Shopify

Pros

Very user friendly interface with a lot of options to build your websites

Cons

A lot of similar products from different vendors

Pros

Shopify impresses with its well-structured interface and ease of onboarding, making it simple to set up an online store even for beginners. The checkout process is seamless, ensuring a smooth experience for customers. Additionally, the platform offers a plethora of marketing apps, helping businesses stay competitive and effectively reach their audience.

Cons

The main drawback of Shopify is its pricing plan for the B2B segment, which is quite high. This can be a significant concern for businesses looking to scale up or those operating with tight budgets.

Pros

Very easy interface for new designers or people wanting to start an online store

Cons

There could have been more tutorials or support to save time having to figure things out but generally is quite simple to set up

Pros

It's an all-in-one platform that includes everything you need to sell online. From invoicing and payments, to integrations, to customization and user behaviour tracking.
The marketplace of apps and integrations is huge, and there's the right app integration for everything you need.
The support is huge, and there's many tutorials available to get the most out of the platform.

Cons

There is a learning curve with the product: the website builder is not very flexible, if compared to Squarespace. The User experience in building from a template is very limited and not guided at the beginning.
If you want to change one page with another for example, it's required to get into the code folders and copy-paste the code from one page to the other.

Apart from these minor things, that are easily solvable thanks to the good documentation and videos, the product is very solid

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Shopify is very simple and intuitive. It is perfect for people who are just starting out in the E-Commerce branch.

Cons

Despite Shopify being very intuitive and easy to handle, I still have to criticize this simple approach, as you reach your limits, concerning personal customization, very fast. This is particularly painful when it comes to doing SEO on Shopify where you are very limited!

Pros

Simple, easy to use, a lot of integrations, apps and the speed to go from idea to finish

Cons

There are a couple of items and things that cannot be changed, updated or edited from our side and it becomes a frustration when we know how to do it and see a simple solution but cannot implement it due to Shopify needing to edit that part

Pros

User-friendly platform with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, drag-and-drop functionality in the web editor and free templates. The App Store provides many integrations and add-ons.

Cons

Overall the flexibility is limited compared to other platforms and migrating the store away from Shopify to other platform can be difficult as it’s a closed system. Monthly subscription fees.

Pros

The easiest to use e-commerce platform with all the best features and customizable by super-users.

Cons

The pricing on apps and overall community can be predatory on sellers without front-end web design experience.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

I like that it offers a 3 day free trial to test it out first.

Cons

It is a bit on the pricey side especially for those who are just starting out

Pros

Lots of apps and features to grow your store.

Cons

Some advanced apps and themes can get expensive.

Pros

Ability to connect many 3rd party apps, edit code on the backend for full customization and allows 3rd party payment processors.

Cons

Shopify charges transaction fees for using third party payment processors, but my company is not able to use Shopify Payments due to being a CBD company. While Shopify provides many tools, recommendations and suggestions, my company is unable to utilize them because of the restrictions they place on CBD companies. Additional charges from Shopify due to paying for a lower tier version of their service reduces my profit margin.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Shopify

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Their online support is extremely helpful and quick with response time. The ability to have social media integrations tied directly into Shopify is exceptionally useful for advertising and using this data to expand our customer base.

Cons

At times, Shopify can rely heavily on third-party apps to take care of simple features that are either underdeveloped in their capability to perform or just nonexistent. For example, the Shopify Reviews app wasn't comparable to other review apps from developers and was finally closed down. I hope Shopify will work on creating their own apps for simple features in the future so shop owners don't have to seek outside alternatives and pay additional fees to use the apps.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

As a developer / part-time system administrator Shopify's cloud solution is the best possible solution for an ecommerce.
Blazing fast solid infrastructure

Cons

Coming from WooCommerce Shopify is not the most open environment due to its cloud structure.
Heavy customization is achievable through Apps, Functions or Plus features.
Plus pricing is hefty.

Pros

In my ecommerce ownership of 7 years I find shopify has the best customer service and secure checkout that I have used. I can maintain it myself build new themes try them out first and add and remove apps easily.

Cons

The traffic to my site has been hard to build since I left woo commerce. Someof the themes to add are expensive

Pros

It is easy to set up and use. It makes starting an ecommerce store possible for someone like me that doesn't having website development and coding skills. It has a payment processor, good basic themes and integrates well with social media, shipping software and other softwares.

