{"id":2934,"date":"2023-07-20T14:24:28","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T18:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/?p=2934"},"modified":"2023-07-20T14:24:29","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T18:24:29","slug":"is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the most important decisions when launching a new E-commerce website is what platform it will use. There are countless E-commerce solutions, so picking the right one can be daunting, especially if you are unfamiliar with the pros and cons of the various options. Shopify<\/a> is a commonly used platform, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution. It, like any other platform, has advantages and disadvantages.\u00a0 The question isn\u2019t whether Shopify is the best E-commerce platform, but rather is it the best option for you and your needs? Let\u2019s take a look at the good and the bad of using Shopify for your E-commerce website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Below are three advantages to utilizing the Shopify platform for your e-Commerce website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Shopify is \u201ceasy\u201d for all of the basics, as long as you\u2019re willing to stay within their ecosystem. Since Shopify is so widely used, most shipping platforms, payment processors, CRMs, and other systems that set you up for a successful E-commerce website do support them. If all of the software that you would like to integrate with your E-commerce store support Shopify, it is usually a smooth experience without too much technical prowess required. Shopify is designed with a less technical audience in mind, so most of the basics are achieved through a visual, \u201cpoint-and-click\u201d interface.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Custom designs are still possible if having a unique design language for your website is important for you and your brand. While Shopify has a wide range of templates to choose from, both from their own designers and outside designers, you may still value a completely custom design built specifically for you. With Shopify, you have all of these capabilities, so you don\u2019t have to compromise on the look and feel of your website.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Payment processing is included. Since Shopify is built to make everything as simple as possible, they have their own payment processing solution available out of the box. Payment processing can be complicated with other systems, so having everything go through Shopify is as quick and easy as it gets to get you up and running as fast as possible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    A common theme with these advantages is the simplicity Shopify brings to the table, provided you don\u2019t require anything outside of what they support. You can sell a wide range of products, have flexibility with the design of your site, setup integration with various shippers, and start receiving payments quickly and easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course, as with any system, there are disadvantages to using Shopify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. It is difficult to leave their ecosystem. Shopify is a proprietary platform, so if you ever want to move your website elsewhere or need functionality that isn\u2019t part of what Shopify offers, you are essentially stuck and may need to start from scratch with a more standardized web product that can be hosted anywhere and has unlimited custom possibilities. Depending on how long your site has been running, it can be expensive to create a new website that replicates functionality you\u2019ve gotten used to while adding new functionality, so this is an important thing to consider before moving forward with Shopify.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Shopify can have higher ongoing costs than a custom website. There can be higher per-transaction costs if you don\u2019t use Shopify\u2019s payment processor. Shopify wants you to use their payment processor, but should you want to use another system you\u2019re already using in other areas of your business, you\u2019ll have to pay additional fees. Their payment processing fees are comparable to other processors, but should you want to use your own, then on top of their fees, you\u2019ll also pay Shopify 2% of each transaction. That can definitely add up, so you\u2019ll want to make sure you use their payment processor if at all possible. If your website is built on WordPress using WooCommerce, or other custom solutions, you can use whatever payment processor you want without additional fees or penalties. In addition, Shopify uses a tiered monthly plan approach where the basic level, currently at $29 per month, likely has some features you\u2019ll want or need in order to conduct your business. The next level up is $79 per month, which is a bit more expensive than even premium hosting options elsewhere. To the last point, once you\u2019re in the Shopify ecosystem, it can be hard to leave, so be prepared to pay these costs and potentially higher as time goes on.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. You are limited to how much customized functionality you can have because Shopify is proprietary. Other solutions like WordPress and OpenCart have an unparalleled ability to be customized to fit your exact needs. Perhaps you\u2019re running on older accounting software that you want integrated into your website that Shopify doesn\u2019t support, and moving off of that is a project in and of itself \u2013 with the right developer, chances are you can integrate it. There are countless situations where custom functionality can result in more efficiency or better service, and the possibilities with a more open solution are endless.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      In short, the primary setback with Shopify is the limitations of whatever their ecosystem allows you to do, versus near-unlimited possibilities using more custom solutions. Sometimes this can mean a higher cost up-front to develop exactly what you need, but perhaps, long-term, the cost is lower thanks to being able to utilize standard hosting technologies at a lower cost than Shopify\u2019s monthly fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Shopify may be the right platform for you, but it is important to think about the future of your business and these other factors before deciding to go with any solution for your E-commerce website. We have decades of experience helping businesses make the right decision and execute their online presence.
