OPTASY: Drupal Web Development Agency Toronto
(416) 243-2431Drupal SupportRequest A QuoteQuote

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
    • Design
    • Web Development
      • Drupal
      • WordPress
      • Magento
      • Laravel
      • Shopify
      • Sharepoint
      • Contentful
      • Gatsby
      • Next.js
      • Node.js
      • React
      • AngularJS
    • Mobile & App
      • IOS
      • Android
      • Augmented Reality
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Virtual Reality
    • Maintenance & Support
      • Drupal Maintenance
      • Wordpress Maintenance
    • Staff Augmentation
  • Portfolio
    • Web
    • Mobile
    • Ar
  • About
    • Who we are
    • Values
    • Events
    • Awards
    • News
    • Careers
    • Partners
      • Acquia
      • Google
      • Pantheon
      • Shopify
      • Wordpress
  • Blog
    • Drupal
    • Drupal 8
    • HTML
    • CSS
    • Javascript
    • PHP
    • Microsoft
    • Web Design
    • Design
    • Tips
    • News
  • Contact
(416) 243-2431 Drupal Support Request A QuoteQuote

In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic - OPTASY would like to offer DRUPAL website support for any Healthcare, Government, Education and Non-Profit Organization(s) with critical crisis communication websites or organizations directly providing relief. Stay Safe and Stay Well.

Is Shopify the Best Option for Your eCommerce Website? How Do You Know? 6 Pros and Cons
Tips

Is Shopify the Best Option for Your eCommerce Website? How Do You Know? 6 Pros and Cons

by Adrian Ababei on Oct 05 2017

To Shopify or not to Shopify? And why shouldn't you? It's an all-in-one, turn-key shopping cart solution after all: it takes care of all there's needed for your store to run smoothly, while you get to focus on those details that will make it stand out from the crowd. Yet, convenience does come with a cost (or several of them): a customization cost, the cost of having only basic discount and shipping cost models, per order transaction fees and so on. So is Shopify the best option for your own online store or not?

There's only one simple way to answer it: weighing its most tempting pros and its most discouraging cons. 

Here are 6 of each that our team at our web design company in Toronto, has selected for you:

 

6 Reasons for Running Your Online Store on Shopify

1. You Get an Impressive Collection of Great Looking Themes to Choose From

And you should, indeed, feel “spoiled” by such a wide collection of themes at your fingertip! Both free and premium.

If you're a start-up, stay reassured: your e-commerce website will still look sharp and professional with a free Shopify theme. This way, you can take off the table the costs of hiring a designer when you plan your initial financing.

As you grow, as a business, you can always jazz up your store with fancy, visually-arresting upgrades.

Note: The time you'd spend looking for a good and “not so expensive” designer you could invest in high-quality photography and other visual assets instead!

And the great thing when you start small and plan to grow your e-commerce business organically is that Shopify makes its theme system ideally accessible for designers. It will get easier for the design team that you'll choose, later on, to fine tune your virtual storefront.

 

2. It Provides Your Store With Security Features and Top Speed, By Default

“Is Shopify the best option for me?” When asking yourself this question the security and performance factors should weight heavy in your decision-making process:

 

  1. you expect your online store to be 100% safe for your customers; it should inspire trust so that they get confident enough to enter their card details
  2. you expect it to load fast; online shoppers are remorselessly “stingy” when it comes to the time they'd invest in waiting for a page to load

     

Well, you hit the nail right on the head with your two-in-one expectation here: Shopify takes off caching, compliance, worrying about hackers etc. off your shoulders.

And it lets you focus on running and growing your business instead!

Note: Money talks and... gets your back covered! It's no news that Shopify's been investing huge sums in software and security engineering.

 

3. It's an “All-Features-in-One” E-Commerce Platform

Are you quite “greedy” when it comes to the features that you'd want your e-commerce platform to provide you with, right out-of-the-box?

No need to be “reasonably demanding”. And no need to look any further than... Shopify.

It makes the “Swiss knife” type of shopping cart solution that you need for setting up and running your store, fully fledged, in no time:

 

  • it has built-in payment gateways support 
  • its themes are easily customizable
  • it makes implementing Google Analytics effortless
  • it empowers you to add and to remove your products nice and easy

     

And there's so much more to this bundle of conveniences that Shopify “spoils” you with as soon as you “unwrap” it!

 

4. You Can Rely on Its Excellent Customer Support Services

“Is Shopify the best option for my online store?” should turn into “Is there always a Shopify expert to get my back whenever I'm facing a problem?”

