For those of us who are not web developers, it can be pretty overwhelming to determine the best e-commerce solution to help grow your business! The world of e-commerce can be intimidating enough without obsessing over which platform to choose.

With many options available, it is important to do your research when deciding on an e-commerce hosting platform for your business.

But we’ve decided to spare you the hours of research and tell you all about how we bring our web clients to market with the best platform out there: Shopify.

Since its inception in 2004, Shopify has quickly become one of the leading e-commerce web hosting sites available, and for good reason. Shopify’s services are a cost-effective, convenient and accessible option for any size business. Shopify has quickly built its brand to become one of the most trusted e-commerce sites for both businesses and consumers alike. 

Shopify is an e-commerce platform designed for businesses to set up an online store and begin selling products online. This online platform helps many businesses grow their sales base and increase overall revenues. Retailers can also use the innovative Shopify point-of-sale (POS) to sell products in-person. This is a game changer for those who have a physical location as well, or do vendor shows!

The Shopify comprehensive approach is an easy-to-use option for even the smallest of brands. Their sites are easy to create, budget-friendly and create an effective buying experience for your customers. This is why we LOVE them.

Shopify’s simple platform allows entrepreneurs to customize their site for a wide array of products and services.

There is no limit to products and services available through Shopify’s e-commerce capabilities. These include:

• Physical products – clothes, sporting goods, makeup etc.,
• Digital products – ebooks, e-courses, templates and web design
• Services and consultations – customers can book appointments or consultations online
• Memberships – entrepreneurs can sell memberships to fitness studios, subscription services etc.
• Ticket experiences – networking events, travel experiences, experiential events etc.
• Classes, lessons or physical product rentals

The possibilities are endless!

Still not convinced? We’re breaking down the top 8 reasons why Shopify is the best e-commerce option for any business, no matter what you’re looking to sell. 

 A reliable and trusted web hosting solution

Shopify has built itself a strong reputation for offering reliable web hosting for brands of any size. The integrated hosting platform empowers entrepreneurs to create their own online store without having to program the site through coding languages such as HTML, CSS or JS etc. Not a web developer? You don’t need to be! This hosted solution offers extensive technical support to entrepreneurs helping them to create their sites, navigate any issues and troubleshoot potential issues. 

Shopify sites are completely customizable and are built to meet your specific business needs and priorities. The Shopify platform boasts hundreds of professional themes and layouts for your site, and many are even free! These layouts are completely customizable and can be further customized with extensive web development and graphic design components.

Online security

For companies conducting online sales, the responsible access and protection of personal consumer information, such as credit card numbers, is critical to maintaining legislated responsibilities and customer trust. To help protect against online fraud, it is important to invest in online security measures to protect the valuable data in your possession. Sound scary? It’s not. Through Shopify, these online safeguards are automatically taken on your behalf, helping to protect you and your customers. Shopify is a brand the general public knows and trusts, therefore adding an additional layer of credibility to your website. 

A global connection

Expanding your business to an online platform is an important step in elevating the overall success of your sales. However, building a website is not always enough to reach global online markets. Shopify has a number of international features to help bring your products to buyers around the world. One of these key features is international language translation. This allows shoppers to view your site in the language of their country. For example, if you are a Canadian company with an English site, a user in Italy can view the same content in Italian. This feature helps to boost international sales and create an accessible site for a variety of languages – without you having to do the tedious translation work! We take global domination very seriously, and so do they 😉

Easy e-commerce payment options

One of the most compelling reasons why Shopify is considered to be one of the best options for online retailers is the ease of their payment processing. The Shopify platform offers a variety of payment options including credit and debit card processing, PayPal, cash on delivery, bank transfer, and a number of other global payment processing services. For online retailers looking to serve global clients, this is an important feature to encourage sales. When customers can pay via their preferred method, they are more likely to make a purchase. With Shopify, you make it easy to say YES.

The benefits of the Shopify payment structure is also beneficial for business owners. Shopify offers minimal transaction fees and often lower rates than online credit processing. The retail efficiency of the platform enables business owners to advertise, take payment and arrange delivery of their products all within one system, rather than multiple non-integrated systems. This effective design helps to maximize your sales funnel and maximize profit opportunities.

Take your e-commerce business anywhere you go with Shopify: fully accessible on mobile.

Mobile-friendly – for both you and your customers!

Recent trend data continues to show that people are favouring their phone over a computer for their online browsing and shopping. These trends are expected to continue to increase due to social media and integrated shopping app experiences. The Shopify platform easily converts your online business into an easy to use mobile-friendly site. By converting your e-commerce store to an efficient mobile responsive site Shopify helps to target and encourage purchases from those mobile-only shoppers. With Shoppable posts becoming more common on social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest, a mobile-friendly Shopify site is an easy way to target consumers and generate sales leads. 

For entrepreneurs, Shopify has invested tremendous resources into the in-app management of your site. Business owners can now be worry-free while on vacation or away from the office because most sales functions can be managed anywhere from the Shopify app. Process payments, arrange refunds, post new products – all of these management functions are available anywhere from your mobile phone. By enabling mobile phone management, business owners are able to address issues in real-time, creating a more fluid customer service experience. 

Unlimited selling options

The Shopify platform encourages businesses to grow and flourish. From ten products to 10,000, there are no limits to the number of products you are able to offer, and you are not required to commit to a set number of products available. Similarly, the platform encourages you to grow the web traffic to your site, so you will not be penalized for the number of visitors to your sites. This unlimited bandwidth is critical in supporting the growth of your small business, so keep attracting those new clients! 

In addition to unlimited bandwidth and selling options, Shopify also offers other ways to create an effective customer experience. Due to the extensive back end infrastructure of the platform, e-commerce sites built with Shopify have faster average loading speed and mobile responsiveness. Never lose a customer again due to a slow loading website or improperly integrated mobile functionality. 

Integrate with your choice of shipping services

Another way Shopify has set itself apart from its competitors is by offering an easy, hassle free shipping experience for both the customer and shop owner. Make shipping as easy as it can be! If your shop is located in the US, Canada or Australia then Shopify shipping rates standard for your country will be already set up as a default. Shopify can also generate shipping labels so you can print them easily, and streamline your fulfillment process for physical products! 

E-commerce marketing support

Beyond their web hosting capabilities, Shopify also offers users a useful range of marketing tools to help find new customers and increase your site’s overall value. Shopify packages include a basic range of marketing tools such as search engine optimization support, email marketing tools and support in creating Google or social media ads. For the more advanced digital marketers, there is also the App Marketplace, a Shopify extension of more advanced apps and plugins to elevate your site’s performance and marketing. The opportunities to expand your customer base is limitless in the Shopify platform, with tools created specifically for online e-commerce retail. 

Conclusion? Shopify is #1

Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce hosting sites on the web today, and for good reason. Creating and maintaining your site through the Shopify platforms offers you extensive support and helpful tips to succeed in the world of online retail. The Shopify platform offers tutorials, learning opportunities and easy to use integrated software to help build, maintain and troubleshoot your web store.

Shopify offers a free 14-day trial for new customers, so what are you waiting for? Create your very own e-commerce site today at www.shopify.com!