Last updated on June 1st, 2023 at 03:31 pm.
Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform. The idea for this platform was born when two guys were displeased with the necessary procedures to market their snowboards online. So they decided to address this issue of online retailing by creating a platform where anybody can open their online store in a very short amount of time.
The ease of launching your digital store is the core of Shopify’s popularity. Experts and business owners recommend Shopify due to its exceptional services. However, there are some things you need to know to make the most out of this platform. In this article, we will serve as your go-to Shopify guide and get you acquainted with the benefits, downsides, and how you can get it to work for your business.
Pros of Shopify
Excellent User Experience
This is what eCommerce store owners love most about Shopify. The Shopify technical team has redefined the online marketing process and designed a set of tools that can aid store owners in the quick and easy organization of everything.
The highlights of user experience in Shopify include:
- Reporting and analytics of orders
- Products creation and management
- Solid partnerships with well-known delivery services
- Availability of coupons and discounts
- Order retrieval and processing
These are the essential features any online platform worth its salt should have. Shopify has excelled in its features and offers an appealing interface.
A Vast Network of Plugins
Shopify’s application store currently exhibits more than 4,000 applications. Any kind of plugin or extension that you possibly want to add to your site is available on the Shopify app store. That’s how vast it is. So you virtually have a limitless array of options.
Having a huge plugin library is one area where Shopify dominates other prominent e-commerce platforms. On the Shopify app store, you can easily download a new feature without spending much on development fees. However, the benefit doesn’t stop there. It also extends to having a team tasked to fix issues that may later occur in the plugin you have downloaded.
Other notable benefits of Shopify are an ideal point of sale system and turnkey solutions.
Intending store owners who wish to sell their products on Shopify can check out the free Shopify tutorial.
Cons of Shopify
Site Performance Impaired by Plugins
When you load your Shopify store without plugins, the performance is top-notch. However, the moment you begin downloading plugins, the performance begins to wane. The reason for this is that plugin developers often tend to neglect the effect their plugins can have on a site’s performance.
Pricey Developers
This is a disadvantage of Shopify in direct relation to its proprietary software. Proprietary software applications are very expensive to develop because they are hard to program. In addition, it’s challenging for a team of developers to modify a section of the online store without some issues coming up.
Despite Shopify’s current partnership with Github to enhance the developer experience, it’s a hassle to get a qualified developer that’s not expensive.
Other notable cons of Shopify include subpar content management and proprietary software.
How to Make it Work?
The benefits of Shopify far outweigh the downsides. Some of the downsides can be rectified when a veteran developer or webmaster is looking after the situation. However, making a decision to use Shopify doesn’t mean everything will magically fall in place for you. One has to perform certain things to earn big from the store.
Design your Store with a Shopify Theme or Use a Customised Theme
Visuals have always been an essential element in marketing. A professionally executed design can allay the fears of skeptics who are naturally distrustful of retailers online. Picking the right theme is also important.
A great Shopify theme should have some appealing features such as pop-ups, feature images, sliders, opt-ins, and special product sections, among many others. However, if you’re very picky and can’t find a theme that suits your needs or you want to stand out from other retailers, you can decide to go for a custom Shopify theme, it is pricier, but it’s also more effective.
Be Picky With Plugins
According to the latest news, Google has become skeptical of the speed of some sites and their overall performance. So they have come up with certain metrics to quantify site performance. However, you may not know that plugins can be the reason your site may not pass this test or audit.
Before you select a plugin for installation and use on your site, ensure that it’s from a trusted source and that it has a significant number of downloads. If you want to be thorough in your verification check, you can contact the development or support team and enquire about the kind of performance effects they experience.
Fine-Tune your SEO and Product Descriptions
Check the keywords you used in your product descriptions once your store is set up and ready to receive orders. There are numerous articles on how to carry out keyword research. Research for the keywords that can generate traffic for every product you’re retailing.
Author’s Bio: Lori Wade is a writer who is interested in a wide range of spheres from eCommerce to web development and new technologies. If you are interested in the above topics, you can find her on LinkedIn. Read and take over Lori’s useful insights!
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