you need to code anything on your store, you will need help from developers, and sometimes, the Shopify support service might give you a different result. 

So, post a query on a forum and ask one of Shopify’s developers to respond.

It would be better for the platform to offer a more direct way to contact developers for technical advice. 

Support phone numbers are provided exclusively for North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Also, if you need your customers’ phone numbers or other relevant contact information, you should first browse the help page for solutions.

It will annoy some, but it’s increasingly standard practice for support desks for web applications, and it’s not implemented as severely as some other applications.

Support Page GDPR compliance on Shopify

About the latest EU GDPR law, bloggers and site owners must apply many legal methods. 

This is to ensure the privacy of all EU customers. Defaulters would have to pay severe financial penalties, so it is imperative to consult a lawyer before starting one. 

It is not restricted to EU businesses; however, if your site has EU visitors, it must comply with these rules.

The following are the essential GDPR compliance requirements for any Shopify store:

• The seller must give proper privacy and cookie notice to the visitors.
• Visitors must be fully aware that they are signing up for your email list before you send them any information about your business.
• Give them room to accept or refuse consent to use some non-essential cookies on the website and log the consent.

You can readily access these three options on Shopify, though it might take time or money to create a well-crafted notice and a helpful data capture form and make them compliant.

However, the platform must meet the fourth requirement: cookie consent. 

GDPR compliance is crucial, and as such, your cookie banner must allow your visitors to do the following:

• Give them prior information on the available cookies so they can use which one to run.
• Log their consent to run cookies
• Allows users to revoke consent at a later stage

For instance, unless a banner in your store that does all the listed features is embedded, you would violate GDPR laws once you use a Google Analytics cookie or run Facebook Ads. So, you can not deal with cookie consent issues outside the platform.

Some apps in the app store promise to solve this problem and provide the desired features, though some work better than others. 

However, you can also use scripts provided by services such as Cookie Pro to add a GDPR-compliant banner to your website. 

However, I prefer that Shopify address this issue at the source and provide adequate cookie banner functionality without the users resorting to third-party software. 

Buying Vs. Building an Online Store

Presently, Shopify has integrated a feature that is unique from those in other competing platforms. You can buy a store with total ease. It is called the ‘Exchange Marketplace,’ containing a list of available stores for sale.

The benefit of buying a Shopify store rather than building one is that it removes the stress of starting a store from scratch.

Buying a well-structured online store reduces your chance of making an awful investment in money or time.

Shopify carefully vets all the stores on Exchange Marketplace and uses an escrow method to ensure everyone gets a fair share. Escrow is where a third party helps hold payment until the seller and the buyer agree on a given term.

This implies you can confidently buy a Shopify store from the Exchange Marketplace.

However, getting legal/financial advice before making this choice is advisable. 

Designing your online store and using your Shopify themes

The design and theme selection also need a review. Given this, Shopify offers many sophisticated and contemporary designs that suit your style and meet your requirements for the outlook of your store; you can do yourself justice by going through them and choosing the one you prefer. You can preview the themes on your desktop, mobile, and tablet. There are over a hundred of them! So, choose carefully.

When selecting your design, focus on something other than the type of product you want to sell. Choose a shopify theme; it allows you to sell whatever product you wish regardless of your chosen template design.

Know that whatever model you choose, you can always make amendments, modifications, and tweaks to serve you best and make the store exactly how you want it to be.

You will also have a Shopify customization interface offering various neatly displayed features and characters.

This allows you to get a glimpse of how each template functions. You can then check it out and decide whether to choose it. All these designs can then be fine-tuned to suit your style.

A few examples of what to tweak and modify on these templates are :

• You can decide to change the background colors to your brand or company’s color
• You can add your business logo
• You can add a pre-designed template of what should appear on your store’s homepage.

Shopify offers a ready-to-use design with various option panels that allow you to modify the existing content or add new ones to suit your needs. It also provides a friendly approach to beginners.

It’s a straightforward, less complicated process and allows someone with little or no tech design experience to sign up and create a quality store design.

Steps on How to edit text on a Shopify page

After going through the above process, you might want to write a document on a page.

If you are familiar with WordPress, the dashboard looks the same. It has tabs on the left-hand side for quick access.

To edit, go to the Pages section of the dashboard, pick the page that you wish to edit, and start editing using the editor tool that is easier for you (e.g., MS Word, Google Docs, etc.).

Your dashboard can also generate discount codes and display the latest information.

How to add and manage your products on Shopify

One of the essential features to check out when setting up an e-commerce store is how the platform can help you manage your business and inventory and how it could be optimized.

As we all know, maintaining a catalog is an important task for every business.

To add a list to your store, go to the left sidebar of the dashboard and click on Settings.

You will be taken to the product page, where you can set the product title and description and assign each product a distinct barcode.

Transfer, collection, and Gift cards can be seen on this page. All features of all the items in your store can be seen here in a well-organized and manageable list.

Information such as your store’s name, address, and time zone can also be found here.

Review of online payment on Shopify

You can configure your customers’ online payment methods by going to settings, then payments.

Fundamentally, Shopify accepts payments based on a third-party process, such as PayPal, Stripe, and others. They might charge you a certain amount per transaction.

Although Shopify has launched its payment process, Shopify payments (powered by Stripe), once you sign up, all your transaction fees will be lifted, irrespective of your plan.

Shopify allows you to accept credit card payments, Google Checkout, and PayPal through various gateways, each with its transaction fees.

You can even set up Bitcoin or manual payments such as bank transfers or cash deposits—research which payment gateway will work best for your business.

Does Shopify accept PayPal Processor?

Yes, of course, PayPal is a gateway integrated into Shopify, so as soon as you set up your online store, a PayPal Express Checkout is set up automatically.

How does Shopify Payment work?

Shopify payment is one of the easiest and most effective ways to accept online payments.

It is integrated with your store, eliminating needing a third-party gateway. With Shopify payment, you can manage your business in one convenient platform.

Advantages of Shopify Payments are:

• Your card rate is based on your Shopify plan; if you change your plan, you can also easily change your card rate.
• Once your Shopify store is set up and running, your payment is automatically set up.
• It allows you to track your payout schedule from the Shopify administration.
• It lets you view the amount you will receive on any order since your payments are linked to the orders.
• It allows you to recover lost sales from chargebacks using the chargeback response icon, which Shopify sets up for affected orders.
• You won’t be charged transaction fees when you use Shopify payments, as these fees apply only to stores that use a third-party payment method.
• Other necessary settings for your Shopify store.

On the same settings page, you can also make essential store settings in addition to the payment settings.