Luckily, Shopify's customer service is simply... outstanding! And it's the platform's own users' reviews that support our opinion: there's always an easy to reach Shopify expert ready to help you out... fast.

And this aspect gets particularly critical when you're tempted with tons of upgrades which, at some point, risk to guide you towards a dead end. Then you just need to call someone to... save the day!

 

5. You Get to Leverage Its Pre-Built Marketing Essentials Toolkit

So Shopify “spoils” you with outstanding customer service. On the other hand, its built-in digital marketing tools aren't out of the ordinary! Yet, they do make the utterly effective essential kit to meet all your online store's marketing needs:

 

  • it makes putting together landing pages easy
  • it's perfectly equipped for SEO: it allows meta descriptions, title tags, it's written in a clean, easy to crawl code
  • it handles issues of critical SEO importance for you by default (sitemap, Search Console, SSL, canonicals etc.)

     

In a few words: Shopify's marketing “toolbox” is limited to the essentials, the critically important ones, that it handles to perfection! 

 

6. It “Bundles Up” Tones of Add-Ons In Its App Store

Here's another strong pro to help you come up with a quick answer to your “Is Shopify the best option for my business?” dilemma: The Shopify App Store itself!

It's online store owners' “Wonderland”. An impressive collection of fancy apps that they get to plug right into their online stores.

It's also the meeting point between third-party developers and business owners looking to enhance their stores' out-of-the-box functionality. To make them stand out in their respective industries.

Some apps are free and some of them come with a price tag on.

Is there an app perfectly tailored to your online store's needs that you're searching for?

 

  1. you could search for a developer to build if for you
  2. but not before you've dug through the wide collection of add-ons already available in the Shopify App Store

     

Note: by far the most intriguing add-on that Shopify “tempts” you with” is its Buy button itself:

  • the idea of selling your products outside your online store might be... puzzling you at first
  • and still, it provides you with so much flexibility: you get to sell your products wherever on the web without the need to actually set up an online store

     

“Is Shopify The Best Option for My Business?” 6 Reasons To Doubt It

1. It Limits Your Customization Options

Out-of-the-box convenience does come with a price when using Shopify as your e-commerce platform! And this price is given by all the restrictions imposed on your site's architecture.

And implicitly by the customization limitations deriving from there!

It's true, though, you can still hire a good developer to tweak things on your store, yet... this comes with a risk, as well: that of messing up the core code.

A major con, indeed, when you expect to get unlimited freedom for fine tuning your e-commerce site's functionality to your liking!

 

2. Customization Does Come, But At a Cost

And your legitimate question, “Is Shopify the best option for me?” becomes “Is Shopify, in fact, a restrictive, risky and costly e-commerce solution?”

On one hand, you have a huge community of third-party developers ready to get any “tweaking job” done for you.

Yet, on the other hand:

 

  • Shopify comes with its proprietary code language, Liquid: so the chosen developer(s) will need to know Liquid to be able to customize anything about your store; they can't “get away” with using PHP when “maneuvering” templates

     
  • needless to add that overly specialized developers are more expensive

     
  • you can't make just small tweaks: you need to engage in full customization processes 

     
  • getting your hands (or your developers' hands) dirty in Shopify's base code does interfere with the software's warranty

     
  • by tweaking your Shopify's store base code you run the risk to ruin it and to find it challenging plugging in future add-ons (which call for the out-of-the-box Shopify code to work)

     

Decisions, decisions! 

 

3. Its Built-In Blogging Features Are Simply... Unremarkable

Can you imagine your content strategy without a blog?

Unfortunately, Shopify's out-of-the-box blogging capabilities could be better. If compared with Wordpress's, for instance, they seem... basic. 

So, if you have big plans for your blog:

 

  • to turn it into a true organic traffic “magnet”
  • into a “channel” for informing customers about your products and about your brand's values
  • into a tool for increasing social shares
  • … and for building customer communities

     

… then Shopify's blogging software is not built to properly “fuel” your plans.

Just make sure you're prepared for this inconvenience!

 

4. It Can Handle Basic Discount Scenarios Only 

Don't expect Shopify to cope with all your upsell scenarios, with all those complex discount models that you might have in mind. 

For it can handle “one discount per order” models only. So, it's pointless to put together all kinds of complex (“buy one get one free”, multiple discount codes per order etc.) types of structures.

Not only that Shopify's not built to handle them, but you might be tempted to “adapt” your discount models to this inconvenience. To create several variants of a product, each one with its own price.

Don't! You will only end up messing your inventory system!

