Shopify is the most popular e-commerce platform that’s around today. It allows users to quickly set up online stores where they can sell all sorts of products. The platform has a ton of different functionalities as well. You can design web pages, set up payment transactions, and so much more. In this article, we will talk about if Shopify can be considered a CMS.
Shopify can be considered a CMS as it allows a user to create, manage, and modify web content. Although it can be considered a CMS it comes equipped with a myriad of other features that makes it a very versatile e-commerce platform.
With all that said, is Shopify a CMS (content management system)? Does it qualify as a CMS, and how does it stack up to other CMS platforms available today? That’s what we aim to tackle in this article. Read on to learn more about the CMS side of Shopify and how it works.
Is Shopify a CMS or Not?
The quick answer is yes, Shopify does qualify as a CMS. Having said that, it’s more of an e-commerce platform than a CMS. Yet, Shopify gives you all the tools that you need to design a functional website. As previously stated, that makes it a CMS through and through. You can consider Shopify the following:
- A CMS
- An e-commerce platform
- A software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform
- An app store
As you can see, Shopify can wear many hats. For this article, we will focus on the CMS side of Shopify. Now that we know that Shopify does qualify as a CMS, how does it stack up to other programs? Is Shopify a great CMS or not? Let’s find out.
What is a CMS?
First off, let’s define what a CMS is in the first place. In general terms, a content management system allows users to:
- Create web content
- Manage web content
- Modify web content
In a nutshell, a CMS lets you build a website without writing the code from scratch. A CMS will provide you with the essential tools that you need to make a functioning website. It will contain a system for creating web pages, storing data, and more.
A popular example of a CMS is WordPress. It allows users to build websites through an easy-to-use developer program. The CMS covers everything from storing images to hosting and domain names.
So any program that has tools that allow you to develop web pages is a content management system. Now let’s look at Shopify at how this definition applies to it.
Shopify as a CMS
Once you sign up for an account with Shopify, you’ll gain access to the dashboard and Shopify Page Editor. These hubs are where you will build, design, and publish your website through the platform. As a result, they are the CMS side of Shopify as a whole. Users can create an online store with tons of products, payment processing, and shipping. You can also add apps to your store to add even more functionalities.
Since Shopify is also a SaaS, you don’t need to store anything on your physical systems. Instead, everything will get stored in Shopify’s cloud. That means you can access all your data and transactions on the fly on any device.
Shopify’s Page Editor
At face value, the page editor is pretty basic. You can control the title of your page, layout, content, and basic SEO features. Thanks to its user-friendliness, it’s effortless to get a basic page layout going. The editor also makes it simple to:
- Receive the latest updates
- Choose a domain name
- Host your server
- Personalize your page with images
- Payment gateways
- Shipping
- More
If you need a website editor for an e-commerce page, Shopify is #1 for a reason. The company also made several innovations to its CMS side in recent years. Since late 2016, Shopify has included sections and blocks in its page editor.
Shopify’s Sections and Blocks
Before sections, it was hard to expand your page’s content beyond essential elements. You could always use apps to add more functions, but that can be costly. Once Shopify introduced the sections element, the CMS side became a lot stronger.
So what do sections allow you to do? They give developers the ability to:
- Create custom editable interfaces
- Add, edit, and modify custom webpage content
- Real-time previews of all changes before saving
Sections allow you to create a brand-new interface from scratch. You can also entirely modify the content on your page. Let’s say that you used a template for your online store. With sections, you can tweak and customize each component of the template. You can change the color scheme, font, images, and so much more.
The blocks element takes this even further. You should use blocks if you need repeatable content. With blocks, developers can create a group of repeating fields with ease.
Where is this useful? Let’s consider an example. You set up a set of revolving images on your Shopify site containing your products. You have lots of items for sale, so doing one by one would be cumbersome. That’s where blocks come into play. You can use repeating fields to set up the revolving images in no time. You can then title each product accordingly. If you are thinking about hiring someone to set up your Shopify store for you check out our article called “Should I hire someone to build my Shopify store” at this link.
How Does Shopify Compare as a CMS?
So why should you use Shopify as your CMS of choice? Well, there are many reasons. Let’s take a look at the top benefits of using Shopify as your CMS for an e-commerce store:
- Intuitiveness. Thanks to the Shopify Page Editor, creating a Shopify online store is very intuitive. Its user-friendliness is a big reason why it’s an industry leader today.
- Included hosting. Shopify’s hosting is fantastic, so your store will never suffer from slow-down times. That leads to a great customer experience.
- Data analytics. You can view your transaction history and other data to form a sales strategy for the future.
- Outstanding customer service. Shopify has 24/7 customer support through live chat, forums, and email. If you ever have a question, you won’t have to wait longer than a few minutes to get an answer.
Try Shopify for free.
If you are interested in Shopify and want to try it out, Shopify is offering a 14-day free trial here. The free trial is great because you get to see how Shopify works before committing to one of their monthly programs. If you decide to start the free trial, you can pick up right where you left off when you switch to the monthly plan. If you’re looking to grow or start your online business, this is an excellent opportunity to try Shopify.
Is Shopify a CMS? ( quick video )
In Conclusion
So by now, we’ve answered the question, “Is Shopify a CMS?” It is a CMS platform, and it’s one of the best on the market today. By combining CMS, SaaS, and e-commerce, Shopify makes selling online more accessible than ever.
For more great content to help you develop your Shopify strategies, check out the rest of the merchant posts on the site. If you want to see a list of our top recommended Shopify apps visit this link here.
