Explore the Shopify Advanced Plan, an often-overlooked gem among Shopify pricing options. Despite receiving less attention than lower-tiered plans or the esteemed Shopify Plus, it stands out as a powerhouse for those seeking comprehensive tools to elevate their online store.
At $399 per month (pricing may vary by location), the Shopify Advanced Plan offers a suite of advanced features tailored to meet the needs of growing businesses.
Let’s explore all the features and some relevant information about the Shopify Advanced Plan!
Understanding the Shopify Advanced Plan
Running a store on Shopify is great, but is your current plan limiting your growth? Enter the Shopify Advanced Plan, a powerful upgrade designed to take your business to the next level.
Shopify offers different plans, from Starter to Plus, and Advanced sits right in the middle. It’s a big step up from the standard Shopify plan, with a boost in features and tools, but without the hefty price tag of Plus.
Here’s what makes Advanced so special:
- Shipping Superstar: Struggling with complex shipping costs across borders? Advanced automates it all! From tariffs to taxes, this plan handles everything for multiple countries, saving you time and frustration.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Ever feel like you’re flying blind? Advanced unlocks powerful reporting and analytics, giving you a crystal-clear view of your customers and sales. Make smarter decisions based on accurate data, not just guesses.
- Ready to Scale? We Got You: Thinking big? Advanced is built for businesses on the rise. It can handle a significant sales jump, so you can focus on growing without worrying about your plan holding you back.
Bonus! For a limited time (since March 6th, 2023), you can try the Advanced Plan for just $1 for the first 3 months! That’s right, unlock all these powerful features for a fraction of the price.
Critical Elements of the Shopify Advanced Plan
The Shopify Advanced Plan goes beyond the basic building blocks of an online store. It equips you with everything you get in the lower-tier plans, plus some exclusive features to help you scale and gain deeper insights.
Let’s explore these features!
1. E-commerce platform
The Advanced Shopify Plan grants you the power to build a fully functional online store directly from your user-friendly Shopify dashboard. This eliminates the need for third-party platforms or complex coding, allowing you to focus on creating a captivating storefront that resonates with your target audience.
But it doesn’t stop there. The built-in theme editor empowers you to personalize the look and feel of your store to reflect your brand identity.
Don’t feel limited by design expertise; the Shopify Theme Store boasts a vast library of over 100 mobile-friendly themes, both free and paid options, to cater to any style or industry.
Tailor the layout, colors, fonts, and imagery to craft a visually stunning and user-friendly experience that compels customers to browse, engage, and purchase.
2. Tools for analysis
The Advanced Shopify Plan equips you with a comprehensive reporting tool suite that provides valuable insights into your business health and customer behavior. Gone are the days of relying on guesswork or intuition.
This plan offers a robust analytics dashboard that tracks key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, and customer demographics.
Delve deeper with detailed financial reports, order and sales reports, inventory and customer reports and marketing and acquisition reports. With the Live View feature, you can even gain real-time sales insights. Analyze product performance data to identify top sellers and areas for improvement.
The Advanced Shopify Plan empowers you to create custom reports tailored to your needs, ensuring you have all the information necessary to make strategic adjustments and optimize your online store for long-term success.
3. Blog feature
The Advanced Shopify Plan recognizes this by providing a robust blogging platform directly within your store. This eliminates the need for complex integrations or external content management systems.
Use your blog to share captivating stories, announce exciting promotions, and inform your customers about upcoming events.
Publish news articles, product tutorials, or behind-the-scenes glimpses into your brand to cultivate a loyal following and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. The blog also provides a valuable platform to solicit customer feedback and foster a sense of community around your brand.
Remember, a well-maintained blog is a powerful tool for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), ensuring your store ranks higher in search results and attracts organic traffic from potential customers actively searching for products or services like yours.