 

5. It Charges a Per Sale Transaction Fee

These fees add up to your monthly store plan and come on top of the credit card fees. 

And from this point of view Shopify can be discouraging both for a start-up business owner and for one already selling in a high volume on his/her online store:

 

  1. as a start-up, you don't know, from the start, how much you'll end up selling on your e-commerce website
  2. as a business already selling in high volumes the calculation of these transaction fees changes, so fees will start to add up gradually

     

In short: you can't avoid transaction fees, no matter how much you're actually selling on your Shopify store; still, if you want to save a percentage point you'll need to increase your sales to make those “savings” count.

 

6. It Can't Handle Complex Shipping Cost Models

Unfortunately, it's true! Since Shopify's built primarily as a shopping cart solution for small to medium-sized business, it's designed to handle basic, single orders only.

In other words, it's not well equipped for all the complexities that wholesalers' orders involve:

 

  • calculating real-time shipping cost
  • orders that include multiple product sizes, multiple boxes

     

In conclusion: Shopify's out-of-the-box shipping models can handle basic shipping needs only. If you're dealing with more complex ones on your online store, you might consider having a third-party app developed for you!

The END! What do you say? Have we succeeded, through our Shopify pros and cons list here, in helping you find the answer to your valid question: “Is Shopify the best option for my business?”

Share the article

Development

We do Web development

Go to our Web development page!

Visit page!

Do you want a website

or app developed?

 

Get a Free Quote

and let's make it work!

Get a Quote

Recommended Stories

Tips
Website Security Best Practices

Website Security Best Practices

  Website security is an important consideration for any business or organization with an online presence. With the ever-increasing threats posed by cybercriminals, it is essential to ensure that your website is secure and protected from malicious attacks. Implementing best practices in website security can help protect your website from hackers, malware, and other malicious activities and security issues. This article will discuss some of the best practices for website security and how you can stay away from cybercriminals and improve your security posture.    "Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and it boils down to this: in cybersecurity, the more systems we secure, the more secure we all are." - Jeh Johnson Overview of Cybersecurity in 2023 The cybersecurity landscape heads towards a privacy-first approach to information security in 2023. Also, aligning regulations globally will allow businesses to gain more security and data protection.  There are growing voices that give their positive vote to passwordless authentication, which will presumably eliminate the risk of password breaches and amplify organizational security.  However, the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices will likely increase security risks for organizations and expose more security vulnerabilities.  So how can websites cope and become more agile and accessible in this uncertain cyber landscape?   Best Website Security Practices in 2023 At the moment, the best website security practices involve a combination of proactive measures and reactive responses. Proactive measures include implementing strong authentication methods, encrypting data, and regularly patching software. Reactive responses include monitoring suspicious activity and responding quickly to identified security threats or security breaches. Strong Authentication Multi-factor authentication is one of the most important best practices for website security. It involves using two or more factors to verify a user’s identity, such as strong login credentials, and a biometric factor like a fingerprint or facial recognition. This ensures that only authorized users can access the website and its data, protecting it from unauthorized access. Additionally, strong authentication can help protect against phishing attacks, which are attempts to gain access to sensitive information by posing as a legitimate website. Encryption Encrypting data is another significant best practice for website security. Encryption scrambles data so that it can only be read by the intended recipient, making it more difficult for hackers to access sensitive information. It also helps protect against man-in-the-middle attacks, which occur when a hacker intercepts data as it is being transmitted between two parties. Software Patching Software updates are another important best practice for website security. Regularly patching software helps protect against vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers. It also ensures that the latest security features are in place, making it more difficult for attackers to access sensitive information. Monitoring and Response Reactive responses like monitoring suspicious activities or responding quickly to identified threats are two valuable tools for website security. Monitoring for suspicious activity can help identify potential threats before they become a problem. Responding quickly to identified threats can help minimize the damage caused by malicious code. Conclusion Keeping websites secure in 2023 involves a combination of proactive measures and reactive responses. These best practices are just some measures you can take to protect your digital assets. If you want to go more in-depth and opt for complex ways to secure your website, don't hesitate to contact Optasy.    Photo credit: Pixabay.... Read more
Raluca Olariu / Jan 25'2023
DrupalTips
Top Drupal Debugging Techniques

