12/4/2024
Written by Albert Hu
Many non-Plus users reported the nightmare of their payouts being delayed for as long as six months.
There is no phone support available that allows users to connect immediately with a human representative.
Despite being in contact with agents multiple times on chat, users still had difficulty getting their payouts.
Some reported that representatives would tell them they will fix their issues, but would never hear back from them again.
The reason that could explain why Shopify’s support is incredibly subpar is that it has outsourced it to the Philippines since 2013 to handle high volumes of customer inquiries and to save on cost, despite being a 142 billion dollar company.
If you plan on opening your eCommerce store, this story may give you second thought on putting your livelihood on Shopify.
If you still have ambitions to conquer the online business world with your e-commerce store, here are some alternatives.
This platform is the most aligned with what Shopify is. It has looser restrictions on categories. It is a powerful platform that offers scalability and robust built-in features. It’s ideal for businesses planning to grow as it supports large inventories and high traffic without additional costs. Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce doesn’t charge transaction fees, even if you use a third-party payment gateway. Its comprehensive SEO tools and integration options make it an excellent choice for growing brands looking to optimize their online presence.
The platform can feel overwhelming for beginners due to its complex features and higher learning curve. Its pricing can also increase as your business grows, as BigCommerce determines plans based on your annual sales volume. Additionally, while it has many built-in tools, its themes may not be as visually appealing as those of some competitors.
WooCommerce stands out in being more flexible and customizable than Shopify. However, it requires a bit more technical knowledge to craft the store that you envisioned. It demands more maintenance work, and it is best to hire a developer to handle periodic updates. The cost of developing the store can be expensive, but ultimately, it will be more cost-effective in the long run than maintaining a Shopify. That is because if you want to have more features on your Shopify store, you need to subscribe to more apps that require monthly payments.
Business owners may require a more robust solution and unique features to offer the best customer experience. Thus, they may need to hire a developer to help them customize their site with unique features. One of the more important technical elements that most e-commerce stores miss is site speed. A slow site can hurt sales. According to Think Google, if your website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, you lose 53% of mobile users who will leave the site without browsing any products. This problem is exacerbated if many products need to be loaded onto the site. An experienced developer can fix this issue. Don't punish your customers with slow-loading web pages.
Whatever strategy you choose ultimately depends on how large you want your business to be, your budget, and how you want the experience of navigating your store for your customers to be like.