      When you work with Sharp Innovations, you can watch your business thrive in the digital landscape. We have a multitude of web development services to suit your personal business needs. Contact us today for\u00a0      a free consultation<\/a>\u00a0and to see how we can get your E-commerce website up and running today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Is Shopify the best option for you and your needs? Let\u2019s take a look at the good and the bad of using Shopify for your eCommerce website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[90,55],"class_list":["post-2934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-commerce","tag-e-commerce","tag-website-design-2"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform? - Sharp Innovations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are countless E-commerce solutions. Shopify is a commonly used platform, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform? - Sharp Innovations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are countless E-commerce solutions. Shopify is a commonly used platform, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sharp Innovations Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-20T18:24:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-20T18:24:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Is-Shopify-the-Best-eCommerce-Platform.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Greg Lauver\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Greg Lauver\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/\",\"name\":\"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform? - Sharp Innovations\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-20T18:24:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-20T18:24:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7e285939a1a02b1249b1867935d1fc9e\"},\"description\":\"There are countless E-commerce solutions. Shopify is a commonly used platform, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Sharp Innovations Blog\",\"description\":\"Web Design, Development, and Internet Marketing Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7e285939a1a02b1249b1867935d1fc9e\",\"name\":\"Greg Lauver\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a11a924abc1b8ead72da38dc75551eccc0f3dc5e5f6a060cc28bd84e671afab2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a11a924abc1b8ead72da38dc75551eccc0f3dc5e5f6a060cc28bd84e671afab2?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Greg Lauver\"},\"description\":\"Greg started his career with Sharp Innovations in the Client Support Specialist role, evolving over the years into Account Management, Design, Project Management, Sales, and other duties, eventually becoming a partner in 2023. He is currently VP of Account Management & Sales, focusing his energy on ensuring our top 20 clients are served with excellence. His dedication towards exceptional customer service and care for the clients he works with has been recognized time and time again. Greg appreciates the diverse nature of his role and continues to explore new ways he can serve Sharp Innovations and our clients.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/112086464633132586125\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/author\/glauver\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform? - Sharp Innovations","description":"There are countless E-commerce solutions. Shopify is a commonly used platform, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform? - Sharp Innovations","og_description":"There are countless E-commerce solutions. Shopify is a commonly used platform, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/","og_site_name":"Sharp Innovations Blog","article_published_time":"2023-07-20T18:24:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-07-20T18:24:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Is-Shopify-the-Best-eCommerce-Platform.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Greg Lauver","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Greg Lauver","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/","name":"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform? - Sharp Innovations","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-07-20T18:24:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-07-20T18:24:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7e285939a1a02b1249b1867935d1fc9e"},"description":"There are countless E-commerce solutions. Shopify is a commonly used platform, but it is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/is-shopify-the-best-e-commerce-platform\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Shopify the Best E-commerce Platform?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/","name":"Sharp Innovations Blog","description":"Web Design, Development, and Internet Marketing Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7e285939a1a02b1249b1867935d1fc9e","name":"Greg Lauver","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a11a924abc1b8ead72da38dc75551eccc0f3dc5e5f6a060cc28bd84e671afab2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a11a924abc1b8ead72da38dc75551eccc0f3dc5e5f6a060cc28bd84e671afab2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Greg Lauver"},"description":"Greg started his career with Sharp Innovations in the Client Support Specialist role, evolving over the years into Account Management, Design, Project Management, Sales, and other duties, eventually becoming a partner in 2023. He is currently VP of Account Management & Sales, focusing his energy on ensuring our top 20 clients are served with excellence. His dedication towards exceptional customer service and care for the clients he works with has been recognized time and time again. Greg appreciates the diverse nature of his role and continues to explore new ways he can serve Sharp Innovations and our clients.","sameAs":["https:\/\/plus.google.com\/112086464633132586125"],"url":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/author\/glauver\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2934"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2943,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2934\/revisions\/2943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sharpinnovations.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}