The Pros & Cons of Shopify for Your Website

online shopping

Here at SEOcycle, we use the Shopify platform as an option for web development and web design (as well as WordPress). Shopify is an excellent option when used appropriately. Like WordPress, it has its pros and cons, and these need to be considered carefully before selecting the platform for best use for your needs.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a market leader in the eCommerce industry and enables clients to set up a digital business to sell goods and services online. A fully integrated hosted solution, it delivers convenient template-built online stores that can then be customized to suit your needs. It has more than 1.1 million active accounts and an enormous community of eCommerce businesses that use the platform.

Put simply, Shopify is a subscription-based eCommerce platform. It allows users to create everything from a quick, basic online store to a bespoke unique store with various advanced features. It services a vast pool of industries from health to sports, automotive to apparel, and everything in between.

What Types of Websites Does Shopify Support?

Many brands use Shopify

  • Products
  • Appointments
  • Consultations
  • Event Support
  • Experiences
  • Classes/Workshops
  • Rentals
  • Memberships
  • Digital Products
  • Charitable Donations
  • Digital Gift Cards

Some famous websites that are powered by Shopify include:

  • Tesla Inc.
  • LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton
  • PepsiCo Inc.
  • Penguin Books
  • Nestle
  • Lindt & Spruengli
  • Red Bull
  • Hyatt Hotels Corporation
  • Kraft Heinz Co.
  • Fitbit
  • Whole Foods Market

Shopify for your Business

Shopify offers flexibility to grow your website with your business. It is an easy-to-use platform and facilitates beautiful website creation. The theme templates are 100% responsive.

Use Shopify to:

  • Automatically generate a SiteMap
  • Generate discount codes
  • Sell via social media (Facebook, Pinterest, etc)
  • Enhance your SEO efforts
  • Create and publish blogs
  • Sell in brick-and-mortar stores, pop-up shops, and more
  • Manage inventory, products, payments, and shipping
  • Use Shopify worldwide

PROS:

  • Simple-to-use platform with a website builder and store builder templates.
  • A powerful hosting facility includes technological assistance and a clear interface. You need not be concerned about maintaining or upgrading software or servers, as the platform is cloud-based. You simply need an internet connection to operate your business.
  • Several visually appealing storefront themes are provided within the platform for a professional-looking site. These themes are industry-based, including Art& Photography, Furniture, Food & Beverage, Jewelry & Accessories, etc.
  • Elect whether to make your site mobile-only or more widely responsive.
  • Use free or paid themes.
  • In-house App Store: work with a choice of more than 1200 plugins to help you automate tasks and scale your store. These include assistance with customer service, accounting, reporting, shipping, inventory, and much, much more.
  • Outstanding customer service with 24/7 support available via email, live chat, or phone call.
  • Your existing payment gateway, SEO tools, CRM software, lead generation tools, and email marketing software will seamlessly integrate with WordPress.
  • Sell offline with Shopify POS.

CONS:

  • Better for less-tech-savvy users; more functionality is available with WordPress which offers versatile theme customization.
  • There are only ten free theme templates and for extensive customization, you will need to hire an expert web developer.
  • Using the plugins incurs fees – without the plugins, data must be manually inserted into your own software.
  • Technical support service numbers are listed for Australia, NZ, the US, and the UK. Outside of these regions, forums may be the fastest route for assistance.
  • Exporting blog posts can be complicated.
  • There are subscription and transaction fees attached to Shopify for all users and some of these can be quite expensive.

Contact SEOcycle Today

We deliver bespoke, stylish SEO-optimised websites, with a focus on small businesses (including sole traders) and medium-sized businesses. No matter what industry you work in, no job is too small and we offer everything from simple static business sites to eCommerce websites.

When we deliver your finished, approved website, you have 100% ownership and freedom to make changes as you need to. Of course, should you wish to hire us to make additions or updates to your site at a later date, we are only a phone call away!

For stylish and affordable web design and web development, with or without associated SEO services, choose SEOcycle today. Based in Sydney’s Hills District, we work with clients from Parramatta to the CBD, throughout NSW and Australia, and internationally.