Why you should choose Shopify as your eCommerce platform

Shopify is a fully-managed eCommerce platform which has the perfect balance of being both client and developer friendly. Over 800,000 people have chosen to use Shopify to sell their products; from small local brands to larger brand names such as Unilever, the Cambridge Satchel Company, and Gymshark.

At Steadfast Collective, we work on Shopify sites for multiple clients. Here we outline just a few of the reasons why we like the platform:

1) Plays well with others

The Shopify platform has its own app store, similar to the one on your phone. These easy-to-install apps are quick and easy ways to extend your store to include additional bells and whistles. They range from Facebook ads and bulk importers to apps for very specific purposes, such as the Happy Birthday app which will email your customers a unique discount code on their birthday.

As well as these third-party apps, Shopify has a range of their own extensions built in. Both Instagram and Facebook store integration is built in as standard (multichannel selling), giving you a wider reach for your storefront.

2) Servers, security and reliability

In a similar fashion to how Apple has built its fully-comprehensive technical eco-system, Shopify is fully managed and hosted. They will handle everything server-side, including security updates, meaning that you can focus on selling your products knowing that your website is in safe hands.

An extra benefit of having a fully-managed solution is that, even if your product is featured on prime-time television instantly receiving a large quantity of traffic, your website should never go down and your store will always be available.

Shopify is a safe place to process online payments, the SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) verifies this to both customer and shop owner so you can rest-assured your transactions are secure.

3) Big brands are using Shopify

You should rest easy in the knowledge that Shopify is no-longer a startup, but a 13-year-old business with over 4,000 employees and an impressive portfolio of customers. If you opt for the platform, you’ll be in good company with many big-name brands also utilising Shopify.

4) We love building with Shopify

As creators, we love tools that let us express our creativity. Shopify gives us the tools to work with our partners to create an effective and engaging online store. Letting Shopify handle the heavy lifting such as taking card-details allows us to focus on the user flow and experience. Here are just a few more reasons why we, as a development studio, love using Shopify:

• Shopify sites are highly-customisable, allowing us to get creative with the design.
• Sites are easy to use and full of possibility when it comes to expanding and growing (giving both development teams and customers ultimate flexibility and functionality).
• The wide range of apps and extensions allows you to evolve your site to suit your audience.
• A wide range of blog and video tutorials are available for how-to support.
• 24/7 help is provided Shopify should a problem arise.

If you’re looking to start a new store or to build on your existing brand with an eCommerce arm than converts visitors into customers – get in touch with us today.

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