What is Shopify and how does it work? (Guide 2023) (2023)

This probably isn't the first Shopify guide you're looking at, right?

But you may never need to search for other guides on how Shopify works.

Because is what?

Because we cover everything you need.

Index

• What is the meaning of Shopify?
• How does Shopify work?
• What are Shopify pricing?
• What can I sell on Shopify?
• Where can I sell with Shopify?
• Shopify pros and cons
• Bottom line.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

You may have come across this word, 'Shopify' while browsing the web. However, you're still not sure how it works or why you should take notice. Well, don't worry because we are here to provide you with some innovative ideas.

In simple terms, Shopify is a fully hosted, cloud-based eCommerce platform that you can use to start, grow, and run an online store. Technically, Shopify is part of a subscription-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales platform.

With millions of merchants at your disposal, Shopify is one of the leading platforms for providing eCommerce services.

Unlike other e-commerce platforms, there is no software installation or hosting service required;Shopify has your backsince it has all the essentials for the success of any online store.

How does Shopify work?

Shopify unifies all your e-commerce on a single platform. In other words, it integrates your product, customer, and operational data into a single system that seamlessly connects to all of your sales channels. With this highly coveted platform, merchants can create and customize an online store and then sell across multiple venues, including but not limited to websites, smartphones, physical stores, as well as pop-up stores and multiple other social media channels. . means for online markets.

Let's dive in and see how Shopify works from initial setup to managing sales.

• Sign up for full access to the Shopify platform

As a new user, enjoy the exclusive benefits derived from subscribing to the platform,a 14-day free trial.No credit cards in advance. This is a two week risk free trial!

• Connect your sales channels

The presence of the account setup wizard connects your initial sales channels, which you can change and improve at any time.

If you prefer to sell via social media accounts, simply connect those as well in the setup wizard as shown below.

• Feed your product data or find items to sell

The next step is to enter product details, price, and images for products that you probably created or bought yourself. You can also access Shopify's Handshake wholesale network and dropshipping providers to find items to sell.

You should keep in mind that most sellers combine items they make or supply themselves with related Dropshipping products to offer a versatile collection. Learn more aboutdropshipping business here.

• Set up your payments

You can activate Shopify Payments with a single click to start accepting payments immediately. You can also connect your payment processor to your dashboard. Fortunately, Shopify supports over 100 third-party payment processors.

• Set up shipping and taxes

Click the settings tab and set up your shipping methods and rates and your applicable sales tax information.

As you continue to build your Shopify account, you can start selling after completing steps 1-5. Browse various channels in the marketplace using the Buy Button tool and start selling. You can also sell in person with a POS card reader.

• Set up your Shopify online store.

In case you want to sell independently through your well-equipped and branded website, you are now ready to set up your Shopify online store. Shopify makes this easy with a variety of plug-and-play themes that require simple setup and additional content to customize.

• Process, ship and track orders

As your order starts arriving, you'll manage everything from your Shopify admin. That's because of Shopify's amazing built-in tools that make it easy to set up convenient and efficient workflows to manage autoship orders, dropshipping products, and even virtual items like eBooks and music downloads. Shopify then automatically emails order status and tracking information to your customers.

You can consider yourself lucky that you're now free and ready to explore Shopify's sales features like email marketing, abandoned cart remarketing, and blogging.

What are Shopify pricing?

For starters, Shopify offers three exciting pricing plans, ranging from the basic option($29 per month)for the most advanced option which is($299 per month).

Here's a brief overview of Shopify's pricing plan:

• Shopify lite is $9 per month with 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction
• Shopify's basic cost is $29 per month with 2.9% + 30 cents per online transaction.
• Shopify's main plan costs $79 per month with 2.6% + 30 cents per online transaction.

The cost of Shopify Advanced is $299 per month at 2.4% + 30 cents per online transaction.

fully hostedshopify plusplatform starts at $2000 per month andShopify Launcherit costs $5 per month.

Shopify's monthly pricing plans range from $29 to $299.

Secret tip:save 10% on all yours if it is an annual plan or 20% if you subscribe for two years.

Shopify Plan Comparison

Here's the rundown in tabular form of exactly what each plan offers.

Shopify Lite($9 per month)

It's a very rare feature and supports in-person POS sales and online buy button tools for non-Shopify websites, blogs, and email sales. Also, it does not provide the online store, social media and marketplace channels of sellers for other plans.

