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Shopify is an online, subscription-based software that allows businesses to run an online store. The software operates on a monthly subscription model and has made selling goods easier than ever. There’s no denying that Shopify is one of the best eCommerce website platforms available online.

In 2020, an estimated 427,676 websites used Shopify. Shopify is used by 5.9% of all the websites on the internet. Many business owners use Shopify because not only does it make selling products easier, but it also offers tools to improve your sales.

It’s considered no less than a powerhouse when it comes to customizing your online store and managing the payments and other important tasks. If you want to step into the eCommerce website and want to know if Shopify is still a relevant platform to choose from, this Shopify review will be able to help you.

From the benefits of using Shopify to its alternatives and drawbacks, this detailed review of Shopify will shed light on everything you should know about this prominent eCommerce platform.

Read along!

What is Shopify, and How Does it Work?

In simpler words, Shopify is a subscription-based eCommerce software that allows users to host their stores. From organizing the layout of the stores to processing payments and building mobile-friendly stores, the platform allows you to do it at a great price.

Shopify was founded in 2004 by three Canadians who got inspired to build Shopify after having a poor online shopping experience. The company has over 7,000 employees and contractors working for them. Furthermore, it is the most popular eCommerce platform in the US, with a share of 23%. As of 2021, the platform powers over 3.2 million online stores.

You might be wondering why these numbers matter in the first place. They matter because when you are choosing an online website builder, you want to make sure that the one you settle on is trusted by a large number of businesses.

What are the Benefits of Using Shopify?

Its dashboard is extremely user-friendly

Shopify is designed to set up your store and running it as soon as possible
Website data is stored on the cloud, which makes the websites faster than lightning
All themes offered by Shopify are mobile responsive. The platform realizes that mobile devices generate 54.8% of all global website traffic.
From serving customers to setting things up and adding products, the backend of the Shopify websites is extremely easy to manage
Regardless of which plan you choose, Shopify offers 24/7 emergency customer support to ensure that users receive quick and helpful solutions to their problems
It powers over 3.2 million websites. The number is important because it gives a message that many business owners and business professionals trust Shopify
From coupon codes to inventory management and analytics, the website offers a lot of built-in tools to set up the layout and manage things extremely easily for you. This also means that you don’t have to spend time hunting for important tools and extensions because everything is already available there.

What are the Drawbacks of Using Shopify?

While there are many benefits of using Shopify, there are a few because of which people recommend taking a look at other platforms.

With Shopify, customizing a theme can be a little too hard
If you want to create a high-functioning store, it might get a little expensive for you
The marketing tools might seem too basic for professional use

Is Shopify an Expensive eCommerce Platform?

Now, it’s time to discuss how much Shopify costs.

A few months back, the platform was offering a free trial for 90 days, but those days are gone. Currently, the platform has a 14-day free trial, which allows businesses to check out the platform in detail before committing to an active monthly plan.

Shopify offers three plans, including Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify. Basic Shopify costs $29 per month, Shopify costs $79 a month, whereas Advanced Shopify costs $299 a month. Let’s take a look at what each of the plans has to offer users:

Basic Shopify	Shopify	Advanced Shopify
Unlimited products	Unlimited products	Unlimited products
2 staff accounts	5 staff accounts	15 staff accounts
Online store	Online store	Online store
24/7 support	24/7 support	24/7 support
Sales channels	Sales channels	Sales channels
Up to 4 inventory locations	Up to 5 inventory locations	Up to 8 inventory locations
Manual order creation	Manual order creation	Manual order creation
Discount codes	Discount codes	Discount codes
Free SSL certificate	Free SSL certificate	Free SSL certificate
Abandoned card recovery	Abandoned card recovery	Abandoned card recovery
Up to 77% shipping discount	Up to 88% shipping discount	Up to 88% shipping discount
Shipping labels	Shipping labels	Shipping labels
Fraud analysis	Fraud analysis	Fraud analysis
2.9% + 30¢ USD Online credit card rate	2.6% + 30¢ USD Online credit card rate	2.4% + 30¢USD Online credit card rate
2.7% + 0¢ USD In-person credit card rate	2.5% + 0¢ USD In-person credit card rate	2.4% + 0¢ USD In-person credit card rate
2.0% USD transaction fee if you don’t use Shopify Payments	1% transaction fee if you don’t use Shopify Payments	0.5% transaction fee if you don’t use Shopify Payments
Shopify POS lite	Shopify POS lite	Shopify POS lite
+plus$89 USD/mo for Shopify POS pro	+plus$89 USD/mo for Shopify POS pro	+plus$89 USD/mo for Shopify POS pro
Sell in 20 languages	Sell in 20 languages	Sell in 20 languages
	Standard reports	Advanced reports
	USPS Priority Mail Cubic	USPS Priority Mail Cubic
	International domain	International domain
	International pricing	International pricing
		International domain per variant pricing
		Third party calculated shipping prices

Final Words

We hope that the Shopify review helped you understand the benefits of using Shopify, a few areas it lacks in, and the features each of the plans offers to its worldwide users.

Shopify is inarguably the best eCommerce platform to create an online store and sell products online and in a physical location. It’s best for business owners who don’t want to spend too much money building a store and want to make things easier and convenient to manage.

Whether you are working alone or have an eCommerce store and want to shift to the digital world, Shopify is a great platform to consider. However, an important thing to keep in mind is that it’s best for small to mid-sized businesses in the eCommerce industry.

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