What Is Shopify & How To Use Shopify In 2022

Shopify is the second most popular eCommerce store builder in the world, mainly due to its low barrier to entry. If you’re looking for an in-depth explanation of what Shopify is and how to use Shopify for your business, look no further. We’ll walk you through the ways to sell on Shopify in person and online, the pros and cons of the platform, and how to start selling with Shopify today.

What Is Shopify?

Shopify is a subscription-based eCommerce platform that helps businesses of all sizes sell physical and digital products. You can build a Shopify store or sell through an existing website. You can also sell through social media, guest blog posts, emails, and in-person with a Shopify buy button.

How Much Does Shopify Cost?

• Shopify Lite: $9/month, includes Shopify buy button, not an online store builder
• Basic Shopify: $29/month, includes buy button, in-person selling, and online store with two staff accounts, up to four inventory locations (in-person stores, warehouses, etc.)
• Shopify: $79/month, includes all selling channels, five staff accounts, up to five inventory locations, discounted credit card rates, and discounted transaction fees
• Advanced Shopify: $299/month, includes all selling channels, 15 staff accounts, up to eight inventory locations, further discounted credit card and transaction fees, duties and import collections, custom international product pricing/variants
• Shopify Plus: Ask for pricing

What Is Shopify Lite?

Designed for sellers who don’t want or need a full online store, Shopify Lite is an eCommerce tool that lets you add a sales element to almost anywhere, including:

• Social media posts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok
• A website you currently own powered by a web builder like WordPress, Squarespace, or Wix
• Someone else’s website
• Marketing emails
• Landing pages
• Direct messages

But that’s not all you get from a Shopify Lite account. You’ll also be able to accept credit card payments or create invoices for wholesale, phone, or custom orders. You can even use Shopify’s point of sale (POS) app to accept payments in person using your iOS or Android device.

Read our full Shopify Lite review for more information on how this subscription can fit in with your eCommerce sales strategy.

What Is Shopify Plus?

Large businesses — those with over $500,000 in sales each year — may want to make their online home with Shopify Plus. The Plus plan is Shopify’s enterprise-level plan, and it comes with a price tag of $2,000 per month, or, once you make over $800K in sales every month, a monthly fee of 0.25% of sales volume.

Like all versions of Shopify, Shopify Plus is elegant, simple, and easy to use, although this top-tier version comes loaded with impressive features, such as unlimited selling capacity and special tools like Shopify Flow for automation. It is designed for wholesale and global sales. Shopify offers Plus plan members guaranteed priority customer service.

Contact Shopify for pricing information for your business, and read our full Shopify Plus review for more details.

What Can I Sell On Shopify?

Shopify users can sell almost any physical products, digital products, or drop-shipped products. Shopify merchants sell a wide variety of products, including:

• Handcrafted goods
• Beauty supplies
• Home goods
• Outdoors gear
• Clothing
• Digital products
• Online classes
• Events
• Gift Cards
• eBooks

There are only hard and fast rules when it comes to using Shopify. You can’t sell anything illegal. You also can’t sell anything prohibited by the eCommerce platform, which includes: Alcohol, tobacco and e-cigarettes, fireworks, drugs, video game currency or credits, firearms, and weapons.

This list of excluded products is subject to change. For example, over the past year, the policy regarding CBD products was updated and Shopify now allows sales of CBD products lawfully derived from hemp.

Check for the latest news on restrictions before you start building your Shopify store.

How Does Shopify Work To Sell In-Person & Online?

There are an impressive number of ways to sell using Shopify, unmatched by most eCommerce platforms.

You can use Shopify to:

Create An eCommerce Website & Sell Online

Shopify is a cloud-based software. That means that you can set up a functioning website with web hosting, your own domain name, an inventory management system, and shipping functionalities all through Shopify.

Choose a sleek template, use a simple visual drag-and-drop editor to customize your store, add your physical or digital inventory, and launch your website. There is no code or complex decision-making involved in creating your store.

If you want to add more specific features to your store, like email marketing tools or buy-now-pay-later apps, Shopify’s app store has over 4,200 apps that require no coding to install. Depending on the level of complexity and stylizing you want your website to have, you could build a live online store in as little as 30 minutes.

Sell In Person In Your Store, Pop-up Shop, Or On The Go

The Shopify POS (point of sale) app allows you to sell in person with dedicated Shopify POS hardware, an iPad or tablet, or even your mobile device.

You don’t even need an online store to sell in person. The Shopify Lite plan comes with Shopify POS Lite for free!

Sell Both Online & In-Person

People who want to sell online and in-person, like retail store owners or nonprofits who want to take donations at events and online, can do so with Shopify. Build your own website, then sync your store and POS app together. You can monitor your revenue and stock levels (if applicable) in real-time.

Use Shopify To Sell On Social Media

With a Shopify buy button or Shopify social media integrations, you can sell on so many platforms. These are just a few social media platforms that you can sell on with Shopify:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• TikTok
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• WhatsApp
• Facebook Messenger

Your customers can shop without having to leave the social media platform they’re on, which will help you boost sales conversions.

