Choosing the right platform for a blog is the first step and one of the key aspects when making your entry in this field. If you are not a tech-savy person, or simply lack the time of coding a website from top to bottom, choosing a CMS ( content management system ) is the way to go.
Popular CMS providers used for blogging are:
- Wordpress - probably the most used
- Wix
- Blogger
- Squarespace
Shopify is known for hosting mainly online stores and most people link its name with the world of E-commerce and not blogging. This is normal since that is the purpose of the platform.
But you can actually use Shopify for your blog even if you do not want to start an online store. It may cost more or less than other platforms, since the basic plan starts at $29/month with 90 days of free trial ( at least untill this COVID-19 thing goes away ), but you get hosting, security and lots of features that cost extra on other platforms. You could also create a partner account and create a free development site and see if it works out or not before spending a dime.
It is even easier than creating a blog on Wordpress since you do not have to get a hosting provider and ssl certificates and install them on your own.
Here is how you can start your blog on Shopify:
- Create your Shopify account
- Choose a name for your site
- Choose a theme. Same as wordpress for example, you need a theme for your website. This can be customized to fit your needs afterwards
- Start customizing your theme
- Write amazing articles
- Link your domain name, or purchase one from Shopify
- Profit!
The above steps are general, the actual process being quite lengthy, but easy to acomplish even if you are a total beginner. Shopify offers loads of resources to help you learn.
One drawback for using Shopify for blogging will be that every theme was designed for a store. So you have to roll up your sleeves and dig through the code and remove every bit of code related to shopping. These bits include:
- The shopping cart
- Shopping cart icons from wherever they show up
- Javascript code used for currency and money formatters
Essentially when a user visits your blog they should not see anything resembling a shop. This may be a difficult step since it requires some technical knowledge, but it can be done fairly easy.
Is Shopify good for SEO?
This is a question more and more people ask around online forums. SEO would be extremely important for your blog since it directly impacts the number of visitors on your blog.
Short answer: Shopify is NOT bad at SEO. Think of it this way; Why would you choose to build your online store on a platform that makes things harder. On the contrary, online stores need to be better optimized than a simple blog.
So a longer version of the answer, Shopify is as good at SEO as any other CMS, but in essence SEO is as good as you make it. It requires constant work, constant improvement and delivers slow results.
As a bottom line, you can use Shopify for blogging. It has its strong points as well as weak points, but if you think it suits your needs, you can do it. Maybe one day you will also start your business along your blog.