Shopify review 2024: Ecommerce website builder tested

Shopify is a leading ecommerce website builder that provides end-to-end online retail functionality to users and businesses.

Shopify offers a range of high-quality ecommerce tools, along with professional templates for you to choose from. While it is one of the more expensive ecommerce builders we’ve compared, the range of functions it brings makes it a solid choice for almost any online business.

Read on to find out more about Shopify.

Shopify ecommerce website builder: Overview

Shopify is a well-known and popular ecommerce website builder that offers a range of high-quality online retail functions for users and businesses.

It offers three plans, with the cheapest best suited to individuals and small businesses coming in at £25/month.

While Shopify’s options are slightly more expensive than ecommerce plans available from other builders like Wix, the specialist nature of Shopify does mean that it will likely be a top choice for those looking to sell online.

If you want to compare other options, you can visit our best ecommerce website builder page. Or, if you want to know more about how to get started, you can visit our how to use Shopify page to learn more.

Shopify ecommerce website builder prices

Plan	Number of users	Features	Cost
Starter	1	Social media sales Messaging app sales	£5/month
Basic	2	2% + 25p credit card rates 1.7 + 0p in-person rates Basic reporting	£25/month
Shopify	5	1.7% +2p credit card rates 1.6% + 0p in-person rates Professional reporting	£65/month
Advanced	15	1.5% +25p credit card rates 1.5% + 0p in-person rates Custom report builder	£344/month

As an ecommerce-first website builder, Shopify is slightly more expensive than some of the other options you can choose from. However, if you are looking to build an online store then you can feel confident that you are getting all the tools you need for the price you pay.

The plan you choose will depend on the stage your business is at. The Basic plan is a good option if you’re just starting out; the more you pay, the better your rates are for payments, both online and in person. Essentially, that means that the more sales that come through your business, the more likely it is that you’ll save money on the more expensive plans.

You should also bear in mind some of the features or access you’ll require. For example, if you have more than one person that needs to be able to work on your website, you’ll need to opt for at least the Shopify plan, at £65 per month.

Shopify pros and cons

Unlimited product listings on all plans
You aren’t charged based on how many people visit your online store
Abandoned cart recovery available on all plans
Specialist ecommerce builder

More expensive than some ecommerce plans
Some of the more advanced functionality is only available on pricier plans
Low Trustpilot score compared to non-specialist ecommerce builders

Shopify features

Shopify offers a massive range of high-quality ecommerce features which can make launching an online store easy.

Ecommerce functionality
Ease of use
Design and templates
Tools
User reviews

Click any of the options in the list above, or read on below to find out more in the sections below.

Ecommerce functionality

All of Shopify’s plans include a range of ecommerce features as standard.

Every plan allows you to list unlimited products with unlimited user bandwidth. You can also add and manage your own brand assets, such as logos and brand colours. Combined, these features mean that any store can operate effectively without concerns over traffic or site design matching your brand requirements.

Shopify also offers a range of advanced features that can help you to scale your ecommerce activity. Things, like abandoned cart recovery, analytics and discounting codes, are excellent options for any business trying to build customer loyalty.

While even the cheapest plan offers everything you could need to get started, you will need to pay more for some things. For example, if you have more than two staff members that you want to work on your site, you’ll need to pay more.

Likewise, to avoid higher credit card rates, you will need to up your plan. Professional reporting is also locked behind the higher tiers, with only basic reporting available on the lowest-price Basic plan.

It’s worth mentioning that the notes above are unlikely to matter to businesses getting started. Once you’ve scaled your online shop up, the higher price could well be outweighed by the savings on transaction fees, for example.

Ease of use

Shopify is an easy-to-use option for individuals and businesses looking to build an online store. It offers a range of professionally designed templates that have been created with ecommerce as a core focus. This means that you could launch a site quickly, without the need to design or build anything yourself.

You can also customise the site using the theme customiser. However, it’s worth noting that you might not find the same level of customisation as you might find elsewhere. There are third-party software that can help you with this, though they may come at an additional cost.

In terms of product management, an essential part of running an ecommerce website, Shopify is simple with everything accessible from your main dashboard. Adding products, descriptions, pricing information, and anything else you need, is simple and easy.

Design and templates

Shopify offers a good range of templates for you to choose from, though less than some other builders.

However, this is only going to be an issue if you’re looking for something incredibly specific. Either way, you can make edits to your theme to ensure that it looks and functions the way that you want it to.

Shopify’s theme editor allows you to customise the layout and appearance of your site. You can make changes to your content, site layout, typography and colour schemes without much trouble.

You can even make changes to your site code, though this is only recommended if you have a good grasp of HTML and CSS.

Tools

As well as offering ecommerce functionality as standard, Shopify also allows you to market your website using various tools.

You can integrate social media channels, and use email marketing to expand the reach of your website and retention of customers. You can also get access to POS systems that can be used at real-life locations if you want to sell in-person too.

User reviews

Shopify has an overall Trustpilot score of 1.2, with 89% of users rating it as 1 star.

However, we recommend taking this sort of review with a pinch of salt as, often, people will only leave reviews when they’ve had a negative experience. People are less likely to do so when their experience has been positive.

It’s also worth noting that Shopify’s Trustpilot score is at a similar level to other dedicated ecommerce website builders we’ve reviewed.

One of the main complaints people had was with the level of customer support they received. More positive reviews commented on the ease of setup they had experienced.

Shopify ecom website builder review: Final thoughts

Shopify is a well-known and well-regarded ecommerce website builder that offers everything you need to launch an online store.

Although it can look pricier than some of the competitors on the market, the range and quality of the tools provided to you means that it offers excellent value for money.

Shopify also offers the benefit of scalability. If you’re just starting out, you might opt for the cheapest plan, but once your online store begins picking up traction you can scale up to the more expensive plans to access more benefits and functionality.

Bryn Glover

Bryn is the founder and editor of WebsiteJumpStart. He has worked in the digital field for over a decade and was editor for Startups.co.uk - the UK's leading small business website - and for NerdWallet UK before launching WebsiteJumpStart to help people and businesses get online with ease.

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