Shopify is a market leader among eCommerce and retail platforms, and for good reason—it allows users to build online stores quickly and easily. Shopify’s user-friendly features, as well as its built-in SEO and marketing tools, make it more in-demand than any other eCommerce platform. To get the most out of it, though, it’s best to consider its drawbacks as well as its benefits. Here are three pros and cons of Shopify.
Pro: Built-In Tools
For startup companies, Shopify offers a great set of tools for finding sellable products, creating a website, marketing those products, and much more. This makes it the winner in most shopify vs bigcommerce comparisons. These tools help new business owners develop better POS systems and control expenses. Some parts of the toolkit, however, are hidden in an online store’s backend, so you’ll have to do some digging.
Pro: Customizability
Shopify’s Theme Store is loaded with hundreds of paid and free themes, and most of them work well on mobile devices. Users can customize these themes by modifying their code, which makes it easy to create unique, stunning online stores that suit almost any product. Depending on the themes you use, it may be possible to add custom formats for different pages, objects, and collections.
Pro: Easy Setup and Configuration
Shopify offers its users an easy and low-cost way to open an online storefront. Because all its functions are organized logically, its user interface is intuitive and tidy. With the 14-day free trial, most users will be able to learn all about Shopify’s features. For those who aren’t technically inclined, however, there’s always the option to get help from an eCommerce developer that specializes in Shopify.
Con: Little Room for Expansion
If your business grows and you decide to switch from Shopify to a new platform, it won’t be easy. This makes choosing a scalable marketplace almost impossible, especially for business owners concerned about expenses. For those who want to expand, basic Shopify plans offer few user datasets. By comparison, other services offer data such as pricing, transaction fees, and product details.
Con: It’s Not Very Intuitive
Business owners should have full control over their data, and no one, not even an eCommerce platform, should be able to tamper with it. All Shopify data must be transferred via the platform, so when a user migrates their store to a self-hosted site, it’s important that they can access the store’s entire dashboard.
Shopify isn’t very efficient in these use cases, which can slow a company’s growth as it ages. Furthermore, where the retention of payment details is concerned, its not as versatile as some other eCommerce platforms. If you’re planning for growth, it may be best to use a self-hosted platform.
Con: It Can be Costly
Shopify users depend on the add-ons offered with advanced plans. For an advanced plan with all the best tools, you’ll have to pay a higher price, as free plans only offer basic features. Like all hosted eCommerce sites, Shopify plans will inevitably become more expensive than self-hosted stores.
Make an Informed Decision
For some users, Shopify is an excellent choice among eCommerce platforms. However, your decision will depend on the company’s budget and requirements. If you are building an online store from the ground up, or if you want to upgrade an existing store, Shopify’s limitations may outweigh its benefits.
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