Shopify: eCommerce Shopping Cart Review
Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce software packages on the market, boasting over 6000 active shops including clients such as Pixar, Tesla Motors, and Amnesty International. Most of all, though, it appeals to smaller businesses thanks to its simple yet versatile customization options.
The main Shopify client, like most other shopping cart software, is web-based, but it does also incorporate a number of optional, downloadable apps and extensions, including its Vision store design app. Shopify offers several different pricing options, with the $99 US per month “Business” package being the most popular; it includes up to 10,000 product slots, 1GB of storage, and unlimited bandwidth. Unlike most other ecommerce providers, Shopify doesn’t charge a setup fee, but it does use transaction fees, a commission of 1% on sales for Business users. Note that the $699/month Premium option has no transaction fees.
Shopify is noted for having some unique and very intuitive features that aren’t offered by its competitors, and has proven to be a popular choice. Can Shopify really compete with the likes of BigCommerce, though, or is it more of a niche product?
Features
Shopify doesn’t quite boast the array of powerful selling features that its main competitor, BigCommerce, has. However, for most businesses, especially smaller, boutique-type shops, Shopify’s basic features should be adequate. With Shopify you can easily handle tasks like inventory and order management and search engine optimization. Security-wise, Shopify is compliant with all industry standards including PCI DSS.
There are some important things that are missing from Shopify, though. For non-US-based users, Shopify’s shipping integration may prove to be slightly inadequate compared to that of BigCommerce, especially if you want to provide customers with the option of using Australian or European shipping services.
Ease of Use
What really makes Shopify an intriguing option is its overall ease of use. It has perhaps the best and smoothest interface of any ecommerce software package, and virtually all tasks, at least to the extent to which Shopify can perform them, are easier and less time consuming with Shopify. The most impressive aspect of Shopify is how easy it is to customize the layout and functionality of your store. As with most similar software, Shopify allows users to customize the HTML and CSS of the store, but its client-based customization is also deeper and more powerful than that of any other ecommerce solution. While Shopify still does have it's limitations in functionality, it is very easy to implement any design you can come up with and simply write some custom liquid code in your templates to get it the way you designed it. If your familiar with Ruby on Rails, you can build any functionality you need by creating a custom app using Shopifys API's which allows you to do almost anything.
Conclusion
Shopify is the best choice for users who want to tailor the visual and functional aspects of their online store without having to edit HTML or CSS. For users who need in-depth analytics and selling options, though, something like BigCommerce might be more suitable.