More than 30,000 e-commerce stores are powered by Shopify. What is it that makes this e-commerce hosting and shopping cart platform so popular? One of its biggest selling points is the fact that it is an all-in-one e-commerce solution. By signing up for one of the four monthly plans, you will be provided with everything you need to sell products and accept payments online. It is the closest thing you’ll find to a turnkey e-commerce platform. Learn more about its primary features and the available plans below.
E-Commerce Hosting Plans and Prices
Different e-commerce business sites have different needs, which is reflected in the four different plans. Before delving into specifics, it should be noted that all of the plans allow you to create, customize, manage, maintain and market an e-commerce website. They all include unlimited bandwidth and free setup. They primarily differ in terms of storage space and in the number of SKUs or unique products that are supported.
A basic breakdown of the four available plans is as follows:
Organize and Edit Inventory Items
Whether you’re managing thousands of inventory items or just a few, this e-commerce hosting solution offers tools that make it easy and intuitive. Databases from platforms like Excel, eBay and Magento can be imported into your online store instantly. You can also add items manually. Inventory levels can be adjusted as necessary, and you can enhance your item listings with images, unique descriptions and many other details. To make the shopping experience more enjoyable, you can use the Smart Collection tool to automatically sort items into categories. This can also be done manually.
E-Commerce Shopping Cart Options
This e-commerce hosting platform comes with a fully functional shopping cart. It is compatible with physical products and digital products. In the case of the latter, automatic downloads can be initiated once payments are processed. You can specify specific currencies and take your pick from many different languages. The shopping cart is compatible with more than 50 payment methods, including major credit cards and PayPal. Order tracking, instant shipping cost calculation and abandoned shopping cart tools are all available.
Online Store Promotion
Getting your e-commerce business site up and running shouldn’t take long at all. The work isn’t done then though. You need to promote it. Shopify includes a content management system, or CMS, that is designed to enhance your existing marketing efforts. With it, you can choose an e-commerce blog template and start posting blogs that highlight your products, your brand and your store. E-commerce plugins for your social media sites and website are also available. You can also use the included customer relationship management tools to stay in touch with your audience. All of these features and more can be sampled with the free 30-day trial.
Author's Bio: Allen Ray is a graphic designer. The Design Mag was founded in 2008, and since then she is constantly looking for new ways to serve the Design community both online and offline. It is her ultimate goal to make The Design Mag the best source for Design related Tutorial and Resources. Follow on Twitter@thedesignmagVisit Author's website: Allen Ray