The e-commerce industry is growing by manifolds. From small to large retailers, all business are taking their products and services online to reach more customers. Just like you need a functional and aesthetically appealing physical store, your online store shouldn’t be any less than perfect.
Building an online store isn’t as easy as it sounds. It is a complicated process and requires unique skills. This is the reason a lot of them prefer making use of hosting platforms. Although there are many hosting platforms available offering various services, we particularly suggest going with Shopify. Here are a few reasons why:
1. Easy To Setup And Use
Shopify is undoubtedly the easiest platform to set up and use. You can get it set up and running within a couple of hours. It is the best alternative for those who want a complete solution, with no technicalities related to the development and hosting of the online store. You don’t need to worry about the software and hosting that is needed for launching the website. These facilities are offered by the platform itself. All you need is:
- A subscription and account
- A custom Domain
- Products
The admin interface is intuitive and user-friendly while the user-interface is compelling too. You can also take the help of video guides and documentation on the Shopify site if you get stuck somewhere. All you need to do is update the information that is required from you and you will have a functional e-commerce website ready.
2. Visually Appealing Online Store
The platform offers a variety of professional templates that are visually appealing and some of them are actually free to use. This option facilitates the creation of unique online stores to offer a great user experience. Designers and developers can work on customizing the existing themes to create a store with rich UI and exceptional UX.
3. App Integrations
One can easily customize their online shop as the platform can be easily integrated with apps. You can add functionalities for any need that your business might have. This means that the seller can easily add some extra features and functionalities to the store and enhance its value manifold. Some of these apps include marketing, conversion optimization, analytics, SEO, upsells, fulfillment, inventory management, customer support, and much more.
4. Security and Reliability
When we talk about online shopping, the first concern that comes to mind is security. Security is essential for online business because it deals with confidential personal and financial information of the customers. Similarly, it must always be available online. But with Shopify, this not an issue at all because the platform assures you that it is secure and reliable. Both these features are taken care of with this hosted solution that takes care of upgrades and maintenance. You can choose to get SSL certificates enabled for your store to encrypt all data and pass it through a secure connection. On top of that Shopify takes care of PCI compliance for you which is required when you deal with credit cards.
5. Excellent Loading Speed
Shopify boasts of being a globally hosted solution with a reliable infrastructure along with optimized hardware and software. This gives the platform a super-fast loading speed and the e-commerce made on it loads in a matter of seconds. This factor is crucial when you are dealing with e-commerce clients as they prefer a faster loading speed and a perfect uptime. A fast loading speed also helps you in search engine rankings as it is one of the key ranking factors.
6. Mobile Responsiveness
In Q3 2019, Shopify merchant’s traffic was 81% mobile, and 71% of orders were mobile. As the number of mobile shoppers is increasing by the day, mobile responsiveness has become the key to the success of an e-commerce store. The good thing is Shopify themes are mobile responsive, which means that it can be used to avail mobile-optimized stores. Every single Shopify theme has been optimized for mobile so you don’t have to worry about designing your page. There are even free iPhone and Android apps that can be used to manage the store.
7. 24/7 support
Shopify is big on customer support. They are available 24X7, and the response time is fairly instant, meaning your business is never offline. You can get in touch via phone, email, or webchat. In addition, there are a number of community forums, extensive documentation in the Shopify Help Centre plus a range of advanced Shopify University guide.
8. Easy Payment
A big challenge for online retailers is to integrate a secure and reliable payment gateway since they handle a lot of client’s sensitive data. The payment service you have should be secure and should allow buyers to pay using different payment options. Shopify makes it simple for the store owners to set up the payment gateway without the need of much technical knowledge. The platform supports the Stripe payment option, giving buyers the liberty to make transactions without paying any extra fees. If you choose to use this you will not incur any transaction fees plus you will benefit from lower credit card fees. Shopify works over 100 payment providers from around the world to make retailers’ job easier.
In conclusion, Shopify has everything you need to run an online store and it is a great platform for new and established businesses alike. With the flexibility, security, efficiencies, support, and return on investment it offers, Shopify ticks all the boxes to allow online store owners to get on with the business of running their business.
If you are also in the e-commerce business and wish to build your website on Shopify or migrate your existing website, our team of experts can make that happen for you.