Here’s a quick guide on how to make Instagram posts shoppable and how to sell on TikTok with Shopify, so you can get an idea of how to use Shopify to sell on social media.

Use Shopify For Omnichannel Selling

You can also connect Shopify to sales channels like Amazon Marketplace, Etsy, Walmart Marketplace, eBay, and Google Shopping to create an omnichannel selling strategy.

All you have to do is connect your Shopify store with your seller accounts on different shopping platforms and you can sell from several places online.

What Are The Pros & Cons Of Shopify?

As you may expect, while Shopify is an excellent option for many merchants, it isn’t for everyone. Here’s a brief list of the reasons merchants choose Shopify, followed by a list of common customer complaints:

Shopify Pros

• Easy To Use: This is by far the biggest reason merchants love Shopify. Shopify is built for the average user, not skilled developers. It’s simple to add products, create discounts, and process orders. Web design is user-friendly and even easy with Shopify’s drag-and-drop editing tool.
• Low Startup Cost: Shopify’s relatively low monthly fees make setup affordable. The basic plan costs $29/month, and the mid-level plan is priced at $79/month. If you don’t need a whole online store, pay only $9/month for a buy button you can use anywhere online.
• Beautiful Themes: Subscribing merchants can choose from a variety of free, mobile-responsive themes. Premium (paid) themes are also available for merchants who want more options.
• Good For Dropshipping: Shopify is the platform of choice for many dropshippers. Shopify’s dropshipping integrations with top names like Spocket and Oberlo make dropshipping from your Shopify admin a lot simpler.
• Lots Of Support Options: You can access technical support every hour of the day through phone, live chat, and email. Self-help options are available as well. Customers like that Shopify’s support is available outside of regular business hours.

Shopify Cons

• Costly Add-Ons: While Shopify offers almost every basic feature, the software is lacking many advanced features. You will have to find these features in the form of add-ons, also known as apps, which are not free. Adding three apps alone could double the monthly fees.
• Transaction Fees: Although most shopping carts have dropped their transaction fees entirely, Shopify has retained its 0.5% to 2.0% fees (depending on your pricing plan). You do have the option to have Shopify waive these fees when you accept payments through Shopify Payments. However, Shopify Payments has its fair share of complaints, and it may not be the best payment processor for everyone.
• Strained Customer Support: While Shopify has been known for responsive customer support in the past, more recent customer reviews voice mixed reports on the support team. Some users are impressed by the support they received, while others complain that Shopify support representatives were not able to help them resolve their issue.

How To Use Shopify’s Tools To Build Your Shop

Using templates to build your shop is only the beginning if you want to have a profitable online presence. For a fully formed selling strategy, consider the following factors:

• Marketing: Social media is only one form of marketing. Don’t forget about email, SMS, and different forms of content marketing such as blogging.
• SEO: To optimize your website and rank higher in search engine results, improve your website’s speed, navigation, and structured data.
• Conversion: Most of the time, getting users to view your products isn’t enough. Offer personalized discounts, hold sales, create loyalty programs, and send abandoned cart emails to entice people to buy.
• Accounting: If you don’t keep track of how much you’re making, then you won’t know how to improve your selling strategy. Choose an accounting solution that’s easy enough to use while capturing all the data you need.
• Customer Service: Keep your customers in the loop. Set up quick email responses and chatbots, make returns easy, and allow customers to track their orders.
• Shipping: Use Shopify to compare shipping carriers, get shipping discounts, purchase shipping labels, and fulfill orders from different warehouse locations (if applicable.)
• Reporting: When you create ad campaigns, offer sales, change up your product offering, expand to a new selling channel, or do anything else that may impact your store, use reporting tools to analyze how these changes impact your site.

Shopify’s app store has all the tools you need to create your perfect selling and store management strategy. Just be choosy when you’re picking out apps. Add too many and you’ll find your monthly subscription bills skyrocket.

For more on optimizing your website for users and search engine robots, read our post on how to improve your business website.

How To Start Selling On Shopify With A Shopify Free Trial

If you’re considering Shopify, take the first step to get started and sign up for the 14-day free trial. You won’t have to enter any credit card information to access the trial. You just need to submit contact information and answer a few questions about your business.

During your trial, make sure to test every aspect of Shopify’s software.

Add products, create marketing campaigns, change your storefront design, and add on an app or two. The key here is to make sure Shopify can handle all of your daily operations. Look for any advanced features you may need, such as filtered search, abandoned cart notifications, and pop-up promos, so you can see how those additional expenses will fit into your budget.

Once you’re sure Shopify is the right choice for you, choose your appropriate pricing plan and read our step-by-step guide on how to set up a Shopify store and start selling online.

Shopify FAQs

Final Thoughts On Shopify For Sellers

Shopify is an excellent shopping cart for many online sellers. Its easy-to-use interface, reasonable pricing model, and beautiful themes make it one of our favorite eCommerce solutions, and we recommend it frequently to readers.

But as always, continue your research before you commit to the software and read our full Shopify review for complete information on the pros and cons of the platform. Then, sign up for a free trial to test out the software yourself. Your own experience with the software is more valuable than any advice you’ll find online.