Cons

I don't like that you need a lot of apps to add things like multiple images to each variation. That should be built in like it is on eBay and Amazon's platforms.

Pros

General userability is fantastic. ANYONE can be taught how to run a Shopify store! Drag and drop features are wonderful for homepage updates. Creating and editing products is wonderful.

Cons

Out of the box subscription platform needs a lot of work.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Shopify

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Shopify is the most complete and customisable e-commerce building platform I’ve ever worked with.

Cons

Changes can be difficult using liquid and limited elements

Pros

Shopify is a versatile platform for building an online store, and it’s well-suited for both beginners and more advanced users. The setup is straightforward, with a vast selection of beautiful, customizable themes that make designing the storefront easy. Shopify’s app marketplace offers many tools to integrate for added functionality—like marketing, analytics, and dropshipping options—that can help scale a business. Plus, the support is responsive and typically helpful, making it a reliable option for maintaining a smooth-running store.

Cons

While Shopify’s core features are solid, costs can add up quickly. Some key features (such as advanced reporting and certain apps) are locked behind higher-tier plans or come with additional fees, which might not be ideal for very small businesses. Also, the transaction fees can be a downside unless you use Shopify Payments, so it’s worth factoring this into the overall cost.

Pros

Receiving notifications by email whenever a sale is made.

Cons

The backend editing of the website is not user friendly.

Pros

Shopify is user-friendly, offers customization, and is great with inventory management. It integrates easily with social media and online marketplaces and has excellent customer support.

Cons

Shopify can be expensive, especially with transaction fees. The free themes are limited and migrating away from Shopify is not easy.

Pros

It has many integrated payment options, making it easy for sellers to have customers from all over the world.
Also, its easy-to-use themes and fast loading speed time make it a good choice.
Lastly, a basic Shopify store can be up and running in about 30 minutes i.e it doesn't require any coding to set up a Shopify store

Cons

The lack of a free version on Shopify. New users are only given 3 days to determine if they want to use the platform, which isn't enough.
Also, to add advanced features to your store, you would need a developer which can be expensive.
Lastly, shopify has very poor settings and features in regard to SEO marketing.

Pros

The recent improvements have made Shopify even more easy to use.

Cons

I wish the Customer Service was more consistent. Sometimes I get really great solutions to my problems & sometimes it takes several emails to resolve my issue.

Pros

We move over from wix to Shopify after experiencing some difficuty navigating with eccommence. Shopify anable us to manage inventory, update and add new inventory even just using mobile phone. The flexibility cut the time on managing the site significantly. We are able to sent invoice to customer striaght away when we have live event. So very happy with that

Cons

you do need to engage other vendor to to change the template as is you ahve to chaneg the coding to amend templates

Pros

Shopify is very beginner and user-friendly. It is a great platform to build and manage an online store. I most liked Shopify's ease of use. I also liked how easy it was to integrate with my WordPress website.

Cons

I did not dislike anything about Shopify.

Pros

What I like most about Shopify is how intuitive the platform is. It makes it easy for us, the customer service team, to navigate customer orders and resolve issues quickly. Handling cancellations and modifications is straightforward, which streamlines our process.

Cons

The only flaw I’ve found with Shopify is that integrating with some apps can be a bit tricky. While the platform is solid, connecting it with certain third-party tools can be difficult. Overall, it’s a good choice, but this is an area that could be better!

Pros

The site is really easy to navigate and understand. In one afternoon I was able to get a complete ecommerce site/store set up and stocked with products for print on demand that I personally designed myself. There are options and customizations available for every aspect of the site from the color of the header background to the profit margin percentages I wanted for each item to additional admin apps that are customizable as well!

Cons

All those options can be overwhelming to someone who is new to working or selling online. While there are live chat agents available and help tabs and menus everywhere on the site it still can take some time to get familiar with everything and the functions. I wouldn't mind seeing some simplification of some of the terminology used on the site.

Pros

Has a lot of options and can integrate Affirm.

Cons

Problem solving with tech is slow. But, still good.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Shopify

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

After much deliberation of which online platform to use for our online store, we settled on Shopify for its user-friendliness. I am not an expert, yet I was able to set up a successful, beautiful online store with nearly 1,000 products. While I enjoy Shopify's chat support, we also tag teamed with a Shopify Expert to do some coding for us. Their chat support could help with most non-code related issues though, which was very appreciated.

