In the recent article, I shared my opinion why Etsy is not a very strong foundation for your creative business. Especially if you're shooting for long-term success and growing your independent shop. While having all those shoppers coming to Etsy is great, have you ever imagined how many competitors you have? In the end of 2016, there were 1.7 million active sellers on Etsy. If you're driving a lot of your traffic using social media like Instagram or Facebook, you're helping other sellers as well. Etsy doesn't really care if you or your competitor is making a sale because in both cases they are getting their share. While I'm still a huge fan of Etsy, having my own website gives me a freedom that I can't get anywhere else.

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Opening your own online shop with Shopify.jpg

Today I'm going to talk about opening an online shop with Shopify. You'll be able to better understand how the Shopify works, find out pricing plans, fees, pros and cons and open your shop in a few days!

Why choose Shopify?

Designed to create online shops

Shopify has one goal - provide you with the best tools to sell online. And you'll be able to do so without any strong knowledge of website design or any other technical stuff. It's really easy to use and has a lot of templates to choose from. Sadly not all of them are free like Wix, but it'll be a one-time investment if you decide to buy one. Your shop with Shopify will not just look good on desktop and mobile, it'll be fully functional too.

Flexibility

Shopify is great for any scale of business and it can grow with you. You can import your product data from Magento, eBay, WordPress and CSV files. That means you don't have to manually add each product to your site. If you'll ever need to access HTML code of your website or hire a programmer to add new functions you'll be able to do that. Shopify is so versatile that it doesn't limit you in any way.

You can sell in person

Another great feature that Shopify has is card reader which lets you accept credit cards on the go! Shopify card reader is an excellent tool for craft fairs or pop-up stores. All the sales will reflect on your statistics. The best part is that you can get the reader for free!

Selling on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Buzzfeed, etc.

One of the most exciting things I love about Shopify is the possibility to integrate your shop with Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and other major websites. For example, your customers will be able to check out without leaving Facebook! It's the great option for those who have a standout presence on social media.

Other good things to have:

Shopify ensures that the payments from your customers stay secure with SSL-encryption.
A lot of options accepting Paypal and credit cards online and in person.
Shop with Shopify will be optimized for mobile.
Shipping discounts with USPS and printing your own shipping labels.
Excellent support, articles and tutorials about creating your shop.

Are there any cons?

The biggest con for me right now is the price. Even though I understand that you're getting outstanding quality services and additional features like credit card reader. With niche business like mine, I can't justify the bigger price tag for templates and a monthly fee of 29$. It still is a significantly small amount to pay for your own shop with Shopify, so do the math and see if this is the expense you're ready to make! Another con is that you have to purchase your own domain separately, it's reasonably priced but not free like on Wix.

Conclusion

I strongly believe that Shopify is the best option for those who are already successful on Etsy or ready to take their business to the next level. For small and developing businesses it can be hard to justify the price. But sometimes we have to take some risks to succeed! To find out if Shopify is the best fit for you try out a risk-free 14 days trial and see how everything works even before paying them.

If you're searching for other options read my article about Wix and find out why I think it's a great option for those who are just starting out!