• Your Shopify store allows you to select whether to require your customers to open a user account profile with your store.
• It lets you set your order’s workflow, the checkout language, the refund policy settings, and more.
• You can also set up your shipping cost; its relative conditions include shipping days, international shipping, etc.
• You can also set notification settings, including how to contact your customers and the type of message you receive when you receive a new order.
• Tax settings can also be set to take charge of all taxes related to your business.
• steps in adding and editing your products on Shopify

Knowing how to add or remove a product from your online store on Shopify is necessary; the following steps will guide you through that.

• Select products from the left sidebar of the dashboard. You can set everything related to the items in your store. It’s easy; a large icon will help you get going.
• Next, you will have a window that enables editing to input all necessary details.
• That leads us to another critical window, the “Title and Description” part. This is the interface where the product that will be displayed to the customers is described.
• Below the title and description, you must upload your product image; you can drag and drop the image from your desktop to upload it.
• Then, you set up the price of your product.
• Make sure you set up your Audience and Visibility. This will enable your product to be available to your customers when it goes online. After all these, you can click the save button, and your product will go online successfully.

You can do so through the theme panel if you want your product on your store’s homepage.

Click on Customization Theme, and you will be taken to a page where you can pick what you want to display on your site’s front page.

You can then choose the displayed product; two or more products can be added.

How to make your Shopify store known to Everyone

After launching your online store, you need to unlock it. This can be done by clicking the online store section of your dashboard. To unlock it fully, select your desired plans. Let’s assume that you are getting started with the $32-a-month subscription. After processing this, your e-commerce store will be active online.

Frequently Asked Questions on Shopify

Is Shopify The Best E-commerce Platform?

Without a doubt, Shopify is an excellent platform for starting an online business and setting up an e-commerce store. It caters to a wide range of services and products. Which platform is best depends on the user’s requirements and budget.

What is the best e-commerce platform for small-scale businesses?

Shopify is the most critical platform when you have a limited budget, resources, experience, time, and money and wish to have an online store. You do not need to be an expert or learn complex codes.

With Shopify, a small business can be set up on an online store with lots of design templates; you can build and launch your online store without seeking professional help in no time.

They offer a flexible plan.

I want a platform that will give a more significant audience reach. Can Shopify offer me that?

You will have a huge audience, with millions of people using Shopify worldwide. However, the outreach of your audience depends on the marketing of your website, not the technology used in building the site.

Is there any difference between WordPress and Shopify?

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) built to manage web pages on a website.

Shopify is an e-commerce platform for selling goods and services online and processing payments. Its apps allow e-commerce activities to be managed using a CMS like WordPress.

Why use Shopify over a free e-commerce platform?

Although there are many free e-commerce platforms, Shopify is well-designed for ease and convenience, especially for business owners with little or no experience in e-commerce.

If you are considering a free e-commerce platform, the following cost will be acquired;

• The domain name cost
• Cost of web hosting
• SSL certification cost
• Security updates cost

While you must pay for these charges on free e-commerce, Shopify allows you to choose an affordable pricing system and still get quality service.

Shopify Review: Shopify Features Featured in All Perks

Admittedly, after running several tests on several e-commerce platforms, Shopify came out tops as having the most thought-out feature set.

The distinct features address everything one needs to have an online store up and running.

First, let’s examine the general features of all Shopify plans before delving deeper into the details of each pricing plan’s unique features.

If you browse through Shopify reviews or check out the highest-ranked CRM and website builders online, you’ll realize that Shopify is feature-loaded. The question asks which are the most important ones you should pay attention to.

We’ve sifted through several Shopify reviews from leading companies online to compile run tests on software to compile this list to highlight the most crucial aspects of Shopify;
Abandoned Cart Recovery:

Currently, the average abandoned cart rate is about 69%; that’s to say, close to 7 in 10 customers leave without buying anything. Thankfully, Shopify provides email triggers to alleviate abandoned cart recovery.

Automated Shipping Calculations:

Are you shipping products to customers worldwide? Don’t worry about those complex shipping fees—Shopify does it for you. The real-time carrier shipping services compute shipping costs based on the client’s location and the specific product’s weight.

Shopify POS:

The POS system allows you to receive payment for your Shopify store either online or offline.

Customer Profiles:

This element helps you access the best information about your target audience. It works perfectly in sales and marketing campaign segmentation.

Discounts codes:

Sales and discounts do scale up revenue. This platform offers Bulk discount solutions that generate free shipping codes, percentages, and dollar amounts.

Social Media Integration:

With its big social following, it’s possible to recreate the Shopify website on Facebook via the “shop” tab, allowing customers to buy directly without visiting the site.

Shopify Fulfillment Services:

Shopify provides dropshipping solutions, which help the fulfillment service avoid the time-consuming elements of packaging, shipping, and handling.

Shopify Experts:

Ensure you get the most out of the online store by providing additional guidance and support in programming, design, marketing, and more.

Suppose none of these features tickles your fancy and interests. In that case, there are hundreds of unique domain names, professional themes, complete blogging platforms, SSL certificates, a selection of 70 payment modes, marketing SEO support, and much more.

Advantages Of Shopify Features

The position is this: The platform offers everything for everyone, regardless of whether you intend to run your store entirely from a brick-and-mortar location or online.

To achieve this robust feature set, Shopify either has a built-in feature, or you install it via an app.

For instance, shipping and taxes are embedded in the Shopify interface, yet for many themes, you’ve got to find an app for social media buttons. Both alternatives work, and often, you won’t part with a dime.

The company has an elaborate dashboard-control panel. All tasks are straightforward, from processing orders to maintaining inventory.

With an interface like Shopify Partners, developers have the latitude to play around with new websites without opening free trials every time. It’s akin to the Sandbox interface.
You install new themes, customize full websites, and smoothly transition from Shopify Partners websites to a launched site.

Other than that, you also get a commission for every customer you bring on board with Shopify.

Of all e-commerce platforms, Shopify’s reports are fantastic, feature-organized, clean, and straightforward. They offer options such as sales by product title, sales by referrer, and billing addresses.

Are you looking to vend products in a retail setting? Then, opt for Shopify POS.

It entails everything you need to sell offline, both software and hardware. The software includes an iPad app, making selling products in retail easier.

The app lets you use a credit card reader to swipe the client’s card on the spot. Moreover, you can buy additional hardware from the company, such as a receipt printer, barcode reader, and cash register.

Shopify also has a mobile app that users use to:
Respond directly to chargeback disputes in-app.

Review every change made to the products in the last 30 days.

Out of all e-commerce platforms, Shopify has one of the largest App stores.

It offers hundreds of paid and free apps that improve your store. The apps are divided into categories: customer services, shipping, sales, marketing, and social media.

Owing to the robust content management system (CMS), you can create additional pages and pages through which customers can contact you. Running your blog is also easy since everything is on a single dashboard on Shopify.

Remember, you can’t browse the entire Shopify feature set in one section. However, every Shopify theme on their theme store is responsive for mobile-ready checkouts.