4. Shopify’s point-of-sale system
The Advanced Shopify Plan understands that your business may not be confined to the digital realm. That’s why it includes access to Shopify POS, a robust point-of-sale system that facilitates in-person sales.
Shopify POS empowers you to sell from anywhere with ease. The system integrates seamlessly with your online store, ensuring consistent product information, inventory management, and customer data across all your sales channels.
Offer your customers the flexibility to purchase however they prefer, whether browsing online or experiencing your products in person. This omnichannel approach fosters brand loyalty and creates a more cohesive shopping experience for your customers
5. Discounts on Shopify shipping and calculated carrier rates
Shipping costs can significantly impact your bottom line and customer satisfaction.
The Advanced Shopify Plan tackles this challenge head-on by offering substantial discounts from major carriers through Shopify Shipping.
Enjoy real-time shipping rate calculations at checkout, allowing you and your customers to make informed decisions. Boost efficiency by printing shipping labels in bulk for a streamlined fulfillment process.
But what if Shopify Shipping doesn’t support your preferred carrier? No worries! The Advanced Shopify Plan offers the flexibility of Carrier-calculated shipping, which displays third-party shipping rates. So, you can always provide customers with the most cost-effective options at checkout.
6. Shopify’s secure certificates
Customer trust is paramount in the digital age. It prioritizes security with industry-standard SSL certificates. These certificates encrypt communication between your store and customer browsers, ensuring all data exchanges are secure.
This fosters a safe and reliable shopping experience, giving customers peace of mind when they enter their personal and financial information during checkout.
By prioritizing security, you build trust and encourage repeat business, laying the foundation for long-term customer relationships.
7. Global trade
It unlocks the potential of international commerce through Shopify Markets, a powerful cross-border management tool.
Imagine tailoring settings for specific regions, catering to local preferences and regulations. Calculate and collect import duties & taxes seamlessly, ensuring a smooth checkout experience for your international customers.
But control doesn’t stop there. The Advanced Shopify Plan empowers you to control product pricing with regional adjustments or per-country pricing options.
This allows you to adapt your pricing strategy to different markets, considering factors like currency fluctuations and local purchasing power.
By offering competitive prices in each region, you can attract a broader customer base and unlock new revenue streams for your online business.
8. Employee accounts
Building a successful online business often requires a collaborative effort. The Advanced Shopify Plan empowers you to assemble and manage a team of up to 15 staff members with dedicated accounts.
This allows you to delegate tasks and grant access levels specific to each employee’s role. Imagine your marketing team managing social media campaigns and email marketing initiatives through their designated accounts while your customer service team efficiently handles inquiries and order fulfillment.
This focused workflow frees you up to concentrate on strategic business development, ensuring every aspect of your operation runs smoothly.
9. Shopify’s automation tool
Running an online business involves juggling many tasks. The Advanced Shopify Plan (along with Shopify and Shopify Plus plans) introduces Shopify Flow, a game-changing e-commerce automation tool.
Automating repetitive tasks like sending abandoned cart reminders, triggering email notifications for order fulfillment, or generating personalized discount codes.
Shopify Flow integrates seamlessly with your Shopify store and connected apps, allowing you to streamline workflows and eliminate manual processes.
This frees up valuable time and resources, enabling you to focus on strategic initiatives that drive business growth and innovation.
Cost Details of the Shopify Advanced Plan
Here are some types of fees for the Shopify Advanced Plan!
1. Subscription cost for Shopify Advanced Plan
The Advanced Shopify Plan helps you grow your online business, but how much does it cost? It’s $399 monthly in the United States, but prices can differ depending on your location.
Shopify offers a free trial, so you can test out all the features of the Advanced Plan before you buy. It’s like taking a car for a spin before you purchase it! This way, you can see if the plan fits your needs perfectly.
Once you’ve tried the free trial and love the Advanced Plan, consider getting a yearly subscription to save money. You’ll pay 25% less than you would monthly. That’s a sweet deal!
