Shopify Review: Is Shopify a Good Website Builder or Not?
In the fast-paced world of e-commerce, having a reliable, trustworthy, and user-friendly website builder is crucial for online businesses.
As you will learn in this comprehensive Shopify review, Shopify has emerged as one of the leading platforms, offering entrepreneurs a reasonably-priced all-in-one solution for creating, managing, and growing their online stores.
Shopify has become increasingly popular because it’s feature-rich, customizable, and versatile. However, as with any platform, Shopify has weaknesses.
In this article, we’ll look closely at Shopify’s key features, ease of use, pricing, customer support, and more to help you decide whether Shopify is the right for your needs.
Shopify Review 2023: Is Shopify a Good Website Builder?
How good is Shopify? Well, as you will learn in this Shopify.com review, we’re talking about one of the most popular website builders for creating and managing online stores. Shopify offers a wide range of features, a user-friendly interface, and robust e-commerce tools - everything you need to build websites.
Whether you’re a small business owner or a large enterprise, Shopify offers extensive customization options and reliable customer support.
So, it’s a great large and small business website builder for launching your first website, building a strong online presence and increasing sales.
Here’s why Shopify is considered a good website builder:
User-Friendly Interface
Shopify has a very intuitive and user-friendly interface that allows people with minimal technical knowledge to build and manage their online stores effortlessly.
Moreover, the platform offers drag-and-drop functionality, making it easy to customize the design and layout of your website.
Extensive Feature Set
Shopify offers a large set of features tailored specifically for e-commerce businesses. These include secure hosting, SSL certificates, payment gateway integration, inventory management, order tracking, and abandoned cart recovery.
So, with Shopify, you have all the necessary tools to run a successful online store.
Versatile Design Options
Shopify provides many professionally designed themes tailored to match your brand and meet your business needs.
Whether you’re looking for a minimalist design or a visually stunning layout, Shopify offers numerous options to create a stunning and engaging online store.
Mobile-Responsive Websites
Your e-commerce site must be mobile-responsive because most people shop from smartphones and don’t tolerate slow websites.
Luckily, Shopify ensures your site is optimized for mobile devices, allowing customers a seamless shopping experience across various platforms and screen sizes.
App Store and Integrations
Shopify has a robust app store with many third-party applications and integrations.
These apps allow you to extend the functionality of your online store, integrate with popular tools and services, and enhance the overall user experience.
Reliable Customer Support
Shopify has top-notch customer support. The platform provides 24/7 assistance through various channels, including live chat, email, and phone.
Whether you need technical assistance or have questions about running your online store, Shopify’s support team can help at any time.
Scalability and Performance
Shopify can accommodate businesses of all sizes. That’s why it became so popular and widely accepted.
Additionally, the platform can handle high volumes of traffic and transactions, ensuring that your online store stays responsive and works well even during peak periods.
SEO-Friendly
Shopify has built-in SEO features, making it easier for your online store to rank higher in search engine results. It provides options for optimizing page titles, meta descriptions, URLs, and more, helping improve your website’s visibility and attracting organic traffic.
In conclusion, Shopify is a unique website builder for online stores.
The easy-to-use interface, large feature set, flexible templates, mobile responsiveness, app integrations, reliable customer support, scalability, and SEO tools, make Shopify a highly recommended choice for businesses of any size.
Review of Shopify Website Builder Pricing Plans
First of all, how much does Shopify cost? Let’s first review Shopify prices:
How Much Does Shopify Website Creator Cost for Nonprofits?
Shopify offers two plans specifically designed for nonprofits: NPO Lite and NPO Full.
To sign up for these plans, you must contact Shopify Support directly, so they can verify your nonprofit status and apply the relevant plan changes.
While account-specific support isn’t provided through the Shopify Community, Shopify offers assistance through live chat, email, or callback.
Here’s all you need to know about the nonprofit plans:
NPO Lite:
Monthly fee: NPO Lite with Free Channels (no online shop) - $9
Annual fee: NPO Lite with Free Channels (no online shop) - $96
Most Common: NPO Lite with Online shop + free channels (excluding POS Classic retail functionality) - $29 monthly or $312 annually
NPO Lite offers features not typically available on Shopify Lite or Shopify Basic plans.
Features and benefits of NPO Lite include:
1% transaction fees for merchants using a 3rd party payment provider (instead of 2% on the Basic plan)
Lower Shopify Payments credit card rates (equivalent to Shopify plan rates)
Accept donations through Shopify Payments for registered charities in the US/Canada
Unlimited Staff Accounts
Real-time Carrier Shipping (Advanced plan feature)
Maximum of 3 locations
NPO Full:
Monthly fee: NPO Full with Free Channels (no online shop) - $79
Annual fee: NPO Full with Free Channels (no online shop) - $852
Most Common: NPO Full with Online shop + free channels + Retail POS functionality (for merchants still using POS Classic) - $99 monthly or $1068 annually
NPO Full offers more robust features compared to the regular Shopify plan.
Features and benefits of NPO Full include:
0% transaction fees for merchants using a 3rd party payment provider (instead of 1% on the Shopify plan)
Lower Shopify Payments credit card rates compared to the Shopify plan
Unlimited Staff Accounts
Accept donations through Shopify Payments for registered charities in the US/Canada
Real-time Carrier Shipping (Advanced plan feature)
Maximum of 4 locations
Note: The annual billing cycles for both plans provide a 10% discount, and there aren’t other discounts for biennial or triennial plans. If a feature isn’t mentioned above, it aligns with what’s available in the corresponding Shopify plan.
Are There Any Shopify Coupon Codes or Promo Discount Vouchers?
After extensive research, we haven’t found any Shopify coupon codes or promotional discount vouchers. Shopify typically offers promotions and discounts during specific periods or events, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
However, these promotions may vary each year, and it’s recommended to keep a close eye on Shopify’s official website or subscribe to their newsletter to stay updated on any upcoming deals, discount codes, or gift cards.
Additionally, third-party websites or partners may occasionally offer exclusive discounts, so explore those options.
Shopify Free vs Paid: What’s the Difference?
When setting up or upgrading your Shopify store, you can choose between free and paid versions. However, note that Shopify doesn’t have a completely free plan. Instead, it offers a free trial on all plans.
Now, let’s discuss the main differences between the free trial and paid plans to help you make a well-informed decision.
First of All, What is a Shopify Theme?
A Shopify theme is the look and feel of your website, encompassing the colors, fonts, layout, and features. It determines the overall appearance of your online store.
The best part about Shopify’s themes? You can swap them anytime without affecting your product listings and page content.
By default, new Shopify stores come with the Debut theme, suitable for most stores but may feel generic. Many store owners switch to a different theme to align with their brand and meet their specific needs.
Shopify offers a collection of free themes and various paid options.
Paid themes can vary in price, with some available for as low as $17 and others costing over $500. Custom-made themes from developers can have even higher price tags.