Introduction to Shopify Online Shopping
Do you have a hobby making handcrafted items that you’re looking to sell, or are you interested in growing your small business? Finding a reliable e-commerce website that allows you to market and sell your handcrafted goods with ease and security can be difficult.
Sites like Shopify promise to make the process of creating your online storefront easy and painless – but is it true? What is Shopify, and is Shopify safe? Some Shopify reviews list complaints, struggles, and doubts over the security of payments and the reliability of sales.
AdvisoryHQ will take an in-depth look at what the Shopify reviews say to help you determine whether a Shopify storefront is the best step for your home business.
But first, let’s go over the basics.
What is Shopify?
It’s hard to answer the question, “Is Shopify safe?” without first addressing a more pressing question: What is Shopify? Shopify describes itself as a “complete e-commerce solution” that will give you the freedom to create an online store to sell your merchandise.
You can take advantage of its easy-to-use interface to take care of your business basics by organizing your products, customizing your store, taking credit card payments, and responding to your orders quickly and efficiently.
If your business already has its own domain or website, you can integrate these pre-existing pages with your Shopify storefront to get the benefit of its e-commerce alongside your custom design.
If you’re going to be starting from scratch, you can select one of its pre-designed templates, which can be slightly modified through its programming, for a quick and fresh way to display your goods.
Shopify Review
Business owners are really beginning to see the value of the services that Shopify has to offer in terms of its e-commerce platform. According to a Shopify review by Website Builder Expert, it has generated over $17 billion in sales with close to 300,000 online storefronts.
With numbers like that, it seems that the website must be fairly easy to use, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business, like making your merchandise and tracking your orders.
Many Shopify reviews also consider the cost of getting started with Shopify. Website Builder Expert does argue that it “isn’t the cheapest option around,” but it does provide you with constant customer service and support, plenty of functions and apps to enhance your store and selling experiences, and flexibility with your storefront.
Prices range from $29 each month for a basic e-commerce storefront all the way up to $299 each month for more advanced options.
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Is Shopify Safe?
We’ve been able to answer, “What is Shopify?” but we still need to discuss the different payment options available through this e-commerce platform. This is typically where most people begin to ask, “Is Shopify safe?”
You can set up your online store with any number of third-party merchant services, but a popular option is known as Shopify Payments. No setup is required to accept payments through the Shopify Payment gateway, and it will already be integrated into your storefront.
By taking payments through Shopify’s in-house processing services, it keeps your storefront and your finances easy to manage because they are all in one place.
Shopify Review – Is Shopify Safe?
Credit card rates are dependent upon the plan you select for your online shop, ranging from 2.4% to 2.9%. Transaction fees are lifted when Shopify payment is the primary processor for your online store.
Shopify customer reviews indicate that the only negative experience about using Shopify Payments is the redirection that comes when it is time to checkout. The site automatically takes you away from your store’s custom URL to the more generic Shopify.com.
It is possible that this would seem shady to some consumers and would cause them to steer clear of completing a purchase through your store. Therefore, to keep unfounded suspicion to a minimum, it is a good idea to notify customers in advance that they will be redirected.
If Shopify Payments isn’t for you or you have experience with other third-party merchant services you prefer, Shopify also allows you to go through other companies by paying a monthly subscription fee in addition to the fees charged by your merchant services company.
You can find a full list of compatible third-party processors here, but many of the more popular ones are included directly below:
- Stripe
- PayPal
- QuickBooks Payments
- SagePay
- Coinbase
- Skrill
Is Shopify safe – particularly its payment processing? Shopify Payments does integrate PCI compliance into its pricing structure to ensure safe e-commerce. The evidence indicates that your money is indeed safe, regardless of what payment processor is used.
Whether you choose to go with a third-party payment processor or through Shopify’s own in-house processing, as long as you choose a well-known and compliant vendor, you should be in good hands.
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Shopify Complaints
Very few negative Shopify reviews are found for this site, which means that it functions fairly well overall. You can access speedy customer service through any of its four methods: email, phone, live chat or its frequently asked questions and knowledge database.
