Shopify Canada Review: Is It the Best E-commerce Platform for Your Business?

There inevitably comes a time when every budding company that sells something turns to e-commerce. In this Shopify review, we dive into why we love it for e-commerce, big or small. We’ll also help you decide if Shopify is the platform for you, by going into the features, pros and cons, and comparing it to the other top names in the industry.

Fortunately, you can try it now for FREE (no credit card needed) for three days to see if you like it. Then test it out thoroughly for just $1 per month for one month with any of their plans.

Here’s a quick summary of our thoughts, in case you’re in a hurry and just want a fast rundown:

While Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms for a reason, that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Here are some factors that may make you choose another provider:

1) You sell very few products and prioritize complete simplicity.

2) Your WordPress blog (currently the most popular CMS)is your starting point. If SEO is your bread and butter and e-commerce is more of an afterthought, this is not the platform for you.

3) You have a massive budget for a web developer. Here’s a secret: they will probably be using Shopify too.

4) You want to sell on only one channel. (Hint -Shopify lets you sell on every platform, easily).

Is Shopify a Good option? What We Like About It

It provides e-commerce store owners the tools they need to build and manage a store. There are so many functions and features that you can just about use it for any of your business needs. This includes the customizable website builder, or utilizing the in-person point of sales systems.

One of our favourite advantages? The company was founded by three Tim Hortons-loving Canadians in 2006, and is headquartered in Ottawa. We have to support our country folk. 🇨🇦

Multiple Channel Selling

Shopify allows you to integrate your products with popular marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. You can even sell your products at 3rd-party marketplaces with massive retailers like Target and Walmart.  Social media is well represented too, including platforms like Pinterest, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube.

Inventory System

It has a straightforward inventory system that allows you organize and edit items without a hassle. If you want, you can sort your products into collections and put them in different groups at once.

The more complex your inventory needs, the more you’re likely to appreciate Shopify’s inventory management capabilities. Here are some convenient features to take note of:

• Real-time inventory syncing across different channels and locations
• Handy inventory tracking system
• Subscription management features
• Variety of shipping features

Shopify Plans, Features, and App Store

Any feature that you may need, you’ll find on Shopify. There are over 8,000 apps to customize your store. Here are a handful of app categories that can enhance your business:

• Design elements for your store
• SEO
• Shipping
• Currency and translation
• Store management
• Marketing

The list goes on. Shopify covers all of your basic business needs, but the apps really let you fine-tune your store just the way you want it.

Customer Support

Shopify will send you a credit card reader when you sign up with them so you can sell your goods in person, a rare bonus most platforms don’t offer. Beyond that – their customer support staff is around 24/7. Higher payment tiers also provide you with a specific point-person to contact.

A Critical Look at What Shopify Canada Could Do Better

Like any company, Shopify does come with negatives. The problems aren’t so huge that they’re necessarily deal-breakers, but it’s nice to know any gotchas before you plunk down your hard-earned money.

Shopify Pricing

When it comes to competing e-commerce platforms, Shopify’s pricing is fairly comparable. However, its prices can be more expensive than platforms that are less e-commerce oriented. If you don’t need to do much selling, this may be something to keep in mind.

The basic plan is $29 a month, which can get expensive for new businesses when sales aren’t a given. There are many costs involved with starting an online business, and everything adds up.

For an established business, however, it might not be much, so factor in your expected sales and costs ratios when choosing your plan.

Backend Coding

You might come across some issues with the backend part of Shopify. Every so often you might feel overwhelmed and decide to hire professional help.

The good thing is with the proliferation of the ecosystem there are a ton of online tutorials for literally anything Shopify-related. If you’re willing to put in some elbow grease, you can DIY your own shop easily. Don’t forget to consult Spotify’s large community either – fixes to issues are frequently published on forums or in articles and videos.

Third-Party Apps

While the thousands of available apps can help fine-tune your business, not having everything natively available with your Shopify account can be annoying. Plus, while this service does thoroughly vet the apps before making them available, it is still easy for bugs and vulnerabilities to slip through the cracks.

Shopify for Beginners: How to Launch Your Online Store

Creating a beautiful storefront is one of the main priorities of an e-commerce operation. Bad website design is a complete killer – 61% of users will not return to a website due to bad design. Luckily, the Shopify Website Builder is a great tool for getting it right.

How it Works

Shopify makes it simple to build a website. You select a theme – either for free or pay for premium – then build your website within that theme.

In the backend, you will find options for inventory management, menus, and other tools that will impact the daily operation of your website. However, the majority of the store building takes place within the theme.

Most themes are pseudo-drag-and-drop tools, where you can move different elements like photos, text blocks, fonts, and other aspects into different places. Most approved themes are easy to learn.

Paid themes do offer greater functionality, and there are several premium options. Whether you’re into clothing, beauty, food, or even digital products – chances are that there is theme that will suit your needs. Dawn is somewhat of a cult-classic, that we highly recommend for small businesses finding their feet (plus, you can try it out for free, right now).

Web Hosting

Shopify’s web hosting abilities are top-of-the-line. It has some of the best features on the market, including:

• Fully hosted plans, including shared hosting options.
• Security features such as SSL certificates, PCI compliance, data encryption, and more.
• Website builder tools and themes.
• Unlimited bandwidth and a web performance dashboard.
• Unlimited email forwarding.

