Shopify is a popular e-commerce website builder that offers monthly and yearly plans designed to accommodate any budget. This all-in-one platform provides everything you need to launch an online store, even if you have no coding or design experience.
Every Shopify plan comes with unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and lets you post unlimited products, which means Shopify scales beautifully as your business grows. The platform is so user-friendly that you can create a live Shopify store that’s optimised for search in just a few hours. Many Australian businesses use and love Shopify, and we like that monthly and yearly plans are listed in Australian dollars, as are credit card processing fees.
Pros
- User-friendly site setup
- 6,000+ app integrations
- 24/7 customer service
Cons
- Limited customization freedom
- Higher-tier plans are pricey
- Limited number of free themes
Table of Contents
Shopify At a Glance
Featured Partners
1
Wix
Starting price
From $15 per month
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free plan available, 900+ designer-made templates
2
Shopify
Monthly Plan Cost
$56 AUD to $575 AUD
E-commerce Availability
On all plans
Free Trial
Three days
3
Squarespace
E-Commerce Starting Price
$34 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
4
Bluehost
E-Commerce Starting Price
$15 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Wishlists, marketplace selling, unlimited products
Forbes Advisor recently named Shopify as one of the best website builders in the game. According to the company, more than 1.7 million businesses have made more than $US200 billion in sales with their Shopify websites.
You can get started with Shopify by taking advantage of its three-day free trial. After that, you’ll need to purchase a paid plan, although this is offered at a reduced rate of $US1 ($1.51 AUD) for one month.
Shopify offers three primary plans that all include e-commerce functionality, 24/7 support, Shopify POS Lite, a free SSL certificate and free shipping label printing. Here’s a breakdown of top feature differences among the three plans:
Shopify also offers a ‘Starter’ plan for small businesses that want to sell primarily through social media, such as Facebook and Instagram. It starts at $7 AUD a month.
You can save money on any Shopify plan by paying upfront. Shopify offers a 10% discount on annual plans and 20% on biennial plans. The first month is charged at $US1 ($1.51 AUD) no matter which plan you choose.
Large entities like Staples, Heinz and Lindt build their websites on the Shopify Plus enterprise platform, which is dedicated to large volume businesses and starts at $US2000 ($3022 AUD) per month. All enterprise solutions are customised, so you must contact Shopify directly to discuss available features and pricing options.
Read More: Complete Guide to Using Shopify
Other Benefits
Shopify is built for e-commerce. The platform includes popular features that most online businesses need to sell online and manage their e-commerce stores.
- Sell physical and digital products. The Shopify platform supports sales for both physical and digital products; buyers can download digital products directly from a Shopify site immediately after purchase.
- Unlimited products. List as many products as you want.
- Unlimited bandwidth and storage. Shopify doesn’t limit site traffic or file/image storage.
- Shopify analytics. Access key online store performance metrics through your Shopify Dashboard; the $79 plan also offers standard reports, while the $299 plan offers advanced reports.
- Track and manage inventory. Set up inventory tracking and monitor product counts.
- 24/7 customer support. Shopify offers support via phone, email, live chat, social media, a community forum and an in-depth online Help Centre.
- Accept recurring payments for subscriptions. You can sell subscriptions on your website and accept recurring payments via Shopify Payments, PayPal Express or Authorize.net.
- Mobile apps. Shopify offers apps for iOS and Android that allow you to manage your store from anywhere.
- Search engine optimization (SEO). Shopify plans include built-in tools to help you optimise your site for search.
- Blogging. Add a blog to your online store to boost SEO and extend customer engagement.
If you don’t find the features you’re looking for within the Shopify platform, you will likely find the functionality you require via one of more than 6,000 apps that integrate with Shopify.
Fine Print
Overall, Shopify is a terrific option for setting up your online store. However, there are a few limitations and subtler facts about the platform you need to understand upfront.
Site Costs Can Add Up
Online shop plans range from $56 AUD to $575 AUD per month and transaction fees from 0.5% to 2.0%. The bad news is this may not be where your costs end.
Shopify offers only nine free themes. If you’re looking for more design flair, you can purchase one of the dozens of Shopify premium themes for a one-time payment ranging from $US160 ($241 AUD) to $US180 ($271 AUD).
You may experience additional costs by linking to various apps. While Shopify integrates with thousands of apps that can extend your site’s functionality, many of these come with added fees. The total bill for maintaining your online shop can creep up on you.
Limited Customisation
When working with an all-in-one site builder like Shopify, you give up some design flexibility that you get with self-hosted platforms like WordPress. What you lose in customisation, though, is gained in ease of set-up.
