Shopify is a software-as-a-service e-commerce cloud platform. On the front end, it offers an e-commerce storefront and payment system and a point-of-sale solution for in-person sales. It provides the management interface for adding products, configuring catalogs, and managing product pages on the back end. It also integrates various marketing and analytics tools to help retailers promote their brands and products.
Shopify is a premium platform with different pricing tiers depending on the size of your store and the features it requires—there is no free tier. Users pay a flat monthly fee and a percentage on sales made through Shopify Payments and other payment providers. All tiers include basic e-commerce and POS features, with higher tiers offering lower payment charges and advanced features such as international pricing, professional reporting, and international domains.
Shopify Plus is an enterprise e-commerce solution designed for high-volume retailers.
Why is Shopify so popular?
Shopify has all the features that most e-commerce retailers want. It offers tiers suitable for a wide range of businesses, from small shops with a handful of products to high-volume multinationals.
However, the same can be said for its competitors with free e-commerce solutions like WooCommerce. What attracts retailers to Shopify is its ease of use. As a fully managed cloud platform, Shopify makes setting up and managing a store extremely easy. Retailers don’t have to worry about the underlying hardware because Shopify handles it for them.
Nor do they have to concern themselves with software updates, security, extension compatibility, scaling, or other technical aspects of running an e-commerce store. Instead, they can focus on operating and promoting the store itself.
Ease of use attracts retailers of all sizes. Many small businesses that want to sell online don’t have the technical skills or time to manage and secure a self-hosted store. Large businesses often want to avoid the hassle and cost of hiring a team to manage their store infrastructure, availability, performance, and security. An attractive option is an all-in-one package Shopify offers.
Why are e-commerce retailers migrating from Shopify?
It’s easy to see why retail businesses choose Shopify, but it’s not the right solution for every company. Many other retailers use Shopify alternatives like WooCommerce. Shopify only supports 4% of eCommerce stores, while WooCommerce supports over 20%. The all-in-one proprietary model imposes a number of tradeoffs, and some of them are deal-breakers for businesses that value independence and control over their platform.
Reasons, why many retailers prefer Shopify alternatives, include:
Cost: Features available on alternative platforms may not be available on Shopify except at higher pricing tiers In certain cases niche features suitable for e-commerce businesses may not be available at all.
Payment Provider Restrictions: Some payment features depend on the platform’s in-house payment solution.
Lack of customization options: Retailers may need more control over their site’s theme, SEO, and capabilities. Because Shopify is a closed platform, retailers cannot add features or modify existing components to better fit their needs.
When choosing a platform, retailers must balance ease of use with regulation. Your life will be easier when the platform operator takes care of the infrastructure, software, and design, but you’ll find that lack of control limits your store’s potential.
Best Shopify Alternatives
There are three main categories of Shopify alternatives: SaaS, headless e-commerce platforms, and self-hosted ecommerce applications.
SaaS Shopify Alternatives
Software as a service platform is a simple alternative to Shopify They operate on a similar model but may offer a different range of features and pricing options. Popular options include below:
- Magento
- Salesforce
- 3Dcart
- Wix
- Squarespace
Although these are primarily SaaS platforms, some, including Magento, can also function as headless platforms.
Headless Shopify Alternatives
Headless e-commerce platform provides e-commerce back-end services such as catalog management and payment processor. E-commerce businesses create a front-end that accesses these services through web APIs. Headless e-commerce stores are highly customizable, but the back-end remains under the control of the operator.
Headless Shopify alternatives include:
- BigCommerce
- Elastic Path
- Shopify Plus
Headless platforms are primarily used by large retailers with development resources and technical expertise. In a pure headless platform, users are expected to build a web or native app to act as the front end for e-commerce services.
Self-Hosted Shopify Alternatives
Self-hosted e-commerce applications are the most flexible option. They include both a back-end service and a front-end interface. These can be hosted on any compatible hosting platform or server. And, in many cases, self-hosted e-commerce stores are free and open source.
This category includes many well-known and widely used e-commerce stores, including:
- WooCommerce
- Magento Open Source
- Drupal Commerce
- OpenCart
- PrestaShop
Self-hosted e-commerce software allows retailers to scale their stores as needed, making them a cheaper option for new store owners. They use standard web technologies, and they can be hosted from an inexpensive shared hosting account to a virtual or dedicated server, to a cluster of dedicated servers for the largest stores. Self-hosted usually means self-managed, so you need to manage your store’s hosting infrastructure and its software—regular updates are essential. But it’s often a good trade-off for control, flexibility, and lower cost.
