What is Shopify?
Shopify is a platform that allows a person to set up an online store and sell their products. It is a leading commerce platform that is designed for all business sizes. It was started in 2014 by Tobias Lutke who wanted to sell snowboards which was a product of his company Snowdevil. But, he found it very challenging to sell them online without using eCommerce platform. This led to the creation of Shopify.
Thousands of entrepreneurs use Shopify to sell their products online. There are many products that can be sold on Shopify. Some are:
- Digital products
- Physical products
- Memberships
- Classes and lessons
- Ticketed experiences
- Services and consultations
- Rentals
Benefits of Shopify in Developing eCommerce Stores
Easy to set up and use
All people who want to set up a business are not experts in technical fields. They fear the technicalities which are required to start eCommerce stores. But, Shopify has made all this very simple by taking care of the servers and hostings. One needs to just register an account with Shopify and start customizing the store.
Reliable and Secure
The shop owners always fear about the security of their online stores. There are sensitive customer information along with the personal information of the owner. Shopify takes care of all the server maintenance and upgrades to keep the store available every time.
Easy Payment Gateway
Shopify has dozens of payment gateways but it also offers its own gateway powered by Stripe. On using this gateway, no transaction fees are applicable and it also doesn’t require a merchant account. The customers can also use PayPal to purchase goods if they do not have a credit card.
Mobile Ready
Today people visit websites on mobile rather than using a desktop. The themes offered by Shopify are mobile responsive and there is a free built-in mobile commerce shopping cart. Thus, the store looks good on all devices.
Customizable
Shopify has 160 themes to choose from its Theme Stores. Each theme is mobile responsive and fully customizable which in turn helps in creating a beautiful online store.
24/7 Customer Support
Shopify are always available to take care of their customers. They give responses fairly instantly 24 hours a day and seven days a week. One can contact them via phone, email or webchat.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Some customers add the product to the cart and then forget to order it. This is a very common occurrence and Shopify has come with a solution for it. Shopify automatically tracks and emails the customers and remind them to complete their order. This is very helpful in generating revenue.
SEO and Marketing Tools
It is very important to optimize the search engine to ensure that the online store is found easily by people searching for it. Shopify enhances the ability to build landing pages for the store and also allows customization for title and meta tags.
Conclusion
Shopify is the best solution to start an online shop. So, if you are an entrepreneur and want to start the online business, Shopify is the best solution. If you find that the store is not making a profit, you can cancel the subscription anytime and close the store.