Pros and Cons of Shopify
Published Date
September 25, 2024
Reading Time
7 min
Published Date
September 25, 2024
Reading Time
7 min
Table of Contents
Although Shopify is undoubtedly one of the largest ecommerce platforms on the internet and provides many tools and features to set up and manage an online store efficiently, it has its own pros and cons.
Therefore, whether it is suitable for your needs or not, will depend on your preferences. This post will review Shopify’s pros and cons.
1. Pros of Shopify
1.1. Easy to Use
One of the biggest Shopify store pros is its user-friendliness. When moving your business online, the objective is to get it up and running quickly. If launching your business online requires learning a new skill, then the objective is not met.
Thankfully, with Shopify hosting, customizing and launching your online store does not require an arduous process. The platform’s drag-and-drop tool enables you to customize your store to your liking without much effort.
1.2. Availability of Customer Support
It is almost inevitable to encounter obstacles while using any technology, and Shopify is aware of this fact. That’s why they have assembled a team of dependable experts to assist their users. If you encounter any difficulties, you can be confident that assistance is always accessible.
Shopify has a support team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, accessible via email, live chat, or their hotline. They have designated four hotlines to different regions, but if your region is not covered, there’s no need to worry.
Shopify has an active community where users can connect and receive solutions to their problems. Additionally, another Shopify store pro is that there is a database of frequently asked questions that you can reference at any time.
1.3. Multiple Payment Processes
Getting paid on Shopify is now easier than ever, as the platform offers a range of payment options, including third-party platforms.
One significant benefit of this feature is the fast and straightforward transaction processing from your store domain, enabling you to broaden your target audience and sell to a global customer base.
1.4. Caters to a Variety of Ecommerce Businesses
One of the biggest Shopify store pro is that it caters to a wide range of ecommerce businesses, whether you own a physical store, are a drop shipper, retailer, wholesaler, or sell digital products. This platform is the ideal choice to elevate your business to the next level.
To sell any product on Shopify, you need to set up and optimize your account, specify the types of products you want to sell, and add them to your store. After that, you can include a convenient payment method, and your store will be ready to go.
It’s worth noting that Shopify restricts certain products from being sold on the platform, such as adult content, pharmaceuticals, event tickets, pyramid schemes, video games, and more.
1.5. Variety of Themes
Numerous factors contribute to the success of an ecommerce business, including shipping, inventory management, themes, marketing, customer relationships, and more.
Shopify recognized that it cannot provide every service a business needs, so they created a built-in app store with over 1,200 apps and plugins, each with a specific purpose.
These apps integrate smoothly with Shopify to simplify certain tasks, and many are mobile-friendly, automated, and user-friendly. All you need to do is find the right app to meet your business needs.
1.6. Uncheckered Growth
Every business, regardless of its size, has the ultimate goal of growth. Shopify is an e-commerce platform that is dedicated to helping online stores expand.
The developers of Shopify have invested a great deal of time and effort into making the platform easy to use, which is one of the biggest reasons why users love Shopify hosting. As a result, running an online store on Shopify is a breeze.
Shopify offers all the necessary tools and resources for a business to flourish, leaving no room for excuses.
2. Cons of Shopify
It is widely accepted that everything that has an advantage also has a corresponding disadvantage. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to evaluate the pros and cons of Shopify, enabling you to make an informed decision. While we have already explored the positive aspects of Shopify, it is now time to examine some of Shopify’ limitations.
2.1. Pricing
Opting to host your online business on Shopify may result in unexpected expenses. Shopify has three pricing plans, which cost $29, $79, and $299 per month, respectively. After a 14-day free trial period, you must choose one of these plans.
However, the basic plan may not offer sufficient features to meet your needs as a beginner. As a result, you may need to upgrade to the $79 per month plan, which can be a significant expense for a business that has yet to break even. So the questions of Shopify vs own website, especially for people wondering ‘is Shopify good for small business’ is examined.
Shopify’s point of sale (POS) framework is intended to eliminate the need for third-party payment methods, but it is not accessible in many countries.
Consequently, you will be charged a service fee every time you make a sale on Shopify which is one of the biggest disadvantages of Shopify. Additionally, some of the themes, templates, apps, and plugins available on the platform are not free.
2.2. Difficulty with Content Marketing
It is widely accepted that promoting your business is just as important as starting it, and content marketing is a proven effective method. Content marketing includes activities such as blogging, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media content creation.
Shopify is a versatile platform that offers content marketing capabilities to help you promote your business. However, a Shopify limitation arises here; the blogging feature on Shopify may not provide the best experience due to several limitations.
For instance, the built-in software lacks certain features, such as categories, and is equipped with an outdated editor and inflexible blog layouts. This means that you must rely on tags to organize your posts. Additionally, integrating a third-party extension for blogging on Shopify can be challenging.
2.3. Limited Customization
As previously mentioned, Shopify is customizable, but this feature is not without Shopify limitations. Unlike other platforms that utilize PHP for theme customization, Shopify employs its own Liquid setup.
However, not many web designers are familiar with this software, and as a result, many users may encounter difficulties when attempting to customize their themes. It may take several hours to learn how to use the Liquid setup, which can be frustrating for users who are not tech-savvy and a huge con of Shopify.
2.4. Difficult Exit
When it comes to leaving the platform, Shopify’s limitations kick in again. The lock-in feature prevents users from easily moving their stores to another platform.
If you ever decide to leave Shopify, you can only export a CSV report and cannot transfer your entire store.
Therefore, it is important to consider your long-term plans before launching your online store on Shopify to avoid potential difficulties in the future.
3. Conclusion
Shopify is a great platform for online stores, and according to this article, its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. However, ultimately, the decision between Shopify vs own website is yours to make.
Therefore, before deciding whether Shopify is the best fit for your business, it is important to weigh the pros and cons of Shopify and additionally compare it against other ecommerce platforms to ensure that you choose the one that best meets your needs.
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