Shopify is a word you might have heard of by now, and yes, you probably know that it has to do with e-commerce, but what is it really all about? Today, we are here to review Shopify, an all-in-one e-commerce solution that will help you build a storefront, sell products, and hopefully put money in the bank. Perfect for the young digital entrepreneur, or someone who’s brimming with business ideas.
Before we start, I should say I’m a huge fan of Shopify, I even grew a 250k a month store out of it.
If you want to read more about Shopify yourself, feel free to follow this link here.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce solution that allows users to create an online storefront and more. Shopify is designed to allow you to use your own domain or purchase one through their system. You then use this to build and design your own e-commerce platform to sell whatever goods it is you are looking to sell.
It comes complete with everything you need to build and manage an online storefront, fulfill orders, and more. It’s designed to allow anyone to quickly, easily, and cost effectively build an e-commerce store, it’s also worth checking out this alternative.
How Shopify Works
Shopify works by providing you with a domain name (or allowing you to use your own). Once the domain is ready to go, you can then use the store builder and a variety of themes to customize your own store. Once that is done, you can choose which products to sell on your online store, whether your own or as a third party affiliate, such as if you were selling Amazon products.
There are then a variety of SEO and marketing features to get the word out, as well as analytics to help you gauge your success and performance. It really is an all-in-one e-commerce solution to help you create and manage an amazing online storefront.
Features of Shopify
Shopify comes with quite a wide variety of features designed to allow users to create fully functional e-commerce platforms.
The Storefront
Shopify comes with a host of features ideal for creating an online storefront.
- Over 70 professional themes
- It’s all mobile ready
- You get to work with expert support staff
- It comes complete with a full blogging platform
- A highly customizable storefront
- Ability to edit HTML & CSS
- Your own domain name (or purchase one through Shopify)
- Web based site builder
The Shopping Cart
Shopify then comes with a variety of features to help you customize the shopping cart.
- Get a free SSL certificate
- Accept a variety of credit cards
- Over 100 payment gateways
- Ability to offer free shipping
- Multiple language capabilities
- Automatic carrier shipping rates
- Abandoned checkout recovery
- Flexible shipping rates
- Automatic taxes
Store Management
Shopify then comes with a variety of features to allow you to easily manage the online store.
- Create customer profiles and customer accounts
- Ability to create customer groups
- Connection to fulfillment centers
- Easy order fulfillment
- Simple drop shipping
- Refunds
- Email templates
- Email customization
Marketing and SEO
To grow your business and build brand awareness, Shopify also comes with tons of marketing and SEO features.
- Total search engine optimization
- Generated sitemap.xml
- Discounts and gift cards
- Social media integration
- Google AdWords credits
- Product reviews
- Sell on Facebook
Products
Shopify also comes with a plethora of features related to product management.
- Easy inventory management
- Product variations
- Product organization
- Multiple images
- Product SEO tags
- Digital products
- Import/export
- Unlimited products
Web Hosting
When it comes to web hosting, Shopify has you covered there as well.
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Email forwarding
- Level-1 PCI compliant
- SSL certificate
- Instant upgrades
- 98% uptime & 24/7 monitoring
Analytics
To allow you to see exactly how your store is performing and to make improvements, Shopify comes with a variety of analytic features.
- Dashboard
- Product reports
- Export reports
- Google analytics
- Traffic/referral reports
A Mobile App
Shopify also comes with the ability to allow you to manage your store through a user friendly mobile app.
- Order fulfillment
- Mobile dashboard
- Inventory management
- Email or call customers
- All data synced with Shopify
24/7 Support
In case you need any support, Shopify comes with plenty of that as well.
- Dedicated support team
- Shopify help center
- Shopify experts
- Discussion forums
- E-commerce university
Who Shopify Is Best Suited For
Shopify is best suited for people who want to create a simple and user-friendly online storefront from scratch. It’s great for both third-party sellers and retailers alike. It’s something that is very cost effective, user-friendly, and intuitive. Professional businesses can use Shopify, but when it comes down to it, it is something that is designed for the little guy or gal. It’s all about allowing anyone to create a beautiful looking, functional, and mobile-friendly e-commerce platform.
Design
The design side of Shopify is incredibly simple for the end user with the wide range of themes. You can even create something custom via design partners.
Pricing
Shopify comes with a variety of plans for users to choose from, starting with a very basic plan, and working its way up to some more advanced plans too.
- Basic Shopify for $29 per month
- Shopify for $79 per month
- Advanced Shopify for $299 per month
FAQ
How does Shopify work?
Shopify is a cloud-based software service and shopping cart system where users provides you with access to an admin panel to enter store data, products, and process orders.
Can I sell my own products on Shopify?
Yes, Shopify allows you to sell your own products, but you can also choose to be a third-party retailer, or also engage in drop shipping.
Do I need a business license to sell on Shopify?
This really depends on where you live. Some states (US), or countries, require business licenses for this, and others do not.
Does Shopify report taxes?
Shopify does keep track of taxes, but no, it does not file or remit your taxes for you.
Conclusion
If you want to create a successful, full-scale, and easy-to-manage online storefront, whether you want to be a third-party retailer or sell your own products, with Shopify it is more than possible. Choose a basic plan to get started or really ramp things up with an advanced plan. It all depends on what level of success you are looking to achieve and how large you want to scale your business.
