We all have known Shopify as one of the best e-commerce platforms until now. Since 2012, merchants from all over the world have generated an approximate total revenue of $40 billion. Shopify enabled online sales for over 500,000 businesses in 175 countries and continues to do for more. While this platform seemed just perfect with robust and tiered options for different stages of business growth, Shopify Plus has made its entrance with some more lucrative features. Certainly, there’s an important decision to make for all online sellers.
But unless you have a strong reason to switch, there’s no point in taking a step ahead. It may be important to clear the mist of doubts before you make any major moves so that you know which version of Shopify will be the best for you. Recognizing some key differences may help you make better decisions regarding your business.
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Comparing Shopify And Shopify Plus
Everyday Shopify expert developers in Dubai come across different misconceptions that their clients have in mind regarding Shopify and Shopify Plus. While some think that Shopify Plus works differently than Shopify, others consider that Shopify is meant for smaller businesses, while Shopify Plus is the platform for businesses that have high volume sales and revenue generation. While these things may not be completely wrong, it’s necessary that you understand them from the correct perspective.
Shopify is a platform that offers complete e-commerce solutions to let you start, manage, and grow your business. It’s cloud-based and hosted and makes it possible to eliminate the need for self-owned web servers.
Shopify Plus, on the other hand, is an upgraded version of Shopify. It has the same interface with much better, robust features and, of course, a different pricing structure.
Getting into the details will help you develop a better understanding of how you can make your business operations run smoothly with these platforms.
The Pros And Cons
Here’s a brief of the pros and cons of both Shopify and Shopify Plus:
Shopify Pros
- It lets you sell across multiple channels, including Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Has a great inventory management system.
- Competent features as compared to other e-commerce website builders.
Shopify Cons
- Transaction fees when not using Shopify Payments.
- Unavailability of specialist integrations.
- It’s important to reformat content when switching themes.
Shopify Plus Pros
- You can create unlimited staff accounts.
- This platform lets you handle more than 10,000 transactions every minute.
- Personalized, dedicated support and help.
Shopify Plus Cons
- No set monthly price or quotes.
- You should be able to invest enough in your e-commerce business.
- It may be sustainable or only enterprise-level businesses.
- How Do They Work?
While this is one of the biggest confusions regarding the platform, let’s get it cleared first. Both Shopify and Shopify Plus work similarly. It has the same editor, dashboard, and help center. While Shopify offers you everything that may be necessary to customize and create your online store, Shopify Plus takes one level up. There’s just an upgrade in the features; the platform is still the same.
Let’s consider an example. Shopify provides you with the option of free shipping, shows live calculated rates and flat rates. But Shopify Plus lets you access the Shipping Script so you can consider the rates precisely. You can even change contents in the cart, shipping options, and minimum order value. Thus, when it comes to set up and customization, Shopify Plus gives you greater control.
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- Design Flexibility
With more than 60 themes, Shopify and Shopify Plus offer you a wide range of options when setting up an e-commerce store. There are 10 free themes and 59 paid ones which may cost you $140-$180. While this may sound like an investment, improving the appearance of your online storefront is always worth it. These themes are available in different languages so that it becomes easier for entrepreneurs to set up an online store for their target audience in specific countries. These languages include English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Brazilian, Japanese, and Portuguese.
Basic customization can be done through Shopify’s editor, and you can define category pages accordingly. For better control, it may be necessary to use coding. At this point, you may need help from a Shopify plus ecommerce agency. Although there’s Liquid and various other guides to help, professional help will be the best. The benefit of Shopify Plus is that you get a dedicated launch manager to ensure that your website can be integrated with Shopify. As said earlier, you can also edit the checkout page with Shopify Plus, unlike Shopify.
- Significant Ecommerce Features
It’s majorly because of the e-commerce features that both Shopify and Shopify Plus can be considered different. Understanding how these features make things different will help you distinguish between the two. Some of the exclusive Shopify Plus features have been listed below:
- i) Shopify Flow
While the first impression of your store is important, Shopify Plus allows you to make a tailored impression individually on your customers. When they sign-up on your website, you will be able to track their past purchases and customize the homepage according to the products they may like. For instance, if a customer generally purchases shoes of a specific brand, you can show them your latest offers for the same brand as they land on your website. Offering tailored experiences to your customers will help in boosting sales.
- ii) Script Editor
While we have already mentioned the script editor several times earlier, it can actually be used for a lot of purposes. You can not only use these scripts to customize shipping but also for payment methods and line items. This way, you can customize even the tiniest details on your online store, which gives you complete control over different aspects. It’s just like having the canvas with all the colors and perfect equipment to create a picture you want.
Apart from these exclusive features, Shopify Plus inherits the same basic e-commerce features from Shopify that include: Multi-channel integration, selling in multiple currencies, and abandoned cart recovery. Shopify Plus offers a wider range of tools to deal with sales on a regular basis.
- Dashboard and Analytics
Shopify provides dedicated dashboards for analytics. This dashboard gives you an overview of the sales through your online store and gives a custom report for the same. It also offers you a live view of the sales per minute. 99% of the businesses can get all the insights that may be necessary to manage the store and ensure growth.
However, Shopify Plus takes things one step ahead. Shopify Plus has partnered with some of the leading analytics companies to offer expert data insight and keep you updated. This way, big companies can easily access all the data that lets them make important business calls in less time. With advanced integrations, Shopify Plus takes the analytics to a completely new level, providing detailed information and greater insight.
- Help and Support
Shopify offers 24/7 support to help you whenever you get stuck. You can access help through phones, live chat, or email. You can also dig down the Help Center for suitable guides. Obviously, Shopify Plus offers the same support with an upgrade. Shopify Plus provides you dedicated personal support.
While it may be unnecessary for many businesses, larger enterprises will get many benefits from this. As a part of this dedicated support, you will get a launch manager who will keep you updated and integrate your existing website with Shopify. Further, a merchant success manager (MSM) will guide you to make your business successful with Shopify Plus, updating you with industry trends.
- Transaction Fees And Pricing
Shopify offers three major pricing plans: Basic ($29/month), Shopify ($79/month), and Advanced ($299/month). All of these plans provide several important features like abandoned cart recovery, multi-channel integration, etc. However, with slight differences. If you wish to give away gift cards, you may need to choose the Shopify or Advanced Shopify plan. Professional reports and third-party calculated shipping rates will help your business perform scalably well. Moreover, with the 14-days free trial, you can see what works the best for you.
Shopify Plus plans tend to be around $2,000 per month. Charges above that may vary based on what features you choose. It can go up to $40,000, which is the ceiling price. Moreover, Shopify Plus prices are less visible. You will have to get a quote directly or contact your Shopify plus agency for guidance. The transaction fees for both Shopify and Shopify Plus work almost in a similar way. However, with Shopify Plus, they are negotiable. While you need to get a quote for Shopify Plus, the costs can be tailored according to your business requirements.
Which One Is Better?
Considering this entire discussion, it is understandable that both Shopify and Shopify Plus offer nearly the same services. The only difference is, Shopify Plus makes them much better. Deciding between the two is based on whether your business actually needs the added elements. Small or medium businesses that are still growing can make the best out of Shopify’s powerful features.
At the same time, massive enterprises that deal with thousands of customers and products every day can simplify management with Shopify Plus. If you’re still not one among the e-commerce elites, it’s okay. You have the best opportunity to grow with Shopify and go from being a mediocre seller to an industry giant.