After trialling many E-commerce platforms like Woo Commerce, BigCommerce, custom developed E-commerce solutions and many other options we have settled on Shopify to be our first port of call for so many reasons.
Affordable
Over the years we have developed systems that are easy to use and look and function brilliantly. Unfortunately, we found the cost to develop these systems was becoming unaffordable. The time required just wasn’t matching the client’s budgets and a website was fast becoming a luxury item for businesses as opposed to a tool to make life easy for business owners selling their product online. Shopify allows us to design and develop on top of an existing platform which allows us to keep the development costs down. The costs associated with the Shopify system are all built-in to a monthly cost. Shopify will deliver your site at lightning speed from their rock solid servers.
Simplicity and familiarity
The majority of people that have any experience with websites are familiar with WordPress. When jumping into Shopify I noticed that the administration interface was comparable to WordPress. This reduced the learning curve significantly compared to other platforms we have tested. The layout in the administration interface is so clean that finding your way around is very simple.
Dynamic and Malleable
The platform is second to none in regards to ease of use from the client end and it has been created to be a dynamic and very malleable solution for designers and developers to work with. Shopify allows you to install themes created by designers from all around the world. Just install the theme, populate the site and hit the go button!
Support
Shopify’s support is second to none! Our experience is that a reply takes seconds. How rare is that?! These guys are brilliant, they actually know their stuff about the system they are providing support for.
Security
Shopify is not open source software or self hosted like WordPress. Shopify manages all of the core system files and the web server. All you need to do is populate and focus on getting your product out to the purchaser. Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS complaint which means they meet all 6 categories of PCI compliance standards:
* Maintain a Secure Network
* Protect Cardholder Data
* Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
* Implement Strong Access Control Measures
* Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
* Maintain an Information Security Policy
These guys take security very seriously, they employ continuous risk management and have annual on-site assessments to ensure that your site is secure.
Integration
One of our other regularly used tools is Mailchimp. Shopify and Mailchimp integrate with each other allowing simple setup of your mailout contact list.
Apps
Need sophisticated reporting on sales? Need tracking and delivery updates or automatic shipping rate calculations? There’s an app for that! The Shopify app store has loads of apps that add extra functionality and can be added at the click of a button!
We have found Shopify is one of the most solid, easy to use, easy to develop with systems in the world of online business and sales, our clients love it and we love to develop with it as well.