The responsive checkout means that the site automatically adapts to the client’s screen size, whether they’re making access via smartphones or tablets.

Shopify has perfected the built-in features, such as Pinterest, direct Facebook integration, discount codes, decent client profiles, and gift cards.

Overall, if you’re looking for an app specifically from the app store, test it out, and it does not work on your website, you’ve got the headroom to move to the next option.

Inventory Management Features.

Inventory management is critical to running a store, and Shopify has you covered.

Once you are set to add inventory to your store, you can press the product tab in the dashboard’s sidebar.

You’re then automatically landed on a page with everything from the product title and customizable price to the description. In addition to giving each product a barcode, you can assign distinct SKUs.

The exact page also contains tabs. They include Transfers, Gift Cards, Collection, and Inventory.

The inventory tab features all the items in the store organized into a clean and manageable list.

Upon landing on the product page, you see SEO, product, description, and shipping settings options.

If you intend to go dropshipping, Shopify provides dropshipping apps like Dsers for integration.

SEO and Marketing Features

Having a fantastic store that clients can’t find inevitably leads to less impressive sales figures. Shopify provides great SEO and Marketing features.

With built-in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) features, sites can be easily found on leading search engines such as Bing, Google, and Yahoo.

Further, as SEO settings are automated, each product page allows you to customize its target keyword, URL, etc.

If you need to customize further, the interface allows you to have a customizable header, title, and meta tags. The URLs are also SEO-friendly.

Shopify partners with Google, occasionally allowing one to receive advertising money for a new AdWord account.

I’d not encourage making decisions based on which e-commerce platform spends money advertising on Google, though it’s a nice bonus.

You don’t need a third-party app for gift cards since they are very friendly. Though it’s subject to a payment plan, gift codes are available in the checkout area once everything is activated.

Shopify promotes products on various social networks via a discount coupon generator, which helps boost marketing.

Shopify can market alongside vending options on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. On Instagram, product tagging allows a direct link to the product page.

The icing on the cakeThe icing on the cake is the simple email collection form; it gets the job done and integrates with the primary email options, although several e-commerce stores fixate on the app store to find plausible add-ons.

Shopify Payment

Previously, accepting payments meant using third-party payment processors such as PayPal, Stripe, etc., which charge a fee per transaction.

Shopify has crafted its payment in liaison with Stripe. If you sign up for these Stripe-powered programs, all fees are waived.

With credit cards already discussed in the pricing section, it’s vital to underscore in this section that you have the option to integrate with more than 70 payment gateways.

This entails accepting payments from Google Checkout, PayPal, credit cards, and more.

The gateways have their transaction fees, which can be confusing. Therefore, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the portals before signing up, lest you get shocked at the amount you will have to pay.

Shopify has a long list of gateways; you do not have to use all of them, although this opens up opportunities for people worldwide.

The extensive list of gateways allows you to assess which payment works for your site.

There are both merits and demerits folks choose or forego Shopify Payments. Let’s examine each a bit below:

Pros of Shopify Payments

Shopify transaction fees—You’re bound to incur transaction fees when using Shopify, though you won’t have to pay an extra 0.5%- 2% of the transaction for other payment methods.

Shopify integration: Shopify payments are readily available, so there’s no need to integrate into the store separately. This means you can begin accepting payment almost immediately.

Shopify Security-Shopify’s payment services are highly secure and detect fraudulent transactions. In your checkout, you can add a verification system by value and address, thus ensuring the operation is genuine.

Saved client details—When visiting your e-commerce store, clients can keep their billing and shipping details for later use. This information is already there when re-visiting, leading to a higher conversion rate.

Shopify fees- high or low transaction fees are subject to the volume of sales generated.

Cons of Shopify Payment

Chargeback—If clients file too many chargebacks, you risk having your funds held or, worse, having your account blocked.

Suspicious activity—If your account is suspected of suspicious activity, Shopify reserves the right to hold back payment from you; this may further escalate and lead to you not receiving your payment for a while pending a dispute.

Availability Every country has Shopify payment options except for 15, including the US, UK, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

Aside from availability, if your business is considered high-risk, you can be refused the service. Shopify can also terminate the service without notice.

The merits here outweigh the demerits.

Generally speaking, using Shopify payments reduces operating costs. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) vs. Shopify

The GDPR came into effect in May 2018, ushering in new regulations regarding handling the personal information of European clients.

The provisions have proved problematic because (1) the rules needed to be clarified, and (2) fines were exorbitant to 20 million euros or 4% of the annual world turnover. Penalties like this spell doom for most businesses.

Shopify has come in ready and does a fantastic job of protecting its clients and users, so running your business on Shopify has all the tools that enable compliance with the regulations at its disposal.

Shopify has accurately put the following in place:

• Updated terms of services factoring in the data protection addendum, which outlines how Shopify handles your European client’s info.
• An updated privacy policy outlining an individual’s rights under the act and data processing procedures
• Modified information regarding how cookies are stored on your storefront.
• Users of Shopify have access to privacy policy generators they embed in their stores.
• Altered the marketing opt-in, thus allowing it to be left unchecked for the Shopify store.
• A 16 white paper page detailing Shopify’s approach to the legal requirement.
• The app store interface is updated to show the specific client’s information kept by the individual apps installed on your store. (Shopify suggests speaking to a lawyer about data protection to understand how it affects your business.)
• Shopify has provided an avenue for you to request that details of an individual client be deleted across all the apps. The option is in the customer privacy area.

Shopify VS Mobile Ecommerce

Among the marvelous things about Shopify is that you can manage many operations on the go. The tasks controlled via the Shopify mobile app are as follows.

• Taking and uploading pictures.
• Editing product details like pricing.
• Adding items to the store.
• Fulfill orders and also offer a refund.
• Buying and printing labels
• Get stats on conversions.
• Contacting members of your team.
• Get sales info and view real-time traffic.
• Receive order notification.

The app is available for both Android and iPhone. Fulfilling orders while you’re in attendance works well for events and fairs.

The app integrates seamlessly with third-party marketplaces like Etsy, Amazon, and eBay, allowing users to manage inventory and sales effectively across multiple levels.

Unique Features in Each Shopify Plan

Let’s examine each of Shopify’s plans and features closely.

Shopify Lite Plan Features

For $9 /month, Shopify Lite is the most affordable option. However, it does not offer a standalone online store website. Shopify Lite plan provides the following:

You can access the Shopify interface to create new products and set details (description, size, price, color).

A buy button you place anywhere on the website site outside Shopify, on Pinterest, Facebook, or Instagram.

The system helps handle orders, set rules, manage sales, fulfill, and whatever is needed to sell products online.

The perk leverages the system to facilitate you selling products at events and on the go.