The database includes common complaints related to modifying plans, changing billing, and basic technological questions, although these are relatively common to most sites to help those not as tech-savvy.
Its commitment to customer service seems to limit Shopify customer reviews that would paint the company in a negative light. The wait time appears to be fairly short, with one Shopify review stating waited typical wait time of only five to ten minutes for a detailed response to a query.
A Shopify review from Merchant Maverick created a list of common Shopify customer reviews and Shopify complaints:
- Cost of add-ons: The more basic plans offered by Shopify do not include many bonus features that shop owners would prefer to be included. Some Shopify complaints center on the idea that these apps are necessary for some storefronts but can be a costly addition.
- Transaction fees: Transaction fees are charged for other third-party processors, but this is a Shopify review that can be easily remedied. By choosing to accept payments through Shopify’s processing, you can avoid any additional fees.
- Difficulty using Liquid templates: When making custom changes to your storefront, you will have to adjust to using Shopify’s own coding, known as Liquid. Reviews of Shopify don’t mention that this is difficult to use, but it is an additional step, particularly for those that are already familiar with developing and coding in other areas.
- No one-page checkout: You do have to go through multiple screens in order to finish the payment process through Shopify. Other Shopify reviews complain that you are redirected from your shop’s custom URL back to the Shopify page for payments. Some Shopify complaints come from the idea that it may “scare off customers” with the sudden change.
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Shopify Reviews
Overall, it seems that Shopify has glowing reviews from both customers and merchants alike. It’s rare to see a negative Shopify review that wasn’t addressed by a customer service representative or ultimately resolved. Reviews of Shopify are, on the whole, resoundingly positive.
Shopify Customer Reviews
It isn’t uncommon to see negative Shopify customer reviews on well-known websites, like the Better Business Bureau (BBB). However, the BBB only has fifty negative Shopify reviews – a very small number when you consider the volume of business and number of merchants that Shopify services. Not to mention, all of these complaints have been addressed and labeled as closed.
PCMag gave Shopify a glowing 4.5 stars from both a merchant standpoint and for a Shopify customer review. It found the interface easy to use and consistent but did note the aforementioned common Shopify complaints as a few ways for the site to improve the services it offers.
Another Shopify review from Best Company gave the site an overall 8.5 out of 10 over the course of several categories. Its Shopify reviews looked at the site from both a customer and a merchant standpoint as well. It was rated the top e-commerce software company of a category out of 34 other sites.
Plato Web Design created a Shopify review based on design, pricing, customer experience, backend management, search engine optimization, and customer support. Every category received a 4 out of 5 or higher, with the exception of pricing. This lone category garnered only a 3.5 out of 5, still slightly better than the average but with plenty of room for improvement. Plato Web Design’s Shopify customer reviews rated the site as a 4.5.
Is Shopify for You?
It seems that the answer to “Is Shopify safe?” is a resounding “yes” as a plethora of Shopify reviews support the growing e-commerce platform. However, just because it’s safe, does it mean that Shopify is right for your small business? Based on the Shopify reviews, it seems like it might be a good fit for your company if:
- You want flexible plan choices without a contract or long-term commitment
- You want the freedom to use a pre-existing website with Shopify’s fully integrated e-commerce
- You want a template that will be easy to modify and that can make fresh design for your storefront
- You want a website that will make it easier for customers to purchase your goods
- You want an e-commerce platform that will maintain PCI compliance so you have one less thing to worry about
The benefits of maintaining your online storefront through Shopify abound because Shopify complaints are relatively minimal. While there is definitely some room for improvement as the site continues to grow and change through the coming years, it is a great starting point for your small business to begin to sell your merchandise online or to expand the online customer base you already have.
Reviews of Shopify are very positive, making it a good first choice for your online store.
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Image Sources:
- https://www.shopify.com/plus/enterprise-ecommerce
- https://www.pexels.com/photo/working-macbook-computer-keyboard-34577/
- https://www.pexels.com/photo/classic-clothes-commerce-fashion-298863/
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