I love Shopify! I've known about the platform for years, but it's thanks to my friend Erin of Product Powerhouse that I got involved as a developer. Since that introduction, I've created a number of Shopify websites and have provided custom coding for many more. And now, I'm a Front-End Developer at an excellent Shopify Plus design and development agency.
So when I give you my top reasons for using Shopify, I hope you understand just how much I use the platform and how much I appreciate it. So with that, here are 6 Reasons Why You Should Use Shopify.
Shopify is made for stores.
There are a ton of different types of websites out there. Brochure-style, blogs, membership sites, learning platforms, etc.
But if you are creating a website that is meant to be an online store and you need all the functionality that goes with a great store workflow, Shopify is your best bet.
You can:
-
set up products with options like:
- images
- descriptions
- variants (like size or color)
- prices
- tags
- categories
- brand names
- and more!
- use built-in tools to automatically send emails to visitors who "abandon their cart" and entice them back in
- create gift cards
- showcase sale items and featured items throughout your site
- track best-selling items and more through built-in store analytics
- sell your products on other channels using Shopify's integrations
- make your products easier to find with SEO tools
- so much more!
Now I could leave it at that, but let's get into some of the other reasons why Shopify is the right choice for your online store.
Hosted Platform
Shopify is kind of an all-in-one platform for online stores. They take care of hosting and security, and you're free to focus on selling your products instead. You don't have to deal with server maintenance or constant updates.
With Shopify, you also get excellent 24/7 support (support that knows all about online stores too!) and you can rest knowing that they've got your back.
Trusted Themes
Shopify has an extensive checklist that theme developers need to go through before they can get their theme added to the theme store. It's not the type of marketplace where just any old theme can get in. Each theme needs to be mobile-friendly and ideally meets a need that isn't already met by other themes in the store. With Shopify, you don't need to wade through 100s of themes to find a solid one that you can build your online store on.
No-Code Solution
If you're a designer, you may want to focus entirely on the design and leave the coding to someone else. In that case, it's completely possible to create gorgeous stores without touching a bit of code.
Many themes come with important functionality like blog and product filtering, color swatches, mega menus, and more.
And the Shopify interface allows you to add blocks and sections through their interface (especially on the homepage). A premium theme will allow you to create completely custom inner pages, as well.
Customizable
Though I just finished talking about how Shopify is a no-code solution, that doesn't mean that you can't make more code-based solutions happen too. Unlike some other hosted platforms, you're not completely limited by the built-in options.
On Shopify, you can code in completely brand new sections and blocks to meet your online store's needs. This does require knowing how to code in HTML, CSS, and Liquid or hiring a developer to help you build this functionality, but at least the option to create custom sections is available to you.
Designer and Developer-Friendly Platform
If you're creating stores for clients, Shopify is there to help. They encourage you to sign up for free as a Shopify Partner, which gives you access to their online learning platform as well as some other perks. Curious what you can get? Here's just a handful of benefits:
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Get access to the Partner Academy where you can take free classes like
- Designing for Conversion: Introduction to Design Psychology
- Store Operations Fundamentals
- Shopify Fundamentals
- Design and Theming Fundamentals
- and more!
- Take certifications and earn badges to show off your knowledge
- Create an unlimited number of development stores where you can build stores for your clients without trial time limitations, try out upcoming features, test themes and apps, etc.
- Generate ongoing monthly revenue when you create stores for your clients for as long as your clients remain on Shopify and you remain an active Partner (on a yearly basis)
While those are my top reasons for choosing Shopify, there are so many other benefits to joining the Shopify community. If you're creating an online store, give Shopify a chance. Sign up to become a partner and create a Development store! And if you're not interested in becoming a partner (perhaps you only really need the one store and you don't design for others), you can start a 2-week free trial to try out themes and to get to know the platform. Why wait? Start selling your products today!