Ecommerce business tool – Shopify Pros and Cons

Shopify has gained enormous popularity over the past few years with thousands of new subscriptions per day. It’s been a complete game changer in the ecommerce business helping users to set up a store with virtually no investment and in a blink of an eye. So why is this platform so successful, you may ask? In this article we will analyse the pros and cons of setting up a shopify store as opposed to a standard customized web development.

Great choice of web development templates for your ecommerce business

Pros

If you are not a tech savvy or a web designer this feature can be extremely appealing if you are looking to have a decent modern web design for your ecommerce without hiring a web designer. They offer a range of both free and paid templates that are carefully tailored for all kinds of products you might sell.

Cons

These templates are very standardized which means that you will very likely have an ecommerce store that is not entirely unique. Chances are that a lot of other businesses will adopt the same template as you. The other disadvantage is that these templates are quite limiting in functionality and structure. You can add different web design features into it, such as a slide show, an image + text section, etc but it’s still very much within the limits of a shopify platform. 

Easy to set up

Pros

In this day and age, we want things fast and efficiently. In this sense, Shopify is a great tool to quickly allow you to set up an ecommerce business with a decent web design. And therefore allows you to sell right away. For some businesses this can be a great budget and fast solution. : So they can generate some initial revenue to kick start their businesses effectively. All you need to do is choose a web design template, add and remove the sections  you want. Then update all of the information, upload pictures and info of the products you are selling. And finally, set up a payment method within the platform. This process does not require hiring third parties. And it’s a very quick straightforward way to have you web development for your ecommerce store.

24 hours Support for your ecommerce business

Pros

If you are not such a tech savvy in the web development world, shopify has a team at your disposal 24 hours a day. Therefore they support you and help you resolve issues quickly and effectively. This is particularly important if you have trouble with payments and you don’t want to drive customers away.

Cons

You may not always get direct help so you might need to post your web development question onto a forum and wait for them to reply. This is sometimes a bit frustrating if you need help urgently to resolve a matter.

Shopify apps 

Pros

Shopify offers a full range of apps for effective web development. It allows you to improve the performance of your store with a full range of offers. Such as for SEO services for example, and a lot more. There are apps that really are a game changer for an ecommerce web development point of view. That provide you with the right tools to run your ecommerce business.

Cons

These apps sometimes come with additional costs and it may not be ideal for your budget. But if you choose not to pay for these apps you can enter these features manually into the Shopify platform. So your site can still benefit from these tools. 

Putting everything aside, one of the greatest benefits of shopify is the flexibility to grow your business. This platform is considered to be one of the easiest ways to set up your ecommerce business.  And it’s a great solution for small businesses who are just starting up.

If you want to know more about ecommerce web development please visit our presentation for more details on how we work with our partners.