Shopify Lite - Easily Get Started in Ecommerce

If you are reading this then I am sure you are well aware of Shopify, one of biggest single vendor eCommerce platforms on the planet, beaten only by WooCommerce. But have you heard of Shopify Lite?

What is Shopify Lite?

I am sure it won’t blow anyone's socks off to hear that Shopify Lite is a stripped down version of the standard Shopify services. Stripped down so much that it actually enables you to sell without even having a website! That is because when you use Shopify Lite, you are effectively paying just for the backend of Shopify, a headless version. This means that you get all the functionality that runs in the background like inventory management, dealing with shipping and all that good stuff that helps you automate, manage and monitor your commerce business… all without actually having a Shopify Store.

So how do you sell with Shopify Lite then?

In person

Probably not the most common scenario, but definitely the best for giving you an idea of what exactly we’re working with here. That’s right, not only do you not need your own eCommerce store to sell, but your customer doesn’t even need an internet connection!

By using Shopify POS Lite (included with all Shopify Plans) it’s as simple as installing their POS app on a phone, signing in and away you go - now you can make sales using nothing but your phone!

They also have a Shopify POS hardware store where you can buy all the stuff you need to build your ideal POS system, from a super simple to use card reader (contactless capable) that connects to the phone app using bluetooth to barcode scanners, receipt printers and even all in one, full blown POS systems that you simply slot an iPad into and it has all you could want like an automatic cash drawer, receipt printer and barcode scanner. A traditional POS that integrates completely with Shopify, amazing!

On social media

Now this is going to appeal to a lot more people than the first item. Shopify Lite can fully integrate with Facebook and Instagram so that you can sell through their platforms, the customer never leaving their social site of choice, and it is all dealt with by Shopify.

You connect your Shopify Lite account with your business pages and from there you can sync all of your products with theirs. This means that if you change the price of a product in the Shopify App then it will automatically change the price on your Facebook and Instagram listings too!

For people who have built up a big social media presence (looking at you, influencers), this could be an absolute game changer, allowing you to get selling online, through your profile, on your posts or even through messaging with people! super quick and easy!

On any website

Maybe you already have a basic website or blog built on something like Wix or WordPress and would like to start selling but don’t want to have to go through the rigmarole of building a whole new website on Shopify to get the Shopify experience. Well fret not, because with Shopify Lite you can bring the functionality of Shopify to any site with an embedded ‘Buy Button’, or even an embedded shopping cart!

Simply head over to your Shopify interface of choice and create a ‘Buy Button’ for any product, design it to match the website or blog you will be embedding it on and drop the given code onto your website. This is super easy to use with Wix, WordPress, Weebly, Squarespace and more.

If you are selling more than one product then you can do the same with the shopping cart allowing customers to add several products and buy them all in one go. You can basically retrofit any pre-existing website into an eCommerce store with all of Shopify’s powerful functionality without any fancy coding, changing platforms or much work at all really.

Is Shopify Lite for you?

If you are someone who has focused on building up a social media following and want a quick and easy way to monetize it through product sales then this is an awesome way to get started. Same if you have a popular blog that is lacking eCommerce capabilities and want a hassle free way of bringing that ability to what you already have.

Of course, brick and mortar stores can use Shopify Lite and the POS system to bring some automation and organisation to their business if they don’t have a good POS already. Even if they do, they might want to change to a POS that will bring their online and offline sales together seamlessly. For that, Shopify POS Lite is perfect.

If you are looking at building a business that is purely focused on having a proper web based store with a lot of advanced functionality then Shopify Lite is probably not for you. But fret not, the full fat Shopify experience is still cheap enough and well worth what you pay to get not only everything mentioned above, but a full blown web store experience up and running!