As of 2022, there are 1.75 million sellers on Shopify. What are the reasons for Shopify’s popularity and why do so many merchants prefer the e-commerce platform? More importantly, should you use it to sell your products?
In this article, we take a quick look at what it is and five reasons why you might want to use it.
Shopify in a Nutshell
The Shopify platform launched in 2006 and was designed to help businesses sell their items online. It employs a subscription-based service where sellers can create their own digital storefronts and offer different merchandise.
Shopify lets you sell through your existing website, build a Shopify store, and add a Shopify buy button to social media, blog posts, and emails.
Here are five reasons to use it.
1. Easy To Set Up and Affordable
One of the best things about Shopify is its affordability and ease of use. After the first two weeks (which are free), there are three plans you can subscribe to:
- Shopify Basic will cost you just $29 a month plus 2.9% of sales and 30 cents per transaction.
- An upgrade will cost you $79 a month, 2.6% of sales plus 30 cents per transaction.
- Its premium plan, Advanced Shopify, is $299 each month, 2.4% of sales, and 30 cents per transaction
These fees are extremely reasonable considering that it’s an all-in-one tool that includes templates, the ability to sell through multiple channels (including in-person), payment processing, checkout, as well as tools for SEO and marketing.
The fully hosted e-commerce platform is also easy to understand and use. Even if it’s your first time using it, you won’t have a hard time adding your products, designing your website, creating vouchers, and much more. Plus, Shopify has tons of free resources to help you get the most out of it like webinars, step-by-step guides, and video tutorials.
2. Reliable and Secure
Shopify is Level 1 PCI DSS certified. The PCI DSS or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is an information security standard that ensures companies protect cardholder information used for online payments.
In addition, the PCI certification means that Shopify has a secure network, periodically tests and monitors its networks, has protocols to manage vulnerabilities, and has fortified access control measures.
This protection is extended across Shopify sellers and consumers.
3. Tons of Customer Support Channels
Need some help with your Shopify account? No problem. The platform offers no less than six different channels to get you the help you need in the way you want it.
Here are the different ways you can get support:
- Help Center
- Live chat
- Community forums
- 24/7 phone support
- Social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter)
4. Immense Customization Options
Shopify is design-friendly. Even if you aren’t a web developer or designer, you can enjoy a professional-looking storefront by choosing and customizing the platform’s more than 100 themes.
Beyond its themes, Shopify offers immense customization options. You can also tweak how your products are presented, the discounts you offer, the checkout experience, and payments. That’s a lot for one product.
5. Offers Useful SEO Tools and Features
As a Shopify merchant, your online store will automatically have built-in search engine optimization (SEO). One example is how the platform prevents your site’s duplicate content from appearing on search engine results pages (SERPs).
It also has features that help with SEO such as the ability to redirect visitors and blogs.
Plus, it offers many SEO apps that users can avail of such as Yoast, Crush.pics, and Smart SEO.
Shopify: Low Startup Costs, Accessible, and Easily Customizable
With Shopify’s low startup costs, accessibility, and customizations, is it any surprise that so many sellers are using (and loving) it? But don’t just take our word for it. If the e-commerce solution has piqued your curiosity, why not set up a free account and see for yourself?
References and Citations:
https://www.tooltester.com/en/reviews/shopify/pricing/
https://www.shopify.com/ph/blog/what-is-shopify
https://rewind.com/backups-101/is-shopify-secure/
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/documents/Prioritized-Approach-for-PCI-DSS-v3_2_1.pdf
https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/shopify-customer-service/
https://www.gorgias.com/blog/best-shopify-themes
https://moz.com/blog/shopify-seo