There’s no denying that e-commerce is big business these days. More entrepreneurs than ever before are setting up shop online. That’s because the Internet offers the perfect opportunity to reach a global audience. After all: it’s cost-effective, easy to manage and doesn’t need a huge investment.
When it comes to selling online, there are a plethora of choices available. Many choose to go down the self-hosted e-commerce route. Others prefer to use solutions such as Shopify. The latter option is proving a more enticing option for those new to e-commerce. Here are some of the reasons why:
You don’t need to be a programmer to use it
Perhaps the biggest selling point of Shopify is the platform’s ease of use. With traditional e-commerce solutions, one has to spend days configuring new installations. Shopify offers a solution that is akin to a point and click interface.
You don’t need any experience of HTML, CSS or PHP. Nor do you need to diagnose problems with file permissions or plugin extensions. Look at any Shopify review and you’ll soon discover the ease of use is why they rate it so high!
Shopify is hosted platform. It’s very intuitive to set up and use, and it has all the key features that you’d expect from any advanced ecommerce solution. It’s pretty robust, especially for a new merchants ready to set up an online shop.
Shopify stores look great on mobile devices
Search engine giant Google has reported that most of us look for things online using a mobile. The rise of smart devices has meant that traditional computers are now taking a back seat online.
When you launch a new Shopify store, you will notice one thing. The layout works well both on a desktop and mobile screen! When you sell online, folks will want to order products using their smartphone or tablet. Shopify has got you covered in that respect. And that’s another reason for the platform’s rising popularity.
You can choose a design for your store with ease
If you go for a self-hosted e-commerce solution, it’s a nightmare to add a different “theme” to it. There are all kinds of hassle with FTP uploads and configuration options that you must sort out.
Shopify offers a simple theme selection and installation feature. Plus, many of the themes available are free to use.
You can add a blog
One downside to other e-commerce platforms is they don’t offer any blogging functionality. As any website owner knows, a blog is the perfect way to reach out to your audience. It’s also an ideal method of marketing your brand online.
The good news is Shopify offers a blogging system built into the platform. You can create SEO-friendly blog posts that also look great all from the same system!
You can accept payments using various gateways
E-commerce sites need payment gateways like PayPal or WorldPay to accept money from customers. Shopify makes it easy to use a gateway with your store. The platform supports over 70 different gateways as standard. Other e-commerce solutions only support around twenty or so.
Your online store can get managed from a smartphone
Last, but not least, another advantage of Shopify is how you can manage your store on the go. Shopify has a mobile-friendly store management system.