Beginners Should Expect a Learning Curve
If you’re accustomed to a drag-and-drop editor or have never used a website builder, you may experience a modest learning curve setting up your Shopify website. Shopify uses a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that’s a bit dated as DIY website builders go, but it’s still relatively user-friendly.
Shopify Is Only So-So for Blogging
While you can add a blog to your Shopify website, Shopify isn’t the best website builder for Australian bloggers. Shopify doesn’t provide blog analytics or archive functionality. Also, there is no blog-only search function.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a blog on your online store; blogs can increase traffic from organic search and help you engage with your customers. But, if your primary business is blogging, and you only plan to sell a limited number of products, you may want to set up a WordPress blog and then use Shopify Lite for e-commerce functionality.
How Shopify Stacks Up
The Shopify website builder was created for e-commerce, while others like Wix and Squarespace only offer e-commerce functionality on certain plans.
For Australians, Wix e-commerce plans range from $33 AUD for basic e-commerce to $179 AUD a month for advanced e-commerce, which is cheaper than Shopify’s $56 to $575 monthly fees. All Wix e-commerce plans, with the exception of the top-tier Business Elite Plan, limit storage space while Shopify storage is entirely unlimited, giving Shopify the advantage for larger online shops. However, like Shopify, unlimited products are now available across all three tiers of Wix’s business and e-commerce plans.
Squarespace offers e-commerce functionality on its Business, Basic Commerce and Advanced Commerce plans, which range from $25 to $52 per month, giving Squarespace an edge over Shopify on pricing. Like Shopify, Squarespace offers unlimited bandwidth and storage. Squarespace wins in terms of stunning visual design, but Shopify integrates with a lot more e-commerce-related apps, making it a more robust online store builder.
Is Shopify Right for You or Your Australian Business?
Shopify works best for small Australian businesses that want to create a true online shop instead of merely building a website with limited e-commerce functionality. You can sell both physical and digital products in your Shopify store. With unlimited storage, bandwidth and product posting, Shopify will scale beautifully as your business grows.
Featured Partners
1
Wix
Starting price
From $15 per month
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free plan available, 900+ designer-made templates
2
Shopify
Monthly Plan Cost
$56 AUD to $575 AUD
E-commerce Availability
On all plans
Free Trial
Three days
3
Squarespace
E-Commerce Starting Price
$34 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
4
Bluehost
E-Commerce Starting Price
$15 AUD
Drag-and-Drop Interface
Yes
Standout Features
Wishlists, marketplace selling, unlimited products
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What exactly does Shopify do?
Shopify is an online e-commerce provider that acts as the conduit between store owner and customer. Businesses are able to build online stores through Shopify’s platform, which can then be listed on social media sites, seller marketplaces, blogs, third-party website websites, email and more. You can also use Shopify’s built-in point-of-sale (POS) for in-person retail stores, pop-up shops, and markets.
Is Shopify good for beginners?
While beginners should expect a modest learning curve when creating their Shopify store, the platform does not require previous technical or coding expertise. Beginners are well supported by Shopify’s many outlets where you can ask questions and troubleshoot problems. Support is offered via email, chat, phone, community forum and Shopify’s intensive online Help Center.
Which Shopify plan should I choose?
The best Shopify plan for you depends largely on your selling volume as well as the features you require. If you just want to start small and sell largely through social media, you can opt for a Starter Plan. If you want to build a small online store, Basic Shopify will be most cost-effective for you. The Shopify and Advanced Shopify plans work best for high-volume online stores. You can always start with a lower-tier plan and upgrade as your needs grow.
Is Shopify better than Amazon?
A significant advantage of Amazon is its enormous built-in customer base, while a primary disadvantage is the high volume of competitors already on Amazon. With Shopify, you can build your own online store that focuses exclusively on your products, but you also have to generate your own pool of customers. Many small businesses opt to offer their products both on Amazon and on their own custom-built Shopify store.
Is Shopify a good fit for small businesses?
If your business primarily relies on online sales, Shopify can be an excellent fit. The platform allows an unlimited number of products and makes it easy to track inventory. Plus, the drag & drop website builder is very beginner-friendly, so you can create a professional-looking website yourself without needing to hire a designer.
Can I try Shopify before committing?
Shopify offers a free, three-day trial so that users can try out the platform before committing to a purchase.
Is there a Shopify Australia?
Shopify bills itself as a global e-commerce solution, and while there is no ‘dedicated’ Australian off-shoot, some 100,000 big name Aussie retailers use the platform.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
If you use a third-party payment provider, then you will pay a transaction fee dependent on your plan. For example, Basic Shopify customers will be slugged 2%, Shopify plan holders will be charged 1% and Advanced Tiers will be levied 0.5%.
Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.
