Shopify is a way for people to launch businesses online to sell their products. It is used and trusted by over 800,000 online stores, and it is easy to use, operate, and customize for your needs.
Shopify is legit due to its safety features, simple operation, and easy access. Shopify has security features in place to keep businesses and consumers protected from hackers. The sites use credit and debit cards daily, so keeping that information safe from exploitation is a priority of Shopify.
Using Shopify is some businesses’ ideal place for selling products, and other businesses’ least favorite place for selling their products. That choice just depends on the way you want your business to run. You can learn if Shopify is best for you and your business by understanding how the site works. Rest assured, it’s safe to use though!
What is Shopify?
If you have not heard about Shopify, then you are probably asking what it is. It is likely that you have been on a Shopify site and didn’t know it, so what is it?
Shopify was created by Tobias Lütke when he wanted to sell snowboards online, then he realized that he could sell sites to other people who wanted the ability to sell products online. Today, he is the CEO of Shopify and its headquarters is based in Ontario, Canada.
Shopify is a site that businesses pay for monthly access to. They are paying for a site that already has coding done on it that they can use for their own business. That way, these businesses do not have to try and make their own website from the ground up, writing all of the code needed to make the links work. It is especially hard to code a website for selling products. So, having the framework pre-made on a site makes it easy for businesses to plug in all of their information and their products onto the site.
For example, store owners can log in to their site, upload photos of products, list prices, label descriptions, and more. Then, they can publish the information they plugged in and have the site update easily with their products and the relevant information. For an in-depth look at how Shopify works follow this link here.
Is Shopify Safe?
Shopify is safe—the only thing you should look out for is if the site you are buying from is legit. Fraudsters like to use Shopify to scam innocent consumers online. While there are many safety and security measures that Shopify has in place to protect its business owners and consumers, it is hard to trust some sites if you don’t know if you will be scammed or not.
A constant worry with online shopping is that your bank information will be stolen and your cards can be hacked. But Shopify knows how important personal security is, and they have their policy published here. Being able to shop online safely is a big deal, and with the safety and privacy features Shopify has, you can operate a site safely, and you can purchase from a site safely. Just be smart with your money and where you put it.
Read reviews before buying a product to make sure they are legit, see if the business also has other social media like Instagram to see if they are really a small business or a fraud. Check if the store has a return or refund policy. That way if you need a refund or to return something, you can share the policy with Shopify and they should help you out.
Does Shopify Scam Consumers?
To use Shopify, you must be either a consumer or a seller. As a consumer, all you do is shop online and buy products from sites. As a seller, you get to set up your website and use its outline to help you arrange how you want the site to look. Shopify has made it easy to upload your products for people to easily click on and buy.
Many people have said that Shopify likes to take the side of its sellers, and they are less worried about the consumers. Now they are worried about their own software and protecting both consumer and seller, but if a seller scams a consumer, Shopify is not of much help. Shopify will not scam you, but some sellers might try.
Trying to get a refund from Shopify if a product does not arrive can be difficult. Small businesses using Shopify could actually be fraudulent sites pretending to be a reputable source. Tellng the difference between a scam and a real small business can be hard, but there are ways to know the difference.
First of all, if the site looks sketchy to you then don’t bother trying to see if it is okay or not. Save yourself the hassle and shop on other sites. If a site passes the sketchy test, then look at the products, look at the pictures, look at how they describe them, and if you do not trust what you see, then it isn’t worth your time.
Some red flags include frequent typos, sentences that don’t make sense, product images that are low-quality, and if you can’t find customer reviews anywhere on the internet.
You should check what the store policies are after that. If you can exchange, get a refund, return, stuff like that. That way, if anything goes wrong you have their written policy to refer back to with Shopify and they should be able to figure that out for you, even if they take a little longer to do so.
Before buying and trusting a site, look at reviews of products on the site. Do they look like reviews by the same person writing as different people? Or are there lots of reviews to trust by many people? Or are there no reviews? This can help you decide whether or not to trust the site.
And lastly, look for other social media platforms linked to the site. If their Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, or other channels do not have many followers, not much engagement on posts, has a lot of posts posted on the same day, has few posts, or any other flukes that make it look sketchy, then do not trust it.
You can tell the difference between a small business that has a lot of care and time put into it versus a business that looks like it is there with no face working behind the scenes. Use these tips to help keep you safe online and to avoid getting scammed.
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.
Is Shopify Legit? ( quick video )
If you interested in trying Shopify
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.
