Why a Shopify Store Could be the Right Choice for Your eCommerce Store

E-Commerce has become the way to do business. It is no longer treated as an alternative that was adopted during the Covid-19 Pandemic to keep businesses afloat.  Even as the world gradually opens up eCommerce continues to explode as people get more connected owing to the proliferation of technology available to us today. Brick-and-mortar stores are now completely replaced or kept optional by online ones. Now you can start a business and advertise your products online by using e-commerce stores. 

The exponential growth of E-commerce in recent years, with forecasts indicating that this trend would continue into the next decade. As mentioned in an observation done by Forbes, “Traditional retail sales have declined but e-commerce has seen a 129% year-over-year growth in U.S. and Canadian orders as of April 21st, with an impressive 146% growth in all online retail orders.” 

However, it’s not easy to set up an online store. In order for an e-commerce business to succeed in this burgeoning market, the store must be both functional and appealing. This is why the majority of businesses leverage the services of cloud-hosted platforms. Even though there are other hosted platforms available, Shopify offers the most efficiency and functionality for setting up an online store.  

But before we jump into reading the benefits of setting up a Shopify store, let us first learn more about the platform.  

What is Shopify?  

The website offers everything eCommerce business owners need to make their online store a success. Over 1.7 million businesses around the world use Shopify, it holds a whopping 23% market share in the US market. According to the most recent Shopify statistics, Shopify merchants account for 13% of the UK market. According to recent Shopify statistics, over 7,000 businesses worldwide use Shopify Plus to gain additional benefits.

Also read: 10 reasons why you should choose Shopify for B2B eCommerce Business

Shopify is one of the most sought-after eCommerce platforms for a variety of reasons. While starting an e-commerce platform can be challenging if you are not tech-savvy, Shopify with its comprehensive suite of services effectively eliminates the requirement for technical knowledge. The platform includes a user-friendly user interface as well as an easy admin interface. 

No matter the size of your business or the type of product/services you sell or want to promote, tools available on Shopify make it simple to set up your website and sell your products. With the ability to customize your store design, and define product prices, payment methods, and taxes, Shopify has you covered.  

This eCommerce platform includes everything you’ll need for your online business. With this eCommerce software, you are able to quickly create different pages with an online editor, sell in many locations, support local language options, and modify your online store.   

The Key Difference: Shopify vs Custom-built Site for Your Store   

Launching a business with Shopify is significantly easier than setting up a store from scratch. The main difference between the two is that Shopify is a software-as-a-service platform that helps merchants build up an online store. Designed for everyone, from eCommerce experts to complete beginners– With Shopify, you don’t need any prior experience with website development to set up a completely functional online store in a couple of minutes. You’ll save time getting started with Shopify since you’ll be guided step by step and given the greatest e-commerce suggestions. You can jump right in and finish developing your store in a day.   

A personalized website, on the other hand, will take a disproportionately long period to complete. It may appear difficult and convoluted at first, as even a minor error can risk the entire process. You will have to invest in a team of experts who will be behind your company’s custom-built website. What follows next is the brainstorming session to learn more about the target market, marketing strategy, and website functionality and design.

Also read: Which is better for eCommerce: Shopify or a Custom website    

 To properly operate your website, you’ll also need to choose your own hosting provider or some third-party plugins. Custom-built websites, as a result, take longer to develop than other eCommerce systems. Like Shopify, you’ll need to set up some elements in your store, such as a domain and web hosting, and a good web developer from among a plethora of options. Additionally, you’ll have to spend some time conducting tests to determine if everything works out.  

 In a nutshell, Shopify is better for people who don’t have any technical coding experience. In terms of pricing as well, the platform serves to be the ideal choice for even those with limited money and time, and who prefer an uncomplicated e-commerce solution for their business. 

And wait there is more! Because now we will explore the core advantages of a Shopify store over a custom-built online store.

Also read: What are the unique features of Shopify 

Why a Shopify Store is the Right Choice for Your eCommerce Store?  

• Because it is user-friendly 

And who wouldn’t want that! To begin with, Shopify simplifies the process of developing an online retail website from the ground up. You may open a Shopify account and utilize the offered toolset to easily set up an online store even if you have no technological knowledge. Because all of the functionality is logically arranged, the admin interface is pretty intuitive and clean.  

 In contrast to other self-hosted platforms, Shopify spares you the hassle of dealing with infrastructure or development fees. The platform can help you turn your retail store details into an online store, establishing an online shopping experience for your clients, no matter where you start, as a rookie or as an experienced retailer. And once you’ve finished configuring your store, it’s ready to go live and start receiving orders.  

