Shopify

Overview

Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that lets you create, customise and manage an online store without code. It bundles everything a merchant needs, from customisable themes and product management to integrated payments and sales analytics, into one system. Shopify suits entrepreneurs and businesses of every size that want to sell online, whether they are launching a first store or scaling an established brand.

How does Shopify work? The short walkthrough below shows a store being set up before we get into the detail.

How it works

Shopify gives you a hosted store you build without coding skills. You pick a customisable theme, add products with images, variants and prices, and configure integrated product, inventory and order management. Built-in SEO features help your store get found, while a streamlined checkout and multiple payment options make buying simple. Analytics let you track performance and sales, and an app marketplace extends the store with shipping, marketing and support tools. Whether you sell physical products, services or digital downloads, Shopify handles the commerce plumbing end to end.

Key features

• Customisable themes: a large library of store templates you can adapt to your brand.
• Product and inventory management: catalogues, variants, stock and orders in one dashboard.
• Integrated payments and checkout: a conversion-focused checkout with many payment methods.
• SEO and marketing tools: built-in SEO settings plus email, discounts and campaign features.
• App ecosystem: thousands of apps and integrations to extend shipping, support and automation.

Use cases

Shopify adapts to many types of business. For first-time entrepreneurs, it is an ideal way to launch an online store quickly with little technical investment. Designers and makers use it to showcase products beautifully and manage sales efficiently. Established brands rely on its scalable plans and integrations to grow their online presence. A common pattern for a Webflow project is to keep the marketing site and content on Webflow for design and SEO control, while using Shopify to power the store and checkout, connecting the two so the brand experience stays consistent from landing page to purchase.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: non-technical users can build and run a store confidently.
• Extensive customisation: themes and apps cover a wide range of needs.
• Easy payments and shipping: integrated checkout and logistics options simplify operations.
• Strong support and community: solid documentation, apps and a large ecosystem.

Cons

• Added costs: some features and third-party apps carry extra monthly fees, and transaction fees apply without Shopify Payments.
• Design limits without Liquid: deep customisation often requires knowledge of Liquid, Shopify's template language.
• Content and SEO flexibility: for content-heavy sites, some teams prefer to pair Shopify with a dedicated platform like Webflow rather than rely on its native pages.

Shopify pricing

Shopify offers several plans to match your stage of growth. The Basic plan starts around $29 per month, the standard Shopify plan around $79 per month, and the Advanced plan around $299 per month. A lighter Starter plan and an enterprise-grade Shopify Plus tier are also available for very small sellers and high-volume merchants. Prices vary by billing cycle, region and add-ons, and transaction fees may apply when you do not use Shopify Payments, so confirm current rates on shopify.com before you commit.

Shopify alternatives

Shopify is not the only way to sell online. Popular alternatives include WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and Webflow Ecommerce. The most common comparison is Shopify vs WooCommerce: Shopify is a hosted, all-in-one platform that is fast to launch, while WooCommerce is a self-hosted WordPress plugin that offers more control but needs more setup and maintenance. Your choice depends on how much flexibility, budget and technical involvement you want.

Shopify with Webflow and no-code

Shopify and Webflow work well together in a no-code stack. A common setup is to build marketing and content pages in Webflow for design and SEO control, then use Shopify for the checkout, a buy button or a headless commerce backend. This keeps a polished brand experience on the front end while Shopify handles payments, inventory and orders. Our e-commerce team can help you connect the two so the journey from landing page to purchase stays seamless.