Cons

One thing we have found difficult about Shopify is the amount of apps you need to install in order to have your site running with all the features you would want. We bought a pretty extensive theme, but are still using apps for features such as a wishlist, a quick reorder option in the "account" page for return patients, adding expiration dates to products, etc. They are not all expensive but together, they add up. Another downside for us is we sell vitamins and supplements which are on Shopify Payments restricted list, so we needed to find a third party processor. With this processor, Shopify charges us additional percentage, on top of what we pay the third party processor, simply because we are not using their payments system. The additional cost has been something we have to weigh out and consider, but it has been worth it to be able to bring our business of 20+ years to the online market.

Pros

It comes with loads of built-in tools, like inventory management, payment processing, and shipping integrations.

Cons

Shopify can get a bit pricey, especially when you add up the monthly subscriptions, transaction fees (if you’re not using Shopify Payments), and the extra costs for apps to get all the features you need.

Pros

I like that shopify had a wide selection of merchants to choose from when you were setting up your store, they had everything from simple merch, regular clothing and even an adult products(if thats what you want to set up!). Also, a lot of vendors work with them so they always have different promotions going on to get your store up and going. And if you want to pause it you can keep your whole store with out losing anything for a much lower cost.

Cons

What I didn't like is when it comes to getting your products into categories it's not as simple as going under the title of the page and checkmarking the products that you want for that page. Also, while they do have a lot vendors so many people use shopify that many times a lot of the products are sold out and thats a problem if you are going to be a vendor on a large platform with millions of users such as Shopify you have to keep up with the demand. And you can never just call everything has to be done through email and chat. And when shopify accounts were comprised such as mine was I would have rather spoke with someone about the situation than continue to have online interaction on the account that was compromised.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Its easy enough to use, had lots of features and functions that we want

Cons

Pricing for seats is based on plan level and if you need more you have to move to the next plan which can be quite a jump in expense.

Pros

Shopify makes creating an online store incredibly easy and within reach to almost everyone.

Cons

Shopify customer support often leaves something to be desired. Sometimes you’ll get a stellar support agent who goes the extra mile to get your issue solved, but it’s unfortunately rare. I often end up feeling like I’m talking to an AI bot or explaining the issue over and over and over with no resolution.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Absolutely nothing good to say about this company. Their user experience is terrible and their customer service is absolutely atrocious

Cons

Shopify has no interest in supporting small business. All they want to do is take your money and they do not care at all what happens to your business. I have never encountered another business with so little care for there clients. They are crooks and bullies. their user experience is FULL of bugs, you will constantly be reaching out to customer service. Their customer service is AWFUL its only an online chat (there's no way to talk to them on the phone) with a bunch of agents who have no idea what they are talking about, I was constantly receiving contradictory answers from different agents. The only reason they have customers is because of their massive marketing budget pushing lies onto the public. If people knew how this business operated no one would be using it. I can honestly say I have never had a worse experience with any business in any sector than I have had with Shopify. 8 months of hard work and money down the drain after they deleted my store and locked me out with no warning, no explanation and no consultation. To quote part of their brief and rude email; "for security and privacy reasons we are unable to divulge the results of our reviews and investigations" which makes no sense considering everything in the investigation would just be my details and info.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Its easy to navigate around this CMS and its got all the features you would need when creating a website, lots of theme options and setting up tracking and adding products is very easy.

Cons

Iv had a good experience so no cons from me

Pros

After trying a couple of different platforms, I have found Shopify to be the most robust and customizable and very accessible for small businesses.

Cons

Unfortunately, there are a lot of moving pieces, and it can be overwhelming for an entrepreneur to try and navigate their platform for the first time. Although the building of the website is direct, a lot of common-sense items seem to be missing and that means needing to either pay for an app to add on the needed features or needing to pay to have someone code it into the backend.

Pros

It makes small to medium business possible and there are options to scale via apps.

Cons

The jump to premium is large for even a medium sized business, so as we scale to the point that a connection of multiple Shopify apps becomes shaky you can kind of get stuck in this limbo of no mid-ground pricing. Would be great if there were a program to consult on features/complex needs for the storefront and get a curated Shopify app/API-friendly solution!

Pros

This platform has significantly enhanced our online business operations. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to set up and customize our store without needing technical expertise. I particularly appreciate Shopify's robust features, such as the Shopping Cart for seamless transactions and the Inventory Tracking system for real-time stock management.

