What is Shopify? How to make money and reviews

Shopify

Throughout this article, we will be looking at a digital tool called Shopify as an alternative to earn money from the comfort of home, we will develop its main features and functionalities along with the possibilities it offers to users exposing its pros and cons in order to contribute to the choice of those readers who are in the process of searching for new profitable tools to undertake in the world of digital business.

Or is it better to look for other alternatives?

Things have changed a lot in the last year and it seems that the digitalization of society is unstoppable. Shopify is one of those companies that are betting on it.

Let's see what this company is all about.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a Canadian content management system (CMS) for e-commerce.

It was launched in 2006, originally designed for small, medium and large companies to create, customize and manage their own online store in a simple way without the need for programming knowledge, facilitating the development of marketing strategies for their products.

How to create a store

The first step to create an online store on Shopify is to register, within the platform.

1. When you enter the main page you will be asked for an email address (that you use regularly), press the "Get started" button and enter a password and a name for the store.
2. Press the "Create your store" button and complete the form with the following data: name and surname, address, country, city, zip code, phone number and optionally the link to your website. In the case of opting for the 14-day free trial, no bank details will be requested.
3. Once the registration is completed, your online store will be created automatically.

Then, once the online store is created, you must continue with the initial configuration (by pressing the "Settings" button), among the options that Shopify offers include:

1. Modify our personal data, such as company name, mail, address, among others.
2. Payment options (Express Checkeout, Payments Pro, Accept credit cards, Alternative payments and Manual payments).
3. Manage payment methods. Offer an account registration for customers to choose to create an account in the store; as well as contact methods so that the customer can receive notifications via E-mail.
4. Shipping methods your company will offer.
5. Automatic calculation of tax rates.
6. Upload images and documents, just by pressing the "Upload files" button.
7. Manage sales channels, you will be able to sell through mobile applications, social networks, etc.

Main features of Shopify

Intuitive interface

The platform makes it easy for the user to configure and manage the profile so that without prior knowledge you can get the most out of its features and functionalities.

Notifications

You will receive automatic notifications to your e-mail every time you receive a message or a sale has been made.

SEO Optimization

It has tools that will help you get good positioning in web searches achieving greater visibility.

E-Commerce Web Page and Blog

You have the possibility of integrating the main page with a blog where you can offer other content to users, expanding the community of your business and promoting it.

Statistics

Focused on customers, which will help you through analysis to guide your sales strategies.

Free cloud-based web hosting

No matter how much hosting you have, Shopify will not ask you to pay extra for it. This is quite a big advantage over other platforms like WordPress.

Unlimited catalog

There are no limits on the amount of products you add to the catalog, you will be able to import and export files in CSV format easily or even through applications integrated to the platform.

Ease of payment and internationalization

There are multiple payment methods, in Spain, for example, it offers more than 25 payment methods (Amazon, Alipay, PayPal (see how to make money with Paypal), Skrill, Bitcoins, among others). In addition, if you want to sell internationally, it accepts more than 70 different types of foreign currencies.

Ease of use and functionality

Shopify has an intuitive interface that integrates a good capacity for customization along with ease of use for the seller and the customer, since it is not necessary to have great knowledge in computer science to configure the virtual store and thus take full advantage of its functionalities, of which the following stand out:

• Insert images, titles and descriptions to the products.

• Create and manage your product inventory.

• Organize products by categories.

• Create discount codes.

Track customers and orders.

• Integrate website and blog with the store.

• Set up customer accounts so they can access a private area from which they can manage their personal data.

• Manage the access of your team by granting different levels of permissions in the administration and management of your online store.

• Create reports on your customers' behavior based on location, expenses, etc.

Shopify Design

One of the priority aspects when raising an online store is its web design, it should be the one that best suits the needs of the seller and at the same time give the best experience to customers, in this sense the platform offers us a choice between the numerous themes and predesigned templates for quick and easy customization or make a custom design itself, really the level of customization that are achieved with the use of templates is more than acceptable, so it is not justifiable to opt for a custom design that could represent a complex task.

These are some points that should be taken into account for an effective design:

1. Type of product offered.
2. Size of the catalog.
3. Need for categories or subcategories. 
4. Need for categories or subcategories.
5. Format and quality of the images.
6. Possibility of applying zoom to images.
7. Need for drop-down lists.
8. Adaptation of the website to a mobile format.

Some examples in images of the available themes and templates, it should be noted that although there are a variety that are free of cost there are also premium ones for which you will have to pay:

As we see with these examples, with Shopify you can get very profesoinal sales pages that have nothing to envy to the best e-commerce websites.

