Is the Shopify Platform suitable for my business?
The award winning Shopify ecommerce platform has been around for the last 8 or so years and boasts over 100K online stores world wide.
It’s increased popularity is mostly because of it’s ease of use and affordability and this is why we recommend it as the ideal starter platform for any new eCommerce business.
Shopify is a Hosted Solution
Shopify is what we called a hosted solution, meaning that you website lives on Shopifys servers and you pay them a monthly fee to keep online.
Beginner is the lowest account level is which will set you back $29 US a month and will well and truly have enough features and space to get your business started.
Just be aware that there is a 2% transaction fee on top of this cost with the Beginner account but upgrading to a more expensive monthly account will reduce this fee.
You can up or downgrade at any time, so don’t worry about your store getting busier Shopify will be able to grow with it.
Shopify Content Management System
The Shopify content management system is a real strength of the platform
It has a great dashboard with key insights around traffic sources, orders and income as well as an easy to use editor for adding products, updating images and text, blogging and managing SEO content.
You will be able to access your dashboard via the Shopify app as well if you need to manage your store from your phone.
The Shopify App Store
Shopify has it’s own app store which allows you to extend the functionality of your website using a range of plugins.
Apps can add features to enhance your marketing, integrate with other services such as shipping or make your store more interactive.
They typically come at a monthly subscription cost which can be anything from $10 – $100 per month.
Shopify Themes
There are over 100 different themes available in the Shopify theme store so you will be able to find a look and feel for you store that suits your products and target audience.
Most of the themes are responsive meaning they have been designed to adapt and offer a great user experience on the mobile and tablet as well.
There are a bunch of free themes to choose from if you are starting out with a limited budget, but the paid ones still won’t break the bank at $80-$140.
Themes install easy from the Shopify dashboard and can be customised to a fairly high degree to match your branding without the need for programming knowledge.
Orders and Payment
Shopify handles orders easily and will automate email updates to the customer with shipping and tracking information.
Payment can be managed via most of the major payment gateways including SecurePay and PayPal.
Point of Sale integration
If you are a retailer or sell your products at markets or pop up shops Shopify’s POS system is a great add-on to your store.
You can take payments and send receipts directly from your tablet and the products you sell gets automatically updated on your webstore so you never oversell your stock.
