What is Shopify - Complete guide in 2024

Shopify is an easy-to-use e-commerce platform that provides a streamlined dashboard for small businesses to design and sell their products online. Shopify merchants have the ability to create a cutting-edge online store and sell via chat, text, email, and other channels as well as on other blogs, websites, and seller marketplaces. With Shopify's integrated point-of-sale (POS) for retail businesses, pop-up shops, market sales, and more, in-person selling is also a breeze.

What is Shopify?

Technically speaking, Shopify is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales platform that is built on subscriptions. Shopify allows users to choose from any of its plans, starting at INR 1,499 per month for an annual subscription, and starting at INR 20 for three months. A branded online store and a comprehensive set of online and offline selling tools are supported by all standard plans. Shopify SEO guide helps to get the best performance from your online store. So, SEO plays a major role in your business website.

A comprehensive set of business management tools is provided by all plans. Every Shopify subscription includes features including product sourcing, tracking sales and inventory, processing payments, shipping, customer accounts, marketing, and reporting. Additionally, you can quickly add hundreds of Shopify Apps to your toolset. Check out our Shopify review to learn more.

How Does Shopify Work?

In order for Shopify to function, all of your sales channels must be seamlessly connected to one system that houses all of your product data, customers, and administrative duties. Shopify makes it simple to investigate and grow into new product lines and sales channels once the fundamentals are in place.

Here's a detailed explanation of Shopify's operation, from setup to sales management.

1. Start Your Free 14-Day Shopify Trial Now.

For two weeks, you may use Shopify risk-free. Your credit card is not even requested up front by Shopify.

2. Establish Linkages With Your Sales Channels

Your initial sales channels are connected by the account creation wizard, which you can modify and expand at any moment.

3. Locate Products to Sell or Enter Your Product Data

You can search for things to sell by using Shopify's Handshake wholesale network and dropship merchants, or you can enter item data, pricing, and photos for products that you manufacture or source yourself.

4. Assemble Your Payment Schedule

You can link your own payment processor to your dashboard or instantly begin accepting payments with Shopify Payments, which only requires one click to activate. More than 100 third-party payment processors are supported by Shopify. Seek guidance from the top credit card processing firms to make the best choice.

5. Configure Taxes and Shipping

Configure your delivery options, costs, and any necessary sales tax information under the Settings tab.

As you develop your Shopify online store, you may begin selling right away. After completing Steps 1 through 5, you are prepared to sell through a variety of social media platforms, online marketplaces, in-person using the POS card reader, and the Buy Button tool.

6. Create an Online Shop on Shopify

The next step is to set up your Shopify online store if you wish to sell through your own branded website. Once more, Shopify simplifies this process with a variety of plug-and-play themes that just need little setup and additional content to make it uniquely yours.

7. Handle, Mail, and Monitor Purchases

You will be able to handle anything from your Shopify dashboard as orders come in. With Shopify's built-in capabilities, managing orders that you ship yourself, drop ship products, and even virtual goods like e-books and music downloads is made simple. Shopify automatically sends your customers emails with order status and shipment tracking information.

You're prepared to investigate Shopify's sales-boosting services, such as email marketing, abandoned cart remarketing, and blogging, after you've finished your setup and workflow requirements.

What Will The Price Of Shopify Be In 2024?

The monthly costs associated with Shopify's subscription plans are in addition to additional charges for shipping labels, advanced point-of-sale requirements, and payment processing.

Costs of a Shopify Subscription

Shopify offers five online store options, all of which support an unlimited number of products, orders, and customers. Additionally, each plan offers a full range of sales and company management capabilities, 24/7 support, data protection, and Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance.

Additionally, Shopify offers discounts for upfront payments. Save 10% for yearly payments and 20% for biannual payments.

Shopify's online store plans, which come in three different price points (INR 1,994, INR 7,447, and INR 30,164 per month), offer omnichannel sell-anywhere capabilities along with a comprehensive set of order, customer, and business management necessities. You can access more sophisticated marketing, administration, and reporting capabilities as you advance through the plan tiers, as well as greater shipping reductions and reduced payment processing expenses.
Shopify Starter (INR 20 per month): This limited-feature Shopify plan supports order management, and fulfills orders as well as view performance metrics to analyze your sales and customer's browsing behavior.
Shopify Plus: Provides enterprise-level capabilities targeted at high-volume, multi-location, and multi-million dollar sellers; starting at INR 1,65,461 per month. At this level, plan conditions, prices, and features are negotiated based on sales volume and business requirements.

Transaction & Processing Fees for Shopify Payments

You can use the built-in Shopify Payments feature or link your own payment processor to Shopify. Shopify charges a transaction fee to each online sale, which can range from 0.5% to 2% of the total amount if you use your own payment processor. If you utilize Shopify Payments, you are exempt from this cost.

The above table illustrates the flat-rate payment processing fees that Shopify Payments offers, which depend on your membership plan. Using Shopify's retail store POS system and mobile POS app, in-person sales are also supported by Shopify Payments.

