Which is the Best CMS for My E-Commerce Store? (Part 1: Shopify)
Comparing Shopify, Woocommerce, Webflow and Squarespace.
Introduction: This is a 4 Part Article where we take a look at and compare 4 popular CMS (Content Management Systems) for your e-commerce store. If you’re thinking about setting up an online store, or frustrated with your current CMS and you feel it’s time for a switch, then this article is for you. The four CMS we’ll review are Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, and Squarespace. We’ll go over several categories, and compare all four CMS grading each category .
Categories:
Ease of Use
Design
Features
Scalability
Support
Pricing
Let’s start with the most popular CMS to date - Shopify.
PART 1: SHOPIFY CMS
Shopify CMS (www.shopify.com) is perhaps the most popular e-commerce CMS out there to date because I hear about it more often than any other CMS. I used to work on WordPress a lot but I jumped into trying Shopify CMS because it was the latest CMS out at the time and I did not want to miss out. Over 300,000 businesses use Shopify CMS and this number continues to grow for good reasons. Read about it below.
Ease of Use (9/10):
Shopify CMS is perhaps one of the best CMS available that is very easy to use and learn. If you know how to use FB and customize your profile, then Shopify will be easy for you to use as well. I have had clients who were new to Shopify but were able to pick it up quickly and intuitively. The installation of apps to add additional features and services to your e-commerce Shopify store is straight forward. When using Shopify CMS, I don’t get confused or have to worry about information clutter, compared to other CMS out there. Cough WordPress….
Design (9/10):
Shopify’s design is very clean and user-friendly. Navigating the Shopify CMS and setting it up is very simple and straightforward. Setting up templates is also straightforward and there are a lot of free and deluxe versions available online. Higher quality templates come with extra features and options which allow for more customization. But these features are generally more expensive. All in all, Shopify is so far, the most user-friendly CMS I’ve worked with that offers tons of free features, template selections, app options, and more. It is definitely for customers who want to focus on growing their business in areas of marketing, merchandise, and digital content strategies, without having to worry so much about the backend, like bare-bones coding, CMS platform maintenance, and security updates.
Features (10/10):
Creating your product pages on Shopify is also very easy. Product variations are supported but one can use a feed like an excel or CSV file to upload your merchandise if you have a lot of products to enter into the system. Although I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the basic process first before graduating to the product import list via an excel sheet or CSV file. Setting up shipping and taxes is straightforward and it is natively included in the CMS. They support coupons like; giving first-time shoppers a certain discount on your store. These are generally basic for any e-commerce shop now that advertises, “15% off on your first order”.
The system keeps track of this discount automatically on the back end, unlike some other CMS where you need to integrate this feature separately and figure it out. Depending on your template, setting up and updating landing pages for product promos etc. is very easy. The Shopify CMS also includes a thicker header banner which allows you to advertise your promotions like, “May Flash Sale – All Tops 15%”. This is good if you occasionally run promotions, markdowns, and other announcements.
Scalability (10/10):
Shopify CMS is loaded with in-built features that help with building online sales and customers. You got your in-built analytics, blogs, and newsletter mailing list to measure growth and build brand awareness. If you feel this is too vanilla, you can easily integrate other third-party apps from their app library. You can integrate more popular e-commerce services like Google Analytics, Customer Reviews, Live Chat, advance Newsletter Mailing List, and more. Depending on the app and service, some are free and you may need to pay extra for additional features and support. Regardless, you can scale your business accordingly as it grows, integrate and activate specific app features as needed. The drawback I notice from Shopify is that it doesn’t support custom or vanity email names. So say you have an online shop called, www.mypetshop.com, and would like to create different custom names like, johnsmith@mypetshop.com, support@mypetshop.com, and info@mypetshop.com, then you’d need to setup that up externally through another paid service or you can use your personal email but that won’t look professional.
Support (9/10):
The best feature about Shopify I think is their 24-hour phone support. There’s nothing better than being able to talk to a Shopify guru over the phone on just about anything. Technical issues, setting up, billing, plugin or theme recommendations, just about any issue or question you have with your online store, you can talk to them about it and they’ll help you. This is what makes Shopify really competitive and top-notch over other CMS out there. They have a knowledgeable andamazing customer service team
Pricing (8/10):
Pricing is relatively standard across the board. There is a 14 day free trial but I think this is not enough for anyone coming to use it for the first time. You’ll definitely need more time to learn it and set it up. Pricing starts at $28.00 and Shopify’s logo, “Powered by Shopify” will be displayed on your website. This is fine as Shopify is very popular now and it’s perfectly alright for startups to have this displayed on their website. Higher tier subscriptions will include more features and removal of this logo/mark.
FINAL SCORE: 92%
A preview of Shopify’s very clean and intuitive interface, in particular, the “Products” section.
About the Author:
Allen Ray Sales is an e-commerce consultant for E-Com Fashion (www.e-comfashion.com). He brings in over 7 years of e-commerce experience working in the fashion, accessories, and luxury industry. He brings in e-commerce and technology experience from working for several high profile retail brands. Additionally, his multi-disciplines in fine arts, graphic design, evolving internet technologies, and digital marketing, gives him a unique creative edge and talent for building businesses and luxury brands in the e-commerce space.
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