Shopify Lite lets you create a product in Shopify UL and set up individual buy buttons. Using a quick piece of code, you can then publish these buy buttons anywhere on the web.

You can customize the look, images, size, and color with the buttons. When you’re done, Shopify gives you a piece of code to post on any website.

The code allows you to display photos, prescriptions, and prices; the number of products is unlimited. You can add as many as you like.

For instance, if you have a WordPress blog, Shopify Lite lets you display the product on the site.

Furthermore, you also get a unique code embedded to use the buy button on social media, such as Facebook.

Selling on Facebook With Shopify Lite

With a good Facebook following and no intention of creating a separate online store, Shopify Lite is a great option. It is easy to use—you conveniently generate a new Buy button on the Facebook page.

With Shopify posting your messages on Facebook messenger-sales channels, you chat with your customers, and they can also buy your products directly from the chat window.

With younger demographics, live chat is a compelling selling point, and stats indicate that 71% of shoppers in the 16-25 age bracket demand a swift response via live chat/messenger app during shopping.

Selling Digital Products With Shopify Lite

On the Shopify Platform, and it’s possible with Shopify Lite, you can vend digital products such as media files, audiobooks, courses, eBooks, and guides.

You’d set up digital products similarly to physical products and assign them a buy button.

Vending digital products is conducted via Shopify’s digital downloads app.

However, fabulous third-party alternatives exist, such as Send Owl, Fetch, and Sky Pilot. It’s worth noting that you won’t be able to sell digital products on Facebook.

Inventory Management Using Shopify Lite.

I mentioned that if you sell your goods in a physical store, Shopify Lite allows you to process payment and manage inventory.

Shopify Lite grants access to the Shopify admin area; thus, you can create orders manually on demand, accept credit cards, and automatically update the stock.

You won’t have phone support with Shopify Lite, but you certainly have live chat and email support. It also supports drop shipping, although you’ll get it via third-party apps on the Shopify app store.

Among the most renowned Shopify dropshipping apps are Printful and Oberlo.

You could be wondering whether or not Shopify Lite is for, well, I’ll put it this way: Shopify Lite is ideal for businesses that:

• Intends to add Ecommerce to an existing blog or website.
• Wants to sell on Facebook.
• Contented with live chat and email support.
• Have a low budget.
• To work with a backend system to manage inventory and payment.
• To figure out how Shopify tools integrate with the store activity.

Basic Shopify Plan Features

The Basic Shopify Plan base price is $32/month. In contrast to Shopify Lite, this perk gives you access to the full power of the Shopify system and allows you to create a standalone online store.

Basic Shopify key features are:

• An unlimited number of products.
• Two staff accounts.
• Infinite file storage.
• 24/7 phone, live chat, and email.
• A blog module.
• Fraud activity detects fraudulent activity in the Shopify account.
• Abandoned cart recovery- Follow up with visitors whose info you have and who still need to complete their purchase.

Basic Shopify Themes

Shopify themes will be uncovered in one of the following sections. However, in Newsflash, it’s worth highlighting what’s available with each Shopify package.

You could access ten free and 50+ paid templates when this article was published.

Although the Brooklyn theme is beautiful, it’s probably somewhat overused, so if you intend to stand out from the rest, you must weigh other options.

The base price of paid themes is around 100 bucks apiece.

The majority of free website templates have these functionalities:

• Header slideshows highlight your top products,
• Dynamic product grid that keeps changing based on many products shown.
• The slide-out cart enables visitors to add products to the cart before leaving the website.

Basic Shopify Plan Blogging Fetaure

Shopify comes with an in-built blog module. You can use this fabulous tool to help build up your audience, aiming to scale traffic to your eCommerce store and, ultimately, increase sales.

The module allows you to publish new posts, add images and other media, set categories and tags, and adjust the SEO parameters for each post. However, unlike solutions such as WordPress, the module’s functionality is limited.

Because WordPress focuses primarily on blogs and Shopify focuses on online store components, the module’s limit is within reason.

Abandoned Cart Recovery.

Abandoned cart recovery assists in identifying prospects who add products to the cart but do not complete the purchases. Previously, only higher plans had access to this feature, but now the Basic Shopify package supports it.

Shopify either sends hand emails to clients who’ve abandoned carts or opts for a more automated solution in which Shopify sends emails on their behalf.

The Abandoned checkout feature enables you to track visitors who complete the purchase after Shopify sends them an abandoned cart email.

The tool, which comes with no additional marketing cost, helps generate sales, and as such, the no extra charge is one of the main reasons Shopify ranks as a top eCommerce platform for most folks.

Often, you do not get this feature from Shopify’s competition at the same price range.

Fraud Analysis

Shopify fraud analysis identifies any fraudulent activity on the account that could cause issues or incur chargebacks. Shopify has pointers as to whether an action is fraudulent.

The indicators can include:

1. Has the credit card passed the AVS checks?
2. CCV Code-has the customer provided the correct one from the back of the card?
3. Order the IP address from which it previously engaged in fraudulent activity.
4. Cards: Did the user try to use one or more cards?

Basic Shopify has limited POS capacity. It works well for vending in person at markets or pop-ups; however, if you want to use Shopify in a primary store location, upgrade to one of Shopify’s higher-tier solutions.

Is Basic Shopify for you?

Basic Shopify suit sellers who:

• Starting or a limited budget.
• It intends to build a complete online store.
• In one user-friendly interface, it wants to manage all orders, sales, and packages.
• Look to recover abandoned carts to generate sales.
• Prioritize 24/7 phone support.

Shopify Plan Features

Next is the Shopify Plan, which begins @ $99/month. The plan has all the features of the Basic Plan as well as:

• Gift cards
• Professional reporting
• Lower credit card fees and transaction fees
• Full POS functionality

Shopify Point Of Sale

Shopify Plan gets you the full functionality of the Shopify POS system, and so access to:

• Register shift
• Use of hardware-shipping label printers, receipt printers, and barcodes.
• Staff pins for secure and unique login for each member
• Third-party software, including Shopify POS, was added to the POS system.
• Configuration capacity of up to five store locations

Shopify POS system, designed to cater to both the seasoned vendors who have staffed stores as well as for the occasional sellers at events and fairs and pop-ups

Features of the Shopify POS system :

Payment-Basing on the payment the customer used, Shopify POS offers store credit instead of a refund. Store credit can be combined with gift cards, both online and in-store.

Advanced Checkout—This feature attaches notes on orders to keep track of unique requests. It also allows you to customize your receipts, thus promoting your brand, online store, and opening hours. Moreover, tax is automatically computed based on location.

Discounts—You can create coupons online and use them in-store. You can also create an in-store discount and then report on its performance.

Shopify Store Management– Check all previous orders made in-store or online, which can be categorized by date, customer, or product. Integrating the Shopify POS system with either QuickBooks or Xero helps save accounting time.

