Shopify is an e-commerce platform made for selling virtually ANYTHING.  It started about 10 years ago and was specifically created as a solution for making online stores (a lot of other website builders were not created with this sole intention). Even companies like All Birds and Kylie Cosmetics use it - so it’s the real deal.
Shopify has an insanely easy checkout process and it even remembers all of your information. You’ve probably come across a Shopify site that autofills all of your information - which makes the checkout process so much easier.‍

Shopify also has a TON of perks for the business owner.

‍Designs
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With Shopify, you’re offered over 170 different templates to build your site on. Each template can be customized by changing the site styles, typography, and the color palette. If you need more customization, you’ll need to use Shopify’s custom language, Liquid. All of the templates offered are already mobile responsive (meaning that your site will work on all types of mobile devices)

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‍Scaling‍

Shopify is a super powerful platform and built to help you scale your business. Features like adding and managing products is super easy with Shopify’s interface. Just upload your CSV file and VOILA!

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Payments and Shipping

Shopify gives users over 100 different payment providers - including their own platform, Shopify Payments. Obviously Shopify wants users to use their platform and when you do so, you avoid transaction fees entirely. You’ll still be charged credit card fees though! Using a third party provider will cost you between 0.5% and 2% depending on your Shopify plan. These fees can add up quickly so definitely watch out for this!

Note: Shopify is way more flexible from a payment processing point of you. Other platforms, like Squarespace, only offer 2 payment providers!

Shopify’s shipping system is so efficient and shipping rules can easily be set. For example, the live shipping rates connects your store with carriers (like USPS, FedEx, and UPS) and provides accurate shipping costs during checkout. They even offer discounted shipping labels on Shopify’s backend! You only need to print it, attach it, and send!

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Email marketing

Visit the app store to find a ton of different apps for things like email marketing, scheduling curbside pickup, dropshipping, and adding social proof and so much more.

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Analytics‍

Shopify provides the tools to improve your sales with things like e-commerce analytics, order reports
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Abandoned Cart Recovery

60% of online shoppers abandon their cart, super depressing! But with Shopify and their abandoned cart recovery tool to the rescue, you can send automated emails with a discount code to those users that never finished their checkout! ‍

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Sales Channels

Want to sell your products on Facebook? Shopify will create a shop section on your Facebook page.

What about Instagram? Just tag your products.

Okay, well what about Pinterest? Yup! You can sell through Pinterest too!

Don’t forget about Amazon, you can integrate and sell through their marketplace.

See the potential?!

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Customer Support

Shopify’s got you! Their customer support is available 24-hours a day! This is a huge advantage over many other platforms that do not offer this.

Okay so Shopify SOUNDS great, what’s the catch?

Some features that you might want to add to your site will require an additional app and those costs can add up quickly. Another thing that might be a hang up for some people is using Shopify’s payment processing. Like I mentioned above, you’ll have to pay additional fees if you use a third party payment processor.

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Speaking of money - what is going on with all their plans?!

Here’s what they’ve got - Shopify Lite, Basic Shopify, Shopify, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus.

All of these plans are a month-by-month subscription. Want to save some money? They offer pretty good discounts on their annual and biennial plans, just pay upfront and save some $$$

But what if I want to change my plan? Easy! Upgrade or Downgrade your plan at any time!

For most people, Basic Shopify hits all the nails on the head and is a great place to start out.

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Need help creating your Shopify site? Send me a note!