Guaranteed uptimes of close to 99.99%.

A Rundown of the Best Shopify E-commerce Features

This platform is as feature-rich as it gets. Diving into a free trial can show all the different options, but here are a handful we found especially useful during our Shopify review.

Growth Capabilities

A potential problem to consider when starting out is what happens if your store succeeds to an insane degree? Can the hosting service you’re on support your meteoric rise?

Shopify grows with you. The cheapest plan offers everything a beginner could want, and their most expensive plan allows a fast riser to grow into a blossoming company, even handling international selling needs.

There are great cost-saving features, advanced report builders, discounts, and enterprise-grade solutions for high-volume merchants. If you’re curious about quality merchant services, take a look at our guide.

Multichannel Selling – Sell on Any/Every Platform

If you only showcase your products on your website, you’re missing out! People are shopping on platforms like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Facebook, and even Google’s comparison portal, just as often as e-commerce websites.

Shopify allows you to sell on several popular channels, making it easy to reach potential customers, anywhere on the internet. This is probably the feature that makes it the most powerful.

Inventory Management 

Many stores have a large product catalogue. It can be challenging to organize these on your website in a way that customers can navigate, while also juggling different suppliers.

Shopify Canada allows you to oversee self-produced products as well as ones obtained from other fulfillment centres. The platform’s features, apps, and inventory tools keep you organized and constantly aware of your stock needs. Order and inventory management are so minutely customizable that even the most complex seller, should have everything they need to run smoothly.

Reports

What if I told you that people were finding your store and checking out your products? You’d be like, “Cool!”

It is cool.

But don’t you want to know more? To be successful, you will need useful information, like total sales over periods of time, conversion rates, total store visits, average order value, repeat customer rate, and total orders. Shopify makes this effortless. It has easy-to-read analytical reports on anything you would want to dissect for your business, including:

• Geographical sales data
• Real-time sales metrics
• Competitive benchmarks for similar businesses
• Sales by social source or channel

This data lets you prioritize your efforts, gives you a better understanding of your customer base, and allows you to dial in your marketing.

Mobile Optimization

The majority of your clients are going to view your e-commerce store using a mobile device.

Why does it matter? Take a look at these website statistics:

• Poor mobile design is enough for 57% of internet users not to recommend your business to their peers.
• Almost 80% of consumers will stop engaging with your website if the mobile site displays inconveniently.

Shopify knows that people use their phones to shop online and optimizes all their themes for mobile devices. They also offer views of your website from desktop, tablet, and mobile versions.

Other Fun Tools

Other noteworthy tools we found during our review include:

• Burst: Shopify’s stock photo tool that has high quality, free images
• AI tools: Shopify Magic is an AI tool that has features similar to ChatGPT, with AI-generated text and image-editing capabilities.
• Business tools: Simplify your tasks with a domain name generator, logo maker, image resizer, and dozens of other free tools
• Shopify Flow: Creates customized e-commerce automations

App Store

The App Store is growing strong, currently offering over 8,000 apps. This means that there is probably an app-based solution for any issue you may have. The more specific the problem the more likely there will be a cost associated with the solution.

Shopify Customer Support

Shopify’s large scale enables them to have 24/7 help lines. The customer service department offers assistance in any area you might need. They also offer live chat support and emailing, along with resources such as guides, blogs, courses, and other how-to guides.

A Closer Look at Shopify’s Pricing and Plans

As with most things, the more you pay for, the more you get. However, even basic plans have a lot to offer. Here are some standout features for each plan. Keep in mind you’ll be billed once yearly, despite the “monthly” rate listed:

Alternative plans offered: 

Starter Plan: $5/month lets you sell through social media or basic online store

Retail: $89/month gives you in-person selling tools with loyalty and inventory features

Enterprise Commerce: Pricing available upon request. Offers enterprise-level solutions for big businesses

How Shopify Stacks Up Against Competitors

How do platforms like Hostinger web hosting or Squarespace compare to Shopify? There are so many web hosting and e-commerce options out there, it can be overwhelming. Some important factors to remember when selecting your provider include:

• The size of your business: If you’re small and plan to stay small, you may not need all the pricier bells and whistles
• International selling features: If you plan to do a lot of international sales, look into attributes such as supported languages and translation services, cross-border inventory management and more.
• Price: Don’t just consider the price of the plans available with providers. Look at all the add-ons, paid themes, and other pay to use tools you may need.
• Your technical capabilities: Some hosting platforms are more involved than others. If you don’t have a lot of tech-savvy, look for platforms with more automations, app-support, and customer service support

Now that you have an idea of what to look for, here is a head-to-head comparison of how the service measures up:

Conclusion

So, is Shopify good for your business? In the end, it is a well-known player in the industry for a reason.

If you have big ambitions and want scalability, or if you want a mind-boggling number of features and tools, or if you just want one of the most respected e-commerce platforms on your side – you really can’t beat Shopify. Best of all, you can try it out for free to see what all the fuss is about.

References and image credits:

• Gomanos.com
• WorthThinkers.com
• FiveOcean.net
• VinculumGroup.com
• ForexTribune.com