A step-by-step guide to Shopify and how it works

India too has witnessed a manifold increase in its online commerce, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22 per cent in rural and 15 per cent in urban India expected between 2019 to 2026. Those numbers combine to form a whopping 351 million new online consumers across the country.

So naturally it makes sense to set up an online shop, and Shopify lets you do just that.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows you to build a website and get access to online billing and shipping options. It is by far the largest and most popular platform used by businesses to sell products online.

Shopify was launched way back in 2006, which means the platform has matured along with the industry itself, offering both basic and advanced customisations to suit your every business need. Besides its rich selection of in-built features, you can also use add-on to customize your online shop, or even hire a dedicated Shopify developer to custom code your website.

How does Shopify work?

Shopify works by centralizing all your online business needs on a single platform. Its business management tools include store and inventory management options, multiple payment gateway integrations, shipping partnerships, customer support setup, online marketing tools, and comprehensive reporting mechanisms.

Getting started with Shopify

At DO COMMUNICATION, we have specialized in-house development teams for creating and maintaining e-commerce websites, including Shopify development. Here’s our short guide on how to get started with your first Shopify website.

1. Shopify free trial

If you are on the fence about getting started with a paid plan, Shopify offers a 3-day free trial without needing any debit or credit card details.

2. Account setup

Shopify’s age and accumulated industry experience are visible in their account setup wizard. Setting up your initial sales channels is a breeze and you can expand your options to connect social media and other channels at any time.

3. Creating a product portfolio

Next up, you can add your products and categorize your inventory, complete with pricing and images. Shopify also offers a handshake wholesale network and drop ship vendors you can connect with to find times to sell.

4. Activate payment processing

Shopify payments allow you to connect over 100 payment processing platforms, including the most common ones in India. You can also choose to go with one-click payment processing with Shopify’s own payment processing mechanism.

5. Add GST and shipping information

Selling in India requires GST information to be added to the dashboard. Adding a GST number in Shopify is a one-step process. Next, you will need to add your shipping partner details or opt for dedicated partners listed on the platform. Shopify allows you to self-ship, use delivery partners, enable drop-shipping, or manage virtual delivery for digital products, all at one place.

6. Creating your online storefront

Of all the steps, this is the one where you might be spending the most time and effort. As it’s when you select a theme and customize your Shopify website according to your brand and taste. While Shopify does offer a large assortment of themes and third-party plugins to make the job easier, if you are looking for something niche, you may have to hire a Shopify developer or agency.

7. Start selling

Once your store is set up and the Shopify website looks and feels good to go, you are ready to process, ship, and track orders. Shopify has an automated email system for sending order status and shipment tracking information to your customers, making you a proper online business.

Benefits of selling through Shopify

At DO COMMUNICATION, we develop hundreds of websites every year, including e-commerce websites. Shopify website development is one of the most asked-for services by our customers, and the platform certainly has its benefits, such as,

1. Easy to use for beginners who are looking for a simplified backend and have multiple sales channels and order processing workflows.
2. Beautiful themes and a range of regularly updated plugins to enhance user experience.
3. Optimized for mobile view.
4. Tried and tested secure technology for handling payment information, customer data and product details.
5. New AI-assisted content creation for writing on-brand content, setting up auto-reply, or creating product descriptions.
6. Fully integrated mobile and POS features for selling online and in-person.
7. In-built product sourcing features that can help you set up a store without heavy upfront investment.
8. Automated customer journey and abandoned cart notifications to help boost follow-ups and sales.
9. Digital marketing tools to advertise and promote your business online
10. Free trial and competitive pricing for entry-level plans that let you test the platform before committing full-time.

But is it all positive or there are some negatives as well?

Some negatives of using Shopify

Incidentally, there are some quirks you have to live with when selling through a Shopify website.

1. Not using Shopify payment incurs a small transaction fee on every sale using debit or credit cards.
2. Advanced Shopify website customisation generally requires a developer or Shopify development agency.
3. Shopify also has fewer SEO optimization options when compared to custom e-commerce websites or platforms like WordPress.
4. Very basic blogging options in comparison to custom websites, WordPress, or Squarespace.
5. Shopify does not create a GST-compliant bill and you have to use a third-party invoicing service to do so.

Now you may be thinking, that’s okay, but what is the cost of running an online business using Shopify, right?

How much does Shopify cost?

Shopify offers four pricing plans: Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Plus. You can opt for monthly or annual billing. As of writing this blog, the official Shopify website was offering a 25% discount on annual billing, bringing down the monthly operation cost for a basic store to just ?1,499.

However, there are certain things in the fine print that you should know about:

• Card rates for third party payments vary by the plan. Where the basic plan attracts a punishing 2% surcharge, the Advanced plan has it at 0.6% of the transaction cost. Competitive rates for high-volume merchants are offered for the Shopify Plus customers, which costs ?175,000 a month on a 3 year term. Whoa.
• Where the Basic and comically named Shopify plan offer localized global selling in 3 markets, the Shopify Advanced Plan starting at ?22,680 per month with the annual billing option, lets you add additional markets at $59/month. Dollars of course being US dollars.
• Shopify Advanced also offers higher checkout capacity, in case you are expecting higher sales volumes, and provides advanced reports and analytics data for some in-house number crunching.

Monthly Shopify Plans start at ?1,994 for Basic, ?7,447 for Shopify, and ?30,164 for Shopify Advanced.

Sell through Social Media

Shopify also offers a simple online store that allows you to sell through Facebook, Instagram, or social messaging apps. The plan starts at ?399 a month.

You can explore Shopify pricing in detail by visiting www.shopify.com/pricing.

Shopify Customer Service

Shopify offers 24x7 chat and email support for their basic and lite plans. Users of Shopify paid plans get 24x7 phone support as well as the aforementioned live chat and email support. At DO COMMUNICATION, our experience of working with Shopify support has been fairly pleasant when developing custom solutions for our clients.

Also Read: What is Amazon PPC: The Ultimate Guide & Strategy for 2024

Looking for Shopify developers online?

Well, that concludes our article. We hope this guide helped you understand what Shopify is and how it may benefit your business in going online. Just in case you are looking for a competitive Shopify developer, we have the expertise and the bandwidth to deliver your project on time. For a detailed interaction, you can get in touch with a DO expert. We are open Monday to Friday between 10 AM to 7 PM IST.