Shopify for UK Small Businesses
Purpose-built for e-commerce. Best for: shops doing real volume, businesses that need simple checkout and payments.
Who Shopify suits
- Online shops doing real volume
- Businesses that want simple checkout and payments
- Brands selling physical products with shipping rules
- Cross-border / multi-currency e-commerce
Strengths
- Purpose-built for e-commerce, checkout, payments, taxes, shipping all work out of the box
- Massive app ecosystem for marketing, fulfilment, accounting
- Hosted, no security or hosting headaches
- Excellent performance on Shopify's own infrastructure
Weaknesses
- Monthly fees (£25–£300+) plus transaction fees on some plans
- Theme customisation needs Liquid templating, not a normal developer's skill set
- Less flexibility for non-e-commerce content (limited blog/CMS features)
- Apps stack up, three or four "essential" apps can hit £100+/month
Typical cost
£25–£300+/month subscription, £1,500–£5,000 for a custom theme setup, £100–£500/month for ongoing app fees
SEO
Solid, clean URLs, fast hosting, schema for products. Weaker on content marketing, the blog is basic. Shopify's URL structure (/collections/, /products/) is fixed and not always SEO-ideal.
Should you choose Shopify?
The platform should follow the business need, not the other way around. Request a free audit and we\'ll recommend a platform based on your goals, team and budget, not on what we\'d rather build.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify good for SEO? +
Solid, clean URLs, fast hosting, schema for products. Weaker on content marketing, the blog is basic. Shopify's URL structure (/collections/, /products/) is fixed and not always SEO-ideal.
How much does a Shopify site cost? +
£25–£300+/month subscription, £1,500–£5,000 for a custom theme setup, £100–£500/month for ongoing app fees
When is Shopify the wrong choice? +
When monthly fees (£25–£300+) plus transaction fees on some plans matters more to you than purpose-built for e-commerce, checkout, payments, taxes, shipping all work out of the box. Most platform mistakes are about picking the wrong tool for the job, not picking a "bad" tool.
Can you build on Shopify? +
Yes, we build on whichever platform fits your business best. We're not tied to any single one. Request a free audit and we'll recommend the right fit.