Cons

One aspect of Shopify that I find less favorable is the cost associated with using certain advanced features and apps. While the basic platform is reasonably priced and offers essential functionalities, additional expenses can accrue when integrating specialized apps or scaling up to higher-tier plans for access to more advanced tools.

Pros

Shopify is one of the easiest platforms to use. When it comes to checking orders, updating products, setting up promotions, it is the most user friendly platform I have worked with

Cons

One thing I like least about Shopify is ability to track the origin of a sale. I work alot with Google Analytics and Ads and with tracking becoming more dificult, Shopify do not track origins of sales as accurately as i'd like

Pros

Very easy to setup an eCommerce store with zero coding experience.

Cons

No real issues. There are some things that are apps that could have been internal features.

Pros

Shopify’s user-friendly interface and simple setup process make it ideal for beginners and professionals alike ,Shopify offers unmatched sales features, including unlimited products and powerful tools like abandoned cart recovery and discount codes even from its cheapest plan.

Cons

Limited customization options for advanced users.

Alternatives Considered

Pros

At first glance I was impressed by the fact I could create my own little store on the website I own. I like the fact that you could choose your own products to sell based on your own personal taste. I enjoyed creating my store because it was so easy to make from scratch. I was thrilled that I got the new store up and running within days of starting the process with Shopify. I even made a few sales, once I linked it to my personal website. I was totally impressed on how easy it was to navigate the store’s back office or owner area. The company did exactly what it says and I like having completely satisfied customers and good reviews on my store.

Cons

I did not like the monthly pricing, but if you want to keep your store open. I found it was hard to learn all of the policies and laws that pertain to your store, but the program lists them all. Additionally, I did not like the customer service that I was given by Shopify.

Pros

One of its advantages is that it is easy to use on a mobile phone and that it is very suitable for owners of small business projects. The prices of its plans are considered good compared to its competitors in the field. The most important advantage from my point of view is the number of visits per month due to its great popularity, which of course is reflected in sales.

Cons

One of its drawbacks for me is the lack of diversity in methods of payment and receiving money. The second drawback is that it does not provide a free trial for the first month for any new user without a final payment, and this is a type of motivation and support.

Pros

I like Shopify as it allows easy setting up of an online store . There is great customer support through out the entire experience. It is very user friendly and straight forward there is however some technicalities when stocking or finding products for the shop .That's my personal view anyway . once the step by step procedure is correctly followed ,the store can be launched in no time. The features available with Shopify are inclusive of payment processing ,inventory management , how you ship , as well as tools for marketing. They also provide on going customer support.

Cons

I find Shopify to be very costly especially as a beginner , as there is a monthly subscription fee even before you sell an item . This in particular as led me to temporarily close my Shopify store ,as it has proven to be quite difficult to sell my first item.

Pros

The ease of connectivity between other products - particularly ad platforms such as Google ads, and marketing applications like Mailchimp

Cons

I've yet to find anything I particularly dislike about Shopify

Pros

Shopify makes starting and growing an ecommerce venture simple and cost-effective while providing scalability and flexibility to grow.

Cons

Some of the more useful reports and the option to build your own reports are limited to higher plans which can constrain data exploration.

Pros

I started by using Shopify's Buy Button, which was perfect when I had just a few products to sell. It was easy to install and got me up and running quickly. But as my store grew, I decided to upgrade to a full Shopify website. I love it! The website is user-friendly, making it simple for people to navigate, and I found a theme that was easy to set up and customize. Plus, their customer support has been super helpful whenever I need assistance.

Cons

Sometimes, because Shopify is such a feature-rich platform, I can get a bit confused about how certain things work. But whenever that happens, a quick Google search always leads me to a helpful tutorial that clears things up.

Pros

Reports are easily customized and export to CSV.
Dashboards show all the information I need at a glance.
Payouts are clearly organized.

Cons

Some persisting small issues that don't seem to get resolved.

Pros

The ease of use and the customer service

Cons

Keeping up with the constant updates.. They’re always great, but it takes a few minutes for me to navigate it again!

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Shopify is SEO optimized. Easy to use and works well for pretty much everyone no matter there skill.

Cons

Shopify is kinda Expensive. Also some small very random little things are not easy to do because of how streamlined and specific their system is.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Shopify

Pros

Shopify has had very reliable service and pretty easy to navigate. I researched many competitors and Shopify best fit my ecommerce needs.

Cons

Sometimes I need to ship from a different address and wish there was an option for this.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Shopify

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Shopify