I've been using Shopify for 2 months and really like it. It's a pleaseure to use: intuitive, pages load quickly and the 24/7 technical support facility (online chat or email) is great. I've had a few questions and support have been helpful and knowledgeable. I used EKM a few years ago and left because the templates were clunky and the support was dreadful. It took 3 days for them to answer emails, if they bothered answering at all.
One thing to know about shopify, is that you may need to pay monthly for additional apps, depending on your needs. I have a review app for free (customers leave reviews and I can monitor before allowing them to be published), but I pay around $7 per month to have the ability to cross-sell i.e. show related products on the same page in a 'complete the collection' feature.
Also, disount codes can only be entered at stage 2 of checkout when customers are entering card details. A discount code cannot be applied to the cart prior to check out. This has an effect on shipping - as a 20% off discount code will be for the final cart including shipping costs. It's a problem for many shopify merchants and the tech guys say a fix is being worked on.
I bought a template instead of using a default one (£80 one off fee) - again integration was seamless because you choose and pay for templates 'in-house'. I pay around £22 per month (hosting, template and apps, plus there is a small commission fee per transaction). Stripe payment gateway is added with one click and you don't need a merchant account to take payments. Do spend time on your Stripe Dashboard once installed, as the default security settings for customer payments are low and you can increase them. For example, you have to opt in to ensure the 3 digit code on the back of the card is verified!
If you choose to take payments via Paypal, contact Shopify or your template provider to have the ugly Paypal badge moved from top, central position to a less obtrusive one. If you know coding you can do it yourself. (When oh when will Paypal spend some of the cash on a branding overhaul?? That logo couldn't be any more '80s ugly.)
If you want to check my site please do. It's still a work in progress and any feedback would be greatly appreciated (swimwear & travel accessories AiryMary.com).
One thing to know about shopify, is that you may need to pay monthly for additional apps, depending on your needs. I have a review app for free (customers leave reviews and I can monitor before allowing them to be published), but I pay around $7 per month to have the ability to cross-sell i.e. show related products on the same page in a 'complete the collection' feature.
Also, disount codes can only be entered at stage 2 of checkout when customers are entering card details. A discount code cannot be applied to the cart prior to check out. This has an effect on shipping - as a 20% off discount code will be for the final cart including shipping costs. It's a problem for many shopify merchants and the tech guys say a fix is being worked on.
I bought a template instead of using a default one (£80 one off fee) - again integration was seamless because you choose and pay for templates 'in-house'. I pay around £22 per month (hosting, template and apps, plus there is a small commission fee per transaction). Stripe payment gateway is added with one click and you don't need a merchant account to take payments. Do spend time on your Stripe Dashboard once installed, as the default security settings for customer payments are low and you can increase them. For example, you have to opt in to ensure the 3 digit code on the back of the card is verified!
If you choose to take payments via Paypal, contact Shopify or your template provider to have the ugly Paypal badge moved from top, central position to a less obtrusive one. If you know coding you can do it yourself. (When oh when will Paypal spend some of the cash on a branding overhaul?? That logo couldn't be any more '80s ugly.)
If you want to check my site please do. It's still a work in progress and any feedback would be greatly appreciated (swimwear & travel accessories AiryMary.com).
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0
Dan,
Therre is nothing wrong with your current ecommerce platform. All you need is a bit of site mamagment to rerarrange rthings.
Shopify is fine if you are happy to hand over your site to someone else. You will be hosted on their servers and tied to their platform. If you use a standalone platform you can move hosts, get extension developed and have full control over every aspect of your site.
Therre is nothing wrong with your current ecommerce platform. All you need is a bit of site mamagment to rerarrange rthings.
Shopify is fine if you are happy to hand over your site to someone else. You will be hosted on their servers and tied to their platform. If you use a standalone platform you can move hosts, get extension developed and have full control over every aspect of your site.
Upvote
0
M
MageWorx
- Original Poster
- #9
Shopify is a good platform.
This one is easy for store owners who are working with smaller budgets and fewer products to get a store up and running quickly. It is designed to be easy to use without needing to pay a designer and team of developers to set up. They also provide top-class customer support.
But if it doesn't fit your requirements, you may try a more flexible solution. The most popular one is Magento.
Magento store owners have the ability to set up multiple stores with different designs, languages and currencies and control them all in one admin panel (which is truly a great advantage). Also, Magento is flexible and it is designed to grow, whether a storeowner has 50 products or thousands of SKUs. On top of that it is free and open source.
So consider all the points and choose the platform you actually need.
This one is easy for store owners who are working with smaller budgets and fewer products to get a store up and running quickly. It is designed to be easy to use without needing to pay a designer and team of developers to set up. They also provide top-class customer support.
But if it doesn't fit your requirements, you may try a more flexible solution. The most popular one is Magento.
Magento store owners have the ability to set up multiple stores with different designs, languages and currencies and control them all in one admin panel (which is truly a great advantage). Also, Magento is flexible and it is designed to grow, whether a storeowner has 50 products or thousands of SKUs. On top of that it is free and open source.
So consider all the points and choose the platform you actually need.
Upvote
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You can develop custom extensions (apps) for Shopify too. Or take advantage of the many existing public apps. You do have control of everything you need to really.
The best gateway to use in the UK is Stripe or SagePay Direct.
We have now launched our new Shopify site at www.squishable.co.uk if anyone wants to have a look.
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The best gateway to use is one that works with your e-commerce solution with a minimum of fuss and bother, preferably one that already integrates with it.
You don't have to be tied to your gateway provider's merchant account rates. Almost all merchant accounts will work with most gateways, so you can shop around for your merchant account and pair it with a gateway that will take the least amount of effort.
You don't have to be tied to your gateway provider's merchant account rates. Almost all merchant accounts will work with most gateways, so you can shop around for your merchant account and pair it with a gateway that will take the least amount of effort.
Upvote
0
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