Shopify
Shopify is a hosted SaaS eCommerce platform that powers millions of online stores. It offers a unified admin, built-in payments and checkout, POS, multi-channel selling, and the largest eCommerce app ecosystem.
Overview
Shopify runs in the cloud; you get products, variants, orders, customers, and a full admin plus REST and GraphQL APIs. No server or code to manage. Themes, checkout, and apps install from the Shopify ecosystem. The platform handles hosting, SSL, PCI compliance, and scaling so merchants focus on selling.
Market segment
Small to enterprise brands that want a hosted, commerce-first platform. Suits D2C brands, retailers, marketplaces, and B2B. Popular with entrepreneurs, agencies, and brands that value a single admin for online and in-person sales and a large app store.
Specialization
Commerce-first: Built for selling; checkout, payments, and orders are core. App ecosystem: Largest eCommerce app store for marketing, fulfillment, and integrations. Unified retail: Shopify POS and multi-channel (social, marketplaces) in one admin. Developer-friendly: Themes (Liquid), Storefront API, and Admin API for custom storefronts and tools.
Main features
- Products, variants, collections, and inventory
- Orders, customers, and checkout customization
- Shopify Payments and 100+ payment gateways
- Shopify POS and in-person selling
- Multi-channel: social, marketplaces, and Buy Button
- REST and GraphQL Admin API, Storefront API, themes (Liquid)
What makes it different
Shopify is hosted and commerce-first, with the largest app store and strong POS and multi-channel support. Unlike self-hosted platforms (WooCommerce, Magento), there is no server or upgrade management. Compared to other SaaS platforms, it leads on ecosystem size, checkout flexibility, and retail (POS, markets). It suits merchants who want one platform for online and in-person and to extend via apps and APIs.