So, you heard about Shopify from someplace and now you want to see if it’s right for your small business? In this post, I’ll discuss the good and bad of Shopify so you can see if Shopify is right for your small business!
Is Shopify Good For A Small Business?
Yes, Shopify is a great option for small businesses.
With its low cost of entry and a website interface that requires no form of prior technical knowledge, Shopify welcomes and takes care of small business owners.
Once you enter the platform, you would be able to experience the support through all the instructions given by the platform itself.
Their integrated marketing tools, payment pathways, and round the clock customer support makes Shopify worth it for a small business.
Related: Can You Learn Shopify For Free?
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Pros Of Using Shopify For Small Businesses
There are not one but several untainted reasons for us to recommend Shopify for your small business.
No matter which business you are planning to embark on, Shopify might just be the best eCommerce platform for you. Here are some Shopify pros and cons you should be aware of:
Ease Of Use And User-Friendly Interface
Wonder why most beginners prefer using Shopify to inaugurate their online presence? It’s got to do with Shopify’s user friendly interface which is both easy to manage and easier to use.
No e-commerce expertise? No coding experience? Not so tech savvy? If you’re using Shopify for your business solutions, you would be relieved to know that the platform welcomes novice sellers with phased instructions every step of the way.
Even if you are using the most basic features of Shopify, you would ease into adding, importing, listing, and selling products without any help from others.
Related: Is Shopify Hard To Use?
Customizable Design Options
Having fully customizable design options is a blessing when you try to set up your store for a small business. This means the design options allow you to scale the website design according to your brand identity. You have hundreds of themes to choose from.
Built-In Seo Features
What I like about Shopify is how the platform help’s its merchants in promoting and positioning their products. With the integrated marketing tools available on the platform, you can easily bolster and advertise your store. Shopify’s in-built SEO tool, for instance, allows you to become more visible to the audience upon being searched.
Integration With Various Payment Gateways And Shipping Options
To make it easier for its users, Shopify has joined hands with several payment gateways. This means they offer shipping and payment options despite having their own, Stripe. Stripe does not charge transaction fees to cut costs further.
Affordable Pricing Plans
Shopify’s affordability has always been a lure for small business owners and reasonably so. You’re not here to spend thousands on a business website you are yet to start.
With the freedom to cancel the subscription, you can either begin with the most basic and popular $19 plan or take up more advanced options. The next plan costs $49 per month and includes professional reports along with 5 staff accounts. The most expensive and advanced plan costs $299. With 15 staff accounts, this plan offers custom report building with lowest transaction fees among the rest.
24/7 Customer Support
For an eCommerce website to offer perpetual customer support, Shopify proves that they are there for you when you need them. You can reach out for help any time of the day through phone, live chats, or even email.
Cons Of Using Shopify For Small Businesses
To give you a broader perspective of the platform’s usability for a small business, here are disadvantages of Shopify you would be aware of:
Additional Costs For Certain Features And Apps:
Surely, you cannot expect Shopify to unlock all its features without any costs. While they do allow numerous ones in their basic themes, you would have to pay for advanced features.
No Email Hosting:
Shopify does not allow email hosting which might be a problem for some. However, even then it is possible to use a hosting extension to forward emails.
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Successful Small Businesses That Use Shopify
Here are five small businesses that use Shopify and now have made it big:
GymShark: Ben Francis was a teenager when he started his small business back in 2012 selling fitness clothing. Interestingly, “dream small” is their tagline.
Burga: Burga, selling phone accessories is one small business that uses Shopify to the best of practice, and their website is a good example of that.
Urbana: Thriving on the idea of bags and other accessories made from sustainable sources, Urbana is a small business on Shopify that earns profit like no other.
Custom Fit Tea: Like I already mentioned, fitness sells and that’s exactly what this Shopify store as a small business identified. They sell and inform their customers about gluten free, sugar free, and zero-calorie drinks.
Vitaly: Cool, unisex jewelry on this Shopify store is another success story you would need to know about.
How To Set Up Shopify Store For Your Small Business
Below are 6 easy steps on launching your Shopify store for your small business:
1. Create a Shopify account
The first step is to create a Shopify account. You can do this by visiting the Shopify website and clicking on the ‘Sign Up’ button.
2. Choose a plan
Once you’ve created your account, you’ll need to choose a plan. Shopify offers three different plans: Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify.
3. Add your products
Once you’ve chosen a plan, you can start adding products to your store. To do this, click on the ‘Products’ tab and then ‘Add product.’
4. Customize your store
Now it’s time to customize your store. Shopify makes it easy to do this by providing a wide range of themes and apps. To choose a theme, click on the ‘Themes’ tab.
5. Accept payments
To start selling your products, you’ll need to set up a payment gateway. Shopify offers a variety of options, including PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net.
6. Launch your store
Once you’ve added your products and customized your store, you’re ready to launch! To do this, click on the ‘Publish’ button.
Final Thoughts
Shopify is a great option for small businesses. If you’re looking to start an e-commerce store, then Shopify is the best choice. It’s easy to use, has a lot of features and it’s affordable.
Click Here To Get The Longest Available Shopify Trial (Huge Discount)
