Shopify is a hosted commerce platform that helps businesses create an online store, accept payments, manage products and orders, and sell through connected channels. Shopify runs the underlying platform and hosting; you manage the offer, storefront, settings, and day-to-day business.
It can suit a business that wants a dedicated store without managing its own web server. Whether it is the right choice depends on what you sell, how orders are fulfilled, and which features your team needs.
What does Shopify actually do?
Shopify brings the main parts of a store into one administration system. You add products, organize collections, choose a theme, configure checkout, and manage orders from the Shopify admin. Its official platform overview also covers connected selling, including physical retail and other sales channels.
For example, a clothing shop could list a jacket in several sizes, accept an online order, prepare it for pickup, and update availability as items sell. The website is the customer-facing part; the administration tools help the business carry out the order.
Shopify provides the infrastructure, but your team still needs to write accurate descriptions, set realistic delivery expectations, handle customer questions, and attract buyers. Opening a store does not create demand automatically.
If the wider online selling process is new to you, our guide to how ecommerce works explains the responsibilities behind an order.
Shopify, Shopify Payments, and Shop Pay: what is the difference?
The names are similar, but they describe different parts of the shopping experience:
- Shopify: the platform you use to operate the store.
- Shopify Payments: Shopify’s integrated payment service, subject to business and country eligibility.
- Shop Pay: an accelerated checkout option that lets customers reuse saved checkout information.
- Shop: a customer-facing shopping app and channel where eligible merchants’ products can be discovered.
Shop Pay’s documentation explains how saved customer details and eligible Shop features work. Enabling a payment option and being eligible for a discovery channel are separate considerations.
For a Canadian business, check the Shopify Payments requirements for Canada before planning around it. Having a Shopify subscription does not mean every business or product category qualifies for every payment service.
What can you sell on Shopify?
Shopify can support physical goods, digital products, and service-based offers. The important question is how the order will be delivered.
- Physical products: plan stock, product options, packaging, shipping, and returns.
- Digital downloads: arrange secure file delivery and explain what the purchase includes.
- Appointments and services: confirm that scheduling, availability, and any deposits work as required.
- Subscriptions: check recurring billing, eligible payment methods, customer controls, and the subscription integration.
- Wholesale orders: establish the account, catalogue, pricing, and payment requirements before selecting a plan.
Some workflows need an app or additional configuration. Shopify’s digital product guidance, for instance, explains the need for a download-delivery app. Do not assume that creating a product record also creates the complete delivery process.
For unusual products, test the difficult case first. A personalized item requiring artwork approval has different needs from a standard item that can ship immediately.
How much does Shopify cost in Canada?
These published subscription prices were checked on September 13, 2026, on Shopify’s Canadian pricing page. Amounts are in Canadian dollars, before applicable taxes and additional charges.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Monthly equivalent with annual billing |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | C$49 | C$37 |
| Grow | C$132 | C$99 |
| Advanced | C$517 | C$389 |
| Plus | From C$3,400/month under contract | Confirm contract terms |
Annual billing means an annual commitment: Basic at C$37 per month is C$444 for the year. Introductory promotions are excluded from this comparison.
The listed Basic online standard-card rate is 2.8% plus C$0.30. Other card categories can have different rates. Shopify lists a 2% third-party transaction fee on Basic where applicable; this is separate from the external provider’s processing charge.
Advanced in-person retail features through POS Pro are listed at C$119 per month per location on Basic, Grow, and Advanced. Hardware is a separate consideration.
What else belongs in the budget?
Allow for the costs your particular store requires: domain registration, paid apps, an optional premium theme, content production, professional setup, and ongoing improvements. Shopify’s billing documentation explains the different types of charges that can appear on a bill.
A low subscription price is only useful if the plan supports the workflow. Before upgrading, identify the exact feature or cost saving you need. Before installing another app, establish whether an existing feature already does the job.
Who is Shopify a good fit for?
Shopify is worth shortlisting when selling is central to the website and you want a managed platform with a connected store administration system.
It may be a practical fit for a retailer moving online, a brand selling directly to customers, or a business that wants to connect its online and in-person operations. It can also support more involved projects, provided the required features and integrations are assessed properly.
Consider a small homeware shop whose staff already know the catalogue well. Their main challenge might be presenting products clearly, keeping stock accurate, and making pickup straightforward. That is a more useful starting brief than asking for every available sales feature.
On the other hand, a business whose website mainly explains services and collects custom quote requests may not need a full commerce platform. Choose the system around the customer’s next step.
What limitations should you check?
