
What is Shopify
Shopify is a hosted 'software as a service' ecommerce platform that enables online stores to be setup and launched quickly. Shopify is great for small businesses who need to get to market fast, have simple requirements, and are happy to use a basic templated approach that only requires a little bit of customisation, and no ongoing technical maintenance.
Projects start from HKD $150,000 and launch is possible in 4-6 weeks!
Shopify with Digital Butter
your ideas with our experienced Digital Strategists
with a leading creative team to perfectly position your brand online, working within the Shopify framework
your content under close guidance from our Search Engine Optimisation(SEO) specialists
for all devices with our best in class development standards
Our Ecommerce project manager will walk you through operational setup, across product, shipping and payment configurations
within 4-6 weeks!
powerful online marketing strategies, reach customers and maximise sales, working with our Digital Performance Marketing experts
Strengths
- Get to Market Fast
Using pre-configured themes with a short period of customisation, we can have your store up and running in as soon as 4 weeks time. - Infinitely Scalable
Shopify provides unlimited, fast & secure web hosting deployed across one of the largest content delivery networks in the world, ensuring that your customers can load your site quickly no matter where they are in the world. - Industry Leading Security
Let the experts worry about Security - Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, meaning your database or products, orders and customers is safe. - In Good Company
Some of the worlds largest brands such as Budweiser, Red Bull and Tesla trust Shopify as their ecommerce platform provider.
Weaknesses
- Limited Customisation
If your business has special requirements that fall outside of the core features that Shopify provides it might not be the right tool for your business. - Basic Content Management System
Compared to solutions like Craft CMS and even Wordpress, Shopify provides only the most basic Content Management System when it comes to designing pages outside of your e-commerce workflows, which may limit your options for creating heavily branded experiences. - Ongoing fees and 3rd party charges
Shopify has scaled monthly subscription fees and transaction costs. Most valuable apps charge a monthly or volume-based fee - meaning costs can quickly add up when stores are launched.
Questions about Shopify
What are the ongoing fees I will need to pay?
Shopify's pricing varies based on the volume of your sales and the payment gateway you choose to use. You will need to pay a monthly fee for keeping your store online (i.e. Hosting fee), and a transaction fee for each sale you make.
Can I use Shopify in China?
Technically you can target customers in China, however, since Shopify is providing the hosting, your website will not be 'behind the firewall' and may suffer from slower loading speeds, and potentially face SEO challenges. If your main target audience is China, we strongly recommend a self-hosted solution such as Craft Commerce or Magento instead.
I have lots of products, is Shopify right for me?
Shopify can handle a large number of products, and the administration interface does allow for bulk management through spreadsheet import. However, your data structure must conform to the Shopify standard.
How customisable is Shopify?
With Shopify, we have access to an extensive range of structural "themes" that provide an excellent starting point to build from. Our design team will work with you to explore the right colour and typographic systems to perfectly align with your brand.
How long does it take to launch a site on Shopify?
Working with Digital Butter, we aim to have you ready to launch in between 4 and 6 weeks, largely dependent on the scale of your inventory and how complete your content already is before we start. We spend this time collaborating with you on design, content development, search engine optimisation and in planning your Digital Strategy. It is important to note that in order to complete your project within this 4-6 week timeline, you will need to have your product database completed before we start. If you are not yet that far along, then your project may need longer to launch.
What factors can cause delays to launch?
In our experience, content is almost always a contributing factor in any project delays we may face. It is important to understand the scale of your project, and to decide early on if you are able to resource content development in house, or if you need help.
You will also need to ensure that all of the below are taken care of well in advance of starting your Shopify project:
- Your business is already registered and you have a bank account so that you are able to take payments online. Whilst this may seem trivial at first glance, online security is a serious business and not all businesses are pre-approved to take payments online.
- Your product database is complete, and you have relevant descriptions, photography and video (if relevant). Before we starting discussing any design concepts, it is imperative that we understand the depth of your content so that we can understand what we are showcasing online.
- You have a plan for fulfilment/shipping your product. In order to design the best possible user experience, we need to understand the whole product purchasing and fulfilment workflow. We also need to ensure that you have an established relationship your chosen with logistics providers (e.g. DHL, FedEx) so that registering with these companies has happened well in advance of launching the new website so that orders can be taken.
- You have all of your legal documentation and shipping/return policies defined. As you'll be selling product, it is imperative that you have all of the necessary legal work in place by the time you go live.
With dozens of ecommerce site launches behind us, we have experience with each of these potential pain points, and can guide you through this process if you are in the early stages.
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Send us a brief!
Do you need a Hong Kong Digital Marketing Agency to help with your project? Need some advice on which e-commerce platform you should use? Click below to send us your requirements and we'll reach out to talk you through our strategy process.
Craft Commerce
Looking for a more flexible and customisable platform? Read more about Craft Commerce here
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