Customer Management: It helps you create customer profiles using contact information and analyze the client’s shopping habits.

Emails in-store can help with email marketing.

Products: Track your inventory across online and physical channels to stay on your list. For retail, offer loyalty programs or wholesale prices.

Hardware—You download the Shopify POS app on Android or Apple devices. All hardware included is free and has a 30-day return policy.

Analytics-View analyzes export sales reports by location, staff member, or customer. Export products report seeing what sells and what’s not.

Mobile: Use your customer profiles on your mobile device and contact them directly via the app. Add the products through the app and take photos of the new product.

Shopify Gift Cards

Gift cards work excellently for more prominent, recognized business brands. Clients visit your eCommerce website and purchase a gift card for a family member or a friend. Gift cards are often attractive for holidays and birthdays.

As a store owner, you can use it to reward your customers.

Shopify Professional Reporting.

On reporting, users have access to the primary dashboard, which gives them an overview of what is happening in the store. With Shopify Plan, you get access to the following types of reports:

• Sales report
• Customer report
• Profit report

Shopify Sales Reports:

This report provides information on the number of orders customers have placed based on channel, time, and staff members. The reports offer valuable marketing insight since they allow you to tell which areas generate the most sales.

The following features give you the ability to customize your sales report:

• Average order value
• Returned quantity
• Ordered quantity

The average order value is crucial as it indicates where to set your free delivery threshold. If, for instance, your average amount is $80, try to arrange free delivery at $100 and watch your average value increase.

Shopify Profit Reports:

These reports calculate the total cost of your product and then work out a profit. Profit reports are viewed in consideration of some factors, and they include:

• POS location
• Product
• SKU Number

Discount and refund

Profit reports are explicitly based on discounts and refunds. For instance, you can run a campaign to offer 10% off on the whole website; the report informs you of the margin after applying a discount.

Shopify Customer Reports:

These reports offer vital analytic tools, providing invaluable insight into customers’ shopping behavior. The reports have info on the following:

• One-time customers.
• Returning customers.
• Customers over time.
• Returning customers.
• First-time vs. returning customer sales
• Customers by country.

Using the reports, you can turn those one-time customers into returning customers. Your dashboard lets you know what they’ve spent and whether they’d accept email marketing.

With the Shopify plan, you register up to five staff accounts compared to only two on the Basic Shopify plan. Is the Shopify plan suitable for you? You must be wondering.

The Shopify Plan is a fantastic option for the following sellers:

Those who have or expect to have high volume sales.

Sellers with a store location or a number of them

Those who look to maximize gift cards or discount codes.

Those in need of in-depth reporting on customers’ buying habits and profit.

Shopify Advance Plan features

Next on the heels of the Shopify plan is the Advanced Shopify plan, which comes in @ $399/month. On this plan, you get all the features found in the “Main Shopify” plan with additions such as:

• Setting up to 15 staff accounts.
• Calculated third-party shipping rates.
• Reduced credit processing and transaction fees
• An advanced report building.
• You can have up to eight store locations on the POS module.

Advanced Shopify Report Building

The advanced report builder lets you create custom reports and customize them.

You’re empowered to choose the type of report you want to set up. Within the report, you can edit and filter columns and share the report with your team members.

You can access your custom reports saved in the Report sections on your Shopify dashboard whenever you like.

Advanced Shopify Third-Party Calculated Shipping Rates.

The feature lets your carrier accounts apply calculated shipping rates at the checkout. USPS or Canada Post provides discounted shipping rates. You can access UPS, Canada Post, FedEx, and USPS shipping rates.

In your shipping admin area, you can add a percentage markup to the calculated price to cover your packaging costs.

You can choose particular carrier services if you offer XpressPost, Priority, or Expedited Parcel.

And is the Advanced Shopify plan suitable for you?

• The sellers who’d find the Advanced Shopify plan suitable are:
• Sellers with a significant online transaction.
• Advanced reporting is needed to focus on business elements like margins and profits.
• Using carriers to ship products at discounted rates.
• With more store locations
• Having larger teams of staff working online.

Shopify Plus.

This plan is Shopify’s enterprise solution for a big brand. Shopify Plus differs slightly from Shopify and starts at $2300 monthly.

It is also laser-focused on fundamental challenges big brands often struggle with. The hiccups include API integration, quality fulfillment, and security.

Shopify Plus has no set price, so it’s negotiated on a per-customer basis. The base pricing, subject to business needs, is usually $1,500-$2,000 monthly.

With Shopify Plus, you get a dedicated manager to manage your account, help you with onboarding, and offer support throughout the eCommerce journey.

Shopify Plus Multi-Channel Sales

The plan allows you to integrate over twenty channels on your enterprise dashboard, including eBay, Facebook, Messenger, Amazon, Instagram, and more.

Clients get to use 100+ payments, and with numerous payment providers, no one is left behind, helping the plan generate more sales.

Shopify Plus Scalability

Should you witness a spike in sales during the holiday season or a period like Black Friday, know that Shopify Plus handles any amount of peak traffic. I’m talking about 10k transactions processed per minute with 99% uptime.

Shopify Plus Integration

With its custom app solution, Shopify’s technology partners can help bring ideas to fruition via Shopify Plus. The plan has over 1,500 professionally built apps and plugins.

Shopify Plus is cut for enterprises with criteria as follows:

Brands with the intent to automate workflow with the team.

Business with high volume sales.

Enterprises with a bespoke CRM system need Shopify to speak to it.

Businesses that want an account manager to speak to whenever the need arises.

If the business witnesses peak periods, there’s a need for guaranteed uptime and security.

Here’s the truth, however bitter: At some point, many users must realize that Shopify Plus is not something to lose sleep over.

The three plans—Basic, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify—are perfect for 99% of users.

Ease of Use

Is entering Shopify for the first time and starting work so intimidating? No, not at all, that’s the answer. In fact, among the easiest-to-use eCommerce platforms, Shopify is one them, especially if you’re a business that’s just starting.

Upon signing up, you’ll experience a user-friendly dashboard and be guided through the main steps in configuring your store to make it available to the public.

In June 2017, Shopify saw an overhaul of its backend, injecting a contrasting user interface- UI, and even giving it a new color scheme- all in a bid to improve the user experience.

In addition to colors and fonts, Shopify added a new prominent search bar on the dashboard. You can type in a keyword and effortlessly find what you want.

For instance, let’s say you want to find a customer or product. To do so, punch in the keyword, and Shopify returns all the matches—an order, customer, product, etc.

With all the fields and necessary information nicely laid out on the screen, adding products to the catalog is pretty straightforward.

What else is similarly simple?

Setting up a new design for your store Templates directory categorization uses niches, design styles, and purpose, and Shopify informs users about the most popular. Theme installation takes a few clicks.

