Shopify is a Canadian eCommerce platform that allows merchants to quickly start an online store and begin trading. Shopify powers over a million websites. Shopify is not a single product but hundreds of products under one platform.
With Shopify, you could build anything from a simple store using a template to sophisticated websites that host thousands of products.
Shopify relies on ready-made themes that offer limited customisation. In case you need full control over your theme, you need to hire a developer that can handle custom-made code.
For example, if you want to display a message to customers that a product is low in stock, you will need to buy a separate plug-in or hire a developer to build a custom feature.
Shopify’s initial subscription is not expensive however the subscription covers the price of basic functionalities. Merchants will need more features that come in the form of addons. addons are paid and they are more expensive than the basic monthly subscription.
Many merchants feel frustrated with Shopify’s transaction fees that are high for basic plans compared to more expensive plans. Shopify’s transaction fees reduce merchants net income. Shopify receives around 2% of each sale you make.
You are limited to three options per product. So, if you have a product that has many options such as colour, size, weight and height, you will be able to select just three options.
If you need to have unlimited product options, you could buy a plugin from Shopify named product customizer. Product Customizer costs $19.99 a month.
Shopify users suffer from some limitations with SEO functionality. Users have limited control over how search engines crawl and rank their site because they have to use Shopify SEO apps. Website owners are used to using YOAST or Rank Math but those are WordPress Plugins and they are not available on Shopify. The alternative is Shopify’s PLUG In SEO which costs $20 a month.
Shopify themes are restrictive compared to WordPress themes. WordPress allows you to create an unlimited number of landing pages to give your store the best chance of customer conversion. With Shopify, you are limited to one homepage which makes it suitable for small businesses.
If you are a small business and looking for a Shopify alternative in the UK, you could consider Martave.
Our platform will open the door for you to discover online shopping businesses like never before. This gives us a huge advantage over existing competitors when it comes to integrating the latest innovations to add value to our merchants. Read More
Update all the time with Martave. We regularly published newsletters for our merchants to discuss a lot of Technical issues and Marketing Strategies.