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Writer's pictureFahad H

What Is Shopify?

If you’ve been researching about how to start an online store, you might have come across Shopify. At that moment, you’ll be wondering what Shopify is and how it works. The purpose of this article is to make it understandable, thereby bringing its functions and how you can leverage them in your online business.

What is Shopify?Just as bloggers use WordPress to blog, so those online shop owners use Shopify to sell. Shopify is an online eCommerce platform that allows you to create an online or offline store with Shopify POS. It has virtually all the features a beginner or an expert shop owner needs to be successful. As a beginner, you can quickly sign up for the free trials and test out if the platform is suitable for you. Shopify offers a 14 days’ free trials, and if you’re determined enough, you might even make your first sales in that period. It has a basic plan, best for beginners trying to test the waters. For the Lite plan, the pricing starts at $9 a month. However, going for the basic plan at $29 a month will be the best deal. If perhaps you’re running a business and you want something quite advanced, Advance Shopify or Shopify Plus might be the best plan for you.

About The Various Shopify PlansWhen you start dealing with Shopify, you will discover that there are specific plans that might be most suitable for your business. In this section, you are going to learn the various plans, and from there, decide which one is best for your needs.

1. What is Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus is a Shopify plan or enterprise eCommerce platform for big businesses or perhaps, companies with significant potentials. It offers several advanced features like high priority customer support, the capacity to handle higher order volumes, and so much more. If you’re already running a big business and you need to start on a big scale, this is the best plan. If, however, you’re starting on a small scale. Check out the proceeding plans.

2. What is Shopify Lite As the name implies, it is a more affordable plan that individuals with an existing website can use. In other words, you will need a website to be able to utilize this feature. If you have a self-hosted site, all you need to do is integrate a “Buy Button.” You can also use Messenger Chats to transact both online and offline on the $9 plan. Do you know what is more mouth-watering? You can also send an invoice using the plan. It is affordable and cheap. Within a month, depending on your marketing capacity, you would have made much more than that.

3. What is Shopify POS

Shopify POS allows you to sell your products offline without hurdles. You can sell anywhere like trade shows, pop-up shops, physical shops, or any other business event. The upside with this plan is that you can receive payment using your android, iPhone, iPad, or using a POS app. If you’re more of an offline business, then this is the most suitable plan for you.

Pros Of Using ShopifyThere are lots of advantages that come with using Shopify as your eCommerce platform. In this section, you’re going to learn the right and also the wrong sides of this eCommerce platform. In the end, you will be able to make an excellent decision regarding your eCommerce journey.

1. A detailed Admin OverviewYour Shopify admin dashboard is so comprehensive that you can tell how your site is performing from a glance. It comes with a whole range of reports and features that help you determine how your products are performing and your most delivering products. Furthermore, you can also monitor a real-time view of your user’s activity, and know which stage in the funnel they’re. With Shopify’s detailed backend, you can do anything using the drag and drop feature.

2. Free GoodiesShopify comes with a lot of free features that make it easy and mouth-watering. Like most websites, you will need to buy a theme for the design. But with Shopify, the reverse is the case. Upon starting, a beautiful template is loaded automatically onto your store. You can then choose to customize to fit your branding needs. New users or beginners have always found this very helpful. You can choose the kind of font you need or the color scheme of your store. In cases whereby you need to use a picture, there are thousands of eCommerce stocked photos on Shopify that you can use. You can easily find the images on the “Free Images” section of your theme.

3. Works On A CloudUnlike the usual server, which is often known to go down at the wrong hour, Shopify works on a cloud network. With this, downtime rarely happens. The cons that come from hosting your online shop on a server are numerous. Since most entrepreneurs can only afford a shared hosting server, the chances of their store going offline due to downtime are very high, especially during significant events like Black Friday.

4. Affordable PlansIrrespective of whether you’re a beginner or a big business, there is a plan for you. For big companies, Shopify Plus is the ideal plan and will ensure you enjoy a lot of free advance features. As a beginner with a slim budget, you can start with Shopify Lite and upgrade later as you progress. With the Lite, you will only pay $9 a month. Not forgetting the 14 days of free trials.

5. Tons Of AppsJust as WordPress has numerous plugins that extend its functionality, so does Shopify has apps. With these apps, you can do almost everything. There is an app for anything you might want to do in your store. There are timers, product sourcing apps, image background removers, etc. most of these apps are free, while some will require a few bucks.

