With over 5.5–6 million active stores and more than 875 million buyers worldwide, Shopify is the leading e-commerce platform for SMEs and large enterprises alike. It offers a complete solution that lets you set up and manage your online store and payment services easily – no coding knowledge required. That makes e-commerce accessible to a huge range of businesses.
Read on to learn everything you need to grow your store with Shopify.
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is a leading cloud-based e-commerce platform that lets businesses of all sizes create, manage, and grow their online stores. Thanks to its scalability and feature set, it’s the go-to choice for merchants looking to build or expand their online presence.
Founded in 2006 in Ottawa, Canada, by German-born Tobias Lütke, Shopify offers a comprehensive suite of tools that lets users build custom websites, manage inventory, process payments, and analyse sales data.
Shopify also supports omnichannel selling, so businesses can sell across multiple channels – including social media, marketplaces, and brick-and-mortar retail – all from one place.
The platform is particularly popular with small and medium-sized businesses thanks to its ease of use, flexible pricing plans, and extensive third-party integrations. That said, Shopify also powers some of the world’s biggest brands, including Heinz, Red Bull, Hasbro, Tesla, Lindt, Netflix, Gymshark, and many more.
Shopify by the Numbers: Global Impact
Since launching in 2006, Shopify has grown into the world’s leading e-commerce platform, operating across multiple countries with an impressive reach:
- 4–6 million active users per day
- 5.5–6 million online stores
- Annual revenue of over $10 billion (2025)
- Over 875 million buyers
- Used by 24% of all e-commerce websites
What Does Shopify Do? An Overview for Beginners
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that lets you create, customise, and manage your online store with minimal technical know-how. Here’s a look at its biggest strengths.
1. User-Friendly Interface and Easy Setup
Shopify is accessible to users of all skill levels. Intuitive drag-and-drop templates mean that even people with zero coding experience can build attractive, high-performing online stores. And the platform is flexible enough to scale alongside growing and established businesses alike.
2. Customisable Design Options
Shopify offers a wide range of customisable design options, so businesses can create a unique, professional-looking store. You can choose from a variety of free and paid themes, each designed for different industries and aesthetics.
These designs are fully customisable – colours, fonts, and layouts can all be tailored to your brand identity without touching a single line of code. That’s especially handy for businesses with limited resources. For users with more advanced needs, Shopify also gives you access to HTML and CSS for maximum creative freedom.
3. Comprehensive Dashboard for Managing Your Store
Shopify’s dashboard makes running your online store straightforward – from adding and organising products to tracking orders and digging into sales data. Key metrics like revenue, customer behaviour, and inventory levels are all displayed in real time.
The dashboard also integrates seamlessly with a wide range of apps and plugins, so you can manage marketing campaigns and customer support all from one place.
4. Integrated Payment Processing and Security
With Shopify Payments, businesses can plug in a variety of payment methods directly into their store – no external payment processor needed. These include credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, and – since 2025 – TWINT for Swiss merchants.
This simplifies the checkout process and cuts down on unnecessary admin. On top of that, Shopify integrates with over 100 external payment gateways.
For Swiss stores wanting to offer “Buy on account”, we at what. work with Abilita – a specialist payment provider that offers a 100% payment guarantee after a credit check and integrates seamlessly with Shopify.
5. Integration with Public Apps
Public apps are verified by Shopify and available to merchants in the Shopify App Marketplace, continuously expanding what the platform can do. These apps are built by third-party developers but must meet Shopify’s standards.
Shopify apps extend the platform’s functionality with global or local ERP, CRM, and fulfilment apps, as well as a wide range of other systems.
Popular examples of public apps:
- Patchworks: A powerful no-code/low-code platform with everything you need to manage and connect your ERP system with Shopify.
- Reamaze Live Chat Helpdesk CRM: AI chatbots and AI-powered live chats that turn browsers into loyal customers.
- Shopify Fulfillment Network: Connects users with Shopify’s trusted logistics partners.
what. offers turnkey integration solutions for public apps to ensure smooth connectivity with a range of systems. These include well-known fulfilment partners in Switzerland as well as ERP systems:
- Multisped: Simplifies logistics and fulfilment with a range of parcel service providers or its own shipping service for both domestic and international delivery. As a what. partner, we particularly recommend Multisped for Swiss and international retailers.
- Swiss Post: The official Swiss Post app makes it easy to handle labelling, address validation, customs documents, return labels, and more.
- ShipDirect: A scalable fulfilment tool that supports retailers in Switzerland and the EU with sustainable e-commerce services – from warehousing to returns, all under one roof.
- Texdata: This Shopify app lets you import Shopify orders directly into the Texdata ERP system (Diamod).
6. Seamless Integration with Custom Apps
Public apps often offer one-size-fits-all solutions – which works fine for most merchants, but doesn’t always hit the mark. If you need more tailored functionality, public apps won’t give you access to the underlying code.
