1. You cannot Re-use your Shopify store outside of Shopify
Shopify has their own proprietary templating language called “Liquid” which is built on PHP. Liquid is not open source, which means any code you use or integrate can not be used elsewhere.
While you can export product data through shopify, you lose all of your meaningful data and assets if you need to leave the shopify ecosystem since they do not allow a full site export.
If you happen to dislike any part of Shopify’s stack… well you’re just stuck with it. When using an open-source solution like WordPress, if we don’t like our hosting provider we can export a full site back up and simply drop it in a new environment.
2. Unique Features Come With A Unique Cost
The Shopify marketplace is growing and might not have an out-of-the-box solution specifically for what you need. You’ll then need to look at hiring a liquid developer to custom build a solution for you, which can cost a pretty penny.
Liquid developers are much harder to come by since Shopify is still relatively new in the e-commerce landscape. Which means the interest in Liquid is still growing as developers so the utility in developing specifically for Shopify.
3. Limited Features
- Theme Customization (Limited)
- Plugins (Limited)
- SEO (No Custom Schemas)
- Custom Cart/Checkout
- Product Variations
- Email Hosting
4. Payment Processor Integrations
While Shopify has multiple payment gateways, if you do not use Shopify’s payment gateway you will have to pay an additional fee on top of payment processor fees
5. Responsibility
Shopify is a great platform and is generally easy to use, but requires a large upfront time investment.
A successful site demands great branding, updated content, eye-catching imagery, an effective sales pipeline, contact/support forms, business email, and the list can go on depending on your goals.
Finishing your site is just the beginning of the uphill climb web stores require. Having a flexible web solution that allows for quick pivoting can be what “makes or breaks” your business. Be sure that Shopify gives you the toolset you need to responsibly and effectively run your operation.
Did You Know...
- WordPress & WooCommerce are FREE
- Whitehouse.gov uses WordPress and is an essential piece of US infrastructure
- WordPress powers 39.6% of the internet in 2021
- WooCommerce has over 75 Million Downloads and 5 Million installs
- WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world
- Over 1.4 million live websites are using WooCommerce right now
