Platform guide · Hosted e-commerce
Shopify, built around the sale.
A hosted platform designed from the ground up for selling — products, checkout, payments and orders in one place, with no servers to manage.
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- Type
- Hosted e-commerce platform
- Hosting & security
- Included and managed
- Try it
- Free trial available
- Best suited to
- Product-led businesses
Plans and pricing change regularly and vary by region — always check the official site. Estimate your total costs →
Related guide: Shopify vs Wix for dropshipping · The best ecommerce platform for clothing stores
The basics
What is Shopify and how does it work?
Shopify is a subscription-based, hosted e-commerce platform. You sign up, choose a theme, add products and connect a payment method — Shopify runs the infrastructure, hosting, security updates and checkout for you.
Your store is managed from a single admin where you handle products, inventory, orders, customers, discounts and shipping settings. Features beyond the core are added through themes and apps from the Shopify App Store.
Because it’s hosted, you don’t install or update software yourself. The trade-off is that you work within Shopify’s system rather than owning the underlying code.
Fit
Who should consider Shopify?
A good fit if
- Selling products is the core of your business
- You want hosting, security and checkout handled for you
- You plan to grow your catalogue, channels or order volume
- You may sell in person as well as online (Shopify POS — features vary by location)
Consider alternatives if
- You mainly need a content site or portfolio with occasional sales
- You want full ownership of your code and hosting
- You prefer to avoid recurring app subscriptions
What you can build
Store-building capabilities
- Themes
- Free and paid themes, customisable with a visual editor. Switch by publishing another theme — design settings and customisations may need adjusting. Developers can edit theme code using Shopify’s Liquid templating language.
- Checkout & payments
- A built-in checkout. Shopify Payments is available in selected countries, subject to merchant eligibility; third-party payment providers are also supported.
- Products & inventory
- Product variants, inventory tracking across multiple locations (subject to platform limits and configuration), collections, and bulk import/export via CSV.
- Sales channels
- Sell through your online store, in person with Shopify POS, and through connected channels. POS payment methods, hardware and availability depend on your location and setup.
- Apps
- The Shopify App Store extends functionality — reviews, subscriptions, email marketing and more. Many apps carry their own fees.
- AI-assisted setup
- Shopify offers an official AI Store Builder that generates a starting version of a store for you to refine.
Prefer to start with a head start?
Shopify’s AI store builder can generate a starting point for your store that you then refine.
Honest trade-offs
Advantages and limitations
Strengths
- Purpose-built for e-commerce, from catalogue to checkout
- No hosting, updates or security patches to manage
- Large ecosystem of themes, apps and Shopify Partners
- Online and in-person selling from one admin
Limitations
- Recurring subscription, plus any paid apps or themes
- Using a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments can add a Shopify transaction fee — whether it applies depends on your plan, provider and region
- Less control than self-hosted software; you work within Shopify’s platform
- Integrated blogging tools, but WordPress offers a broader ecosystem of publishing tools and extensions
Shopify vs alternatives
How Shopify compares
Next steps
Getting started with Shopify
- 1
Start a free trial
Create an account — no store is public until you’re ready.
- 2
Choose a theme
Pick a free or paid theme and customise it in the editor.
- 3
Add products
Add products, images, variants and inventory, or import via CSV.
- 4
Set up payments & shipping
Connect a payment provider and configure shipping and taxes for your region.
- 5
Pick a plan and launch
Choose a plan, connect a domain and open your store.
FAQ
Common questions
Ready to try Shopify?
Start with a free trial and explore the admin before choosing a plan.