Shopify: An E-Commerce Solution When it comes to setting up an e-commerce website, the laundry list of things to do can be daunting. From basic creation to purchasing a domain name, the process is overwhelming, especially if you’ve never built a website before. Many retailers and agencies have web developers that code their online store from the ground up. However, there is another option that is easier and far less time-consuming: using an e-commerce website development service, particularly Shopify. What is Shopify? Shopify is an all-in-one service that not only hosts your website but helps build it as well. With Shopify, you can organize your products and services, customize your storefront, set up and accept payment methods, track shipping, and much more. You definitely don’t have to be a designer to operate on their platform, either. They offer hundreds of themes that are completely customizable with easy widgets or HTML. One of my favorite features of the platform is their incredible built-in SEO tools. The features allow you to conveniently add page and meta descriptions, edit image alt text, and other attributes that help boost your search engine presence. How does Shopify work? It’s easy. All that is needed to set up a site is a computer with internet capabilities, a credit card, and something to sell. The process of setting up the store after logging in is pretty straightforward. Admins will be lead to this home page after an account has been created. Along the left-hand side is the navigation that helps you edit and maintain every part of your website and products. Under Online Store, you can customize your site’s appearance, add blog posts and web pages, and integrate social media profiles. Shopify Partner Program Shopify also offers a partner program for designers and developers to help expand the Shopify platform with a few financial incentives. James Itkoff, Paid Search Analyst at AVX Digital, recently helped AVX become a Shopify partner and answered a few questions about the program. What is the process of becoming a Shopify partner? You apply on their Shopify platform, as long as you have, or currently, manage websites on there. Currently, [AVX is] working on applying to become Shopify Experts, which is an even higher distinction. From that, we can be sent leads from the Shopify help center, as we have proven ourselves to be the best in the industry. How long does it take to become a Shopify partner? Does it cost any money to sign up? For qualifying developers, instantly. For those who have not managed accounts, it takes as long as Shopify takes to deem your site worthy of a partner level. Basically, they need to know you have knowledge of the platform and the many functions. And no, it doesn’t cost anything to sign up! What made you want to join the partnership program? Well, AVX has used Shopify for a few clients, both in building new sites, as well as managing/optimizing existing ones. We love the fact that there is 24-hour support, so clients are not left with faulty websites for any period of time. Similarly, there are millions of functions through the platform itself, and the Shopify App store that gives us (and more importantly our clients) a large selection of options to choose from. Now that you’re a partner, what does that mean for your clients or potential clients? Well, it is less of a product, as much as it is a reassurance that we have been approved by the platform itself, as the best in the industry. It would be a disservice to a client to make a website that is not the best it can be. By earning this distinction, we are hoping to give our current and future clients that they are in the best hands. What are a few benefits of becoming a partner? Can you earn money through the program? Yes, we can earn money for being a partner, either by referring clients to Shopify or developing new themes and apps for other developers to use. For us, however, it is much more than that. Our goal was to really help give our clients extra comfort knowing that they are working with the absolute best in the business. AVX Digital is a Digital Marketing and SEO company in Dallas. We specialize in optimizing your online presence to bring in more website traffic and customers to your business and help generate excitement and brand awareness for your company. Contact us today to learn more about how we can work with you to help grow your business.
