Is there an easier platform to use, like shopify to set up my on line store

[AmyOttman]

Is it easier to use shopify for on-line services?  Why wouldn't I just switch everything to shopify?

[TheRealChipA]

@AmyOttman I’ve never found that one platform is easier than another.  A lot depends on personal preference, how much you want to have options vs. ease of use vs. ease of customer use, etc.  One time about 5 years into my business I switched from Square to another platform that looked easier, promised to be cheaper, had more “options,” etc.  It took me two years to realize that, for my needs anyway, it was a bait-and-switch thing.  Square is great for me and many others.  Shopify is great for an entirely different group.  The answer to your question is entirely personal — no one can really tell you why you wouldn’t just switch everything to Shopify.  Compare it.  Try a trial run with Shopify and see if you like it better.  Obviously, I’m a Square geek and always will be.  But that doesn’t mean that my experiences (or those of anyone here) should trump what you believe is right for your business.

I wish you well in your decision.

[Candlestore]

@AmyOttman ;

It all depends on what YOU as the business owner are looking for.  Shopify and Square Online are comparable, but I need something to use OFFLINE also.  Plus using my website which is not hosted by Square but I use Square to run my Credit Cards through for my online store.  If I had Shopify, I would be stuck with what they have as templates and their fees.  With Square they started out as an offline credit card processor and moved into having the online side now also.  For me my website was built before all this happened.  How easy of a site do you want?  Or do you want more features and reports that help you grow a business?  As a business grows so do the needs for better reports and tracking.   So you need to figure out what it is you need now and what you are looking at for the future.  For me I am looking at Growing my business and looking at flexibility without having to be dependent on one company for everything.  I use Square to track my credit card sales for in store.  My online Square account is setup differently and does not show in these reports.  I also get my online Sales from my website host, then all my sales go into QuickBooks.  I use a program that is not connected to Square nor Connected to my Online site, this way if I change webhost or credit card processor I can still use the same program to upload my csv files to QuickBooks and not have to learn what works only with XYZ company.  Again I look at future proofing things and what works best for me, which may not always be the easiest or cheapest but it is what gives me the information and reports we need to run our business, hopefully now and in 10 years or more.  

[DinaLRosenberg]

These are all very great points.

For us- we were a retail store first. We didn't have our online shop setup until we were about a year in to having our brick and mortar. We already were firmly entrenched in square- having our inventory listed there, etc. When we decided it was time to add e-commerce we knew it was critical that the inventories communicated instantly with each other across sales channels without a "fix" to link the two. When we first created our store, Square hadn't squired weebly yet- so we started with Big Commerce. About 2 months in to setting up Big Commerce, Square acquired weebly. We immediately scrapped Big Commerce and switched. it was annoying to lose that work but totally worth it in the end. 

We have 1000s of products- so It is critically important for the inventory to be as true to actual as possible with as little effort possible. 

We also use square for marketing, so it is nice to see the ROI on messages send across sales channels... just a few things to keep in mind.