Glossary · Web & App Development
Shopify
Overview
What Shopify is
Shopify is a subscription-based ecommerce platform that hosts everything a store needs on Shopify's own infrastructure. You add products, set prices, and configure shipping and taxes through an admin dashboard, while Shopify handles hosting, security patches, and PCI-compliant checkout. Because it's fully managed, merchants launch and scale without hiring a server team or worrying about uptime during traffic spikes.
Key parts of the platform
A Shopify store combines a theme (the storefront design), apps from its App Store (reviews, subscriptions, email, and more), and Shopify Payments or a third-party gateway for taking money. Advanced teams can go headless, using Shopify's Storefront API and the Hydrogen framework to power a custom front end while Shopify still runs the cart, checkout, and order management behind the scenes.
Why it matters for your business
For most companies, Shopify is the fastest route to a reliable, secure online store, which is why it anchors many ecommerce development and website redesign projects. A full-service team can customize themes, build custom apps, connect Shopify to email marketing tools, and automate operations with Zapier or Make, so orders, inventory, and customer data flow into the rest of your stack automatically.
Where we use it
Related Zen in Tech services
How our team puts Shopify to work in real projects.
FAQ
Shopify — common questions
How much does Shopify cost?
Shopify uses tiered monthly subscriptions (Basic, Shopify, and Advanced), plus a per-transaction fee that's waived if you use Shopify Payments. Real costs also depend on your theme, paid apps, and payment processor, so budget for those on top of the base plan.
Shopify vs WooCommerce (WordPress)?
Shopify is fully hosted and managed, so it's faster to launch and lower-maintenance. WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that gives you more control and no platform fee but requires you to manage hosting, security, and updates yourself. Shopify suits teams who want to focus on selling, not servers.
Can Shopify be used for headless commerce?
Yes. Shopify's Storefront API and Hydrogen framework let you build a custom, high-performance front end (in React, Astro, or Vue) while keeping Shopify's checkout and backend. This headless approach is popular for brands that want unique design and speed beyond standard themes.
Need Shopify done right?
Book a free consultation and we’ll map the fastest, most cost-effective path for your project.
Knowledge hub
From our knowledge hub
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