Top Drupal Debugging Techniques

  Debugging is an essential part of developing any website, and Drupal is no exception. Debugging in Drupal can be a complex process due to the complexity of the system and its many components. However, with the right techniques, it is possible to identify and resolve issues quickly. In this article, we will discuss some of the top debugging techniques for Drupal that can help you troubleshoot your website more efficiently. We will cover topics such as using the Devel module, using Xdebug, and other helpful tips and tricks. With these techniques in hand, you'll be able to recognize and repair any problems on your Drupal site quickly.     Using the Devel Module for Debugging The Devel module is a powerful tool for debugging Drupal websites. It provides a suite of tools to help you quickly identify and resolve issues. The Devel module includes features such as the ability to view database queries, generate dummy content, and debug PHP code. It also has an API that allows developers to create custom debugging tools. Using the Devel module can be helpful when trying to identify the source of an issue. It can also be used to generate dummy content for testing purposes.     Utilizing Xdebug for Troubleshooting Xdebug is a powerful debugging tool that can be used to troubleshoot issues on Drupal websites. It provides detailed information about the code execution, including stack traces and variable values. This can help developers quickly identify the source of an issue and resolve it more efficiently. Xdebug also has features such as breakpoints, which allow developers to pause the execution of code at certain points to inspect the application's state. This can be helpful when trying to identify and fix complex issues.     Leveraging Drupal's Logging System Drupal's logging system is a powerful tool for debugging websites. It provides detailed information about the events that occur on the website, including errors and warnings. This can be helpful when trying to identify the source of an issue. The logging system also allows developers to set up custom log levels, which can be used to filter out unnecessary information and focus on specific types of events. This can help developers quickly identify and resolve issues.   Using the Drupal Console for Debugging The Drupal Console is a command-line interface that can be used to debug Drupal websites. It provides commands for inspecting the database, generating dummy content, and running tests. This can be helpful when trying to identify and fix issues quickly. The Drupal Console also has an API that allows developers to create custom commands for debugging purposes.   Have You Completed Your Drupal 10 Migration? The release of Drupal 10 marks a major milestone for the platform, and it is important to ensure that your website is up-to-date with the latest version. Migrating to Drupal 10 can be a complex process, but it is essential for ensuring that your website remains secure and performs optimally. When migrating to Drupal 10, it is important to test the website thoroughly and use debugging techniques to identify and resolve any issues. The Devel module, Xdebug, and Drupal's logging system can all be used to troubleshoot any problems that may arise during the migration process. Don't forget to ensure that all of the modules and themes used on the website are compatible with Drupal 10. It is recommended to use the Update Status module to check for any available updates and apply them before migrating to Drupal 10. Additionally, it is a good idea to create a backup of your website before beginning the migration process in case something goes wrong. By taking these steps, you can ensure that your website is properly migrated and running smoothly on Drupal 10.     Conclusion Debugging in Drupal can be a complex process, but with the right techniques, it is possible to debug your website faster and easier. If you need more advice on your next web development project or on your Drupal 10 migration, our team of experts is here to help you. Contact us for more details.   Photo credit: Unpslash.... Read more
Raluca Olariu / Jan 16'2023
DrupalTips
Troubleshoot Your Website in 8 Easy Steps