Customization has boundaries
Changing a storefront’s appearance and changing the checkout process are different tasks. Confirm that your required checkout behaviour, product configuration, and account workflow are supported by the proposed plan and integrations.
Ask for a demonstration of the requirement that matters, such as combining personalized products with a particular delivery method. A polished homepage cannot establish that the order will work.
Apps add responsibilities
Apps can supply valuable features, but each one needs an owner. Keep track of what it does, what it costs, what customer information it uses, and whether it overlaps with another tool.
Check the completed store on mobile with its real apps installed. Reviews, tracking scripts, search, and chat can affect the experience regardless of which theme you choose.
Your business still needs an exit plan
Before committing, ask how your important records and content could be retrieved if you later moved platforms. Identify anything held inside an app rather than the core store, and confirm how that provider handles exports.
If you already have a website, list the existing pages and useful URLs before migration. Moving platforms should preserve important content and provide appropriate redirects where addresses change.
For a fuller comparison of control, maintenance, and operating costs, see our Shopify vs WooCommerce guide for Canadian businesses.
How do Shopify’s AI tools fit into the store?
Sidekick helps the merchant
Sidekick is an AI assistant inside the Shopify admin. Current documentation describes help with tasks, content, data analysis, and app creation, with changes presented for review before they are applied.
It is useful to distinguish this from a customer-facing chat tool. Sidekick helps you operate the business; an assistant on the storefront helps visitors with their questions.
Review generated descriptions against the real product. Materials, dimensions, compatibility, and delivery promises need to be accurate even when the draft sounds convincing.
AI shopping channels help with discovery
Shopify also supports agentic storefronts for eligible stores. These connect product discovery with supported AI channels. The checkout flow varies: Shopify’s current documentation describes ChatGPT as referring shoppers to the store checkout, while some other channels support direct checkout when enabled.
Check eligibility and settings for your store and market. The useful preparation is a clear, accurate catalogue, with current prices and availability. An AI channel is another route to a purchase, not a replacement for a reliable store.
If your immediate need is helping visitors on your own website, our guide to live chat and AI assistants covers that separate decision.
What should you test before choosing Shopify?
Use the trial period to build a small, realistic version of your store. A product with genuine options teaches you more than an empty theme preview.
- Add a representative product. Include actual sizes, variations, personalization, or subscription requirements.
- Test delivery. Try the destinations and pickup arrangements you intend to offer.
- Complete a test order. Confirm the final amount, selected options, checkout messages, and order information.
- Check the staff workflow. Have the person handling orders find what they need and update the order correctly.
- Review the mobile experience. Read the product details, select options, and move through the buying process on a phone.
- Price the actual setup. Include the necessary plan, apps, payment costs, and ongoing work.
Our product page design guide helps you check whether shoppers have enough information to choose confidently.
Keep a short list of anything that fails or requires a workaround. Resolve those questions before investing heavily in design or moving the entire catalogue.
Does Shopify help with SEO?
Shopify includes built-in SEO features that support a search-friendly store. The quality of your product information, collection structure, internal links, mobile experience, and migration work still matters.
Give collection pages a clear browsing purpose and product pages useful item-specific information. Answer real purchase questions rather than repeating the same broad keyword across every page.
Check a representative page with your actual images and apps using website speed testing tools. A fast demo or a change of platform does not establish how your finished store will perform in search.
Frequently asked questions
Shopify offers trial and promotional arrangements, but a continuing store has subscription and operating costs. Compare the standard price after the promotion and the apps or services your business needs.
Hosting is part of Shopify’s managed platform. A custom domain is a separate setup decision: you can buy one through Shopify or connect an existing domain using its domain management options.
A standard store can be configured using a theme and administration tools. Specialist design, unusual integrations, or custom buying journeys may require a developer. Define the requirement before assuming custom development is necessary.
You need to arrange fulfilment through your own team, a supplier, or a fulfilment provider. Software can help coordinate orders and shipping, but someone still has to deliver the product and handle exceptions.
Only if a separate frontend solves a requirement that justifies the additional development and maintenance. Most straightforward projects should evaluate the conventional storefront first. Our headless ecommerce framework guide explains that decision.
Choose Shopify around the business you need to run
Shopify is a strong candidate when its tools match your catalogue, delivery process, and team. Test the difficult order, understand the full cost, and make sure someone can confidently run the store after launch.
For help turning that plan into a working storefront, see Maple Web Design’s ecommerce website design services. Published starter-store pricing begins at C$3,300 for up to 25 products; the service page explains the scope and current packages.
