Why Is Everyone Switching to Shopify for Ecommerce?

As of 2025, there are over 2.5 million live stores running on the Shopify platform, making it one of the world’s leading e-commerce platforms.

Shopify isn’t new, but the way people are using it is evolving. What started as a go-to platform for side hustlers and indie brands has matured into a serious contender for businesses of all sizes. And in 2025, more agencies are recommending Shopify for their e-commerce clients—not because it’s trendy but because it’s practical.

If you’re a creative agency, you’ve likely noticed this shift firsthand. 

Your clients are probably asking about Shopify. Or your dev partners are nudging you in that direction. Either way, it’s worth understanding why Shopify has become such a dominant player—and, of course, when it might not be the right fit.

We lay out the reasons behind the migration trend, backed by real developer insights, and how Shopify stacks up for different types of e-commerce builds.

1. It’s Built for E-commerce

One of the biggest advantages of Shopify is that it’s purpose-built for selling online—no bolting on extra plug-ins or hacking together features to make it behave like an online store. It’s built to be one. Everything from product management to inventory tracking, fulfillment, and payments is baked in and designed to work out of the box.

You can spin up a store, drop in one of the many pre-built themes (which are generally pretty solid), and start customizing from there. 

It’s also worth noting that Shopify handles a lot of e-commerce pain points—secure checkout with Shop Pay, multi-currency support, and automatic tax calculations, for example. That saves time and makes things easier for store owners in the long run.

2. Customization Is Simple

“But isn’t Shopify limited?” Sure, if you treat it like Squarespace. But if you’re using Shopify the way it’s meant to be used—especially Shopify Plus—you get a lot of customization capability.

You have the ability to fully control the look of your store by either modifying an existing theme or building a custom-made theme. Liquid (Shopify’s templating language) gives you the ability to design and build the front end without limits. 

If you want the ultimate in flexibility, you can even go headless – Shopify’s Storefront API works well with frameworks like Next.js, Gatsby, and Hydrogen. 

Need additional functionality? The App Store has over 8,000 ready-made apps available which can extend your store’s capabilities.  And if you can’t find exactly what you need, just build your own app. 

Basically, Shopify is like Lego for devs: structured, scalable, and surprisingly versatile. 

3. It’s Conversion-Driven

Shopify does a solid job when it comes to conversion-focused features. Things like a fast, mobile-optimized checkout, abandoned cart recovery, and plug-and-play integrations with platforms like Klaviyo, Meta, Google, and TikTok make it easy to support typical marketing funnels without a ton of extra setup.

But beyond the backend features, a lot of the conversion value is baked into the front-end design tools, like the themes.

Some useful features we’ve seen in themes include:

• Upselling on product and cart pages (e.g., “You might also like…”)
• Free shipping progress bars in the cart
• Quick add-to-cart buttons on collection pages
• ‘Shop the look’ sections for bundling or showcasing styled product groups

Other CMS platforms might offer similar layout flexibility, but they aren’t typically optimized for selling. With Shopify, the themes are designed specifically to support buying behaviors, which helps move users from browsing to checkout with fewer distractions.

4. It’s Secure

Your clients don’t want to talk about PCI compliance or SSL certificates. (Heck, most don’t even want to know what those are.) But you do. This is where Shopify stands out.

Here are a few things you should know:

1. It’s a closed-source, fully hosted platform. This means their internal team controls the core codebase and all updates. That reduces the risk of vulnerabilities compared to open-source platforms like WordPress, where anyone can view the code—and potentially exploit it (WordPress sites face an astonishing 90,000 attacks every minute).
   
2. No plugin patching or manual updates. Since Shopify doesn’t rely on third-party plugins for core functionality, you don’t have to worry about keeping plugins updated or fixing compatibility issues. Less maintenance means fewer calls from panicked clients.
   
3. You get built-in PCI compliance and SSL. So no extra setup is required to meet industry standards for secure transactions.
   
4. It has a trusted checkout. Shopify’s checkout layout across stores builds familiarity and trust with customers—especially first-time buyers. It looks clean, secure, and legit, unlike custom checkouts that can feel unpolished or sketchy.

5. Hosting That’s Handled

Shopify takes care of hosting, backups, and performance at scale—no server setup, no caching plugins, no last-minute crashes during a sale.

