Shopify Review

Shopify Website Builder Review: Top Features

After hours of combing through online reviews and researching what Shopify has to offer, our team agrees that the platform’s leading features are:

• Easily create and manage your online store
• Theme templates for a range of e-commerce types
• Integrates with leading payment providers
• Huge app library to scale and grow
• Known for a high-converting checkout
• 24/7 customer service

This Shopify review examines each one in more detail, along with other qualities to consider, to determine if this builder is right for you.

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Who is the Shopify Website Builder Designed for?

Shopify is a cloud-based website builder. It offers tools to create and run an online store from your computer or mobile device through the platform. It is designed for online sellers who do not have coding know-how and want a fast way to start a web store.

Online Sellers

Shopify is an e-commerce website builder for selling products or services online. Our research reveals that Shopify is typically better for those who plan to have a larger inventory and want to quickly level up, rather than small or new businesses.

As it is specifically for e-commerce, Shopify won’t suit those looking for a website builder for an online portfolio, landing page, or solely for blogging. It may suit those looking for an easy way to manage inventory and those running a dropshipping business.

You can sell physical products, digital downloads, and various services, including memberships and online courses. There is also the option to accept donations.

No Coding Knowledge

The builder is ideal for beginners who have never edited a website. The setup is easy, as we explain later in this Shopify review. You can easily create a basic storefront and add extra functionality and personalization with apps through the integrated store.

All-in-One

If you’re looking for a website builder to start and manage your online store in one dashboard, Shopify might meet your needs. You can build the site from templates in the library and manage it, from listing products to seeing customers through to the checkout page and shipping to them. A point of sale system (POS) comes with each paid plan.

The dashboard has marketing options to start an email, social, or ad campaign in the dashboard. You can add campaigns, delete old ones, and rerun successful ones. For example, you can promote products on social media channels.

Regarding SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, to help visitors find your site, some Shopify reviewers online explain that the tools included with plans are limited, and more features are available through apps. If you’re on a budget, be aware that some apps cost money.

Shopify Review of Support

The paid plans include 24/7 chat customer support, which is great for those relying on the platform to help them manage the store. The highest-level plan provides 24/7 phone support.

There are mixed reviews online regarding support quality. Some users describe excellent support experiences, while others say it can be challenging to reach and sometimes not helpful.

How to Start an Online Store with Shopify Website Builder

Creating an account and starting your online store is straightforward and fast with Shopify. Some users explain they have it up and running within the hour. To create an account, enter your email address, password, and store name.

You can choose a free or paid theme and edit it by pressing the “Customize” button. Several user reviews of Shopify online explain that it is straightforward to change the way the store looks without having to code by hand. You can also purchase a domain name through Shopify.

When making changes, you can see a live view of how your store looks with those modifications. Just hover over and click the text and image boxes to change them. Drag and drop elements to easily design and modify them.

After completing the design, add your products and services to sell. It’s as simple as clicking exit on the design editor to get back to the admin screen, clicking on the Products page, and then the “Add your products” button. This layout is intuitive, even for beginners to website creation.

You can organize products into collections if you want. Then, set up a business email through Shopify. Next, activate the payment provider you want or select Shopify Payments. We like that Shopify makes creating a store email for business inquiries easy and integrates it with payment systems so you can set up the store from one dashboard rather than using several different interfaces. When you’re ready, launch your store!

Shopify Review of Sales and the Front-End Experience

An important aspect to review for the Shopify website builder is the front-end experience. Ideally, customers will like the look and feel of your store and are more likely to buy from you than a competitor.

Unique Storefront

The store’s appearance is what you make it. With a range of customizable options, you can change the theme and branding to precisely how you want it, creating your own brand. The personalized look can help you win over customers.

High-Converting Checkout

Shopify is designed to be easy to navigate on the front end, so customers have a seamless shopping and buying experience. This positive experience is echoed in the high conversion rates. According to Shopify’s website, its checkout converts shoppers to buyers 15% better than other platforms, on average. Of course, these results are not guaranteed.

