The world of ecommerce has practically exploded in the last couple of years – special thanks to the pandemic. With people finding it easier to buy everything online while staying in the comfort of their homes, the demand for products and services has grown significantly.
Off-topic, but mobile applications have practically revolutionized the ecommerce business. There are various reasons for it, the primary ones being the ease of using these services anytime and from anywhere. The added features of the technology help significantly in uplifting online businesses.
What could have been a huge hassle in terms of design and development a few years ago is only a matter of minutes now with almost DIY Shopify ecommerce development.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a Canadian SaaS-based ecommerce store builder. It is a one-stop solution that has all the digital assets an online business needs to set up an online retail shop.
Shopify works as a platform, and business owners can choose packages, branding, drag and drop menus to create custom stores depending on their type of products, audience, position in the market, and the overall business model.
Shopify Statistics
Imagine being able to create your online store while having absolutely zero programming or web development experience! That is exactly what Shopify is offering its users, and there would be no better time than now to take advantage of it.
- In 2019, online businesses built on Shopify grew by 50% in terms of total online sales and revenue. Whereas non-Shopify online stores grew by 21%.
- Almost 29% of all ecommerce websites are built on Shopify.
- Shopify has other competitors, including Wix and WooCommerce. These, however, have a market share of around 11%.
- Clothing and apparel are the biggest chunks of products sold through Shopify’s ecommerce platforms. There are approximately 75.5 thousand Shopify stores in this specific category.
Understanding How Shopify Operates
It is a cloud-based software platform that allows access to the admin panel. Working on a monthly subscription thereon, business owners and other Shopify users choose to enter, edit and keep their store details and alter them to their liking.
The admin panel allows business users to manage the orders and inventory levels, process product deliveries, and charge online.
From a technical standpoint, Shopify is a barebones platform that has the assets you need to come up with a model that can be yours exclusively because you choose how to make the design work for your business.
It is like a box of Legos, and it is up to you to figure out how you can utilize each piece in the best possible way like you’d do in a brick-and-mortar store.
As a digital transformation, app, and web development company, our business analysis teams recommend Shopify to our clients and tech partners due to the following 8 reasons.
1. Convenience and Ease of Use
This is absolutely the biggest advantage of Shopify that you can find, and once you start using the platform, you can immediately see why.
The platform allows you to use templates that have complete website designs present in them so that users can simply add their product details, and they would be good to go.
You do not have to worry about any backend stuff either, like putting the website on a domain and server and connecting them, etc.
The system covers all these requirements and provides you with a list of options that you can use to cover every aspect of the setup easily.
Of course, that does not mean you cannot make minute changes, as some people do like to make modifications for a personal touch, and there is plenty of room for that as well.
2. Disruptive UI and UX
Strategic planning goes hand in hand in with building a website. And by strategic planning, I mean the finalization of the UI and UX design, which in the modern world is one of the primary reasons for success.
And just when several metrics, researches, and studies testify the importance of an innovative web design, Shopify realizes the importance of both UI and UX; hence, they’ve built highly intuitive pre-made templates for developers.
Furthermore, the seamlessness that you can find even in default options is remarkable, and with a few tweaks here and there, you can craft an ecommerce store that perfectly reflects your business’s core values and convey powerful meanings.
1. Application Integrations
One of the most important things that you would want to do is expand the capability of the network beyond being a basic store.
There are so many functions that an online store may want to have to pivot and stand out, and luckily, Shopify is a one-stop shop that offers advanced functionality, features, and design elements integration seamless.
The apps in question can be both user-oriented and seller-oriented, depending on the functionality they provide. Many people are paying just as much for small apps as they are for entire Shopify subscription, simply because of the merits that come along with Shopify ecommerce stores.
2. Secure and Reliable Platform
Security and reliability is perhaps the biggest concern of digital entrepreneurs. The possibility of getting your website hacked, experiencing downtime, poor speed or lags, and much more can be revenue-threatening aspects, to say the least.
Although while ecommerce app development, Shopify app developers lookout for security metrics database protection, but that requires strong technical prowess, which is something that not every individual possesses.
What if I tell you that Shopify has this concern covered too?
For entrepreneurs who are looking to build their websites by themselves, Shopify has a dedicated section that ensures that the website you create on their platform is secured through their highly-complex backend architecture, which is designed to provide optimal security to stores.
Moreover, you can opt for the standard security service that comes with your subscription, or you can opt for something bigger as well. The options are all there for you, and you can easily decide which one would go best with your design and budget.
3. Optimizing Websites with Lightning-Fast Speeds
Nothing is worse than a slow website, and with consumers instantly skipping websites after forming an opinion within seconds, you need to ensure that your website is delivering a highly competitive experience to your audience.
To address the above-mentioned challenge, the Shopify ecommerce platform offers blazing fast speeds, thanks to the highly optimized algorithms backing it up.
4. Complimenting Marketing Tools
Shopify has developed a wide range of tools to facilitate sellers to reach their buyers in the most spectacular fashion.
Some of the marketing tools they have to offer are quite effective at doing their job.
However, you do need to come up with a strategy that defines how you will reach your customers depending on your product or service type, along with customizing audience metrics.
Whatever method you decide to go with, the platform makes the execution of your marketing strategy extremely easy.
1. Multi-Device Dimensional Support
Users are getting their hands on all sorts of smartphones, tablets, and other hand-held devices so, having a website that offers multi-device support and is responsive is critical.
Shopify here gives you the preview option to find out how the ecommerce store looks on different devices. If you see any discrepancies or responsiveness issues, you can change the orientation of the ecommerce store by making changes.
2. Swift Customer Support Service
One of the best things about developing a Shopify ecommerce website is that you get to enjoy the best and stellar customer support service from their representatives.
You can reach their customer support 24/7 and ask them for assistance with any issue that you’re facing with their platform. Furthermore, the omnichannel contact feature enables you to reach out to them via live chat, email, etc.
Wrapping Up…
We’ve barely scratched the surface with the features mentioned above. There’s literally untapped potential in the Shopify ecommerce platform that you can unleash. The platform has created innumerable success stories for entrepreneurs by turning home-based startups into million-dollar brands.
Here’s The Way Forward If You’re Looking To Build An Ecommerce Store
Planning to build the next billion-dollar ecommerce brand? Let’s get started today. We’ve got a dedicated team of seasoned app developers, designers, growth experts, business strategists, and project managers who are all given the sole objective of ensuring customer success.