That’s where custom apps come in. Unlike public apps, custom apps can be built specifically for your individual Shopify store and managed either through the merchant’s Shopify admin or in the partner’s dashboard.
Shopify offers a wide range of APIs with different capabilities to make this possible. Custom apps need to follow Shopify’s API versioning plan to ensure they keep working even when the platform updates.
what. builds custom Shopify apps tailored to your exact requirements. Past examples include reliable connectors to local Swiss ERPs like DataForce and Proffix, as well as German ERPs like Brückner.
7. Tailored ERP Integration with what.
For most growing businesses, connecting to an ERP system is a must – and this is one of our core specialisms. We integrate Shopify with all the major ERP systems commonly used in the Swiss market.
That includes enterprise solutions like SAP S/4HANA and Microsoft Business Central, as well as local Swiss systems like DataForce, Proffix, and Arcavis. Using the native Shopify API, we develop either a ready-made standard solution or a fully customised connector for more complex requirements.
The integration typically runs via two core APIs (orders and products): product data flows from the ERP into Shopify, and order data flows back into the ERP – fully automated, with no manual data entry needed. You can find more details on our Shopify ERP integration page.
Shopify vs. Other Platforms: Why Choose Shopify for Your Online Store?
In 2026, there’s no shortage of e-commerce platforms to choose from. Compared to most others, Shopify offers an easy entry point for beginners while still providing enough flexibility for custom solutions.
Tip: Still on the fence? A comparison of BigCommerce vs. WooCommerce vs. Shopify gives you a detailed breakdown of features, flexibility, and pricing.
Easy Migration
No matter which platform you’re currently on, migrating to Shopify is easier and more cost-effective than ever. With over 250 successfully completed Shopify projects and a specialisation in connectors and ERP integrations, what. is one of Switzerland’s leading Shopify agencies – ready to make your migration smooth and help you scale from there.
Our services include:
- Growth hacking services
- Domain connection and launch preparation
- System configuration that matches your visual identity
- Theme customisation
- App and interface integration
- Integration of special features
- ERP integration
- Training for Shopify administrators
Support and Community
As a global market leader, Shopify comes with all the support resources you’d expect. Shopify offers 24/7 support via live chat, email, and phone.
You can also tap into the large Shopify community to ask questions, share experiences, and get advice from fellow merchants.
Shopify for Different Needs: Is It Right for You?
Shopify serves a wide range of businesses – from startups to large corporations – and supports various business models, including B2C and B2B.
Startup Stores: The Ideal E-Commerce Solution for New Businesses
Startups often have tight budgets and limited resources. Shopify’s user-friendly interface and affordable pricing make it a great fit. The intuitive dashboard and drag-and-drop store builder let you get up and running without coding knowledge – no expensive IT team required.
Medium-Sized Businesses: Switch to Shopify for Better Performance
Mid-sized businesses with existing online stores can move to Shopify to benefit from superior scalability and functionality – from integrated analytics and payment processing to third-party apps and services. As migration has become relatively straightforward, more and more SMEs are making the switch to take advantage of Shopify’s extensive feature set.
Large Enterprises: Advanced Features with Shopify Plus
Large enterprises use Shopify Plus to meet more demanding requirements. Shopify Plus supports ERP integrations for seamless syncing with existing business systems and makes multi-channel selling across different platforms a breeze – all from a single dashboard.
Shopify Plus also comes with advanced analytics tools for data-driven decision-making, higher API limits, native B2B features, and checkout customisation via Checkout Extensibility.
B2C and D2C: Engage Customers Directly with Shopify
Shopify supports B2C and D2C models with a range of tools built for direct customer engagement:
- Marketing: Shopify integrates seamlessly with platforms like Google, Facebook, and email marketing services to run targeted campaigns and track their effectiveness.
- Checkout process: Features like Shopify Payments and one-click checkout reduce friction and boost conversion rates.
- Customisation: Shopify enables personalised shopping experiences through customisable designs, product recommendations, and tailored marketing messages.
B2B: Streamline Transactions on Shopify
Shopify serves B2B businesses with features that simplify transactions and improve customer interactions:
- Custom pricing: Tailored pricing structures for different customers, making transactions more flexible and transparent.
- Wholesale options: Dedicated storefronts for bulk purchases with their own pricing and terms.
- Management tools: Integration with ERP and CRM systems to keep data flowing smoothly between platforms.
Learn more in our Shopify B2B guide.
Conclusion: Is Shopify the Right Platform for Your Business?
Shopify stands out as a powerful, versatile platform for businesses looking to build or improve their online presence. Its user-friendly interface, extensive library of customisable templates, and robust e-commerce tools make it the top choice for entrepreneurs and established brands alike.
Shopify’s scalability means it grows with your business – whether you’re just getting started or looking to break into new markets.
Book a free consultation with what., one of Switzerland’s leading Shopify agencies, and let’s start scaling your business today.
