Shopify is easily one of the best website builders out there. Don’t believe us? One look at Shopify-based websites like Partake Foods, Uppercase Magazine, and Naja should be convincing enough.

Shopify offers businesses plenty of features, including unlimited themes, scalability, outstanding technical support, and more. For an eCommerce giant, Shopify offers one of the most affordable and economical pricing plans than any other eCommerce platform: Shopify Lite.

At only $9 per month, aspiring business owners get the chance to sell online in just a few minutes. But is it right for your business?

Before we get into that, here’s Shopify Lite at a glance.

What is Shopify Lite?

Shopify Lite is the cheapest solution at Shopify, selling for $9 per month. Unlike other Shopify plans, you won’t be getting a full online store with a shopping cart. Instead, you get a good combination of basic eCommerce features. These include:

    1. Buy Buttons

    A Call to Action is an essential feature for any site. It not only motivates your customers to take the next action but also lets you guide them down the sales funnel.

    Shopify Lite allows you to embed Buy Buttons to turn any existing site into an eCommerce business. Shopify Buy Buttons are customizable to fit your branding. These buttons streamline the sales process. One-click will redirect your customers to a secure checkout page to make a purchase.

    2. Social media selling

    Shopify Lite offers you an excellent way to convert social media marketing into sales. In particular, you can build a shop page so your prospects can purchase items directly from your Facebook account or via Facebook messenger. Moreover, the Shopify Lite Facebook shop allows you to advertise on Facebook.

    3. Point-of-Sale app

    The Point-of-Sale app is particularly useful for those who do a lot of in-person work, such as popups, fairs, and other live events. It allows you to accept credit card payments virtually from everywhere.

    With this app, you will also be able to manage shipping and order statuses, implement discounts on items at checkout, give customers the option to leave a tip, generate analytics, and more.

    Aside from the features mentioned above, Shopify Lite also affords you one staff account, 24/7 email and live chat, a comprehensive resource library, and the ability to create invoices and get paid.

Who Should Use Shopify Lite?

While we would all love to benefit from this incredibly inexpensive plan, Shopify Lite is not for everyone. Looking at its features, it is the perfect plan for those who wish to sell products online without the hustle of managing a comprehensive e-commerce store. You should consider Shopify Lite if:

  • You plan on selling products on Facebook.
  • You plan on selling products on an existing website or blog.
  • You plan on selling in person with the Point-of-Sale app.
  • You are a hobbyist who wants to make a few extra dollars.

Additional Costs

Like all other Shopify billing plans, Shopify Lite’s subscription cost of $9 is not fixed. For one, you will be subject to a transaction fee of 2.9% + $0.30 on every online transaction. This rate is fixed for every sale. You will get to keep a little bit more of your money for in-person sales as you only pay 2.7% +$0.00 on every sale made. If you opt for another payment method other than Shopify Payments, you will have to pay an additional 2% fee.

The bottom line is, Shopify Lite is an incredibly useful plan, especially for those who have no use for a full online store. It’s a great stepping stone for starting your online store as you can quickly convert leads into actual sales.