Shopify

Welcome to the world of e-commerce. In this case, we’re referring to the popular Shopify. Now with many other such online store giants, what sets this apart from them? Well, let’s find out!

In addition to boasting the ability to design a fully customisable store & hosting inclusive at no extra cost, a presence of over 1 million (and counting) stores share space with this site. It’s pleasantly simple to operate even for the faint-hearted & furnishes buyers with a secure buying experience. Setup guides & information in the form of podcasts/blogs are available in plenty on their website. Simple tools allow sellers to quickly build their empire online. Moreover, sellers can hire freelancers or experts to assist them with marketing strategies. Continual support is offered throughout the journey with Shopify. Everything can be managed, within the control of the seller. Sounds good, right?

Sellers also have the added advantage of deploying their POS merchant service to boost their sales volumes. Adding an online element to physical trading is always a good thing in our ever-evolving digital world. Sellers can also promote their business via social media & online marketing platforms anywhere. They go a step further to kindly integrate inquiries within apps such as FB messenger, which is always a plus. They have exploited & revolutionised the concept of dropshipping too. They take the onus for the quality of products sold via their store, which is welcomed by wary buyers.

Furthermore, with the complete flexibility to sell goods or services in virtually any domain, what’s there not to like? With Shopify plus & Lite, busy & large businesses can add a layer of commercial-grade benefits, as well as extra payment options. So there you have it: an online portal with seamless integration of services, good user experience & plenty of options…or is there something we’re missing here? Well, as always, with the good comes the not-so-good. Let’s briefly review their shortcomings…

Ironically, their simplicity can be their shortfall for expert users who seek advanced customised options when creating their online store. This is further elucidated by the limited free options available at the time of mapping your site. Although they do operate apps for mobile users, along with their respective plugins, there’s again an additional cost associated with this. There also appears to be limited support, restricted to only a handful of demographics. Technical issues often warrant people needing to figure out & research solutions for themselves. Multiple marketing discounts can be cumbersome to apply to everyone. Final words…there appears to be a general theme pertaining to extra costs for features that may not otherwise be expected. Oh and if one doesn’t mind being left to their own devices to resolve any technical glitches, then overall, the advantages still remain in place to be seen.