External integrations

Automating an e-business is one of the best decisions for sellers whether they are large, medium or small, with this they will be saving valuable time, which otherwise would be occupied in repetitive and tedious tasks, in addition to improving the efficiency of your website considerably reducing possible errors which will generate higher profits and customer satisfaction.

Here are some of the integrations Shopify has to be able to automate e-business:

• JivoChat:

A live chat is a great addition for an online store, but having staff to respond 24/7 is not always possible, in these cases JivoChat allows you to welcome customers, offer help and collect email addresses.

• SellerActive:

Automatically imports orders into the store, matching the SKU with your Shopify products to correctly sync quantities in stock, allowing you to sell items without the fear of overselling or underselling.

• Recart:

Offers automated messaging campaigns, including abandoned cart reminders, product review requests, shipping notifications, and order receipt.

• Expandly:

automatically updates stock levels across all sales channels, ensuring maximum product exposure, without the risk of overselling or the need to restrict.

• Kit:

Ii is an automated advertising assistant for Facebook and Instagram.

• Marsello:

Delivers targeted marketing messages, includes behavioral-based audience targeting, automated emails, loyalty programs, customer feedback and email campaigns.

• Zentail:

Automatically categorizes products and add product type specific attributes, e.g., a listing of clothing in a marketplace can be categorized by color, design, size, etc.

• Sellbrite:

Lists products across the largest online marketplaces, adjusts and synchronizes inventory to avoid underselling and overselling.

• Skubana:

Routes purchase orders by generating automated orders based on sales velocity and forecasts, minimizing the need for calculations by recommending how many units to reorder.

• Launchpad:

Allows you to schedule sales, launches and content changes, so you can execute events automatically.

• SmartrMail:

Analyzes customer browsing data and purchase history to create automated, personalized emails.

• Jilt:

Automates abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase, welcome, recall, recovery, replenishment, receipt, shipping notifications, newsletters and sales announcements emails, all based on customer and order data.

• Shop Sheriff:

More than half of all e-commerce traffic originates from a mobile device. Shop Sheriff will keep accelerated mobile pages (AMP) up to date, synchronizing store updates in real time, and notify of any potential AMP alerts.

• LimeSpot:

Provides personalized experiences by using shopper profiles, shopping behaviors to provide real-time recommendations to each store visitor, resulting in a better user experience.

Plans and Pricing

Pricing may seem expensive, but that doesn't have to be the case.

Let's see, if you are going to set up an e-commerce store you have to be serious. You can't be thinking that you're going to sell $50 a month.

Let's say that at the beginning you are going to sell little but you have to have a serious project and budget for advertising so that you can start selling considerable amounts in a short period of time. However the first year is probably not going to be easy.

If the project has a future, paying $79 per month will not be a problem, because the goal has to be to earn several thousand dollars per month.

Also if we compare it with a physical store it is much more expensive, so in view of what we have seen we are facing a good alternative.

However, there is one thing that is true, and that is that for some countries in Latin America that money, about 79 USD per month, is quite a lot of money. In that case you should make sure that you have a solid project, because we are talking about some countries with an economic level 10 times lower than the United States or 5 times lower than Spain and then things get more complicated.

Is Shopify or WordPress e-commerce better?

This is a debate that has been going on for many years on the web, and it is one of the toughest online battles of recent years. Both sides have their advantage.

WordPress is the king of blogs and SEO content, and that gives it an important advantage in that field, which is no small thing, but the truth is that in this field it is competing with a platform specialized in e-commerce, and that is an important advantage.

It is not that WordPress is worse than Shopify but the learning curve to get a store up and running will be higher because you will have to deal with dozens of plugins, themes and technical problems that in Shopify are solved from almost the beginning.

In other words, WordPress requires a more personal setup and that takes time. The end result can be very good, however.

It all depends on what you're willing to take on. If you have time and desire, getting into WordPress is a good alternative.

Here is a video where they also give an interesting opinion on whether or not Shopify is better than WordPress for e-commerce:

In fact, I recommend you to see the comments section of that same video, where I found one to highlight. Interesting if you are from Latin America:

Alternatives to make money with Shopify

In this section we will see what are the most interesting options that the platform offers its users to earn money:

1 Dropshipping

Shopify gives the possibility of dropshipping, a business model where the supplier is in charge of the storage and logistics management of the order.

The advantage is that no inventories or initial investments are required. Once the sale is made, the supplier will ship the product from its storage directly to the customer. Obviously, in this sales modality it is crucial to make the right choice of suppliers, for which some issues must be taken into consideration, such as: supplier's background; shipping rates and methods; type, weight and size of the merchandise; type of packaging (envelopes or boxes); etc.

