Why Shopify is the Best Ecommerce Platform for Online Stores #1
Competition among major e-commerce platforms has intensified in recent years, making it harder for sellers to stand out. One way to avoid getting lost in the noise is by creating a unique product that goes viral, but only a small number of sellers can truly achieve this. Another effective strategy is to build your own online store, which helps you avoid direct competition on marketplaces.
Many people have explored different methods and channels for building their own online store. If budget isn’t a concern and you’d rather not deal with the hassle, you can always hire a professional or an agency to build it for you. But in reality, most sellers end up using a CMS open-source system or a SaaS website builder.
If your budget is somewhere in the middle, you don’t want to spend too much, but you also don’t want to compromise on features or the ability to upgrade later, then for e-commerce businesses, my answer is simple: Shopify is the best Ecommerce Platform for building your online store. It’s the easiest, most complete, and most mature option out there.
So, if you’re still hesitating over which platform to use for building your online store, I’d confidently tell you to choose Shopify. Why? Because I’ve personally tested over 90% of the no-code website-building options available on the market.
Try Before You Buy: Shopify’s Free Trial, all you need is an email address:
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Pricing: A Great Value for Your Money
Most people hesitate because of the cost, but for many, the goal is to find an online store builder that’s both affordable and easy to use. As an all-in-one e-commerce platform, Shopify meets the needs of most users at a very reasonable price point, and its user interface is incredibly intuitive.
Let’s take a closer look at Shopify’s pricing. You can choose to pay monthly or annually.
- Free Trial: Shopify offers a 3-day free trial. While it used to be 14 days, 3 days is still enough for most users to get a feel for the basic features.
- Monthly Subscription: After the 3-day trial, the first 3 months are only $1/month. This means you only pay $3 for the first three months, and you can cancel anytime. After that, the monthly subscription fee is $27/month. This is when the official subscription starts, and you can still cancel at any time if you’re not satisfied.
- Annual Subscription: If you choose the annual plan, you won’t get the $1/month offer. However, the average cost per month works out to be $20, which is a bit cheaper than the monthly plan.
Subscription Plan | Standard Monthly Price | Monthly Price with Annual Plan | First 3 Months at $1/Month Offer |
|---|---|---|---|
Monthly | $27/month | Same as standard | Yes |
Annually | $20/month (billed at $240/year) | $20/month (fixed) | No |
🔹 No matter which option you choose, you can get a full refund within the first 30 days of your official subscription (this doesn’t include domain fees). Prices vary by country and region, so the currency will depend on where you are.
Shopify has significantly lowered its prices. Previously, the starter plan was $29/month with no discounted trial or annual option, totaling $348 a year. The choice between a monthly and annual plan really comes down to how committed you are to your online store.
User-Friendliness: Built for Beginners
In addition to price, ease of use is a crucial factor. If a tool is cheap but difficult to use, it’s a waste of time and energy. This is where Shopify truly excels.
🔹 Shopify’s Global Power
Shopify is a truly global platform. It supports multi-language and multi-currency websites, making it easy for merchants to sell internationally. Shoppers can browse and buy in their own language and currency, which significantly reduces the barriers to cross-border sales. For anyone looking to expand their market, Shopify offers a robust and mature solution.
🔹 User Interface: A Beginner’s Dream
For a lot of newcomers, building your own online store means the dashboard needs to be intuitive and straightforward—you should be able to click on what you see and know exactly what it does. Shopify’s admin interface is a prime example of this clarity. Take a look:
The dashboard is super clean, right? While I can’t say it’s the absolute best, it’s certainly one of the top-tier platforms I’ve seen. As you can see from the arrow, the “Online Store” section is where you get started.
🔹 Themes & Templates: The Building Blocks of Your Store
Once you enter the “Online Store” section, the first step is to pick a theme, or template. By importing a theme, the entire visual framework of your store is instantly set up. All you have to do is replace the template content with your own, like images and text. This theme-based approach drastically cuts down on the time it takes to build your online store.
Shopify offers several free templates that are perfect if your store doesn’t need a lot of complex features. These templates are responsive, meaning they automatically adapt to different screen sizes, whether it’s a desktop, tablet, or phone.
What’s more, these templates are built using a modular, drag-and-drop system. Each part of the page is a pre-designed block that you can freely move around, making it incredibly easy for any beginner to create a unique and professional-looking store layout.
If the free templates don’t meet your needs, there are plenty of paid options available. Official Shopify themes can be a bit more expensive, while third-party themes are often more affordable. If you’re looking for external themes, you can explore platforms like Themeforest and Template Monster.
🔹 Product Management: Simple and Efficient
When it comes to building an online store, listing products is one of the most time-consuming yet crucial tasks. After all, what’s an e-commerce store without products? Shopify’s product management system is very user-friendly.
Adding a single product is simple, right? Shopify also supports bulk product uploads using a template, which will be familiar to anyone who’s sold on platforms like Amazon. You just download their template and fill in your product details:
With the template, you can use a single click to duplicate similar attributes across multiple products, saving you a lot of time. If you have product data from another platform, you can often import it directly into Shopify. If not, a little editing to match the template format will allow for a smooth bulk import.
