Just because Shopify is considered to be today’s leading eCommerce solution, that doesn’t mean you have to jump on the bandwagon. What works for others might not work for you. So, before choosing Shopify over one of its competitors, it’s important to consider the platform’s pros and cons. Is Shopify the most suitable eCommerce solution for you? Keep reading to find out!
The Pros of Using Shopify
- Simple to use
- 24/7 Customer service
- Speed and security
- Variety of eCommerce store themes
- User-friendly apps
Simplicity of Use: Creating an Online Store Has Never Been Easier
In the past, many wonderful ideas didn’t see the light of the day because entrepreneurs weren’t tech-savvy. Shopify frees you from the hassles of learning new technology and allows you to focus on marketing, attracting customers, and making sales.
Shopify’s eCommerce platform powers over 1 million businesses, which is not to be easily dismissed. This darling of entrepreneurs offers the full package: an online store, content manager, and tech assistant, all rolled into one simple solution that stays up to date on the latest trends for selling to online customers.
You can have a simple store set up and running in less than an hour, which shows you the great attention to detail that Shopify puts into its services.
Shopify Customer Service: Here for You 24/7
Customer service is one of Shopify’s strongest points. Other eCommerce platforms often end their association with you after delivering the software, but Shopify doesn’t desert its users in difficult straits when they hit a snag.
While creating and running an online store, even if you’re careful, you’re bound to make a few mistakes. Consulting or hiring a web developer to fix the problem can cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
On the other hand, Shopify comes with a comprehensive customer support database. Its knowledge base contains a well-compiled FAQ section that’s updated often. Moreover, you can count on their support regardless of the time, location, or day of the month. Users can quickly get in touch with a knowledgeable Shopify Expert through phone, chat, and email support.
It’s an incredible feeling to know that you can devote all your energy and focus on running your online store rather than fumbling through the Internet trying to find an answer. With Shopify, there is a team behind you, waiting to answer whatever questions you have.
For more on the different ways to find answers to your eCommerce questions, here are 11 reliable resources for troubleshooting Shopify.
Super-Fast and Secure: The Twin Demands of Every Customer
Exceptional customer experience gives you a clear advantage over your competitors. Without a doubt, customers who have had a positive experience will reward you with repeat business. Also, they will share their experiences with friends and family. Apart from high-quality products, two elements are expected from any online store: speed and security.
People choose to shop online because they don’t have time to visit a brick-and-mortar store. If your website takes more than three seconds to load, eager customers are only too happy to take their business elsewhere. Shopify helps keep your site faster by optimizing its software, employing a content delivery network as part of its free hosting service across all plans, and minimizing unnecessary page coding.
As for security, customers are quick to judge whether or not your site can be trusted. They’re aware that online stores, especially smaller ones, can be the prime targets of hacking and payment fraud, so security is very important. Shopify provides several built-in security features, covering a wide range of issues such as hacking, personal data protection, caching, protocol compliance, and more.
Moreover, the eCommerce platform provides frequent updates to plug vulnerabilities from viruses and malware and even offers rewards to hackers for helping to identify system vulnerabilities.
While every content management system has security issues, Shopify understands the importance of actively eliminating them from its services. In the end, your customers are Shopify’s customers.
Shopify Storefront Themes: The Options Are Almost Endless
A good first impression can make or break your brand and a positive experience can pave the way to a long-lasting relationship.
Luckily, with Shopify, you don’t need a second chance to impress visitors. The beautiful and professional-looking storefront themes available in the Shopify Theme Store create a lasting impact on customers and generate positivity and trust from the outset.
You have a wide range to choose from for every business need and can search for themes based on your preferred design style or industry. Because all themes are built with Liquid coding language, they’re easy for a developer to customize to make your store look and feel unique. Additionally, they’re fully optimized for eCommerce out of the box, making them very cost-effective when starting up a business.
If you can’t find a theme you like on Shopify’s official site, there are also trustworthy third-party theme providers like Theme Forest (affordable) and Out of the Sandbox (boutique) that have an even wider selection of niche industry designs to choose from.
Shopify App Store: There Is an App for Everything eCommerce
Shopify is fast, user-friendly, and powerful thanks to over 4,500 free and paid apps. With its App Store, you have access to all the latest technology and functions to scale your store in the digital age. These apps can greatly simplify your life, so you can take more time to focus on growing your business.
For example, in order to review your store’s performance, typically you need to manually compile and export transaction details and sales figures, then load them in your accounting software. Accounting apps on Shopify allow you to integrate the accounting software into the eCommerce platform, which means you never have to take time to export or import sales data as the app will transfer the data for you.
The Cons of Using Shopify
- Average search engine optimization
- Out-dated blog design
- Limited search bar functionality
Search Engine Optimization: Not One of Shopify’s Best Features
There are many channels you can use to drive traffic to your store (organic search, paid advertising, social media, referrals, etc.), but if you plan on getting traffic through Google, you need your pages to rank high in its search engine.
Because a search engine’s algorithm is ultimately in control of page rank, Shopify can’t be fully responsible for whether or not your store shows up when people search for the products you sell. However, there are some SEO weaknesses built into the platform’s functionality that Shopify should address, such as:
- Page URLs are not fully customizable. The “/products/” directory is a permanent fixture in each product page’s URL.
- It’s not easy to create sub-categories.
- It’s difficult to hide pages from search engines that you don’t want to show up in search results. That’s because Shopify’s robots.txt file is auto-generated, so you can’t customize the file.
- Shopify offers limited scope and flexibility to create non-eCommerce content.
Fortunately, there are a few SEO best practices and apps you apply to help your store rank, nonetheless.
Shopify’s Blog Setup: There Is Plenty of Room for Improvement
The eCommerce platform comes with a blog that’s integrated with your store. While basic blog features are built into the system, they’re limited compared to other content management systems.
Many blog functionalities you may expect, especially if you’re used to WordPress, require additional apps in Shopify. But adding too many apps is bound to slow down your site. Here are the blog features that need improvement.
- Shopify doesn’t allow you to add products in blog posts.
- The blog has an outdated content editor that lacks important features such as gallery, categories, etc.
- It’s difficult to add a comments section.
- It lacks the “related posts” feature.
Product Search: Shopify’s Default Functionality Needs a Major Overhaul
Again, we’re talking about the search functionality that’s built into the Shopify package. While it’s possible to improve the product search and filter features by adding an app, that’s a band-aid for features that should be included out of the box.
For example, Google’s alternate suggestions for misspelled searches has become so normal that online shoppers expect this intelligent functionality across all digital platforms. With Shopify, you won’t see any suggestions or results for misspelled words. Furthermore, product filtering options are also limited.
With Shopify, the Pros Outweigh the Cons
There is no doubt that Shopify is the biggest, most successful, and most popular eCommerce platform out there right now. But is it the right choice for your business? That’s the most pertinent question.
We’ve laid out our top Shopify pros and cons for you to compare with your needs and expectations. While there are some flaws in the platform, they are minor compared with the simplicity and effectiveness that Shopify can offer. The choice you make can have a major impact on the success of your business. So, if you’re still on the fence about Shopify, we suggest trying a 14-day free trial that gives you a chance to explore its features without committing to the platform.
