Are there disadvantages in using Shopify?

[DBMark]

I know the monthly fee plus the transaction charge may count as a disadvantage - but to be honest, if it saves hours/days of setting up code/updates/debugging it seems a small price to pay.
However I just have this niggling feeling there may be other drawbacks I've not considered. For example, if you want to code extra functionality to the shop. Or suppose they overreach themselves and go bust (unlikely I know).
What drawbacks should I be taking into account?

 

[DBMark]

Right, I may have found out a possible drawback. There are utility add-ons for open-source shops that improve sales/conversions eg http://www.brainsins.com/us/ and I'm sure there are many more out there. With something like PrestaShop or Magento integration of these is painless, I'm not even sure Shopify would allow it, although they may have services of their own.
It's all new territory for me here, so I welcome any feedback.

 

[ask sally]

I think shopify is the way forward. My other half produces websites to a high standard and we still use shopify sometimes just for the pure ease of it.

 

[lesliedocherty]

i know a few big guys who use shopify, and they love it, no complaints, i am using it for a new site project, and its really easy to use.

 

[webstore]

Shopify is based on Ruby-on-Rails (RoR) software - most excellent software used by loads of well known sites http://rubyonrails.org/applications

We even use RoR for the second site (custom designed) listed below in our signature.

The downside as we understand, with Shopify, despite it using RoR, is that its a proprietary implementation and as such if you want custom functionality no doubt its going to cost a lot (if they do that) to get Shopify to write such custom code.

Far better to go with OpenSource free software such as the likes of Magento (complex), OpenCart (easier) - others are available and there's normally a plethora of developers who have or can produce your required custom functionality.

 

[Badger_Monkey]

I know the monthly fee plus the transaction charge may count as a disadvantage - but to be honest, if it saves hours/days of setting up code/updates/debugging it seems a small price to pay.
However I just have this niggling feeling there may be other drawbacks I've not considered. For example, if you want to code extra functionality to the shop. Or suppose they overreach themselves and go bust (unlikely I know).
What drawbacks should I be taking into account?

Here's my top tip if you are going with Shopify - open a trial account, start playing around, before you know it you will get an email from customer support offering you reductions and to remove the transaction fee if you sign up for longer.
They will offer to remove all transaction fees and 10% discount if you pay for a year, or 20% if you pay for 2.
There might even be some more haggling in this?

Downside is if you want too many changes to the look - you can end up paying for extra coding.
Other may be better, but I'm certainly happy with it. You can look at my store through my profile (not sure if I can post it here?), its totally self build Shopify - up to you if you think its any good or not! www.thekidwho.eu

 

[andygambles]

I tried it and the downside for me was like of URL customisation control. I wanted to exactly prescribe all my site URLs but was just not possible (at that time).

 

[Badger_Monkey]

I tried it and the downside for me was like of URL customisation control. I wanted to exactly prescribe all my site URLs but was just not possible (at that time).

I'm no expert (first ever site build), but for every page I can go in and edit what the URL says very easily. I'm assuming that's what you mean?

 

[andygambles]

I'm no expert (first ever site build), but for every page I can go in and edit what the URL says very easily. I'm assuming that's what you mean?

But it adds things like /pages/ within the URL

 

[Badger_Monkey]

But it adds things like /pages/ within the URL

OK yes, it still does that.

 

[johnnysheffield]

While I like Shopify - see Bathroom Mirrors UK link in signature below - the site seems to suffer from repeated content with the tagging system. Also it's not ideal for backing up and basically if you go down the Shopify route your with them forever more without a world of pain. I've also started a Magento site recently which is cheaper, more fully featured, but requires more input from you...convenience and ease of setup or features is the choice here.

 

[antropy]

It really depends on what you're trying to achieve. I found OpenCart as the best because it performs very well.

Take a look at the review i came up here:

Shopify vs. OpenCart
http://www.antropy.co.uk/blog/shopify-vs-opencart/

Also, my comparison with other platforms as well.

Shopping Cart Review
http://www.antropy.co.uk/blog/shopping-cart-review/

Hope this helps.

Paul

 

[Holopainen]

Shopify is definitely a good platform but if you ask about some drawbacks I would mention that it lack some of the features that you may like to have by default.
If you consider hosted solutions then BigCommerce is also a great option to think about. They doesn't take any additional fees but offer a bit more features. Check this review for more details:
http://www.shopping-cart-migration....-vs-shopify-make-a-difficult-decision-simple-

 

[raison]

It's a good platform but not very adaptable. In particular it lacked a click and collect in store option and it has a very manual shipping zone system, which is especially annoying if you use a courier who charges different costs for specific postcodes (like in the far corners of scotland).

We use WooCommerce, because we can make our own extensions if we come across limitations like this.

Good Luck with your online store.

 

[Anastasiya]

Many people find Shopify a good software product, no one can fault Shopify in its organized backend. Shopify is an easy-to-use platform to get a basic e-commerce business running immediately. But still there are several problems. Here is a nice article about its disadvantages http://www.blog.joelx.com/shopify-disadvantages-problems-not-so-great-after-all/4804


__________________________________________________
MobiDev provides exclusive mobile solutions for Your Business

 

[justbought.it]

Hi DBMark,

Shopify is a versatile platform and is relatively painless to develop for.

We've create a plug-in for Shopify and our beta customers just copy and paste some code and it works perfectly.

I hope that helps.

 

[Cart2Cart]

There are several complaints about Shopify considering the very long time Shopify takes to release its new features. Another complaint is considering modifications, as you don’t have much of a choice to do anything about it and to make any modifications as it is a hosted solution.

 

[SpeedaEcommerce]

I know the monthly fee plus the transaction charge may count as a disadvantage - but to be honest, if it saves hours/days of setting up code/updates/debugging it seems a small price to pay.
However I just have this niggling feeling there may be other drawbacks I've not considered. For example, if you want to code extra functionality to the shop. Or suppose they overreach themselves and go bust (unlikely I know).
What drawbacks should I be taking into account?

Any shopping cart platform charging transaction fees should be avoided. It doesn't cost shopify anything for you take orders, so why pay them? This is just plain greedy.

 

[raison]

Any shopping cart platform charging transaction fees should be avoided. It doesn't cost shopify anything for you take orders, so why pay them? This is just plain greedy.

They'll be providing the hosting, the card processing, the software the cart is running and support. Greedy?

 

[SpeedaEcommerce]

They'll be providing the hosting, the card processing, the software the cart is running and support. Greedy?

Your already paying for hosting, software and support in the monthly fee.

Redirection to external payment providers (Paypal, SagePay etc) is standard for ecommerce software and shouldn't be chargeable.

 

[raison]

Your already paying for hosting, software and support in the monthly fee.

Redirection to external payment providers (Paypal, SagePay etc) is standard for ecommerce software and shouldn't be chargeable.

Yep, whoops - didn't realise you were talking about a % commission (thought you meant the monthly fee)...

When we have used Shopify we just choose the top package which doesn't have a % commission just a higher monthly cost.

I guess if you were small startup it might be a smart way to take the plunge with a small outlay, but really no need to throw you margin away like that.