Should I use Shopify or make my own website?

When you are planning to build an online store, you have the option of building it from scratch or using an eCommerce platform like Shopify. The option you pick depends on many factors. We will explore some of them in this article.

If you want more control, and extreme levels of customization, it will be a good idea to build your website from scratch. However, building an online store from scratch is very expensive and time-consuming.

In order to build an online store from scratch, you need to have a good understanding of programming. Alternatively, you can hire a team of developers to build it for you. You also need to make sure that your website is secure, scalable, reliable, and easy to use.

On the other hand, if you want to set up your store as quickly as possible, without having to worry about security and scalability, using Shopify is the best approach. With Shopify, you will have a fully functional online store with loads of features without writing a single line of code.

Shopify takes care of all the heavy lifting for you. It has hundreds of customizable templates made by world-class designers to make your online store look professional. You can also extend the functionality of your online store using app extensions available on the Shopify app store.

Shopify is trusted by a lot of companies and individuals. It is used by many brands such as

• Fitbit
• AllBirds
• Penguin Books
• Kraft Heinz Co
• JB HI-FI
• Hyatt Hotels Corp 
• Red Bull GmbH
• KKW Beauty
• Whole Foods Market
• Kylie Cosmetics
• Gymshark
• Lindt & Spruengli
• Heinz
• Huel
• Lounge

And many others. This trust and usage by a lot of companies show that you can trust Shopify and use it to build an online store.

IS MAKING A SHOPIFY WEBSITE WORTH IT?

Yes, making a Shopify website is worth it because it provides a lot of advantages. Using Shopify helps you to save a lot of time and money than building your online store from scratch.

Shopify takes care of the security and scalability of the store, so that you can concentrate on making sales.

Shopify allows you to integrate your online store with many apps and platforms, this will help you to provide more payment methods & shipping options to your customers, and you will be able to sell directly on social media platforms.

By using Shopify, you can automatically sync your Shopify products to Facebook and Instagram so that you can easily create ads and shoppable posts. This will give your customers the option to check out without ever leaving Facebook or Instagram.

Shopify has built-in analytics that will help you to track payments, view real-time business insights, analyze customer behavior, and analyze your entire online store.

Further, you don’t need any technical or coding skills to make a Shopify website. This makes building online stores accessible to anyone. You can make a beautiful, fully functional store in just a few minutes.

IS BUILDING AN ONLINE STORE FROM SCRATCH WORTH IT?

Although there are many eCommerce platforms that can help you to build an online store easily and quickly, building an online store from scratch offers great flexibility, a unique design approach, high levels of customization, and more.

There are many advantages to building an online store from scratch. Here are some of them.

EVERY LINE OF CODE COUNTS

When you build an online store from scratch, you make sure that every line of code you write counts, you will not have extra code or extra files that your store will not use. When you use an eCommerce platform, it is going to generate a lot of files and code that you may not need.

Extra files and code will translate to extra loading and file downloading time for your Online store, which will result in a slow website. Thus, writing an online store from scratch will ensure that you have no unnecessary code or files.

UNIQUE DESIGN

If you build your eCommerce store from scratch, you will not be limited by what the website builder or eCommerce platform offers you. Ecommerce platforms and website builders have their own design philosophy and patterns, each trying to achieve one thing over the other.

When you build your website from scratch, you will be able to implement your own design pattern, your own file structure, and more. You will have a unique design both in visual (how your online store look) and in code structure.

ENHANCES UNDERSTANDING

Building an online store from scratch will enhance your understanding of programming and ultimately develop your coding skills. You will be able to understand how to do a lot of things with your code without website builders doing the heavy lifting.

Rather than just using an eCommerce platform with the code already written for you and upgrading to the latest versions, you will be able to learn new technologies and understand how they work when you develop your projects from the ground up.

Building an online store from scratch is worth it, it will help you to understand how code works without the abstraction of the website builders or eCommerce platforms. This understanding is what makes you a better developer.

DISADVANTAGES OF BUILDING AN ONLINE STORE FROM SCRATCH?

Building an online store from scratch may not be the best approach in some cases. There are some disadvantages that may deter you from building an online store from scratch, here are some of them

TAKES A LOT OF TIME

Building an online store from scratch takes a lot of development time. You will have to write code for nearly every task, this takes a lot of time. You also have to do a lot of testing to make sure your online store is secure and working properly.

CODE COMPLEXITY

When you build an online store from scratch, you will write a lot of code to achieve all the functionality of an online store, this may result in code complexity. The more your codebase grows, the more difficult it becomes to maintain and debug.

EXPENSIVE

Building an online store from scratch is expensive, you may need professional developers to make your online store secure, scalable, and reliable. On the other hand, eCommerce platforms like Shopify are inexpensive and do not require in-depth technical skills.

CONCLUSION

Using Shopify is one of the best ways to build an online store. Shopify takes care of all the heavy lifting for you so that you can focus on growing your business. You can add more features and functionality to your online store using app extensions on the Shopify app store.

You can try Shopify for free to see how it works.