You want to start an online business like more and more people? While the experience was still perilous some time ago, many turnkey solutions have emerged to facilitate the steps and the establishment of an e-commerce site. We can mention Shopify, Prestahop, Wizishop or Dropizi, tools that are very successful. But today, we will focus on the world leader Shopify.
Shopify is a CMS (Content Management System) platform designed to help e-merchants create their website and develop their business. Shopify focuses on simplicity by offering a tool that is accessible to everyone so that even users with little computer knowledge can find their way around. And its method seems to work very well since it has more than 2 million active users in 2022.
But is it enough to trust Shopify? What are the advantages and disadvantages of an e-commerce site under Shopify? We decipher everything and give you our opinion on Shopify.
What is Shopify?
Shopify offers a complete tool to create and manage an e-commerce website without necessarily being a digital pro. Created in 2006 by Robi Lütke, the Shopify platform comes straight from Canada and more precisely from Ottawa, city where the company is based. Shopify is a serious provider that currently hosts more than a million merchant sites in 175 countries around the world. Total sales via Shopify sites now reach $200 billion. That’s a lot to respect.
Faced with its growth, the platform has launched on the French market a few years ago, which allows to work from a perfectly translated interface.
To differentiate itself from other services of this type, Shopify relies on simplicity by offering an interface accessible to all profiles – from beginners to experts.
Check some total thoughts
Pros and Cons Values
When should I use the Shopify platform?
Have a great idea and want to launch your project right away? Before you jump in, let’s take a look at when Shopify is a good choice.
For the classic e-commerce
Opening an online store requires a lot of work and precautions. Well, that was before, because Shopify is there to simplify all the steps for merchants who are just starting out. In addition to the product catalog, you can create other pages and even publish articles on your blog.
Whatever your industry and the product you want to sell, Shopify is, in our opinion, the ideal solution if you’re just starting out in e-commerce and don’t want to take any risks or bother with the formalities of creating a site.
For dropshipping
Shopify is also for users who want to develop a dropshipping business. Based on the system of selling and shipping products through an intermediary, dropshipping has major advantages, especially if you don’t have any products to sell yet and, most importantly, if you don’t want to have to manage inventory.
For users looking to start a dropshipping business, Shopify has thought of everything by developing the Oberlo app. This business tool allows you to select the products you want to sell online from a supplier and import them into your store with one click. At this level, everything is extremely simple and that’s actually why customers who want to dropship all have a great review of Shopify.
For existing retail outlets
Today, an online presence is a must for brands that want to build awareness and expand their customer base. Shopify understands this and is doing everything it can to facilitate the process for merchants with physical stores.
If you own a retail outlet and want to move all or part of your business online, Shopify is for you. Indeed, businesses of all sizes and revenues are allowed to open a Shopify e-commerce site.
The design of templates
When you start from scratch in the creation of a website, you want the best and it is normal. A nice website makes the user experience more pleasant. Consumers are more inclined to buy your products, which is beneficial. That’s why we paid special attention to the different themes offered by Shopify, and it’s fair to say that they pulled out all the stops. There is something for everyone and for all sectors of activity (art, fashion, food, beauty, games, sports, electronics…)
Shopify provides a dozen free templates that can be styled differently. The designs are aesthetic and up to date. They are all responsive, which means that the site adapts on mobile and tablet.
If the free themes offer seems too limited, you have the option to head to the Shopify library to discover more – 64 paid themes in total. Template prices range from $100 to $180. In our Shopify opinion, that’s pretty decent when you compare them to the price of a web designer and the time spent. If you have a crush on one of the paid themes and think it fits your business image perfectly, why not.
Although Shopify simplifies site creation with pre-designed themes, it provides access to the HTML and CSS codes of your e-commerce store to offer further customization on more aspects. The only condition is that you or someone you know knows how to do it because coding is not something you can improvise.
Prices for an e-commerce website with Shopify ?
- The Basic package may be suitable for you if you are just starting out and your sales are not yet too high, since a 2% fee will be deducted from each of your sales. This entry-level package offers only 2 accesses to the administrator interface and will not allow you to edit professional reports or calculate shipping costs.
- The $69/month Shopify plan is the perfect compromise if you’re just starting to make money, since you’ll only be charged a 1% transaction fee on each sale. At this price, you will also have 5 employee accesses and the possibility to get professional reports every 30 days.
- The Advanced Shopify package is more expensive than the others. It’s designed for businesses with a more flexible budget that have a high volume of sales because only 0.5% of fees will be applied on a sale. Besides that, you will benefit from 15 employee accesses to the interface, advanced reporting and automatic calculation of shipping costs.
Conclusion and final opinion on Shopify
The Shopify CMS offers a complete solution to anyone who wants to get into selling and start a professional online business without the hassle. No need to worry about website hosting, domain name registration or web updates – everything is managed by Shopify.
Shopify is not only for digital specialists but also for people who are less comfortable with digital since it offers an intuitive tool and a thorough support. Its templates are modern and adaptable to many sectors of activity. We particularly appreciated its editing system which allows to have a real time overview of the changes made. All of this makes the creation of your online store much easier.
A customer support is available from a live chat in English or French by e-mail and Twitter. The teams are efficient and will help you out in no time.
Shopify rates range from $29 per month for the entry-level package to $299 per month for the most premium. A free 14-day trial is available to test the service without having to provide any payment information.
To conclude this Shopify review and our test, we highly recommend this platform which is ideal to start in e-commerce and be guided throughout the different processes.
