Wondering which ecommerce platform is best for your new project? In this post I explain why Shopify is the best choice of ecommerce platform (in my opinion, based on my own Shopify experience), whatever your store's starting point and goals.
First, to be fair: there is no single "best" ecommerce platform; different platforms suit different situations. Shopify is one of the most popular platforms for consumer online stores (B2C business). It is very user friendly yet powerful, and it grows with your business. You can read more of my Shopify experiences and guides in my blog's Shopify posts.
A few well-known international brands running on Shopify:
Kylie Cosmetics
Gymshark
MVMT Watches
What is Shopify and who is it for?
Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce platform that includes everything you need to build and grow a successful online store. Shopify is especially well suited to new merchants, since setting up a store requires no technical skills. You can start your own website project on a very small budget, just a few tens of euros, without an outside partner. It is not only a platform for small stores, though: as the list above shows, Shopify also works for online stores doing tens (even hundreds) of millions in revenue.
Shopify features and benefits
#1 Ease of use
You hardly need any technical skills to launch a Shopify store. It is possible to get your own store up and running in under a day thanks to ready-made themes and easy customization. The admin is very clear and easy to use, and order and product management are very straightforward. Shopify suits beginner merchants very well, and you will not be stuck when the business grows, because Shopify also handles high-traffic online stores! (read more about starting a Shopify store).
#2 Cloud-based platform
One of Shopify's biggest advantages is maintenance. If you start any other online store (for example on WooCommerce/WordPress or Magento), the server and upkeep will require constant technical maintenance. Shopify, however, is a fully cloud-based platform where you do not have to worry about servers, databases, updates or maintenance. You can log in to your store from anywhere, including through the mobile app!
#3 Built-in marketing tools
Shopify comes with plenty of built-in features that make getting started with marketing easier and faster. These include search engine optimization (SEO) features, Shopify Email marketing, Shopify Flow automations, and integrations with the most popular marketing platforms that work in a few clicks. You set up the Meta pixel and Conversions API with the Facebook & Instagram app and Google Analytics and Google Ads tracking with the Google & YouTube app, and you can add your product catalog to Instagram at the same time so you can start tagging products in your posts!
#4 Support and site security
Unlike open-source platforms, where you need a technical partner for support, Shopify offers all its users 24/7 live chat support and the Sidekick AI assistant. Shopify Plus merchants also get priority 24/7 phone support.
Shopify stores are also automatically safe and secure, unlike on WordPress, for example, where you are responsible for your site's security yourself. Updates, payment security requirements, SSL and the rest are all handled for you.
#5 Add-ons and apps
One of Shopify's very best features is its extensive App Store, with thousands of add-ons for your store. There are apps for just about everything, for example product reviews, marketing tools, live chat and much more! What makes the App Store even better is Shopify's strict requirements for partners: apps must be easy to install and work flawlessly, so you can usually install add-ons in just a few clicks and minutes!
#6 Design and customization
With ready-made themes and an easy-to-use editor, you can create professional, responsive and user-friendly online stores. You can change your site's colors, style, fonts, sections and much more directly in the Shopify editor, where you see at all times how the changes look on your site.
#7 Three months for €1/month
With Shopify's starter offer you get three free trial days and then three months for 1 euro a month. So you have time to see all of the above for yourself before paying the full monthly fee. You can get started here.
Summary and my own experience with Shopify stores
I have built and run my own Shopify stores since 2016 together with my partner. Our biggest Shopify project has been migrating an online store from Magento to Shopify Plus, and the biggest volume among our stores is (so far) an online store doing over 4 million euros in revenue. We have sold both within Finland and internationally. So my assessment in this post is based entirely on my own experience.
Shopify is definitely my recommendation for an ecommerce platform, whatever the size of the project! Thanks to its built-in features and extensive App Store, it offers tools for every need and is a highly scalable ecommerce platform.
Hi again! 👋 Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and I really hope you use them. 🖤 Clicking a link costs you nothing extra, so feel free to explore the sites and tools recommended in this post. If you end up becoming a paying customer through my link, I get a small commission.
0 comments