Shopify vs. Other Platforms | What Are The Pros and Cons?

E Commerce platforms are going to be essential for any business wanting to host an online store or transaction system. Shopify remains a staple and classic for many good reasons. It has a robust support system and historically has been used by many businesses for decades. But there are some other options that might work for different kinds of businesses. Let's hear from some business owners and their take on Shopify and other platforms. 

Shopify remains one of the best ecommerce engines out there. It's extremely user friendly and the templates look really nice. However if you're already working with a web designer it might feel redundant to pay for another service. Consider exploring wordpress for website building as well. The more customization options you have the better in the long run. 

John Wu, Co-Founder Gryphon

When choosing an e-commerce company, the simpler and more transparent the better. One of the things people tend to dislike about Shopify is their paywalls. Their advanced services cost more than other services that offer similar features for fractions of the price. 

Jonathan Simpkin, CEO Swiftly

Shopify is great but Squarespace is a definite favorite among businesses as well. Squarespace is great if you are looking for a quick solution for your website. It's customizable features and templates are extremely easy to use and make for a great browsing experience for your customers. 

Jim Beard, COO Box Genie

Wix is a great alternative to shopify and squarespace. With competitive pricing and features, you can add advanced features as you need them and build something that fits your needs. If you're building an informational website or setting up an online store as well, Wix is a great alternative option. 

Jeff Meeks, VP of Sales and Marketing Energy Fit

The downside of Squarespace and similar services is that they don't perform well SEO-wise. Try BigCommerce for a website builder with an easy user interface, high performing SEO and great templates. BigCommerce is not only a great alternative to shopify but in some ways might be a step up. 

James Sun, Founder Beauty Tap

Squarespace is the easiest service to use in a pinch. Especially for small businesses run by a small team needing a simple website. You can have your store up and running within a few days and not only will it look great but it will be easy for clients to use. 

Joe Thomas, CEO Loom 

The benefit of using Shopify or another service that's been around is that it has a built in support network of clients, plus the benefit of being a sustained business in the industry. You definitely run a risk choosing a newer service, but often those risks will be beneficial in the long run. Shopify is a totally viable option, but there are a lot of new and exciting website building services out there to explore. 

Mike Pasley, Founder Allegiant Goods Co.

Square online is great because of it's easy transaction integration. They're known for their point of sale systems, but recently have launched a website building platform that's really easy to use and offers a free option. No other platform offers a free shop service, so that's a great tool for businesses on a budget. 

Lucas Nudel, Founder & CEO Pride Palace

There are tons of open source options for those that know how to code. Magneto is one and Square Online allows you to customize your code. Wordpress still remains a great website building tool, but it can be helpful to have another service to deal with your transactions and sales. 

Katie Kiernan, Co-Founder Nue Life

The downside of working with Shopify is their transaction fees and tiered service pricing. You can always upgrade for more features, but the extra cost can be frustrating when there are other services out there offering much cheaper options. 

Hector Gutierrez, CEO JOI

Shopify and Squarespace are great for people who don't want to code. It's so easy to set up a slick, clean website and host sales. The only downside is that most services charge a transaction fee, but if that 's something you can work into your overhead costs it's completely worth it to take the pressure off of building your website. 

Dylan Trussell, CMO Culprit Underwear

Wix is ideal for someone just starting out who would appreciate a simpler interface, and it can still stand right with Shopify in a number of other areas as well. However, for larger eCommerce sites who want more options, such as themes or features, Shopify will almost always be seen as the more professional choice.

Marc Atiyeh, CEO Pawp

If your website and store are fairly small, Shopify is probably a pretty good option for your business. Larger websites will perform better with a service that supports better SEO, but you can still rank fairly high as a small business with a Shopify website. That all depends on your marketing strategy and who you are working with to help grow your business. 

Lori Price, Co-Founder Pixie Lane

A great new option for hosting an online store is Shift4Shop. They are a cloud based service and offer tons of flexible pricing and great features. As always is the risk with newer and less sought after services, their support isn't as robust as it is with a bigger company like Shopify. 

Michael Jankie Of Natural Patch 

Squarespace tends to have the best options in terms of aesthetics and accessibility on their website builds. They're great for customizing backdrops and really making your website or store feel like it represents your product and business. 

James Ville, Chief Product Officer GunSkins