Switching to Shopify Plus? Why, When and How to do it.

Shopify is one of the most effective, scalable, cost effective eCommerce platforms out there- making it the most popular option for many eCommerce brands for good reason. The basic Shopify Plans are chock-full of powerful features to help small and medium sized businesses, grow, scale and manage their business. However for companies who experience hypergrowth- you might start experiencing limitations and find that your current Shopify plan doesn’t need all of your needs. 

Enter Shopify Plus. 

Shopify Plus is a platform built by Shopify with features and functionality that are typically required to run larger, more complex businesses. It is suitable for companies that are already well established or that are looking to scale up quickly and create an impressionable brand image with speed. While free and paid Shopify themes can be great for launching your business, a custom-built Shopify Plus experience is essential to standing out against your competition. 

Let’s dive into the advantages of using Shopify Plus and some of the key factors to consider when deciding if making the switch is the right decision for your business. 

When should you upgrade to Shopify Plus? 

It can be tricky to determine when you have outgrown Shopify’s standard plans. There are a few operational inefficiencies to watch out for that may indicate that you have outgrown the standard offering. One indicator is if you find that orders are processing too slowly or if surges in traffic bring your store crashing. If you find that you are spending more and more on IT solutions, website maintenance or transaction fees that is another indicator. If you feel like the level of customization you currently have is not enough and you want to build a custom storefront experience or custom sites for regions or countries- that is something you’ll need Shopify Plus for.

Benefits of using Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus is meant to address those scaling challenges and take on larger columns of site traffic, greater levels of back end operations, international sales and more. Shopify Plus provides these emerging brands with powerful tools for expansion and strong branding. These are some of the you can expect with the platform; 

• Omnichannel marketing
• Cross-device functionality, including 3rd party apps, mobile, and desktop.
• Multi Currency capability
• Automation of workflow processes.
• Personalized checkout.
• In-depth analytics, including transactional and customer analytics.
• Access to Script Editor. You can write your own scripts and run custom code.
• Easy management of customer interactions, pricing, and promotions.
• Cross-channel selling on platforms like eBay or Etsy.
• 24-hour support.

Shopify Plus provides merchants with unparalleled access to support and training resources. Their experts supply you with advice and consultation every step of the way and the Shopify Plus  Academy is host to a vast library of resources, training videos, workshops and more. This pool of resources is invaluable to merchants looking for answers, troubleshooting and looking for ways to grow their business.

One of the biggest advantages of Shopify Plus is the ability it gives you to scale with speed. The platform is ideal for brands growing quickly internationally or quickly expanding their product lines and launching to high volumes of traffic often. 

How to migrate from Shopify to Shopify Plus.

Shopify commits to having you fully migrated over to Shopify Plus in 90 days or less. Migration is also offered as a free service to qualified merchants.  You can transition to the platform without any down time to your storefront. The transition can occur while testing, setting up security, and hosting costs are taken care of. Migration services are provided free of charge with a Shopify Plus upgrade. However monthly fees of $2000 or 0.25% of monthly transactions still apply. A dedicated launch engineer is also made available to you  to help you build your store the right way and prevent future rebuilds.

The Shopify team provides the convenience of built-in hosting and added security features. They also handle any important patches and upgrades. Still, small changes and customizations can be performed by business owners or their teams. This helps to save time & money while eliminating the need for expensive outsourcing.

Data migration tools mean that information is easily transferred across to the new Shopify Plus platform. Order processing, sales data, inventory and product information can be easily shared and transitioned. This occurs without inciting the risk of losing any important historical and analytical data. This also includes data like ongoing transactional, customer behavior, store performance, and sales data.

The analytics provided from Shopify Plus can help make data-driven decisions. These often impact the operational performance and future growth of eCommerce stores. Also, analytics can be connected to dashboards like Google Analytics or similar data reporting tools. This makes tracking conversions, cart abandonment and viewing specific behavioural details simple.