Troubleshoot Your Website in 8 Easy Steps

  Having a website that runs smoothly is essential for any business. Unfortunately, website issues can arise from time to time and can be difficult to troubleshoot. The good news is that there are some simple steps you can take to identify and resolve common website problems. In this article, we'll discuss eight easy steps you can take to troubleshoot your website quickly and efficiently. With these tips, you'll be able to get your website back up and running in no time. 1. Check Your Server Status. The first step in troubleshooting your website is to check the status of your server. If your server is down or experiencing issues, it could be the cause of any problems you're having with your website. You can check the status of your server by accessing the control panel for your hosting provider. This will give you an overview of any issues that may be affecting your server and allow you to take the necessary steps to resolve them. 2. Review Your Website Logs. After checking your server status, your next step is to review your website logs. Logs are a great way to identify any errors or issues that may be occurring on your website. Reviewing the log files lets you pinpoint the exact source of the problem and take steps to resolve it quickly. Logs can also provide valuable insights into how visitors interact with your website, which can help you optimize your website for better performance. 3. Test Your Website Performance. The third step in troubleshooting your website is to test its performance. This can be done by using a tool such as Google PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest. These tools will analyze your website and provide you with detailed information about its loading speed, page size, and other performance metrics. This will allow you to identify any areas of improvement that could help improve the overall performance of your website. 4. Inspect Your Code for Errors. If you've tested your website performance, your next step is to inspect your code for errors. This can be done by using a tool such as Firebug or Chrome DevTools. These tools will allow you to view your website's HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code and identify any errors that may be causing issues. Once you have identified the errors, you can take steps to fix them and ensure that your website is running smoothly. 5. Check for Broken Links. The fifth step in troubleshooting your website is to check for broken links. Broken links can cause a variety of issues, such as slow loading times and poor user experience. Various tools can help you identify any broken links on your website, such as Screaming Frog or Xenu Link Sleuth. Once you have identified the broken links, you can take steps to fix them and ensure that your website is running smoothly on all platforms, including mobile devices. 6. Ensure You Have the Latest Updates Installed. Ensuring that you have the latest updates installed is imperative if you want a highly performant website. Outdated software can cause a variety of issues, such as security vulnerabilities and compatibility problems. It's important to keep your website up-to-date with the latest versions of any software or plugins you may be using. You can check for updates by accessing the control panel for your hosting provider or by using a tool such as WP Updates Notifier. 7. Analyze Traffic Patterns to Identify Issues. You should also analyze traffic patterns to identify any issues that may be causing your website to perform poorly. Analyzing traffic patterns can help you identify any areas of your website that may be causing problems, such as slow loading times or high bounce rates. You can use tools such as Google Analytics or Hotjar to track and analyze user behavior on your website. This will allow you to identify any potential issues and take steps to resolve them. 8. Monitor Your Website Regularly. Finally, remember to monitor your website regularly, as it will allow you to identify any potential issues before they become serious problems. You can use tools such as Uptime Robot or Pingdom to monitor your website's uptime and performance. In this way, you can ensure that your website is running smoothly and that any potential issues are identified quickly so that they can be addressed promptly.   Drupal 10 for High Website Performance Drupal 10, launched last month, is the latest version of one of the most powerful content management systems that can help you achieve high website performance. Drupal 10 offers a range of features designed to improve the speed and efficiency of your website, such as caching, minification, and optimization.  Among the best features we can find: Symfony 6 compatibility. Site owners and module developers will benefit from as much Symfony 6 compatibility as possible, and Symfony 4 deprecations in Drupal 9 for Symfony 5 will be resolved. Supported solutions for rebuilding jQuery UI functionality by using either vanilla JavaScript or frameworks like React. jQuery UI components used by Drupal core will be removed. Best practices for deprecating modules. Users will be able to use a proper mechanism for naming, versioning, deprecating wrappers, etc. A 'lifecycle' - property can be used in info.yml files for themes and modules. Better decoupled developer and site builder experiences, especially for menu and URL handling. Introduction of CKEditor 5 with better authoring experience and more modern editing (replacing CKEditor 4). PHP 8.1 compatibility for Drupal 9 and Drupal 10. Theme Starterkit tools for bespoke theme creation. You can learn more about how Drupal 10 can take your website to the next level in this article. Drupal 10 Migration If you're considering migrating to Drupal 10, we can help. Optasy's team of highly skilled developers can help you migrate your website to Drupal 10 quickly and efficiently. We can also provide ongoing support and maintenance for your website, ensuring it runs smoothly and optimally. Contact us today to learn more about our Drupal 10 migration services.   Photo credit: Pixabay.... Read more
Raluca Olariu / Jan 11'2023

Browse cities

×

Toronto

WordPress Development Services in Toronto
iOS App Development Services in Toronto
Drupal Development Services in Toronto
Magento Development Services in Toronto
Laravel Development Services in Toronto

Montreal

WordPress Development Services in Montreal
iOS App Development Services in Montreal
Laravel Development Services in Montreal
Drupal Development Services in Montreal
Magento Development Services in Montreal

Vancouver

Magento Development Services in Vancouver
iOS App Development Services in Vancouver
Drupal Development Services in Vancouver
WordPress Development Services in Vancouver
Laravel Development Services in Vancouver

New York

WordPress Development Services in New York
Laravel Development Services in New York
iOS App Development Services in New York
Drupal Development Services in New York
Magento Development Services in New York

Need a new Project?

Dare us to shape and boost your idea(s)!

Start a Project

(416) 243-2431

Contact

(416) 243-2431

contact@optasy.com

Toronto Downtown

First Canadian Place,
100 King St. W. Suite 5700, Toronto

Toronto West

2275 Upper Middle
Rd. E, Suite 101
Toronto

New York

1177 Avenue of the
Americas, 5th Floor,
New York

Newsletter

Get the latest OPTASY news, tips and how-to’s on the go, right in your inbox!
OPTASY
clutch
Pantheon Premier Partner
  • Drupal 8
  • Services
  • Contact Us
  • Partners

  • Drupal
  • Google
  • Magento
  • Shopify
  • Wordpress
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Drupal
  • Cities
  • Support

© 2023 All Rights Reserved. Built with Drupal