Shopify was launched in 2006. The idea was sparked after the company’s founders tried to sell snowboards online but struggled to find a user-friendly platform. With one founder knowing how to code, he decided to build a platform that was more flexible and easier to use.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an ecommerce platform that allows you to sell physical products online and in person. Top brands use Shopify to host their online stores or as their POS. They are primarily for recognizable brands with big audiences. Products that are typically sold on Shopify include fashion, food, makeup, pet supplies, and home decor.
Shopify has over 16,000 apps you can connect to your store. These apps add additional functionality for selling online or in person. You’ll find tools to dropship, market, and ship products. These apps aren’t usually free, though. Some can cost hundreds of dollars each month.
If you’d like to see how this platform stacks up to its competitors, you can check out the Shopify alternatives page.
How does Shopify work?
Shopify works by having sellers create a custom online store. The sellers are responsible for their own website design, marketing, and customer support. Sellers can use an existing theme to design their website to make it their own. They can also access apps to add features to their website, such as banners.
Sellers can either sell products they create or that they dropship through a third-party app on their app store. You can also purchase wholesale products through their apps.
When it comes time to sell your products, you handle the marketing. You’ll be responsible for running social media accounts, running ads, managing email campaigns, and finding customers online.
What you need to know about selling on Shopify
One thing you need to know about selling on Shopify is that it isn’t the best platform for new online retailers. If you’re new to the world of online selling, there is a bit of a learning curve. Marketing isn’t as easy as paying for an ad and sales rolling in. You need to build an audience and be active online. However, if you’re starting out, your audience is typically small. Shopify starts at $49 each month. That means, even if you don’t make any sales, you still need to pay a subscription fee.
Shopify costs balloon because of its app store. While most ecommerce platforms add new features as part of their subscription, Shopify’s app store does most of the heavy lifting for adding different features or functionality to your online store. There’s no base price for the app store; each app charges its own subscription. When you start adding multiple apps, the fees can skyrocket quickly.
Shopify also has limited customization capabilities if you’re unfamiliar with Liquid code. You may need to pay an additional fee to hire a Shopify expert to help you make custom changes, such as deep checkout customization, changes to product structures, and the creation of custom pages. You will likely need to install apps to add basic features to your website, such as upsells, cross-sells, subscriptions, and more.
Shopify also has limited product variants. You can only choose between three options: size, color, and material.
Shopify sellers have also publicly complained about long wait times when contacting support. Due to Shopify’s frequent layoffs, it’s important to note that a 2025 layoff cut support staff, which may be the cause of Shopify’s slower response times.
Is Shopify the best platform to sell products?
No, Shopify isn’t the best platform for selling products due to its rising subscription fees and the high cost of running an online store on its platform. If you’re new to selling online or want a more cost-effective solution to run your online store, try Payhip. You can compare these two platforms in this Payhip vs Shopify article. This ecommerce platform offers a forever-free plan with only a 5% transaction fee. Features like upsells and cross-sells are automatically included in the free plan, so you don’t pay any extra fees. You can also sell both digital and physical products, with unique features and functionality for each. Want to sell products online for free? Sign up now.