Your Shopify questions, answered
Shopify online stores for product based brands
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Introduction to Shopify
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Shopify is an eCommerce platform that enables brands and businesses create their own online stores to sell products globally. Shopify handles everything from website hosting, payments, inventory, and shipping all in one place which is one of the key benefits when compared to other platforms.
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Online Store Builder - You can build a website using drag‑and‑drop tools (no coding needed).
Payment Processing - Shopify allows you to accept customer payments via credit/debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, etc. (Shopify also offers it’s own payment solution called Shopify Payments)
Inventory & Order Management - Track stock levels, set product variants (size, color), manage and process orders.
Shipping & Tax Tools - Automate shipping rates, creates shipping labels, and adds taxes based on shipping country.
Mobile & Social Selling - Sell via Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Amazon directly from Shopify.
Apps & Themes - Shopify gives you access to thousands of apps and plugins for marketing, reviews, SEO, subscriptions, etc.,
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No not at all. The main benefit of Shopify is that it can be beginner friendly if you need it to be. It features customisable themes, drag and drop tools and a set up guide as soon as you start to take you through the fundamentals step-by-step.
Who is Shopify suitable for?
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Shopify is a good option for small businesses that want to sell online quickly and easily without much tech or coding hassle. However it’s not the cheapest or most flexible option so best suited to brands who are ready to invest for growth potential.
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Shopify is best for brands and businesses who;
Want an easy-to-use, all-in-one eCommerce platform.
Are selling a manageable number of products.
Want reliable hosting, payment processing, and templates all in one platform.
Are happy paying a monthly fee for convenience and support.
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Shopify isn’t the right option for your business if;
You have a tight budget and low expected sales (fees add up).
You need advanced customisation or a highly unique store. This is possible but will require a professional developer if you’re not familiar with it.
You already have a site on something like WordPress + WooCommerce.
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Shopify don’t enforce a minimum sales or order quantity to use their platform, anyone can set up a Shopify online store.
However, if you’re only getting 10 orders a month for example, financially it’s very unlikely this is the best option for you. You need to consider whether you’re going to be making a profit whilst paying the monthly plan cost, shopify payments fees and any third party app or developer costs.
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These are the points I highlight to my clients when they’re thinking about launching a website on Shopify;
Choose the right plan for your current volume and needs (don’t over‑commit to higher tiers you don’t yet need).
Factor in all costs: monthly fee + app/add on costs + transaction costs + theme/customisation.
Use a theme that works for you and don’t blow budget on a super custom design before sales justify it.
Focus strongly on marketing, traffic and conversion (because a good store matters, but traffic + good product + good price matter more).
You’ll likely need to use apps from the Shopify App store. Do your research for the best options and make sure you keep track of the costs and return on investment, as they all add up.
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It is estimated that there are over 4 million websites powered by Shopify and Shopify Plus globally.
29% of these are Apparel/Fashion brands.
Nearly 15% are Home & Garden brands.
Just over 16% of these brands are Health or Beauty brands.
Shopify is suitable for a variety of brands but Shopify is designed as a platform for product based businesses, selling physical and/or digital products as opposed to service based brands.
Shopify vs. Other eCommerce Platforms
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Here is a detailed comparision of Shopify and Squarespace and who they're for; Shopify vs. Squarespace
Shopify and Squarespace are both platforms for building websites, but they’re geared toward different users.
Shopify is focused on product based eCommerce and is ideal if you want a powerful online store with advanced inventory, payment, shipping, and sales tools. It’s perfect for businesses who are planning to scale.
Squarespace emphasizes beautiful, all-in-one websites with easy drag-and-drop design and basic online selling features, making it a better choice for creators, portfolios, service based businesses, or anyone who values design simplicity over extensive store functionality.
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Here is a detailed comparision of Shopify and WiX and who they're for; Shopify vs. WiX for small businesses
Shopify and Wix serve different needs despite some overlap. Shopify is purpose-built for eCommerce and is best for users who want a robust online store with advanced tools for inventory, payments, shipping, and scaling a business.
Wix, on the other hand, is a flexible website builder with strong design freedom and simpler selling features, making it well-suited for individuals, creatives, and content-led brands who want an attractive website as a reference point or portfolio, not a hardworking sales channel.
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Here is a detailed comparision of Shopify and GoDaddy and who they're for; Shopify vs. GoDaddy for small businesses.
Shopify and GoDaddy are designed for different levels of online selling. Shopify is a dedicated e-commerce platform built for businesses that want powerful tools for managing products, payments, shipping, and growth, making it ideal for serious sellers and scalable online stores.
GoDaddy is usually an intermediary solution for businesses that want to get a website launched quickly, but it’s not suitable for scaling or long-term eCommerce growth. GoDaddy offers basic online selling features with minimal setup for brands with very simple eCommerce needs.
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There are so many reasons why brands launch or migrate their eCommerce businesses to Shopify.
Find out why brands choose Shopify over other platforms here; Why Shopify?
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Absolutely, a large proportion of brands on Shopify have migrated from other smaller scale eCommerce platforms.
Find out more about these brands, why they chose Shopify and how to start your migration here; Migrate to Shopify
Shopify Payments, Plans and Pricing
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There are several different plans to choose from depending on the size of your business and requirements.
The basic plan is perfect for beginners or new businesses. You can upgrade your plan any time as your store grows or when you need extra features or support.
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Yes
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Yes you can offer both Klarna and ClearPay as payment options for your customers when using Shopify as your ecommerce platform.
There are a few things you need to consider first;
You need to be using Shopify Payments to set up Klarna in the UK.
ClearPay is known a AfterPay in the US and operates as a seperate entity. If you want to offer this option the set up and verification will need to be done separately for each.
Both Klarna and ClearPay are credit lenders and therefore have very strict guidelines on how their services are promoted across their merchants websites. Be sure to follow their guidelines to ensure you’re compliant at all times. More can be found on the Klarna and ClearPay websites.
If you’re ready to install these buy now pay later options on your Shopify store, follow these instructions;
Klarna; https://www.klarna.com/international/enterprise/platforms-and-partners/shopify/
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Shopify Payments is Shopify’s own purpose built solution for taking and processing customers payments placed across Shopify stores.
Shopify payments is an optional solution (you don’t need to use it if you’re just starting out) but you will need to connect an alternative payment processor instead (possibly at an additional cost) if you want to be able to take orders from your website. Other options might be Stripe, PayPal or Square (amongst others).
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When a customer makes a payment on a website this is the journey it takes in the back end;
Customer enters card details at checkout (Payment Gateway)
Data is sent safely for authentication (via Payment Processor)
Processor checks with card network & bank and feeds result back to payment gateway
Result is shown to customer at checkout (Payment Gateway)
In short the payment gateway is the bridge between a website and the payment processing system. The payment processor is the service that actually speaks to the bank and moves the money.
Shopify Payments is Shopify’s own purpose built solution that offers both services in one.
Selling my products internationally via Shopify
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No, not necessarily. You can sell to hundreds of countries via one website using the same domain (website address), using Shopify Markets which can be found in your Shopiffy admin once you’ve started your plan.
Find out more about what’s available in Shopify Markets here.
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Yes, if you’re using Shopify Payments and Shopify Markets you can specify which currencies you want to offer on your website.
You can do this by visiting Settings > Markets and choosing the market you want to edit (or add a new one). There will be a currency setting dropdown for each currency code (for example; GBP, USD, EUR and so on).
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Yes, Shopify Markets now enables you to specify which store and which market each product should be available in. Just visit your markets set-up (Settings > Markets) to edit this
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