Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows you to set up your online store. It’s an all-in-one solution that takes care of the hosting, payment processing, and most of the design work you would need to do if you set up a new site from scratch.
Acting as a website and e-commerce platform, Shopify provides tools and features to manage your online business, including website templates, inventory management, and payment processing.
What is MyShopify?
MyShopify is a secure subdomain automatically assigned to a new Shopify store when it is created. It’s a subdomain owned by Shopify, and you can opt to use the same through monthly subscriptions.
For example, if a user creates a store called “janeblog,” the store’s website address would be “janeblog.myshopify.com.” The MyShopify subdomain is used as a default for all new stores, but users can also purchase and use their custom domain names.
Many owners change the subdomain after purchase to store names like storename.com, but others continue with the myshopify.com sub-domain name. According to BuiltWith trends, there are around 2,894,802 Shopify customers in the United States alone.
Pros:
- A MyShopify subdomain is helpful for new owners to test out the front and backends of shopify.com
- It is available for free.
- Ease of use
- Customization options for the Shopify theme and general aesthetic of your website through a drag-and-drop functionality
- Has a built-in app store to help you run your online business smoothly
Cons:
- Not switching to your custom domain name after purchase might affect your website SEO
- The platform offers you a 14-day free trial, and once it’s expired, you have to choose from 3 of its paid subscription plans to proceed using the domain
- No email-hosting option available
Is MyShopify legit?
Contrary to popular belief, MyShopify is a legit platform/sub-domain, and it’s not a scam. Shopify has been a well-established and widely used e-commerce platform in business since 2006. It is a publicly-traded company with a market capitalization of several billion dollars and has a reputation for providing reliable and user-friendly tools for online businesses. They have tons of free apps in the Shopify app marketplace for those looking to add dynamic functionality.
MyShopify is simply a default URL for the store, and it’s not a separate website or company as it still falls under Shopify stores.
Just be aware that after testing out the features and designing your store, when you enter the phase where you want to sell your products, to change your domain name to your store name.
Though you can keep using MyShopify as your subdomain, it will impact your site’s SEO, and chances are that customers might dismiss your site as a scam.
Can you sell on MyShopify?
Yes, you can sell your products with the MyShopify subdomain. Even now, several artists and other drop shippers still use myshopify to run their businesses.
A few things to be noted if you want to continue using myshopify.com for sales purposes:
- You should have a verified payment option set up for transactions
- Have an account on good terms with Shopify, meaning that your account has exceeded the free trial and you’re using one of the paid subscription plans
How does it impact your SEO?
When it comes to SEO, subdomains are treated as separate entities from the main domain by search engines like Google. Any links or content on the subdomain will not automatically transfer over to the main domain and vice versa. This means that the subdomain will have its unique rankings and search results, and hence it will not benefit from any link equity or authority that the main domain may have.
For example, search engines will see these as two separate websites if your primary domain is “example.com” and your subdomain is “myshop.example.com”. Any backlinks or content on “example.com” will not boost the rankings of “shop.example.com” and vice versa.
However, Shopify is built to be SEO friendly, and it has many built-in features that help with SEO, such as meta tags, header tags, and content optimization. Shopify also provides detailed analytics and tracking, so you can see how your website performs in search engines and make adjustments as needed. This can help you to optimize your website and improve your search engine rankings.
Additionally, owners should not forget that Shopify provides the ability to use custom domains and use your domains for your store as well, which is a good practice to help with SEO.
What can you sell on Shopify?
MyShopify provide you with the best test environment to run mock tests to set up your product website and add and test payment options. It’s an excellent option for businesses to run through these tests before going to production with your finalized products and website.
We always recommend keeping your MyShopify domain private while you run these tests, just in case you don’t get found by someone accidentally using Google. But here are some best use cases for MyShopify:
- Selling physical and digital goods: MyShopify is an excellent platform for businesses that sell goods such as clothing, jewelry, electronics, e-books, music, software, and more. It allows you to easily create and manage your product catalog, accept payments, and process orders.
- Dropshipping: MyShopify can be a great option for businesses that want to start dropshipping model, where you don’t hold the inventory, but instead, you sell products and have them shipped directly to the customer by the suppliers.
- Multi-channel selling: MyShopify allows you to sell on various channels, including your website, social media channels, and marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, and more.
How to create a MyShopify account
Creating an account in MyShopify is pretty straightforward. Just follow these steps to get started:
- Go to Shopify.com and click on ‘start free trial’
- Once you’re in, you can select “I’m just starting” to set up a fresh account
- In the next, “Where would you like to sell?” option, select ‘An online store’ to set up your online store on myshopify.com
- Once you click next, you’ll be asked for your store name. As you enter the name, you can see the URL getting generated below:
- In the next step, select the region you want to proceed with your sales and click ‘Okay.’
- Now, you’ll be asked to create a Shopify ID using one of the various login options:
Once you’ve set up your account and an online store for yourself, you’ll be brought to the home page, where you can proceed with the final setup process. This includes:
- Adding your products
- Setting up your payment options
- Customizing the theme
- Creating/linking your custom domain before going live
Here’s what I feel about MyShopify after extreme testing
Once the account was set up, I was immediately taken to the dashboard, which provided a clear overview of the key features and the tools available to me. The user interface of MyShopify is intuitive, well-organized, and easy to navigate. I could quickly find what I was looking for and customize the store.
One of the things I liked most about MyShopify is the wide range of customization options available. I could easily change the design of my store to match my brand and make it look professional. The platform also offers a wide range of apps and plugins that can be easily integrated to add more functionalities to my store.
The analytics and reporting tools available are also very useful in tracking my store’s performance and seeing how many visitors I had, how many orders I received, and what my best-selling products were.
However, due to the SEO conflicts mentioned in a few steps above, creating a personal domain name is highly recommended, and linking it with your Shopify account when you sell your products online. The tools and plugins provided by Shopify will ensure you reach the right hands and help improve your overall SEO.
The comparision table based on test results
| Platform | Shopify | Wix | WordPress | BigCommerce |
| Sub-domain availability | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Can sell on sub-domain | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Free SSL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Trust ratings | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Number of payment gateways | 100 + | 70 + | 100 + | 65 + |
| Free trial | 14 days free-trial | 14 days free-trial | ❌ | 15 days free-trial |
| Price | Starts from $29/ month when paid yearly | Premium plan starts from $27/month | Premium plan starts from $4/month | Starts from $29/ month when paid yearly |
MyShopify – Final Verdict
In addition to the user-friendly interface and extensive app store, MyShopify offers a range of features and tools to help businesses of all sizes create and manage their online stores. One of the key benefits of using Shopify is that it is a fully hosted solution – the company takes care of all the technical aspects of running an online store, such as hosting, security, and updates.
Furthermore, Shopify provides 24/7 customer support, ensuring that its users can get help and support when they need it, which is one of the most important aspects for new businesses.
Overall, MyShopify is an excellent option for those looking to start an online store for the first time and for established businesses wanting to expand their online presence. Just keep in mind the steps mentioned in this article and follow them accordingly to enjoy a great eCommerce experience with MyShopify!