Here’s an important tip: When you set up your Shopify store, choose the location where you’ll be selling your products. As we mentioned before, Shopify prices can vary by country. Double-check the price for your chosen location before launching your store to avoid surprises.
2. Transaction Charges for Shopify Advanced Plan
The Advanced Shopify Plan helps you grow your online business, but transaction fees can be confusing. Let’s break it down simply:
2.1. Using Shopify Payments:
The Advanced Plan offers lower transaction fees when you use it as your payment processor (think of it as the tool that lets customers pay you).
- You’ll pay a fee of 2.4% + 30 cents per transaction.
- Shopify does not charge extra fees for using its payment gateway. It even waives its usual 0.5% credit card processing fee.
- One exception is an extra 1% fee applies to credit cards issued outside the US.
2.2. Not Using Shopify Payments
If you prefer a different payment gateway, there are still transaction fees.
- The Advanced Plan charges a 0.5% fee for using a third-party payment gateway (like a different company that handles payments).
- You’ll also need to pay separate transaction fees to your chosen payment gateway provider.
- Similar to using Shopify Payments, there’s an extra 1% fee for non-US-issued credit cards.
3. Potential additional expenses for the Shopify Advanced Plan
The Advanced Shopify Plan offers powerful features to grow your business, but there are additional costs to consider besides the monthly fee. Let’s explore these potential expenses:
3.1. Domain Name
Think of a domain name like your online store’s unique address. Customers need a memorable one to find you easily. Shopify sells domain names at $14 per year, but you can also explore other registrars like Namecheap and GoDaddy.
Remember, you can keep your domain name even if you switch from Shopify by transferring it to another provider. While Shopify offers free subdomains (like “[invalid URL removed]”), it’s not ideal for building a strong brand.
3.2. Shopify Themes
Themes control how your store looks and feels to customers. Unlike apps, themes are not included in the plan.
The Shopify Theme Store offers free and paid themes (one-time purchases, typically ranging from $0 to $350). Themes by Shopify or Shopify Partners can only be transferred between your Shopify stores.
3.3. Shopify Apps
Apps add features and functionality to your store but come with additional costs.
The number of apps you need depends on your business goals. The average merchant uses 6 apps, with a typical cost of $19 per month each. Luckily, there are also free Shopify apps available.
3.4. Email Hosting
The Advanced Plan doesn’t include email hosting, which lets you send emails using your store’s domain name. This is important for building relationships with customers.
Consider using a Shopify email marketing app like Shopify Email (free for the first 10,000 emails, then $1 per 1,000 emails).
3.5. Shopify POS
Shopify POS lets you sell in person. On the Advanced Plan, Shopify POS Lite is free, but Shopify POS Pro costs $89 per store location. Hardware costs for using Shopify POS may vary.
Ideal Users for the Shopify Advanced Plan
The Shopify Advanced Plan is designed for ambitious businesses ready to unlock advanced features and streamline operations. Here’s who can benefit the most:
- High-Volume Sellers: The Advanced Plan offers features like advanced reporting and carrier-calculated shipping to handle complex order fulfillment needs.
- Data-Driven Decision Makers: The plan provides comprehensive reporting tools to track sales and customer behavior and identify growth opportunities.
- International Businesses: Are you looking to expand your reach globally? The plan simplifies international commerce with features like automatic import tax calculations and regional pricing options.
- Those Seeking More Staff Accounts: Need to delegate tasks and manage a growing team? The plan provides up to 15 staff accounts for enhanced collaboration.
Final Thoughts
After reviewing the Shopify Advanced plan, it clearly offers sophisticated features for effective global selling. While best suited for established businesses with sizable budgets and existing customer bases, it presents an enticing opportunity to elevate e-commerce operations.
The Advanced plan equips businesses to navigate international markets and drive growth with advanced reporting, streamlined shipping, and scalability features. If you’re ready to invest, this plan is worth considering.
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