Designed to Be Easy to Shop At

Shoppers can select their country and currency to personalize their shopping experience. Using the search feature, they can also find what they’re looking for in your store.

The builder integrates with several leading payment processors, from PayPal to credit cards. There are also Shopify Payments if you prefer that over the leading popular processors.

Speed-Optimized Themes

Maintaining a fast website is also important for a positive shopping experience. To help, Shopify offers speed-optimized themes. Be aware that the more apps you add to your site, the slower it may load for visitors, as certain apps can make your store heavier. Adding other features, such as large videos, can also slow down site performance.

To keep your site running well, Shopify hosts sites on fast, global servers and doesn’t limit bandwidth. It also automatically optimizes images.

Excellent Uptime

The Shopify website builder has a 99.99% uptime, according to its website. That means your customers won’t likely find your site is down when they want to shop.

How Customizable is the Shopify Website Builder?

Using a drag-and-drop editor, you can set up a Shopify store that looks exactly how you want. There are many themes for online stores in various industries for different business types, such as retail and restaurants.

Choose from 190+ themes optimized for selling and customize them using a visual editor. Then, add your photos, text, and videos to make the pages across your store what you desire, including product listings and specs. You can also create a blog alongside your storefront.

You can customize the site to show different products and prices to customers in other countries or B2B customers. However, you can only fully customize the checkout page if you choose the top plan called Plus.

Add further features to your store with the Shopify App Store. Browse to find what you like and then install it. Apps are designed to help with everything from store management and store design to marketing and conversion.

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Is Shopify Affordable?

Short Free Trial

A brief way to try Shopify is with a free trial. This trial begins when you create an account, not when you start creating your store. The free trial is three days, and the first month is $1.

The three-day length is shorter than other web builders offering 14 days to try out their platforms. Please check the Shopify site for details when you are ready to use it for details as the trial length can change at any time.

Start by adding a few products to your store, creating collections, and learning about settings. You can set up payment providers and find a theme that works for you but cannot sell products and activate checkout unless you purchase a plan. So, the trial is very limited, in our opinion.

If you don’t pay for a plan by the end of the free trial, your store will be put on pause. You can cancel your Shopify account during the free trial without buying a plan, in which case your account is frozen.

About Paid Plans

We notice a big jump in pricing from the lower- to higher-level plans. While the two lower plans are affordable, there is a big gap between them and the two higher plans, which are above-average pricing in the website builder space and will only fit some budgets.

All paid plans include 24/7 customer support, high-converting checkout pages, multiple sales channels, and access to apps to personalize your store. Each includes hosting, unlimited storage and bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate, which is convenient and valuable.

The right plan for you will depend on the features you’re looking for, your budget, your business size, and more. The higher the plan, the higher the monthly fee. Top-tier plans have lower online credit card processing fees and allow more staff logins.

Themes, Apps, and More

There are many ways to customize your online store with Shopify, which is handy, especially if it’s your first online store. While there are free themes and templates, the selection is limited, so you may have to spend money to get more choices if you don’t like those freebies.

Consider adding apps through Shopify to personalize your online store. They range from shipping and inventory to adding coupons, event ticketing, and collecting emails. Having several apps to choose from is great, but many are paid not free, which increases your monthly plan fee.

Conclusion of the Shopify Website Builder Review

Shopify is a great asset for some e-commerce businesses. While it will not suit those who want a site solely for blogging or an online portfolio, and the top-tier paid plans won’t fit every budget, Shopify may benefit those who want to create an online store quickly and easily to sell products and services.

You can choose from great-looking website themes, and many payment options are available at checkout. While we wish there were more free themes and apps, we appreciate the many ways Shopify users can customize storefronts without coding knowledge.

Shopify might be right for those looking for ready-made templates to create a web store from a builder who includes hosting and offers excellent uptime. After conducting significant research for this review, our team agrees that Shopify is a reliable, easy-to-use e-commerce website builder.

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