Shopify is a popular fully hosted e-commerce platform that enables individuals and business organizations to build, manage, and grow online storefronts to sell products or goods and services. It is similar to content management systems like Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress or website builders like Wix and Squarespace because it allows users to build websites and manage content without needing deep technical expertise but has specific features designed for e-commerce similar to BigCommerce and the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress.
Pros: Advantages of Shopify Platform
1. Fully Hosted E-Commerce Platform
One of the main advantages of Shopify as opposed to CMS platforms like WordPress is that it is a fully hosted platform for building websites. It can take care of all the technical aspects of running a website. These include secure web hosting, security updates and features like SSL/TLS encryption, server maintenance and backups, scalability, and round-the-clock technical support.
The platform essentially provides a complete solution for building and running websites. There is no need to avail of a separate plan from web hosting providers and run a separate CMS platform. It also handles all the technical aspects of running and maintaining a website. This enables users to focus on the core operations of their online storefronts and their entire business.
2. Dedicated E-Commerce Features
The main selling point of this platform is that it is designed for individuals and businesses wanting to build and run their web-based online storefront. It has dedicated features for enabling electronic commerce. These include managing inventory, processing payments, sales and marketing tools, analytics, customer relations management, and shipping and order fulfillment.
It provides a comprehensive product and inventory management system. The built-in payment processing supports a range of payment gateways. These include Shopify Payments which allow sellers to accept payments via credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. The platform also integrates with shipping carriers like UPS, FedEx, and USPS.
3. Multi-Channel Selling Support
Another advantage of Shopify is its support for multi-channel or omnichannel selling. This allows users to sell not only through their websites but also through their social media like Facebook and Instagram, online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart, and even in physical retail stores or pop-up shops through the dedicated point-of-sale system of the platform.
The support for different sales channels expands the reach of a particular store or merchant beyond the website to capture all potential customers and maximize earnings potential. The integration with multiple sales channels simplifies the process of monitoring and managing diverse sales streams from one central dashboard that is accessible to the Shopify platform.
4. Expansive Apps and Themes Selection
The platform has an extensive app marketplace with thousands of third-party apps and integrations that can extend its features and functionalities. Users can easily add features like email marketing, accounting, search engine optimization tools, affiliate marketing, and automation, among others. This allows them to tailor the platform to their specific operations or business model.
It also has a wide selection of free and premium themes that can be customized. Most of these themes follow modern design trends and are adaptable to the smaller screens of mobile devices. There is no need for businesses to design a website using HTML and CSS. They can readily create aesthetically pleasing and professional-looking web-based storefronts with less effort.
Cons: Disadvantages of Shopify Platform
1. Subscription Cost and Transaction Fees
Running a website using Shopify involves a monthly recurring fee. The platform provider operates a subscription model with pricing tiers based on the needs and scale of a website or its individual or business owner. The cost can add up and become expensive for small merchants. It is more affordable to use a CMS in building a website and hosting it with a web hosting provider.
Furthermore, aside from subscription fees, there are transaction fees associated with payments made outside Shopify Payments. The platform providers charge about 0.5 percent to 2 percent of the sales amount. This adds to the total costs of using the platform and increases the operational cost of merchants who prefer using third-party payment gateways or payment providers.
2. Absence of Several Important Features
The platform is not ideal for blogging. It still has basic blogging capabilities. However, compared to platforms like WordPress, it is not as feature-rich when it comes to advanced and more flexible content management. This can be a drawback for websites that depend on content marketing. The platform also uses a fixed URL structure that cannot be customized nor changed.
Full customization of themes often requires an understanding of how to use and implement the Liquid templating language of Shopify. Furthermore, when it comes to equipping a website with more advanced functionalities outside the core features of the platform, a developer is often left with no choice but to depend on paid third-party apps from the app ecosystem.
3. Notable Limitations in Web Dev Flexibility
Furthermore, similar to the limited features of the platform, it is also important to underscore the fact that another disadvantage of Shopify is that it is not as versatile when compared to building a website from scratch or using more powerful platforms like a feature-rich CMS platform or specific open-source solutions and alternatives like Magento and WooCommerce.
It is also worth noting that the platform is closed-source. A developer has no full access to its core code. It is impossible for them to make direct modifications to the backend of the platform or its core or fundamental codebase. The server itself is also inaccessible. It is impossible to change the server settings, databases, and backend processes or make customs server-side logic.
4. Negative Impact of Platform Dependence
Another drawback of the platform is that it can render an individual or business dependent on it. The operations and growth of a website are tied to the limitations, policies, and ecosystem of Shopify. Hence, while it provides a single and convenient platform for running an e-commerce website, it can impact long-term flexibility, scalability, and cost management.
It is also important to underscore the fact that an individual or business that has built a website and all of its features and functionalities using Shopify could end up suffering from the drawbacks of vendor lock-in. This will make migrating to another platform or alternative difficult due to compatibility issues, technical requirements, time allotment, and relevant costs.