Shopify
Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform: Shopify runs the software and the servers, and a business uses them to run its online shop.
What it means
Shopify describes itself as “a complete commerce platform to sell online or in person”.1 It is “a cloud-based and hosted platform”,2 so Shopify runs the software and the servers, and the merchant runs the shop.
Its product model shapes every file you give it. A product can have up to three options, such as Size and Colour, and up to 2,048 variants.3 In a product CSV, a handle ties each product’s rows together, and the only column required to create products is Title.4
Products can be added one at a time in Shopify’s admin, or in bulk from a CSV file of up to 15 MB.5 Apps and other systems can also manage them through Shopify’s API.6
Think of it like this
It is like renting a fitted shop unit in a managed shopping centre. You stock the shelves and dress the window, and the landlord looks after the building, the locks and the lights.
For example
Why it matters
Shopify fills gaps with defaults. Its column reference says that, left out, the price becomes 0.00, the weight 0 and the status active, with the product published to the online store.4 Treat Price as required on every row, so nothing goes on sale for nothing.
Sources
- Shopify. About Shopify UK.
- Shopify. What Is Shopify and How Does It Work?.
- Shopify Help Center. Adding variants.
- Shopify Help Center. Using CSV files to import and export products.
- Shopify Help Center. Importing products with a CSV file.
- Shopify.dev. Product object, GraphQL Admin API.