Shopify was always a popular platform for stores to try the online route, but the pandemic added to the numbers that are growing every month. As a result, Shopify is the number one choice for most businesses to start an online business or switch to an online business.
Shopify offers a variety of features and tools that make it easy for businesses to create and manage an online store. These features include a user-friendly interface, customizable templates, a wide range of apps and integrations, and built-in payment processing.
Additionally, Shopify has a strong reputation for providing 99.99% uptime and round the clock customer support. Overall, Shopify offers a comprehensive and streamlined solution for businesses looking to establish an online presence.
Shopify keeps updating its platform with new tools and resources and makes sure to make the lives of the Shopify community easier. There are a few specific reasons why Shopify is a hit amongst merchants and the developer community.
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Stringent app review process
Shopify team prides itself in taking utmost care of data privacy and security of merchants. Hence the review process of apps is quite stringent.
App developers have to take care that their apps are not breaching any code of conduct or are not risking merchant’s data. Shopify keeps reviewing apps from time to time; if they encounter any issues, they temporarily disable them until the app fixes them.
The strictness ensures two things: app developers take merchants’ privacy and security concerns seriously, and merchants don’t have to worry about this aspect and can focus on their business and sales.
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Support community
There are multiple ways Shopify users can seek support from Shopify. The most popular is the community forum which has over 9 lakh active members who are fellow Shopify users and Shopify gurus.
Users can look for common queries, ask questions about issues they are facing, and seek help from active members.Shopify also provides live chat support, email, and phone support.
Catering to millions of support queries worldwide is not an easy feat, but customer support is the essential pillar of any service-based company.Hence Shopify pays utmost attention to being present for their users at all times. -
Shopify community
Shopify is known for its tight-knit community that comprises Shopify partners, users, developers, merchants and experts. Community members can reach out to other members for partnerships, integrations, co-marketing, or other issues. In addition, the community regularly organizes conferences, meetups, and expert talks.
Clearly, Shopify makes genuine efforts to make the lives of merchants easier and promotes a sense of community. It would be an understatement to say that no other ecommerce platform takes the humane aspect of community and camaraderie into account.
Apart from the above points, Shopify has made multiple announcements that will make the lives of retailers and store developers much more manageable. The most notable developments were the announcement of Hydrogen and Commerce components.
Hydrogen
Shopify Hydrogen is a framework for building custom storefronts using React. It provides developers with all the necessary structure, components, and tools to create personalized user experiences quickly. The goal of Hydrogen is to give developers more flexibility and control when building and customizing Shopify stores while maintaining the backend functionality of Shopify.
Hydrogen is Shopify’s recommended approach for creating fast user experiences, advanced merchant capabilities, and a seamless developer experience. Currently, Hydrogen is open-source, and developers can contribute to its development by testing and providing feedback.
Commerce components
Shopify recently announced that they would soon launch commerce components. This will be a game-changer for retail stores that are not powered by Shopify but wish to use its tech stack. Shopify Commerce Components are pre-built, customizable building blocks allowing retailers to create and manage their online stores easily.
They include features such as product listings, shopping carts, and payment processing, among others.
By using these components, retailers can save time and resources that would otherwise be spent on developing and maintaining these features from scratch.
Additionally, the pre-built nature of the components means that retailers can be confident that they are using tested and security features that meet industry standards.
In general, Shopify Commerce Components can simplify setting up and running an online store, allowing retailers to focus on other aspects of their business, such as marketing and customer service.
The above two announcements instill confidence in the merchants that Shopify is here to stay, and even if they opt out of Shopify in the future, they will still be able to use the features they require and love.
Another notable point about these announcements is that Shopify is providing a greater degree of freedom in terms of store development and personalization.
There are many reasons why we consider Shopify better than its alternatives. It is clear from the effort that Shopify makes that it is a one size fits all solution for all eCommerce needs.
