What is Shopify? Everything you need to know

Originally posted in 2014

When deciding to open an e-commerce site, the first question most business owners ask is “Which platform should I use?” It can be overwhelming to choose from the many e-commerce solutions available. As we strongly believe in, and love, Shopify’s usability and features, BlueSwitch has a dedicated team of Shopify Plus web development experts. Today, we will answer one of the commonly asked questions from our clients: “What is Shopify, and why should I use it?”

What is Shopify? What is Shopify Plus?

With Shopify, you do not just get a website – you get an enhanced user experience. You can immediately get a sense for a company’s brand when walking into any store, and customers should have the same experience with an e-commerce shop. Nobody wants to browse through a store, online or physical, that is an unprofessional mess.

Professional Shopify themes for Enterprise eCommerce brands

Shopify offers professional themes to help make your business not only look awesome, but also gain every visitor’s trust. The platform’s built-in design features are customizable and great for any businesses, seasoned or new. Aside from design, Shopify gives you all the tools you need in order to be a fully functioning online business.

Shopify has built-in inventory control, so once you start selling like crazy, you will be able to keep track of your current inventory as well plan for future sales. Processing credit cards becomes stress-free, as all payments are handled by Shop Pay and many other payment  portals.

Additionally, Shopify can easily integrate with your warehouse, simplifying the shipping process. Shopify offers different shipping options with plugins for shipping rate calculators based on different set factors such as multiple shipping providers and international shipping ratess.

Shopify is packed with marketing tools and automations

So far we have only covered a fraction of what Shopify is. Shopify is not just a platform that you can design and streamline e-commerce business processes – it can be a marketing weapon. Once your online store is set up, a marketing strategy needs to be created and implemented in order to drive customers to the new site.

Shopify offers a variety of useful marketing tools with their services. Its app store is full of different tools such as coupons, discount codes, and pop-up windows to collect email addresses. Shopify also has reporting tools that show where your traffic is coming from in order to gain further insight about your customers.

Shopify makes it easy to manage email and SMS campaigns

Shopify makes it easy to collect your customers’ email addresses. Their options range from having a pop-up screen upon visiting the site to saving emails from a purchase. Once you have an email address, you can further your marketing strategy by sending your customers fresh content about your store and ultimately building a loyal client base. 

Klaviyo + Shopify = Growth

KLAVIYO integrates seamlessly with Shopify and is BlueSwitch’s preferred email marketing tool. Social media is a huge part of a brand’s identity today and fosters a community for your brand. Shopify makes it easy to have your social media links prominent on your store, creating brand synergy across all platforms. They also allow for a dynamic feed of your social media to be displayed on your page. This can entice customers to “follow” or “like” your social media handles, further expanding the reach of your brand.

Shopify Experts & Support

Another great feature of Shopify is their 24/7 support. You can call and speak to a real person (not a bot), and they also have discussion forums where Shopify users can get help from other users. Their Shopify Experts section is available for users to search for agencies that specialize in various aspects of the platform. You can view each Shopify experts’ work and read testimonials from their clients in order to discover the best option for your website.  

Shopify is definitely a fantastic platform for both start-ups and established businesses. They are constantly growing and adding new features to improve their already robust platform. Now that you know what Shopify is, if you think it sounds like the right e-commerce solution for your business, contact us today and and speak to our Shopify Plus web development experts to learn even more!