 Furthermore, the fact that store management can be nerve-wracking for business doers at this stage is usually a deciding factor when choosing an eCommerce platform. Fortunately, Shopify eliminates all these difficulties for you. With an easy-to-use dashboard, you get full control over your store and all its data. 

• The platform is App-rich 

One of the reasons that makes Shopify the best option for any eCommerce business owner.  The platform offers a plethora of useful and capable apps. There are over 1,500 apps to choose from, so whatever your interest, there will be an app for it. However, more than half are premium services. Users fall in love with Shopify because its app ecosystem provides them with all of the tools and solutions they require for their online enterprises. 

Shopify provides extensive functionality through plugins and applications that allow you to download, install, and personalize the site. It includes tools for managing inventory, accounting, generating reports, sales, and social media promotion. Additionally, Shopify also enables you to automate several processes that don’t require human intervention like sending responses via emails.

Also read: Why Shopify is the ultimate solution for your business  

• Offers support extensively 

Shopify provides excellent customer service. Shopify’s customer service team is ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help with any issues you may have with this online retail platform. You can reach out to them for any concerns or queries via email, live chat, or over the phone. 

Shopify support team ensures prompt responses to any customers’ questions/issues. They will resolve your issues as quickly as feasible. The Shopify Help Centre has extensive documentation, and Shopify University offers a number of sophisticated guides. 

• Advance marketing & SEO-friendly  

Shopify’s sophisticated Search Engine Optimization (SEO) capabilities will help your online store rank higher in search results, making it easier for customers to find you. You also have advanced analytics at your disposal, which may inform you where your clients are coming from so that you can customize your marketing accordingly. You might want to enlist the assistance of an SEO firm.

Also read: SEO tips to improve your ranking on search engines 

You can find a wide selection of marketing options in the app store, including social network integration, product reviews, and email marketing. Shopify increases its capacity to create campaign landing pages, which is a key differentiator from other e-commerce platforms. It also has SEO features such as custom title tags and meta tags. It functions as a virtual employee, recommending and carrying out marketing tasks based on your products, target audience, and store performance. 

• Multiple Payment Gateways 

Customers will abandon their carts and depart if they can’t find their preferred payment options in your store. Even if they go to another option and finish their transaction, they’re more likely to be dissatisfied and return to your store. 

Shopify accepts a wide range of payment methods. It offers its own payment gateway as well as compatibility with a variety of payment gateways. Its payment gateway transactions are free, and credit cards are charged at a lower rate than debit cards. To utilize this gateway, you don’t need a merchant account. Shopify has over a hundred payment alternatives, including PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, Stripe, and a slew of other third-party payment interfaces. Make the switch to Shopify if you don’t want to lose clients or give them a bad experience.

• Create a visually alluring site with Shopify! 

Shopify comes with a variety of professional themes that allow you to establish one-of-a-kind and visually appealing online stores. It has a lot of themes, but it’s not just for the online theme editor. Theme kit allows Shopify developers and designers to create Shopify themes locally. You can browse various themes with varied styles, designs, functionality, and pricing in the Shopify theme store to find the best theme for your store. You can choose between free and paid solutions; thus, price is an important factor to consider. 

Shopify also organizes its themes into categories so that you can find a suitable theme quickly and easily. It has themes for a wide range of businesses, including photography, fashion, technology, beverages, health, and many others. 

• Last but not least, Omni-channel selling 

Shopify lets you sell anywhere you want through the platform’s multiple-channel functionality. Using Shopify, you can easily integrate your store with other large and powerful marketplaces for selling products across many channels.  

As of now, you only have to pay for one platform, but you can extend your business and reach more customers through Amazon or eBay. Furthermore, connecting with social media sites that have one of the largest online client bases in the world, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, is appealing. Having a Shopify store can help you get started right away.  

Bottom Line 

A custom-built store may prove to be a good solution if you’re an ambitious merchant searching for long-term originality and customization freedom. However, keep in mind that you’ll need to choose a platform that can assist you with your eCommerce goals. But Shopify deservingly emerges as one of the top solutions for e-commerce shop construction, thanks to its cutting-edge eCommerce features and benefits. Shopify is especially helpful if you’re new to the eCommerce business and want an easy way to get your online store up and running quickly, Shopify is the way to go. Whether it is about developing new online stores or migrating their current ones to this platform, Sellers can choose to do either.  

Need help creating your own Shopify store? 

Consult our experts at Webuters, today! Our solutions will help you invest in Shopify development services to kickstart your eCommerce journey.  

So why wait any longer?