Shopify has become an increasingly popular e-commerce platform, thanks to its powerful earning potential and the convenience it offers. With Shopify, you don’t need to worry about maintaining servers, ensuring stability, or managing a headless commerce setup—it’s all taken care of for you.
However, it’s important to remember that such stability comes with certain limitations. I want to share a limitation example with you.
Checkout Page Customization
One of the most notable limitations in Shopify is the restricted ability to customize the checkout page. Unless you’re a Shopify Plus member, you’re unable to modify this crucial part of the purchasing process. Even as a Shopify Plus member, there are still boundaries to what you can change.
For example, one of our clients recently requested that I add a video to the post-purchase screen on the checkout page. Interestingly, while you don’t need to be a Shopify Plus member to add certain capabilities to the checkout logic, such as post-purchase offers, there are still significant constraints.
The Case of the Post-Purchase Video
We explored various options, including several extensions designed to enhance the post-purchase experience. Unfortunately, none of these extensions allowed us to add a video to the post-purchase screen. After investigating, we discovered the underlying limitation: Shopify uses its own React UI library, which is rendered remotely. This setup only accepts official Shopify components in this screen, meaning you cannot use custom components or standard HTML DOM elements. In fact, Shopify only allows the use of their Image component in this context.
This is just one example of the technical limitations you’ll encounter with Shopify. These aren’t due to any weakness in the platform itself but are instead in place to maintain the overall stability and performance of the system.
Other Limitations to Consider
Beyond checkout page customization, there are other limitations within Shopify that users should be aware of. These limitations, while sometimes frustrating, are often necessary to preserve the platform’s reliability.
As you start using Shopify, it’s essential to keep these restrictions in mind. Being aware of them from the outset will help you plan your e-commerce strategies more effectively and avoid any unexpected roadblocks along the way.
Before diving into Shopify, make sure to research these limitations thoroughly. For instance, if you’re selling t-shirts in 10 different colors and 5 different sizes, you could quickly hit Shopify’s variation limit of 100. At that point, you’d need to rely on an extension to manage your products effectively. Some of these limitations are related to management, while others are technical in nature. It’s crucial to ensure that your specific requirements can be met within Shopify’s framework.
If you need help navigating these challenges, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected]. We’re here to assist you in making the most of your Shopify experience.