2 Sell your art

If you are an art devotee, for example: painter, sculptor, photographer or even graphic designer. With Shopify you will find a place to publicize and monetize your talent.

A good option would be to use your website and blog to expose your works and then through your online store to market them, you only have to add quality photographs and descriptions to your products and start giving value to your creations.

The variety of products to offer is wide from original or printed oil paintings, handmade sculptures or 3D prints to wallpapers for cell phones and computers.

3 Professional Freelance

With the help of this platform you will have the opportunity to work for yourself as a freelancer, in this way you will work autonomously, making your own decisions and organizing your time according to your needs by promoting your specific services online, which will bring you an extra income.

4 Create your own fashion line

These are the steps to follow if your goal is to create your own fashion line on the Internet:

1. Design training, via web you can find courses and YouTube tutorials.
2. Discover your skills and focus on a specific 
3. Discover your skills and focus on a specific sector.
4. Be aware of the latest fashion trends.
5. Take advantage of technological tools (Graphic, Apple Pencil, Adobe Illustrator, Sketchbook, Accumark Pattern Design Software, etc.) to make creative designs.
6. Procurement of raw materials and production, initially the production will be done by yourself and as the business grows you can choose to outsource.
7. Design a collection for each season (autumn/winter and spring/summer).
8. Create your online store and publish your products, using fundamentally good marketing strategies based on a previous analysis.

5 Create your own online course

Nowadays more and more people choose to be self-taught when it comes to learning about a certain area, it is well known that if you want to be successful in any activity you must be constantly updated. If you specialize in a certain area is your chance to create your own online course and advertise it through Shopify.

6 How to make a profitable profit

Making the decision to create an online store in the first instance seems to be a simple decision, however, recent studies reveal that only 20% of online stores that are opened manage to cross the threshold of life of the first 3 years. This should not be a discouraging fact, on the contrary, it should be an incentive to strive to make the e-business profitable, for this purpose it is advisable to apply the following tips that will certainly be of great help to achieve success in the world of E-commerce.

7 Define marketing strategies

Based on a market analysis, having clear the message you want to communicate. Ask yourself what makes you special and differentiates you from the competition? Your marketing plan could include some of the following tactics: consumer data research; competitive pricing; development of audiovisual content targeted to a specific audience; advertising on social networks, TV, and/or print media.

Identify and know your niche market.

Determine your target audience segment, the ideal customers for your products, study them and identify their demands.

Define objectives

The definition of objectives must be clear, concise and measurable, they can be short, medium or long term. In the beginning, it is better to have small and short term objectives. The decision making process will depend on the fulfillment or not of the objectives.

Invest in advertising

To see results it is necessary to make an investment in strategic advertising, this strategy will depend on whether the initial investment will be sustained.

Personalize your store

Offering a good shopping experience to the user is of vital importance if you want the buyer to choose your store again. Mainly include good quality photographs with complete and adequate descriptions. This way you will keep old customers and attract new ones.

Take advantage of integrations

Optimize yourself by using all the integration applications that are available to streamline the different functionalities, management, administration and analysis, you will be saving time and minimizing errors.

Invest in advice

Get advice from an experienced and expert team that will serve as a guide to help you achieve your goals.

Advantages and disadvantages of Shopify

Having concluded the most important aspects regarding the platform it is time to identify its pros and cons, the table below outlines its most notable advantages and disadvantages.

Conclusion - Our Shopify Reviews

At this point we are able to put into consideration everything mentioned above about Shopify, coming to the conclusion that we are facing one of the best platforms that currently offers the market to start in e-business, since in general it provides a top quality service for which you must pay an amount that although it may be considered high compared to other CMS that price correlates to the value of the service provided.

It is worth mentioning that its 14 years of experience in the market have been of great help for it to be constantly updated, correcting errors and acquiring recognition within its sector, since it is one of the most used content management systems for E-commerce at present with more than one million active online stores.

On the other hand, as already mentioned, a 14-day free trial is available, ideal to take the first steps on the site and become familiar with it. That said, Shopify can undoubtedly mean the addition of a great ally if you want to venture into digitizing your business.

Finally, I think you should be clear that making money with Shopify is not going to be easy.

To make money you are going to have to do a good market research and develop a serious plan. We are not facing a system that is easy by far, or in which it is enough to mount the web and little else. You have to work quite hard, both physically and digitally.

However, if you have a good sales idea and you can successfully implement it, the limit to make money with Shopify is the sky, because we are talking about the possibility of creating a full-fledged store. You know that nowadays and in the future it seems that stores are going to be more and more online.

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