We build a lot of e-commerce sites, and Shopify comes up in almost every initial conversation. It’s a solid platform for a lot of businesses, but it’s not the right fit for everyone. Here’s our honest take after building on it for years.
What Shopify does well
It’s genuinely easy to use. If you need to update products, change prices, or manage orders, you can do it without calling your developer. The admin interface is clean and intuitive, which matters when you’re running a business and don’t have time to fight with your website.
It handles the boring stuff. Hosting, security, SSL certificates, payment processing — Shopify manages all of it. For a small business owner, not having to worry about server maintenance or security patches is a big deal.
The app ecosystem is huge. Need email marketing integration? There’s an app. Inventory management? There’s an app. Subscription products? App. You can extend Shopify to do almost anything without custom development.
It’s reliable. In all the time we’ve worked with Shopify, we can count on one hand the number of times a client’s store went down. Their uptime is excellent.
Where Shopify falls short
Customization has limits. If you want something that doesn’t fit within Shopify’s template system, you’re going to run into walls. Their theme language (Liquid) is capable but restrictive compared to building from scratch. For highly custom layouts or unusual product configurations, it can get frustrating.
The costs add up. Shopify’s base price is reasonable, but once you add apps ($10-50/month each), a premium theme ($200-350), and transaction fees (if you’re not using Shopify Payments), the monthly cost can surprise you. We’ve seen clients spending $200+/month on apps alone.
You don’t own the platform. Your store lives on Shopify’s servers, runs on their code, and follows their rules. If Shopify changes something, you adapt. If you want to migrate away from Shopify later, it’s doable but not painless.
SEO is good but not great. Shopify handles the basics well, but it forces a URL structure that you can’t change (everything lives under /collections/ and /products/), and some technical SEO customizations require workarounds.
Our recommendation
If you’re a small to mid-size business selling physical products and you want something that works reliably without a lot of technical overhead, Shopify is probably your best bet. If you need heavy customization, complex product configurations, or you’re very particular about SEO, it’s worth looking at WooCommerce or a custom build.
Not sure which way to go? That’s the kind of thing we help clients figure out — reach out and we can talk through your specific situation.