Traffic spikes? The platform auto-scales. 

Daily backups? Already happening. 

Security patches? Covered. 

And since there’s no reliance on third-party plugins for core functionality (like there is in WooCommerce), there’s less risk of things ‘breaking’ after an update.

6. It’s Super Scalable

Small brands love Shopify because it’s easy. Massive brands love Shopify because it’s powerful. 

We’re talking million and billion-dollar businesses like Kylie Cosmetics, Gymshark, and Netflix that all use Shopify for some form of their e-commerce front. That’s not a coincidence. With Shopify Plus, clients can manage multiple storefronts, access advanced automation tools, and handle high-volume traffic relatively easily. 

7. The Ecosystem is Deep—and Still Growing

Shopify has a thriving ecosystem. Thousands of vetted apps, extensions, and integrations, all designed to make e-commerce better. From subscription models to loyalty programs to 3PL logistics tools, there’s an app for pretty much everything.

The other side of the ecosystem is the community—devs, designers, app builders, and partner agencies who actually know the platform. You’ll rarely find yourself stuck without a solution or without someone who’s seen the same issue before. Of course, you still need to be selective. Just because there’s an app for something doesn’t mean it’s the right app. But it’s great to have options when you need them. 

So, is it perfect? No. But is it a massive head start for building, scaling, and supporting client stores? Absolutely.

8. Great Customer Support 

One underrated perk of Shopify is that clients aren’t left in the dark once the site goes live. The built-in help center is actually pretty good, and the live chat support can walk store owners through most platform-specific questions without looping your team back in.

That’s a win for everyone—less hand-holding from your side and more confidence on theirs.

9. Your Clients Already Know the Name

Here’s the thing: your clients have heard of Shopify. Recommending Shopify doesn’t require a pitch deck or a TED Talk. It’s a no-brainer for most businesses—especially when the alternative is migrating away from platforms that feel like they peaked in 2012.

By guiding your clients to Shopify, you’re not just making a platform recommendation. You’re giving them the confidence to scale without technical roadblocks.

When Shopify Isn’t Ideal (And What to Do About It)

1. Content Management Is Not Its Strength

Shopify is product-focused. If your client’s site relies heavily on rich content—think blogs, resources, or marketing pages—it can feel a bit rigid and limiting. Content types are limited, and managing non-product content isn’t as fluid as what you’d get with a CMS like WordPress or Craft. 

Platforms like Craft Commerce or WooCommerce can be a better option for content heavy sites with some ecommerce needs.  And headless sites can deliver the best of both worlds, integrating top notch content platforms like Contentful or Sanity with Shopify’s ecommerce capabilities.

2. Checkout Customization Is Limited—Unless You’re on Shopify Plus

Shopify’s checkout is fast and optimized, but if your client needs a highly customized checkout experience (like multi-step flows, conditional logic, embedded upsells), you’re boxed in on the standard plan. 

For clients who want total control over the checkout flow, look into Shopify Plus or consider headless commerce using Shopify as the backend and a custom frontend with full checkout flexibility via the Storefront API.

3. Costs Scale With Growth

Shopify’s pricing seems accessible at first, but as clients grow, the costs can creep up. Add in several paid apps, transaction fees, and a Plus plan for custom needs, and the monthly bill can escalate pretty quickly.

Shopify is affordable to start. But it’s good to be upfront with clients about how scaling affects costs—especially when third-party apps are involved. It’s still often more cost-effective than maintaining custom infrastructure, but it’s not a flat-rate solution. If managed correctly, the costs should scale with sales for your store so that they don’t eat into your profit margin.

Final Word: Is Shopify the Right Choice for Your Clients?

So we’re not saying Shopify is perfect (what platform is?), but it’s damn close for e-commerce especially if you’re an agency that wants fewer fires to put out and more scalable solutions to offer.

At the end of the day, it’s about results, right? 

Shopify hits the right balance of usability, scalability, and built-in features. It’s built specifically for online selling, and that focus shows in everything from the checkout experience to the backend admin tools.

Need a dev team that knows Shopify inside out and works seamlessly with your agency? That’s our jam. Take a look at some of our work, and let’s schedule a call.