By now, you might have realized that setting up an online store on Shopify is very similar to managing a store on a platform like Amazon or AliExpress.
An All-in-One eCommerce Solution
Shopify is much more than just a website builder; it’s a complete e-commerce solution. It packs all the core features a business needs to go from “building a site” to “making sales,” offering an all-in-one service that includes:
- Website Building: Create a professional-looking online store with no coding required, using a drag-and-drop editor and a wide range of customizable themes.
- Payment System: The platform includes Shopify Payments and supports multiple global payment methods like credit cards and PayPal, ensuring fast and secure transactions.
- Order Management: Handle orders, inventory, shipping, and returns all from a single dashboard, simplifying your workflow.
- Customer Relationship Management: Manage customer groups, track purchase history, and use built-in loyalty and email marketing tools to build lasting customer relationships.
- Analytics & Reports: Built-in data analytics and sales reports help you monitor traffic sources, conversion rates, and product performance to make better business decisions.
- Marketing Tools: Built-in SEO tools, discount codes, gift cards, email marketing, and social media integrations help you drive traffic and boost sales.
Scalability: The Power of Apps
One of Shopify’s biggest strengths is its immense scalability. The Shopify App Store gives you access to thousands of plugins and extensions to meet your business needs. You can seamlessly integrate everything from social media ad tools and shipping trackers to customer service chatbots and inventory management systems. This flexibility means you can start with a small store and easily add new features as your business grows, without ever having to switch platforms.
With a massive ecosystem of over 8,000 apps, Shopify lets you “build with blocks” to customize your store. The apps cover a wide range of functions, including:
- Marketing & Ads: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, TikTok ads
- Data & Analytics: GA4, heatmaps, A/B testing
- Customer Service: Chatbots, help desk systems
- Inventory & Logistics: ERP integrations, warehouse management, third-party logistics
- Social Media Integration
- …and much more.
Merchants can essentially “build with blocks” to add features to their stores.
Ownership and SEO Advantages
Unlike selling on platforms like Amazon or eBay, Shopify gives you full ownership of your online store. You’re not competing on the same page with dozens of other sellers. Instead, you control your brand, customer data, and relationships.
Your site can also be indexed by Google and other search engines, which is a major advantage for SEO. With each new Shopify update, the gap between a Shopify-hosted store and a fully self-hosted one is narrowing.
This level of control keeps you free from third-party restrictions and allows you to build a long-term business asset. However, when it comes to data portability, Shopify is not as flexible as WordPress, where you can export or migrate everything at any time.
Security, Stability, and Scale
Security and stability are non-negotiable for an e-commerce store. Shopify includes a built-in SSL certificate to secure transactions and is PCI compliant, ensuring your payment process is safe. As a SaaS platform, Shopify is officially hosted, so it can handle heavy traffic with ease. This means you don’t have to worry about security maintenance or server downtime.
Millions of merchants worldwide, from small startups to global brands, use Shopify. I know many big e-commerce brands, such as Ulike, Roborock, and Silksilky, all use Shopify. This means that whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned seller, you’ll find the support you need within the Shopify ecosystem.
Official data shows that in 2024, Shopify generated nearly $300 billion in gross merchandise volume—and that’s after deducting shipping, taxes, and other fees. This number is so significant it even makes Amazon envious.
Multi-Channel Selling
Shopify isn’t a standalone system; it integrates with major sales channels. You can sync your products to platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and TikTok Shop with a single click, enabling true omnichannel sales. This allows you to manage inventory, orders, and marketing campaigns from one centralized Shopify dashboard, no matter where your customers are shopping.
New Feature: Dropshipping with Shopify Collective
Shopify recently launched Shopify Collective, a feature that is now available globally, benefiting more merchants than ever.
- What is it? Shopify Collective allows merchants and suppliers who use Shopify to collaborate within the same network. Merchants can directly add products from well-known Shopify brands to their stores and sell them without needing to hold any inventory.
- How does it work? The store owner is responsible for marketing and acquiring customers. The supplier handles order fulfillment and shipping. Payments are automatically processed through Shopify, and both parties get their share of the revenue.
- What’s the benefit? Store owners can easily expand their product catalogs, add new categories, and increase profit margins. Suppliers can expand their brand reach and sales channels.
This is essentially dropshipping. It allows businesses without warehousing or logistics capabilities to easily enter new markets, enabling a “lean asset operation.” While Shopify has a strict vetting process for this program to ensure quality, it offers a great opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses with unstable supply chains.
In Summary: Shopify is the Best Ecommerce Platform
In my previous articles, I wouldn’t have given this same advice. I used to think that a self-hosted option like WordPress + WooCommerce was the best choice for many people. But after working with so many newcomers over the past few years, I’ve realized that’s not the case. When you’re looking for a balance between ease of use, cost, and functionality, Shopify is the best option for beginners.
Times have changed. Shopify has consistently improved and is now a fully mature online store system. When it comes to no-code e-commerce solutions, all paths lead back to Shopify.
I’ve shared a lot of details, but it all comes down to this: many people who try to build their own online store, especially with online builders, end up choosing Shopify in the end. Why? Because for e-commerce, Shopify has everything you need at a competitive price. If you’re a small team, don’t waste any more time. Go with Shopify.
