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Shopify

3 min readUpdated

Shopify 101: what is Shopify, and why choose it for your online store?

A plain guide to Shopify: what the platform does, why brands choose it, how the plans differ, and what the App Store, support and Shopify Academy give you.

By Paal SobergFounder, Think Commerce

A customer holds a Shopify-branded card to a card reader at a shop counter

Shopify is an ecommerce platform for building, customising and running an online store. You don’t need to be technical to use it: you add products, take orders and manage stock from one admin. Brands choose it because it is easy to run, flexible to design, secure, and able to grow with the business, all the way up to Shopify Plus for high-volume stores.

Whether you are starting your first online store or moving an established business online, the platform you choose shapes what you can do later. This guide covers what Shopify is, why it might suit your store, and what its plans, apps and support include. It was first published in March 2023.

What is Shopify?

Shopify lets you create, customise and manage an online store from a single platform. Over 1 million businesses in 175 countries use it, from small start-ups to large corporations.

Why choose Shopify?

Easy to set up and use

Shopify is known for being easy to use. The admin is simple to find your way around, and adding products, processing orders and managing inventory takes a few clicks.

Flexible design

Shopify offers a wide range of themes, so you can build a distinctive, professional store. You can change the layout, colours and fonts to match your brand, and add features with apps and extensions.

Secure and reliable

Security and uptime matter in ecommerce. Shopify includes SSL certificates, PCI DSS compliance and protection against DDoS attacks to keep your store and your customers’ data safe. It also has strong uptime, so customers can reach your store around the clock.

Room to grow

Shopify scales with your business. Small businesses and larger companies can both find a plan that fits. Shopify Plus, for example, adds functionality and support for brands with higher sales volumes and more complex needs.

Shopify plans

Shopify offers several subscription plans for different needs and budgets. These were the most popular when this article was first published.

  • Basic Shopify: for small businesses starting an online store. It includes the core features, such as unlimited products, 2 staff accounts and 24/7 support.
  • Shopify: for growing businesses that need more features and integrations. Everything in Basic Shopify, plus 5 staff accounts, professional reports and lower transaction fees.
  • Advanced Shopify: for larger businesses. It includes 15 staff accounts, an advanced report builder and shipping rates calculated by third-party carriers.
  • Shopify Plus: a tailored plan for large companies and high-volume brands. It includes dedicated support, a custom SSL certificate, and automated workflows and campaigns.

The Shopify App Store

The Shopify App Store has over 4,000 apps and extensions that add features to your store. They cover marketing, sales, social media, customer service and inventory management, so you can shape the store around how you sell and improve the customer experience.

Support and training

Shopify offers 24/7 support by phone, email and live chat, and a help centre full of articles, guides and videos. Shopify Academy adds free online courses and webinars on running and growing an online store.

Is Shopify right for your store?

Shopify is easy to run, flexible to design and secure, and it scales from a first store up to Shopify Plus. Pick the plan that fits your volume today and move up as you grow.

If your store has outgrown its current plan, see what Shopify Plus can do for a growing brand. If you are on another platform today, read how we run a migration to Shopify or a move from WooCommerce to Shopify. Either way, talk to us about your store.

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