Besides themes, critical pages like the About page or home page on your site are probably handcrafted—Shopify through Shopify Sections allows you to do just that.

The visual editor allows you to insert various sections on your page. For instance, you can place a button, slideshow, and product carousel at the top of the page.

Ultimately, it all boils down to a click of a button. After that, you adjust the order of the sections by dragging and dropping them into place; relatively, it’s a simple way to overhaul the look and order of the modules on the page.

Shopify Sections is one feature that would fit well with all experience levels, especially beginners.

The same sentiment reverberates across other areas on the platform. For example, you’re set to install new apps and expand; you’ll figure that most need a few clicks to enable.

In light of matters pre-publication, Shopify lets you test your store before going public, and the live editor is fantastic in overseeing your changes soon after setting adjustments.

Shopify is hell-bent on ensuring its interface is the easiest in the industry. Interestingly, they could be stretching it since it’s a platform that satisfies even those with Expert coding knowledge.

Would Shopify be problematic for beginners or intermediate developers? Similarly, advanced developers are accommodated, given that Shopify has features for these users.

Shopify Theme and Design

Shopify reigns supreme in the domain of themes and designs. Its themes are some of the most professional-looking on any eCommerce platform.

When writing this article, eight free themes existed and over 60 paid ones, priced at $160-$180 apiece.

The company’s catalog previously had more themes, but it has since purged the old ones and stuck to the modern stuff optimized for targeted audiences and search engines.

Every theme is not just a single theme; it has a couple of embedded styles. For instance, Icon is a theme with four unique styles that vary in color scheme and how the elements on the page are presented.

Given the multiple collections and industries showcased in the Shopify theme store, it’s safe to say you’ll find themes that fit your business model.

Each theme has distinct features and capabilities alongside general features on every Shopify theme. Using the same theme, check out a quick shortlist of other stores.

Finally, since each theme has multiple user reviews, you can always learn from other users’ thoughts about the theme, its strengths, and its weaknesses.

Fortunately, every theme has a fully functional demo, so you’ve plenty of time to scrutinize all aspects before committing.

Can Shopify Themes Generate Sales?

I find eCommerce design worrisome. How quickly do folks check out and proceed through the shopping cart process?

Themes offer two- and three-step checkouts, and additional tools help with social and guest checkouts.

Upon landing the fitting theme, you can easily customize its look and feel by opening a template editor and editing it until it matches precisely your desired look.

The Shopify Sections feature speeds up editing, as it’s a case of drop and drag. If you’re good at such things, modifying CSS and HTML is easy.

Neither of the Shopify themes has Shopify branding, and you won’t find a trace of it online. This is a good thing for beginners and everyone else, especially those without plans to advertise the technology behind their online store.

Shopify Security

One of the cornerstones of running eCommerce is security. Another way to put it is that you’ll be handling sensitive information, such as customers’ credit information, their orders, your product details, etc.

The company knows this and appreciates the responsibility.

Shopify’s system is hosted on a Level 1 PCI DSS-compliant server, meaning customers and your data are invariably secure.

Apart from Lite, all pricing packages provide a 128-bit free SSL certificate at no further cost.

In particular, Shopify:

• Protect cardholder data.
• Maintains a secure network
• Has strong control measures
• Maintains a vulnerability management program
• Maintains information security policy
• Monitor and test networks

As data security is paramount to retailers, many worry about their store availability around the clock. It will interest you, for example, to know that it’s argued that just an hour’s downtime a day would result in Amazon losing $100 million in lost sales.

Customers on Shopify have a 99.98% uptime, which means you avoid losses arising from your store’s unavailability. Further, Shopify securely backs up your store and grants access if needed.

Among the things that come into play matters, security entails vulnerability, management, and access control.

That insight helps determine who has access to specific content in the backend of your store.

Overall, Shopify is security-conscious and remains up-to-date on the latest trends in online security, implementing all the best practices.

The Shopify App Store

Shopify has had its app store online for over a decade now. More than 2k apps are available in total, and there are as many as they come in different shapes and sizes and are divided into a couple of handy categories.

Here, you’ll find apps for marketing your store, SEO, push notifications, finances, emails, controlling access, and more.

Also, in April 2018, Shopify shifted its focus to a new line of machine learning algorithms to provide modern users with a more intuitive and immersive experience.

The app store now helps you uncover specific tools that appeal to your scenario and business setup. That’s helpful.

The app store is a collection of free and premium applications designed to expand and improve functionality.

While preparing this review, one thing that stood out about the Shopify app store is that you do not need to be a developer to use it; everything is plug-and-play.

Having cleared the air, if you’re confident tinkering with a website under the hood, you stand a chance of becoming a Shopify app merchant, joining the league of other developers in the market.

Shopify offers a handful of extra resources to help you get started, including access to Shopify APIs and a high-level overview of the development space.

Customers Support.

Shopify prides itself on having one of the best customer care desks and a dedicated customer support team.

This is so you know what to do should you need help with your online store.

Notwithstanding the price plan you pick, Shopify offers 24/7 full client support, including phone support (the Lite plan is excluded), email, and chat support. Another support channel is Shopify’s access to a sizeable support section directly via its website alongside tutorials, forums, and FQAs.

Generally speaking, you’ve got the option to learn the system yourself or talk to a professional.

Some are reluctant to wait for a support rep, so videos, courses, and forums feel enough to help you figure out.

A worthy note on Shopify development request:

If you work with an online platform, software, or app, it’s vital to have access to the developers or some form of a feedback system, an avenue to communicate what Shopify features you’d like to see in the future.

Every prospect would like to see Shopify developers respond to requests with releases of new features consistently. The company considers this support because brands that do not listen to clients lose them.

Shopify does an excellent job in this domain, as indicated by its regular blog posts about requests it has heard about and implemented.

For instance, most professionals fuss about images slowing down websites, given that media is often the cause of site slowness.

Shopify responded promptly by optimizing and updating previously uploaded images and providing modification instructions for futuristic image optimization.

This response helped with SEO, speeding up the user interface for all Shopify merchants.

Shopify FAQs

This section will examine the typical questions folks tend to have about Shopify.

Should I use Shopify?

Quick and easy. Shopify is one of the top eCommerce platforms. When we looked at the top 5 eCommerce systems in the market some time back, Shopify came out top with an impressive score of 10/10.

Is Shopify Secure?

In one of the sections above, the security aspect was addressed in-depth. As a certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, Shopify meets all the categories of PCI standards enlisted as:

• Protect cardholder data.
• Maintains a secure network
• Has strong control measures
• Maintains a vulnerability management program
• Maintains information security policy
• Monitor and test networks

Again, some of the reputable brands out there use Shopify. Would they use Shopify if it is insecure?

Is Shopify safe for consumers?

