Shopify

Part 2: The Disadvantages and Limitations of Shopify
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Wondering why Shopify might not be right for your online store?
 
In the first part of this series, The Advantages of Using Shopify, we covered the pluses. Now, let’s talk more about the minuses. Shopify is not without its disadvantages and even limitations.
 
You may find that there’s a better solution out there for your business. Let’s get started.

​Shopify takes a cut.
Yep, that’s right. Shopify works off commission. Except, you’re the one setting up the online store and advertising the products. When you spend countless hours promoting and creating an online business, you would hope to pay a one-and-done monthly payment for Shopify to help with the transactional services. But that’s not the case.
 
Shopify charges a credit card rate, which varies depending on the monthly plan you choose. If you choose Shopify, be sure to account for those commission cuts into your overall business overhead expenses.
 
Shopify’s help desk becomes less helpful.
As a new customer of Shopify, you might be met with quality support. They want to help you get your business up and running (so they reap commission and continue to see your monthly payment plan).
 
However, after some time, you’ll be met with less premium support. While they can’t help guide you through it all, it can be frustrating. Have a payment or app glitch? It’s blamed on “app incompatibility.” And instead of support staff helping you through the problem, they might direct you toward self-help articles. So just be aware: They will not hand-hold you through the entire process.
 
Shopify charges a transaction fee for 3rd-party payment gateways.
You need an encrypted payment gateway service, which Paypal offers freely with Shopify Payments. However, should you choose to go with a third-party payment provider such as PayPal, you will be charged additional transaction fees. These can range from 0.5% to 2%, depending on the Shopify plan you choose.

 
Shopify analytics cost extra.
Professional reporting and analytics will cost you extra. So if you want to know anything about your buyers, you will need to invest in a more expensive plan like the Shopify or Advanced plan. For any focused businesses, this is a crucial part of marketing. The Basic plan offers basic simple details, so acquiring the professional report is a must. And that means you will need to upgrade your plan. 
 
Shopify lacks multi-level product categories.
When creating an online shop, it must be easy for shoppers to find products. And keeping a well-organized collection of goods is one of the best ways to do so. When building a shop, it’s wise to add the product type, vendor and other tags within WordPress so items come up in a search result.
 
However, when you’re unsure what kind of decor or product you’re searching for, Shopify doesn’t offer an easy-to-follow map or other deep hierarchies within its system. Grouping items into collections and displaying them as categories is the best organization you get.
 
For example, this means you can’t do something as simple as organize specific furniture types like so:
 
Seating > Dining Chairs > Counter Height Stools
 
Instead, you’re limited to:

Seating > Dining Chairs
 
Shopify limits items to 3 variations.
One downside to Shopify is that you are limited as to how many product variations you can offer. For example, if you have a sofa that comes in more than three fabric choice options, you might have to get creative or invest and install an extra app to achieve this.
 
Shopify has an expensive full point of sale option.
If your business needs a POS system, it’s going to cost you. While many businesses can get away with solely an online shop, many brick and mortar stores and small retailers use tablets, credit card readers, and more mobile charging devices when making sales.
 
For a full point-of-sale system, you will need to invest in the Shopify POS Pro and all the hardware that goes along with it.

​When Shopify is the Wrong ChoiceShopify isn’t always the best choice to create the optimal online shopping experience. Nor is it the best choice for your business.
 
Here are a few reasons why you should skip Shopify:
 
Your site needs more customization and design.
Shopify themes are well-designed but might require lots of expensive app integrations and additional tools to get it exactly how you want. If this sounds like you, you might want to check out another platform like WordPress and hire a developer to get it just right.
 
A hosted platform locks you in.
Shopify is a hosted platform, which makes it easy to have everything all in one place. But should you ever decide to move your products to another hosted platform, carrying over the storefront design, copy and product descriptions, and more will take serious effort. You pretty much are back to square one, recreating a store from the ground up.
 
We hope this two-part guide helps you decide if Shopify is right for you. If not, check out some of these Shopify alternatives.