If you’re new to online shopping, then you’re in for a treat. There’s a lot of money to be made, and it doesn’t take long to understand how it all works.
Shopify
If you’ve been following the recent news coverage, then you’ll know that Shopify recently launched Shopify Plus, a new service that takes the cake as the simplest and most accessible platform for starting and operating an online store.
In late 2018, Shopify raised $260 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Google Ventures with participation from existing investors such as Thrive Capital, Blue Chip Venture, and Sequoia Ventures. This funding will be invested in expanding the company’s ecosystem of tools and integrations, as well as developing new features for existing products.
What Is Shopify?
If you’ve never heard of Shopify, it’s probably time to introduce yourself. The platform was founded in 2010 and is currently valued at around $10 billion. Shopify is best known for its ecommerce software designed for online stores. It also offers a payments platform, a task-management tool, and a market research tool known as Shopify Pulse.
What makes Shopify unique is that it is the only platform of its kind that is open source. This means that its code is available to the public and that anyone can contribute to the development of the platform. With open source software, you always have the option of taking advantage of the latest versions and new features. It also means that customers have ownership over their data and experience. This, in turn, creates a more trusting environment when doing business online.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is a new service that takes the cake as the simplest and most accessible platform for starting and operating an online store. The service rolls up all the functionality of Shopify into one location, making it incredibly easy for customers to get started.
The beauty of Shopify Plus is that it doesn’t require any previous experience to get up and running. You simply provide a domain name and an e-mail address, and you’re good to go. From there, you can choose one of the many store themes that the platform offers, along with a brand identity.
You don’t need to worry about payments or shipping either. Shopify handles all that for you. You focus on creating and managing content, and they take care of everything else. In addition, Shopify Plus allows you to operate multiple stores from a single platform. This, in turn, makes it simpler to manage your online presence. If you’re a business of one, then Shopify Plus is a perfect choice. Alternatively, if you’re looking to create a one-stop shop for an organization, then Shopify Enterprise is your best bet.
Shopify’s biggest draw back is that, although it is the simplest platform for creating and operating an online store, it doesn’t have all the advanced features that other platforms offer. For example, it doesn’t allow for customizing the look and feel of your store. In addition, many vendors and developers create extensions for other platforms, which can greatly enhance your store’s functionality. Sadly, there are some significant drawbacks to Shopify.
Shopify does not offer integrated payments. This means that you will need to set up separate accounts for payments and credit cards. You also need to create one-off login details for each merchant account. This can get confusing, especially if you’re using multi-store operation. Furthermore, Shopify is not compatible with all browsers. This means that some customers may experience issues while using the platform. On the other hand, Shopify is secure and has an excellent reputation among the vendors and security specialists that audit it.
The Winner: Productivity
Based on our research and customer interviews, we’ve found that most entrepreneurs are choosing Shopify over Shopify Plus for one key reason: Productivity. As a businessman, you’re always busy. There are just so many things to do every day. If you’re using Shopify Plus, then you’re going to have to constantly log in and out, switch stores, and monitor different email notifications. The process of setting up and maintaining an online store can be time-consuming. Shopify makes it easy to get your store up and running in minutes, and then you can start focusing on growing your business.
The bottom line is that Shopify is the clear market leader when it comes to simplifying the process of getting an online store up and running. Not only that, but it also handles all the tedious tasks that come along with it. This, in turn, allows you to focus on the part of the business that you love the most – growing your company and marketing your products.