Again, it is quick and easy. The exact mechanisms that protect vendors also protect clients. Shopify has deployed a unique fraud-detection algorithm that operates under the hood, ensuring no transaction data goes through unencrypted channels.

Can one make money with Shopify?

An absolute big YES! That’s the whole point. With tons of success stories, and your success story is ultimately on you, Shopify will allow you to grow and implement a given business model.

What’s the cost of setting up Shopify?

Get on Basic Shopify at $32/month when building a simple and functional simultaneously.

To test Shopify tools for selling on third-party sites and social media, get Shopify Lite @ $9/month.

Does Shopify have good SEO?

Yes, it does.

Shopify is a fantastic platform that handles the basic SEO parameters of your online stores. Alongside other things, you can:

• Optimize your site structure.
• Add keywords on your product page.
• Hide pages to emphasize your crawl budget.
• Submit a sitemap.

In need of more SEO features? Well, install some specialized SEO apps from Shopify app stores.

How many people use Shopify?

When writing this post, over 1,000,000(!) online stores, ranging from big brands to small craft shops, were running on Shopify.

Does Shopify web Host?

All Shopify pricing plans include hosting, so you won’t have to pay external hosts. If you have a real domain name, you can use it to set up Shopify or buy a new domain name through Shopify.

In other words, Shopify is a one-stop package for building and launching an eCommerce store, with no third-party required.

Does Shopify host a domain name?

Yes, it does. You can purchase your custom domain name through Shopify at a floor price of $11/year. Your domain is automatically set up on your behalf, and you retain ownership.

Does Shopify offer email inboxes?

You don’t get email inboxes as part of the online setup; however, you can set an infinite number of email forwarders.

For instance, one can create forwarders for addresses such as support@YOURSTORE.com or sales@YOURSTORE.com, directing them to one’s inboxes in Gmail or elsewhere.

Do you have a business license to sell on Shopify?

In line with a reflection of Shopify reviews and the content of official docs on the site, the need for or lack of a license depends on local regulations or laws.

To quote the official in verbatim:

Subject to the type of enterprise, you may need a local, county, state, or federal license or none at all. Where your company is located will determine the type of license you need and where to obtain it.

Does Shopify accept PayPal?

Store owners can receive payment via PayPal or through their Shopify stores. The company supports over 70 variant payment gateways. You can also sign up for Shopify’s payment modules at no transactional fees,

Is Shopify suitable for beginners?

For most people, this is a matter of personal opinion and perspective. For some reason, Shopify seems to be a hassle-free platform for businesses of all sizes and shapes, as well as large and small corporations.

One of the sections above delved deeper into this topic. In a nutshell, Shopify offers its users a simple interface that makes adding products and managing clients’ orders and sales easy to understand.

Working on the store’s design is user-friendly. You can choose from modern themes and customize them to fit your desired details.

Even more importantly, if you ever need help, there’s a universe of guides and resources on the Shopify site and across the web. You can reach out to mitigate any possible problem.

How do I migrate to Shopify from another e-commerce site?

As among the most famous online sites, people often move over to Shopify from other platforms, and Shopify facilitates this move via a guide comprehensively outlined in official docs.

In a bird’s view, migration to Shopify takes 11 steps:

Configuring primary admin settings: The Shopify Ecommerce migrating system guides you through this process.

It’s more about determining who can access your Shopify services; you add a staff account, and thus, your team reaches their login.

Use the Store Migration app to import your store’s content and data to Shopify.

Shopify offers several free options, including Bulk Discounts, Product Reviews, and third-party options.

Organizing products after migrations: Update details and check the inventory to ensure all your information is correctly transferred into the system.

Thankfully, you can customize your Shopify theme using plenty of fantastic themes and extras or seek professional help.

• Set up a domain-you can transfer your existing domain. Alternatively, you can buy a new domain name to upgrade your domain.
• Set up a payment provider.
• Set up your shipping.
• Configure your taxes.
• Try to place some test orders.
• Send invitations to customers to create a new account on your new site,
• Set up URL redirects.

What about Shopify Expert?

During your read-up of this review, the term Shopify might catch your attention in passing. It’s a fascinating feature. Shopify Experts is a community of curated Shopify ambassadors. Now, what’s that, and what does it mean to you?

First, appreciate experts exist to help grow your business since you’re tapping into their high-quality support and end-to-end service.

At its inception, the program aimed to support and empower companies that directly partnered with Shopify over time. However, today, everyone can find an expert.

And to hire an expert:

Visit the Shopify Experts page. They’re often listed by talent or location. You do not need to be close to your ExpertExpert or meet them physically.

Pin the right talent: Shopify Experts are divided into five categories: Store Setup, Store Design, Photography, Development, and Marketing. A small group of Experts is also dedicated to mini tasks such as tracking Facebook pixels.

Check out the profiles of intended Shopify Experts. Usually, the profile has a link to the Expert’sExpert’s pre-existing Shopify store. The profile also indicates the Expert’sExpert’s project budget, which is the amount you’ll have to hire the ExpertExpert.

Examine the testimonials: As is the norm regarding purchasing decisions, it is a good idea to check the testimonials of other customers who hired the ExpertExpert before you.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, use Shopify’s “Post a Job” function, which automatically matches you to the right person.

And should you aspire to be a Shopify expert?

You can do that, too. You’ll have to become Shopify’s brand ambassador, which means you’ll invariably deliver high-quality work to those who request four services.

The company holds its experts to stringent standards, and you’ve got to measure up, as you’ll be constantly under scrutiny.

You’ve got to be active within the Partner community. This means hosting and attending meet-ups and driving new traffic to Shopify and the Shopify Plus environment.

Can I do dropshipping with Shopify?

There are several different ways to vend with Shopify. One of the most popular is dropshipping! Yes, it’s dropshipping. With drop shipping, you do not have to fuss about storing merchandise before shipping it to the customer.

Instead, someone else handles the shipping. Again, Dropshipping is one of the easiest ways to get started in the e-commerce world.

Many consider Shopify the best option for drop shipping, as its marketplace provides a wide range of dropshipping apps that help you source and sell.

Shopify has solutions that make managing your dropshipping relationship with suppliers easier. One such solution is Oberlo-a, a dedicated dropshipping app that works exclusively with Shopify.

Shopify comes brimming with excellent features-everything you’d need to create an entire eCommerce business model. With your store builder, you get luxury tools to manage marketing, shipping methods, sales, payments, and more.

Shopify is amongst the most user-friendly platforms in the eCommerce world.

It’s inundated with functionality and simple; it’s manageable and manageable. If you encounter a problem, contact an expert or check out a webinar.

Shopify is utterly extensible, meaning you can add any new feature you deem fit from the marketplace of dedicated apps.

What is dropshipping?

It is possible to sell goods without ever having to handle any inventory. When the entrepreneur gets an order, they contact the supplier, who ships the products directly to the customer’s doorstep.

