Interested in opening a Shopify store to sell your products? Considering switching to Shopify from another ecommerce platform? Here are 4 FAQs beginners ask about Shopify.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an ecommerce platform used for building ecommerce websites and selling products online. Sellers pay a monthly fee in order to use Shopify’s services. As the most popular ecommerce platform out there with over 4.4 million stores worldwide and counting, Shopify is a great choice.
The benefit of using an ecommerce platform like Shopify, as opposed to building your own website to sell products from scratch, is that ecommerce platforms come equipped with the infrastructure sellers need. Tools needed to build and host your website, process payments securely, design your website’s front end, maintain inventory, and more are all packaged into ecommerce platforms in one easy place.
While there are many ecommerce platforms out there like Squarespace, Wix eCommerce, and BigCommerce, we believe Shopify is the best. Check out our last blog post to see our reasons why.
What do I need to get started on Shopify?
The only things you need are a Shopify plan (see more about that below!), a credit card, and products to sell. That’s it!
If you’re selling your own products, you’ll need to arrange the physical logistics on your end as needed for your business. But you can use Shopify Shipping, which allows you to connect your Shopify account to shipping carriers to buy and print labels within Shopify. You’ll receive a discount on shipping, and customers will see calculated shipping rates instead of flat rates at checkout.
If you have an existing ecommerce business on another platform, you can migrate your products to Shopify. Check out this Shopify article for more information. If you need further help with setting up your Shopify website, feel free to contact us at the bottom of this page!
How much does Shopify cost?
The price you’ll be paying for Shopify varies depending on the needs of your business. Shopify offers a range of plans offering benefits depending on a business’s size and needs. The plans you can pick from are called Starter (for selling through social media apps like Instagram and Facebook only), Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus. Prices range anywhere from $38 CAD per month for Basic, to $2,000 per month for Shopify Plus.
The more advanced your plan, the more features will be included with your Shopify membership. Plans include reporting, inventory locations, discounts on shipping, and staff accounts.
Check out Shopify’s pricing page for more information on plans.
Do I need to be a designer or developer to use Shopify?
Definitely not! Shopify has a ton of out-of-the-box tools and customizable themes that anyone can implement with no coding or design experience.
However, it definitely helps to have a stellar website and the know-how to give it the polish it deserves. Your website is a reflection of your business as a whole, and customers will be far more likely to convert if you have a well-built website and punchy product copy.
Consider hiring a Shopify Expert like us, Good Commerce Agency, to build your Shopify website. By working with experts, you’ll gain access to years of experience and expertise, saving you the time and money spent learning the ins and outs of Shopify.
You’ll be able to focus on growing your business, improving your products, and providing an excellent customer experience while experts do the hard part for you. Contact us using the form at the bottom of this page and we’ll set up a free discovery call for your business.
Want to know more about Shopify? Check out last week’s blog post!