Costs of Shipping on Shopify

You may utilize Shopify's integrated shipping label printing on any plan if you ship orders. With USPS, UPS, DHL, and other carriers, you'll get competitively low rates; additionally, your discounts are bigger with higher-tier plans.

Every time you process an order and print a shipping label, shipping costs are added up. When charges exceed a certain threshold determined by your usual shipping volume, these expenses are billed to your card. On the other hand, shipping costs are added to your monthly Shopify payment if you only ship a small number of items each month.

Which Goods Am I Allowed to Sell on Shopify?

Almost any kind of product or service can be sold using Shopify, including:

tangible goods that you personally mail
Downloadable digital goods including music files, e-books, and digital gift cards
Dropship products that travel straight from your vendors to customers
Products and services offered for sale in a retail setting
Goods and services offered via mobile locations for in-person purchases
Services arranged and marketed via internet reservations
Memberships and subscription boxes with recurrent payments that happen automatically
webinars, workshops, tutorials, and online courses
Event passes and tickets, as well as local tours and attractions
sports equipment, dresses, cameras, and more are available for rent.
contributions and fund-raisers

There is a list of forbidden goods on Shopify, which includes, among other things, medical equipment, explosives, pyrotechnics, guns, alcohol, and cigarettes. When a subscriber's product pages contain these kinds of products, Shopify will remove them and has the authority to cancel accounts that violate the seller's terms of service.

Where Can I Use Shopify to Sell?

Shopify has a wide omnichannel sales reach. The platform has built-in sales channels including the online store, popular social media platforms, and point of sale. Shopify Apps provide a connection between other sales channels including online courses, in-app purchases, and seller marketplaces.

Here is a sample of the several sales channels that Shopify allows you to access:

Shopify online store: If you want to expand your brand and attract clients online, Shopify's e-commerce-ready store is the best option.
Shopify integrates with social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, WhatsApp, and TikTok to enable seamless sales through shoppable posts, pins, and videos.
Marketplaces for sellers: Promote your products on Lyst, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, and Amazon to reach a large audience. Find out more about Amazon selling.
Mobile in-person sales: Pop-up shops, food trucks, mobile services, and local markets are perfect uses for Shopify POS mobile card readers.
Sales in retail stores: Shopify POS Pro facilitates workflows for store administration and checkout.
Blogs and websites that are not Shopify-hosted: You may incorporate store features into reviews, articles, and posts on other blogs and websites by using Shopify's Buy Button embed.
Mobile app with a brand: Shopify's Shop App delivers a branded in-app shopping experience with personalized product suggestions and deals after a purchase.
Email and chat: You can send shoppable emails using Shopify's Buy Button embeds, and you can convert chat conversations into sales opportunities with the Shopify Inbox app.
Retail purchasers: Handshake, a marketplace on Shopify, connects small manufacturers and craftspeople with wholesale buyers.

Global marketplaces: To increase sales into foreign markets, Shopify integrates with apps like Rakuten Ichiba (Japan), JD Marketplace (China), IndiaMart (India), and My Deal AU (Australia).

Shopify's Benefits and Drawbacks

Shopify offers a plethora of capabilities for business management and sales, but is it the perfect choice for you? These benefits and drawbacks of Shopify may aid with your decision.

Benefits of Shopify Use

Overall user-friendliness: Novices in rank may quickly deploy a stunning Shopify store, numerous sales channels, and order processing procedures in the morning, ready for sales by the afternoon.
Competitive monthly fees: Entry-level plans have low monthly prices, while higher-tier plans have competitive rates.
Safe technology: All technical aspects are taken care of by Shopify's fully managed platform.
Smooth retail and mobile in-person sales: You can sell in person anywhere with fully integrated mobile and retail store point-of-sale features.
Integrated product sourcing: Utilize Shopify's integrated dropship and wholesale networks to stock your store with little to no initial outlay of funds.
Integrated email marketing: With just one click, you can increase sales with the help of automated email marketing and abandoned cart alerts.

Cons of Using Shopify Cost:

If you're on a tight budget, there are free or incredibly inexpensive Shopify alternatives available.

Transaction fees: Every credit or debit card sale you make will result in a transaction fee if you choose not to use Shopify Payments.
The drawbacks of Shopify themes include their basic design, which makes it difficult to add complex features and functionality without expert coding.
Reduced possibilities for search engine optimization (SEO): When it comes to SEO, Shopify online stores are less advanced than WordPress systems.
Easy-to-use blog tools: In comparison to WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix, Shopify's blogging facilities are very limited.

Conclusion:

It's almost impossible to find an e-commerce platform that matches Shopify's level of simplicity and smooth integration with sales channels. Shopify's many selling potential and essential business management capabilities outweigh its few shortcomings, which include rudimentary SEO tools, restricted store design options, and simplistic blogging features. There is just no platform that compares to Shopify in terms of ease of use, sales volume, room for expansion, and cost for both new businesses and seasoned retailers.