Basic Shopify($ 29 per month)

In case your store is relatively small or if you are just starting an average business and need a bit of ecommerce functionality, this plan is for you. It is the cheapest option available. It comes with all the fundamental requirements you need to start a new online business, including 2 staff accounts, 24/7 customer support, unlimited products, an online store with an existing blog, and marketing channels. sales. On top of that, you also get a free SSL certificate, discount codes, manual order creation, and abandoned cart recovery.

Shopify Basic Plan ($79 per month)

This is the default option. A little more expensive than the basic option. It comes with everything you get in your basic Shopify plan, which has been slightly improved. For example, you get up to 5 employee accounts, gift cards and professional reports

Shopify Advanced Option ($299 per month)

It is the most expensive but highly modified Shopify plan. Shopify's Advanced plan comes with a whopping 15 staff accounts and everything you get from the core Shopify package. You also get access to an advanced report generator and third-party shipping rates.

shopify plus(starting at $2,000 per month):

This uniquely offers enterprise-grade features designed to secure high-volume, multi-site multi-million dollar sellers. You should be aware that the price, terms and features of the plan are negotiated based on sales volume and business needs at that level.

As highlighted in our Shopify plan overview, Shopify also comes with a variety ofShopify Payment Terms.

See the breakdown of terms below:

• Shopify Basic Plan: 2.9% + 30 cents
• Shopify Core Plan 2.6% + 30 centavos
• Shopify Advanced Plan: 2.4% + 30 cents.

Personal credit card fees include:

• Basic shopping plan: 2.7%
• Shopify Main Plane: 2.4%
• Advanced Purchase Plan: 2.4%

Transaction fees and payment processing

You have the option of connecting your payment processor to Shopify or using Shopify's built-in payment option. With your payment processor, Shopify will add a transaction fee that ranges from 0.5% to 0.2% of your total charge for each online sale. This fee does not apply if you use Shopify Payments.

Depending on your subscription plan, Shopify Payments offers flat payment processing fees. It also supports in-person sales using the Shopify mobile POS app and retail store POS system.

shopify shipping cost

However, if you use shipping orders, you can use Shopify's built-in shipping label printing on any plan. With this amazing feature, you'll enjoy competitive discount rates on USPS, UPS, DHL, and other carriers, and you can be sure your discounts increase on higher-tier plans.

Additionally, the shipping fee is added each time an order is processed and a shipping label is printed. These costs are charged to your card when charges reach a threshold level, based on your average sending volume. However, if you only ship a few orders per month, the shipping charges are added to your monthly Shopify bill.

Other Shopify plans, prices and costs

Here are additional costs to consider on top of what your plan offers if you want to add more functionality to your Shopify experience:

• Shopify Point of Sale (POS), Hardware and Software.

With the demanding processes of Shopify POS software for devices like Shopify POS Go, your online business may need in-person POS machines to process payments, such as at trade shows and craft fairs, just to name a few.

• Shopify App Store Costs

This is specific to third-party app providers on the Shopify Marketplace only. They charge a small fee to allow you to add other features to your eCommerce store.

• Domain name:

Expect $14 per year when you register your unique domain name directly through the Shopify platform. You can also buy your domain name elsewhere and move it to Shopify.

• email hosting

While Shopify doesn't provide email hosting as an internal option, it does provide space for you to set up email forwarding to your Shopify domain through a third-party hosting service. In most cases, you pay for the service as part of your website's hosting package.

What can I sell on Shopify?

It is well known that to be successful in an eCommerce business three things are required; high demand for products to sell, the skills to market them, and the insatiable zeal to succeed. Based on the discussion so far, you've already acquired the winner's mindset: learn, research, and relentlessly prepare for success. However, finding a popular product to sell on Shopify can be challenging. You should know that Shopify supports sales of virtually all kinds of goods and services, but the following list highlights the most important ones for your eCommerce store:

• Digital products delivered via download, including eBooks, music files, and digital gift cards.
• Health and fitness products.
• Physical products that you ship yourself.
• Goods and services salable in a retail store.
• Dropshipping items that you ship to customers directly from your dropshipping providers.
• Subscription boxes as well as associations with automatic recurring payments
• Online courses, tutorials, workshops and webinars.
• Tickets and passes to various events, local and international tours, as well as attractions.
• Products and services sold in person through mobile locations.
• Services sold and managed through online reservations.
• Donations and collections.
• Sports equipment rental, formal wear, camera and much more.

