Shopify Website Builder Review

Is It Worth Investing In?

Shopify Website Builder Review

Wondering if using a website builder will actually make it easier to get your online store up and running? Millions of entrepreneurs use services like Shopify to run their ecommerce websites, but the question remains whether or not they’re right for you.

In this Shopify website builder review, we’ll take a look at their pros and cons, pricing and features, customer feedback and more to help you decide whether or not they’re the best choice for your needs. Enjoy!

Pros and Cons of Shopify

Pros of Shopify

  • Shopify is the leading website builder for eCommerce stores, with super intuitive inventory management and order fulfillment tools.
  • You can try out their services for free. Their 14-day trial is as no-strings-attached as it gets — you don’t even need to enter your credit card information!
  • Their apps make it easy to manage your online store from your smartphone.
  • They’ve got better customer reviews than any other website builder on the market. (We’ll dive into this later on.)
  • Their security is top-notch. All of their packages include 128-bit SSL certificates at no extra cost.

Cons of Shopify

  • They aren’t the cheapest service on the market, with prices ranging from $29 to $299 per month.
  • They’ve gotten some complaints about the fact that you have to integrate an app ($17+ a month) to build a multilingual store.

Based on everything we’ve discussed in this review, I’d give Shopify a 4.7/5. They offer some incredible eCommerce solutions at what we think is a pretty reasonable price. If you’d like to learn more about Shopify or check out some alternatives, use either of the links below. Cheers!

Visit Shopify

Free for 30 days

Pricing & Features

Shopify divides their services into three levels: Basic, Shopify and Advanced. Let’s take a moment to look at each.

Shopify Pricing & Features

Basic = $29/mo.

The basic package offers all the essentials you need to start an online shop, including 2 staff accounts, unlimited product listings and file storage, 24/7 support and the ability to print shipping labels. You’ll also get an SSL certificate and fraud analysis tools for security purposes.

When to Use: I’d recommend this package for the majority of entrepreneurs and small businesses. To be honest, most folks would probably find the few features this package is missing unnecessary anyway -- not to mention the fact that the $29 price point is much less of an investment.

Shopify = $79/mo.

The Shopify package includes everything in the basic plan and three additional features: professional reports, abandoned cart recovery and the ability to sell gift cards. You’ll also get five staff accounts instead of two, as well as lower transaction fees and better shipping discounts.

When to Use: If you’re working on a larger scale, these additional features may be worth the investment. An extra $50 per month is definitely a significant chunk of cash, but it could make the difference your eCommerce store needs to thrive.

Advanced = $299/mo.

The final upgrade includes everything from the Shopify package, plus the following: an advanced report builder, third-party calculated shipping rates, fifteen staff accounts, lower transaction fees and the best Shopify shipping discounts.

When to Use: Given the hefty price tag and the advanced reporting features, I’d recommend this package only for established businesses that need a service that can handle high traffic and produce extremely thorough reports.

Recommended Package

For those of you who are just getting started, we’d encourage you to try out the basic package. It’s an affordable option yet it’s jam-packed with helpful features, so we think it’s the most bang for your buck.

Customer Reviews

One thing we love about Shopify is that there’s no shortage of customer feedback. They’ve been in the industry for over a decade, and in that time they’ve managed to accumulate thousands of user reviews. Here’s a quick roundup:

Customer Reviews as of 9-27-2017:
  • Shopify App Store: 10/10, 773 reviews
  • TrustPilot: 3.9/10, 40 reviews
  • G2Crowd: 8.4/10, 1,154 reviews
  • GetApp: 4.4/5, 436 votes

As you can see, their ratings vary from site to site, but the majority are positive. Most folks say their platform is incredibly easy to use and appreciate the ability to integrate with Facebook, Pinterest and other channels.

With thousands of reviews across multiple platforms, Shopify has certainly gotten some negative reviews, too. Most of them seem to be about their prices, but some folks have also complained about difficulty getting in contact with their customer support team. That said, their average ratings speak for themselves.

How does Shopify Compare?

Shopify is definitely among the best business website builders out there -- their top-rate eCommerce functionality and customer reviews can’t be beat. However, this wouldn’t be a proper review if we didn’t look at how Shopify stacks up against some of the other bigwigs in the industry, so let’s see how they compare to StudioPress.

Pricing: Shopify’s Basic package ($29/mo) is a bit cheaper than StudioPress’ Commerce package ($37/mo or $33/mo if paid annually). StudioPress does offer a cheaper package, but it’s not designed to support an eCommerce store.

Features: Both Shopify and StudioPress offer eCommerce capabilities, but Shopify comes out on top. StudioPress has developed some incredible SEO tools and their close affiliation with WordPress is a major plus for WordPress users, but Shopify offers a wider range of advanced eCommerce features at a lower price.

Customer Support: Based on our research, Shopify wins. We found a ton of reviews raving about Shopify’s 24/7 open chat, email and phone support, which are included in all of their packages. StudioPress’ customer support simply isn’t as proactive or accessible.

Number of Users: Shopify currently has a whopping 500,000 eCommerce stores, while StudioPress has over 200,000 websites.

Here's a Quick Breakdown

Shopify

Pricing Starts at $29/month

More than 500,000+ users

Perfect for: Anyone looking for a leading eCommerce store builder with high-level of customization

StudioPress

Pricing Starts at $37/month

More than 200,000+ users so far

Perfect for: Anyone looking for the best SEO, responsive design & airtight security features

Frequently Asked Questions

How easy is it to set up?

Incredibly easy. If you start with the free trial, all you’ll need to provide is your email address and store name. Then, once you choose a paid package, you’ll provide your credit card information and other details.

Is there trial/free version?

Yep! You can try Shopify for free for 14 days (no credit card required).

What’s their refund policy?

You can cancel your account at any time, but Shopify doesn’t issue refunds -- so it’s definitely a good idea to take advantage of their free trial before committing to their services.

Should You Use Shopify?

Based on everything we’ve discussed in this review, I’d give Shopify a 4.7/5. They offer some incredible eCommerce solutions at what we think is a pretty reasonable price. That being said, if this doesn’t sound like your perfect fit, check out our Best Website Builders for Small Businesses. Cheers!