This is the perfect business model for e-entrepreneurs who are just starting. It is simple to start and does not require significant capital. 

Another good thing is that you can run the store as a part-time gig. You don’t need to quit your primary gig employment.

How to set up your Shopify store

In this guide, we will walk you through all the steps needed to create your store and show you some of the best tips for setting up a fully functional online store.

Naming your Shopify store

The first stage is giving your online store a name. The following are pointers on what you need to do.

• Use your creativity
• Keep it simple
• Make sure it is memorable

Once you have an appropriate name, make sure that it is available. If not, drop that one and come up with another one. The easiest way to check availability is to use Google.

Creating a Shopify Account

Creating your account is easier. Visit the Shopify page. After the homepage has loaded, you will view a blank field where your email address goes.

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Enter your email address in this field, and a prompt to create a password will appear. Enter your unique store name. 

You will need to fill out other details regarding your business. Additional required information includes personal information and eCommerce experience.

After you fill out these details, your account will be created. The next step is to access your account settings.

Enhancing the Settings for Your Shopify Account

The settings stage is one of the most critical. These settings will determine how your business will run and your business policy.

The settings will determine how you receive money from your clients and the shipping policies and rates you utilize.

Payment information

One of the most critical pieces of information you need to enter is payment information.

Payment is the backbone of any business, so it must be handled with extra care.

If you skip this section, you might not receive payment from the clients, which is inappropriate.

To do so, go to the settings page, click the ‘payment’ tab, and add your information as necessary.

The most appropriate action is to add a PayPal account. If you don’t have a PayPal account, it is best to create one. 

It will take you at most ten minutes. Creating a PayPal account does not require much technical information.

Store Policies

Another critical process is creating store policies. Before you can launch your store, you need to institute store policies. Shopify has a tool that will help you develop standardized store policies. 

Therefore, you should not sweat it. It is a simple process. The device will assist you in instituting a standardized privacy policy, your store’s terms and conditions, and a returns policy.

To access this helpful tool, click the ‘check out’ tab and select the necessary fields. Then click on the ‘generate’ tab.

Shipping rates

Please note that it is critical to clarify the shipping rates. The easiest option is to provide free shipping. However, different shipping rates for other regions need to be explained.

This can make consumers look elsewhere.

You should include your shipping costs in the product’s price to ensure everything is clear.

To access the ‘free shipping tab,’ go to the settings page and select it as appropriate. Replace the domestic shipping zones with ‘free international shipping.’ Then, move to the rate and select the ‘free shipping rate.’

Launching Your Shopify Store

You have done all that is required up to this point. What’s remaining is the simplest. However, before starting, you must launch your dropshipping store manually.

To do so, select the ‘Sales Channels’ tab from the settings page and click the ‘Add an online store’ option.’ Your store will then be up and running.

Designing Your shopify Store

Having an aesthetically pleasing store has several advantages. People like to be associated with things that are pleasing to the eye. 

If you spend some time designing a pleasing store, the first impression you create with customers will play an essential role in attracting them.

When designing your store, you will consider the theme and the logo.

Fortunately, Shopify has a theme store where you can choose the right one.

You can choose from free themes or premium themes. The choice is yours. Consider your budget and select the one that is appropriate for you.

Creating a Logo for Your Store

Logos help customers remember the store. Be careful when choosing your logo. Take your time and select the one that best fits the theme and products you mainly deal with.

You can design your logo using  Photoshop or hire an expert to create a great logo.

Dsers Definition

After you finish the design, you can move on to the next relevant section: adding products. The Dsers app will help you add products, so download it. Dsers is one of the most popular platforms utilized by online entrepreneurs to import dropshipped items.

After you have installed Dsers, you must add a category to that effect in your store. Name this category according to the products that you will be dealing with.

Using Dsers, search for the goods you want to deal with. Click on import, and your desired products will be added to your store.

Selling your first item

You are now ready to start earning from your store. Your store will probably be characterized by low traffic.

It would be best to do marketing campaigns to gain the desired traffic. There are various marketing channels at your disposal. Please make use of them. Do your homework and determine which is the most appropriate for you.

What are the Alternatives to Shopify?

One reason Shopify is incredibly popular is its effectiveness. But despite its popularity, there are alternatives out there in the market. And herein is a list of this review’s pick:

BigCommerce: It has a simple drag-and-drop editor with a dominant theme.

WooCommerce: Difficult to set than Shopify, although ideal for WordPress users

PrestaShop: Almost as comprehensive as Shopify, it works well for those with a limited budget.

Wix: Wix lets you build an online store, and it is one of the most straightforward website creators online.

Volusion: it’s popular with smaller companies.

Squarespace: it’s akin to Wix.

Magnetor: an open-source tool boasting some of the best reviews on the market. Although it still has a steep learning curve.

3deart: 3deart is a good shopping cart platform; its marketing tools resemble Shopify and Shopify Plus.

BigCartels: This alternative is affordable, but it comes with limited features.

Conclusion

The main question should have been, who is the Shopify eCommerce platform built to serve?

The answer is that Shopify works well for beginners, intermediate, and advanced users who intend to speed up the development processes and spend less time coding and complicated procedures.

Businesses can use Shopify to introduce eCommerce components to existing websites, especially when selling digital goods.

It’s easy to set up a store on this platform. Sign up, walk through a handful of setting panels, and the store should be up and running.

What follows is a user-friendly, customizable design. After adding products, you set payment details and possibly install new features from the Shopify app store.

Anyone who wants to sell online has a fantastic platform in the shape of the Shopify platform.

It is the most effective platform for setting up your online store, offering a standard working environment, easy setup, and easy management.

It offers affordable prices, considering that everything you need to run your business smoothly is embedded. A beginner can set it up quickly without stress, and you can launch your online store in minutes (without exaggeration).

It offers 24/7 customer service; they answer your emails, chats, and telephone calls regardless of the plan you subscribe to. 

Shopify offers everything you need to set up your online store, including a full product display, efficient inventory management, excellent payment handling and transaction history records, an active sales report, and a well-optimized store for search engines.

Shopify’s unique concept of offering offline solutions sets it apart from others. Start your online store on Shopify, and you will be glad you did.

Few alternatives 

Of all Online Store builder solutions, such as Bigcommerce, Shopify, Volusion, Squarespace, and Magento Go, Bigcommerce is the most suitable, most effective, and most reliable alternative.

It is in almost the same price range. Compared to Shopify, it has a very user-friendly interface and a wide range of features.

Finally, there is another alternative to Shopify, but it is not a software-as-a-service product. ‘It is self-hosted WordPress”,’ and you would need to build your site and host it all yourself. You can read the Shopify vs. Woocommerce comparison and then decide. 

But you can sell your products in so many ways.

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