6. Massive SupportWith Shopify, there is always someone ready to help and guide you into success. The fact is, Shopify wants you to succeed. Which is why they have a blog section where experts share their tricks and tips. There is also a Shopify Academy, an excellent platform filled with numerous resources that will help you in this journey. Additionally, there are also countless Facebook groups created by users. Many beginners have found these groups resourceful. The support ecosystem in Shopify is tremendous.

7. Easy EntryJoining the wagon is easy, compared to years ago, when you have to mail checks to become a seller. The fact is, time changes everything and makes it even more comfortable. Entry to Shopify is easy. There is no particular requirement that you can’t meet. It is a lot easier than you might have imagined.

Cons Of Using ShopifyJust as there are lots of pros to using Shopify, there are also cons. This section will determine if you will join the bandwagon or not. To most entrepreneurs, these cons are merely not enough to dissuade them.

1. There Is A Learning CurveTo own an online store with Shopify, it is straightforward. It can build a successful online store by dragging or dropping some features. Starting a business is never easy; you need loads of passion for making it work. The same is true with Shopify.

2. You Need To Diversify               Shopify alone cannot make you successful; you need to delve into new grounds to widen your chance of success. You need to have the marketing capacity to promote your online store. If not, you will only meet failure. There are numerous sources that you can use to improve your online store. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. when these platforms are well utilized, it will spill in a positive result. Depending on Shopify alone won’t yield any result.

How Shopify WorksThe modus operandi of Shopify is not a classified secret. When it comes to the eCommerce world, Shopify is undoubtedly one of the giants of eCommerce. It is a platform that allows you to host your online store and provide additional helpful resources. Not just that, it comes with hundreds of themes that you can use to customize the appearance of your online store. To understand how Shopify works, you need to see Shopify as a big mall where you can rent a space to sell your goods or services. They provide you with the paints, curtains and even help generate products that you can sell. After you have set up a Shopify store, the next plan of action is to make sure it is accessible to both mobile and desktop. After that, you promote the heck out of your product. Without promotion, you will find it hard to sell. An intriguing part of Shopify is its backend. You can know how your store is performing by just glancing at the admin dashboard. Through their real live monitoring, you can tell what your customers are doing. If they are merely adding more products to their carts, wish lists, or heading to checkout. When a customer successful buys a product, Shopify processes the payment and allows you to process the order. Order processing has to do with you making sure the product gets to the customer. When you play your ball well, your satisfied customers might sign in to your newsletter. It would allow you to remarket to them with ease.

Things To Sell On Shopify

One of the most frequently asked questions is often the kind of product to sell. Although there are millions of products out there, the best is usually one you know very well. That way, you can better review it than anyone else. Here is a list of popular products that you can sell in your online store and make a lot of money without blinking.

  1. Clothing

  2. Travel products

  3. Jewelry

  4. Baby or maternity products

  5. Kitchen wears

  6. Home accessories

  7. Bags and luggage, etc.While looking at things you can sell, you need to understand that some products can lead to your suspension. These products are inappropriate and risky. They include;

  8. Firearms and their parts

  9. Counterfeits or unauthorized goods

  10. Gambling products

  11. Adult products

  12. Event tickets, etc.If the product is illegal or unregulated in any way, it is also not permitted for sale on the platform. To be on the safe side, endeavor to read about the kind of goods accepted on Shopify.

Tips For Growing Your Store

There are numerous ways you can use to build your online store. Without strategies for growth, you might find your online store not attracting any visitors, talk of customers. To sell your first couple of products, you need to step out a little. In this section, you’re going to learn the various ways you can promote and grow your online store.

1. Create AdsThere are many platforms where you can place targeted ads. Platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. When choosing a platform, be sure to optimize the ad to reach your target market. Currently, Google and Facebook are dominating advert platforms.

2. Content MarketingMost newbies often overlook the importance of content marketing. They often rely on adverts on their quest to make a quick buck. There is nothing wrong with that, but there will come a time when you discover that your acquisition cost is way higher. But with content marketing, you can pull in organic traffic to your store without spending a cent.

3. Social MediaIn this era of social media, the greatest mistake you’ll ever make is neglecting it. That is were 90% of your target market resides. Join Instagram, create a Facebook page, and start building an audience that will be interested in your products and service.

Wrapping Up!Shopify is a huge platform that you can leverage into making thousands of dollars every month. All you need to do is launch your store and focus on marketing and promoting your store. When you play the ball well, you will no doubt start seeing impressive results in no time.

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