To Shopify or Not To Shopify
In considering launching a company that requires an e-commerce presence, particularly in the consumer goods or retail space, a founder may be faced with a decision of whether to build a custom website or leverage an out of the box solution, (for the sake of this argument, that solution will be Shopify). In a time when there is immense competition in an overcrowded landscape, and maintaining a unique brand position and value proposition is vital, the idea of doing a custom-build may be tempting to stand out from the masses. However, while there are certainly pros and cons to both, I will argue that in most all cases, brands should leverage Shopify over building custom. In examining the factors involved in build and maintenance, customization and flexibility, and external integrations, I will argue that the pros to Shopify outweigh those of a custom-built website.
Perhaps the primary consideration in deciding how to build and host an e-commerce website is understanding what exactly is involved in building the website, and then maintaining that website. Shopify is a closed source platform[1] which means the user of Shopify cannot modify the source code. That said, this also means that anyone can launch their website through Shopify with no knowledge of coding or web development.[2] Users of Shopify do not have to worry about buying a domain or finding a hosting provider[3], as one would if they were to build their own website from scratch. This said, while there is a monthly subscription fee, the startup investment costs are far lower than they would be with building a website from scratch, which is important if available capital is low. To build a website from scratch, you would need to hire both front and back-end developers which can come with a hefty price tag. Front end developers handle the visual aspects of the website, and work in languages like HTML, CSS, and Java, while those in the backend use Java, Ruby, Python, and handle the functioning of the website.[4] Then, if you are building a custom website, you have to then ensure all pieces of the puzzle are coordinated and working properly together, and one mistake could cause the entire website to crash. Beyond build, all websites will need maintenance. Shopify handles this for you as a hosted platform, but any issues or maintenance you would need to handle on your own if you had launched a website yourself. Of course, you could hire talent to oversee website maintenance, but that too comes with a high cost. Some argue that while the upfront costs of Shopify are lower, there is an eventual break-even point, as you won’t need to pay for a monthly subscription[5]. That said, this potential break-even point is not a guarantee, as even though you will be locked into paying for monthly subscription, as you begin to scale, a custom-built website will need a team of engineers to support it which would likely surpass that of the ongoing monthly subscription fee. Code is never perfect, and there is a constant need for updates, however as a hosted solution, Shopify owns all security capabilities and software updates that a team would need to manage otherwise. The Shopify product also has various tiers of subscription that enable it to host both international websites and high traffic commerce, therefore debunking any concerns that it is a solution that could not compete at scale. Of course, when scaling, there will become a high need to meticulously monitor all API integrations the business needs, but this focus is not unique to a Shopify hosted solution, as a custom-built solution would need this focus as well.
Some may follow onto this by arguing that a custom-built website is necessary for customization, flexibility, and ownership of security and customer data. From a customization standpoint, it is true that a custom-built website allows for a unique experience to be built for the customer. However, I would challenge that while there are set templates for Shopify, it is very rare that a brand needs to differentiate in this capacity. The templates at Shopify are built by professional UX/UI designers who research tirelessly to ensure the experience is optimized to support natural consumer behavior and function properly. The consumer research done to support these layouts is available at your fingertips and is far more cost effective and promising, than if you were to invest in your own research to build your own layouts that will likely return a similar end result. Brands can still differentiate with images and messaging and can still host unique experiences like a consumer product matching quiz on a Shopify website using one of the many Shopify integrations, again not needing to have any background in engineering or coding. Additionally, while some may argue that a custom-built website allows for better control over security and customer data, Shopify provides SSL certifications to encrypt data and has a dedicated team to monitoring this.[6] They also have built in tools that display consumer data that the brand can review and use to make business decisions. A custom solution could eventually achieve this as well, but requires again a full team, likely external integrations for data monitoring anyway, and continuous maintenance, and a solution that has been tested far less than Shopify may even be more prone to security leaks.[7]
While it is true that Shopify may not have every single feature possible embedded in its basic and even pro solutions, it has a marketplace of apps that the company can purchase to enable certain activity. Given the scale of Shopify across the consumer goods and retail industry, combined with its host of API integrations with various apps[8], if your business ever plans to integrate with an external vendor through a dropship model, as an example, the ease of set up and integration is very easy if on Shopify. If your website has been custom built and you want to connect with a retailer to enable a drop ship business model, this will require customized API integrations that will again, not only involve cost, but also take time that could hinder a successful business expansion.
As a founder of a CPG or retail product, it is imperative to have an e-commerce presence. However, launching this presence is far easier and less cost prohibitive today than it was in the past, with the help of a platform like Shopify. While this may seem “cookie-cutter” to a branding-obsessed founder, the reality is it does not strip ability to differentiate. In fact, it allows the founder to spend more time focusing on the product, messaging, and marketing, allowing them to ideate and launch campaigns that are extremely differentiated rather than spending their time managing a team of engineers to build a slightly differentiated online experience with a need for continuous maintenance. Even large, established brands, that have their own CMS systems would be wise to consider switching to a platform like Shopify. All of the time at large organizations with custom solutions that is spent fixing broken code and building new integrations is taking away from resources better spent focusing on maintaining an authentic brand for customers to connect with.
[1] https://www.websitebuilderinsider.com/is-shopify-open-source-software/
[2] https://bsscommerce.com/shopify/using-shopify-or-building-your-own-website/
[3] https://pagefly.io/blogs/shopify/shopify-vs-your-own-website
[4] https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/frontend-vs-backend/
[5] https://bsscommerce.com/shopify/using-shopify-or-building-your-own-website/
[6] https://bsscommerce.com/shopify/using-shopify-or-building-your-own-website/
[7] https://bsscommerce.com/shopify/using-shopify-or-building-your-own-website/