Please note that Shopify has a list of prohibited items that include, but are not limited to, alcohol and tobacco, firearms, explosives, live animals, and medical devices. If you are found selling such items, they will be immediately removed from the subscriber's product pages and your account may be terminated.

Where can I sell with Shopify?

Being an inclusive online platform, outlets such as online store, high-ranking social media sites, and POS are incorporated. Also connected through it includes; Seller marketplace, in-app sales and online courses.

Below are some highlights of the many sales channels that you can easily access using Shopify:

• Social media pages:Includes: The famous Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp, all integrated with Shopify to provide seamless sales through posts, pins and shopping videos.
• Shopify store online:This eCommerce store is the ideal platform to build your brand and reach customers online.
• Seller Markets:List products on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, and Lyst to connect with a wide range of market audiences.
• Personal Mobile Selling:Shopify POS mobile card readers are ideal for pop-up stores, food trucks, mobile devices, and local markets.
• Retail Store Sales:Shopify POD Pro supports retail store payments and store management workflows.
• Non-Shopify websites and blogs:Embedding the Shopify Buy Button allows you to add store features to reviews, articles, and posts found on other websites and blogs.
• Brand mobile application:it also provides an in-app shopping experience with personalized branding, product recommendations, and post-purchase offers.
• Buyers not attacked:Shopify's handshake marketplace helps crafters and small manufacturers reach retail buyers for wholesale deals
• Email to bate-papo:Embedding the Shopify Buy button allows you to send shopping emails while the Shopify Inbox app turns chat sessions into sales leads.

Shopify pros and cons

Shopify has advantages and disadvantages, but it is undoubtedly one of the largest and most developed e-commerce platforms on the Internet. As we've already covered above, this highly coveted platform comes with plenty of tools and features that make it easy to set up an online store and run it efficiently. However, the existence of Shopify's pros and cons may make it an ideal or non-ideal platform for you.

Advantages of using Shopify

1. Generally easy to use:This is one of the strongest intelligence in this app. Here, you don't need to go through a tedious process of launching and customizing your online business. It has a drag and drop tool that allows you to customize your store the way you want without any hassle.
2. Availability of customer service:Knowing full well that it is almost inevitable to use technology without hitting the rocks, Shopify and Shopify have built a team of reliable and efficient people to help their users. In addition, it has a 24/7 support team that can assist you at any time of the day.
3. Multiple Payment Processor:Shopify prides itself on having multiple payment options, including third-party platforms. In addition, it is very easy and fast to process transactions from your store's domain.
4. Safe technology:Fortunately, Shopify's all-time managed platform handles all the technicalities for you.
5. Integrated supply of products:It also enhances your store with relatively little or no initial investment using Dropship and Shopify's integrated wholesale networks.
6. Competitive monthly fees:Shopify gives you the freedom to choose between low monthly rates for basic plans and competitive rates for premium plans.
7. Unlimited Growth Potential:Shopify is one of the most powerful brands online and most poised to help with sudden and sustained growth.

Shopify Cons

• Precio:It is expensive, especially if you are a beginner. There are plenty of low-cost Shopify alternatives out there, especially if your operation is on a tight budget.
• Limited customization:Although the Shopify platform is customizable, it has limitations as it uses the Liquid configuration software, which is difficult for many web designers to understand. Most of the other platforms use PHP software.
• You have fewer search engine optimization (SEO) options:The Shopify platform has basic SEO features unlike platforms like WordPress.

Conclution

Although Shopify has some shortcomings as already discussed in this article, its outstanding uses and features are unrivaled in the world of virtual eCommerce platforms. It has extensive sales opportunities, as well as basic management tools. Today, it remains one of the most convenient platforms for startups and energy sellers. It's simple, has a wide sales scope, and has the greatest potential for growth.

frequent questions

Do I need to be a designer or developer to use Shopify?

No, you don't need to be a designer or developer to use Shopify.

When you sign up for Shopify, you can:

• Customize the overall external appearance of your store with the online store builder and themes.
• Add features and functionality to your store with apps.

Can I use my domain name with Shopify?

Yes, you can use your domain name with Shopify. If you already have an existing domain name, you can connect it to Shopify from your store admin. If you don't already have a domain name, you have the option to buy one from Shopify or from a third-party provider.

How good is Shopify's customer support?

Based on the reviews that Shopify receives from its customers, it has very competent customers. For those using the lite or free plan, they enjoy 24/7 access to service providers via live chat and email support. Users of one of Shopify's paid plans have access to 24/7 phone support, as well as live chat and email support.