Are you interested in Shopify or ClickFunnels? Let’s explore the pros and cons of both tools to find out the one for your business.
Whether you are running an eCommerce store or you are doing some research for a new application that might suit your business, you will likely have come across ClickFunnels and Shopify.
Both of these platforms have become increasingly popular in the last few years, and many entrepreneurs use them to run successful businesses.
But I have often wondered how much value they can add to a business. That’s why I decided to take a closer look at Shopify and ClickFunnels.
In this article, I’ll explore the pros and cons, as well as key features of these software tools.
Table of Contents
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is a content management system (CMS) that allows users to create an eCommerce store, and manage all its contents.
There are quite a few different features for setting up an online store with Shopify. This is ideal for dropshipping businesses.
In addition, even owners with a physical store can integrate their products, stock, and POS management with their virtual store.
What Is ClickFunnels?
In marketing, the term “funnel” refers to the process that a potential client or customer goes through, from his first contact with your business all the way through to the purchase and after-sales care.
ClickFunnels is a cloud-based tool that allows its users to create and manage marketing and sales funnels. One of the minds behind ClickFunnels is Russell Brunson.
The goal of ClickFunnels is to create a whole marketing suite, which means that marketers and entrepreneurs just use one single platform for all their marketing.
This means that the solution has a large variety of features that support a company’s marketing strategy, including some handy advice for marketing beginners.
Shopify vs ClickFunnels: Features Overview
Time to take a closer look at the different features of both ClickFunnels and Shopify. Let’s see how they work and what these business tools can do for you.
Shopify: Features Overview
Shopify has grown to be one of the biggest competitors in the eCommerce software industry, besides Magento (now Adobe Commerce) and WordPress.
One of Shopify’s biggest advantages, in my experience, is that it has been specifically designed to seamlessly blend your physical and online store.
Here are all the features of the Shopify platform in more detail.
Website Builder
Shopify isn’t just a content management system it also allows users to build their own websites and start their online businesses.
All you have to do is to choose a theme, and then use the drag-and-drop feature to build the different content parts of your online store.
You can easily adjust images, text fields, and colors to make sure that the site fits your branding.
If you understand a little bit of HTML and CSS, then you can also directly customize the code, though bigger changes are better left to a website developer.
I found that all websites that are built with Shopify look very well on mobile devices as they are responsive.
If you try Shopify you will see how quickly you can create your eCommerce store. I have configured eCommerce stores in a day using Shopify. Also, its integration with payment processors is very easy to configure.
Shopify POS
Now, this one is the compelling feature of Shopify. Its POS allows you also to sell your products or services offline.
Shopify’s POS application accepts payments from a range of different cards and through a card reader. It will automatically update your inventory so that you always know what you have in stock.
There is a handy dashboard where Shopify users can see sales data for both online and physical stores
Shopify offers different POS application versions that give you slightly different features, so it’s worth checking out what you need for your business.
Analytics Dashboard
When you are making business decisions, then these should be based on solid data.
That’s why, Shopify is giving you access to Shopify Analytics which gives you an overview of all sales, customer, and marketing behavior related to your stores.
You can also customize this dashboard with total sales data, visitor demographics, product analytics, and more.
This data will help you see how well your stores are doing and where you can grow your business.
SEO Tool
Just like many other content management systems, Shopify also offers SEO features that allow you to be one step ahead of the competition on search engine pages.
You can add keywords to headlines, set up internal and external links, and create fully optimized landing pages.
Because Shopify understands how search engines work, the company made sure to offer SEO tools and apps you can use.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Almost 70% of shopping carts online are abandoned by website visitors. And very often business owners are not even aware of it.
Because of that many businesses don’t have recovery strategies in place and they lose a lot of customers without knowing it.
Shopify helps with its Abandoned Cart Recovery feature which sends out emails to potential customers reminding them of their products left in the cart.
The best thing about this is that it is an automated process (for advanced subscriptions).
Shopify Dropshipping
Shopify allows store owners to connect to wholesalers worldwide. For example, with applications, such as Oberlo, store owners can then import products that they find on AliExpress.
This makes Shopify a very powerful platform for starting a successful business.
ClickFunnels: Features Overview
ClickFunnels was founded with the aim to offer a platform to users without coding skills. This is what makes ClickFunnels particularly interesting for beginners.
The software allows users to design their own landing pages, and create customized user journeys and funnels in only a few hours.
But let’s take a closer look at all of ClickFunnels’ features.
Ready-To-Go Sales Funnels
With ClickFunnels you do not need to start creating funnels from scratch, but you can use their existing sales funnels.
They have already been tested and optimized for guaranteed conversion. This means that they have everything you need to guide a customer toward the checkout and purchase.
Whether you offer a service or a product, there is a large range of conversion funnels that you can choose from.
Together with the ready-to-go funnels, you can also use the set-up templates for custom check-out pages, thank-you pages, and opt-in pages to get your business up and running as fast as possible.
Webpage Creation
If you prefer to create your own custom funnel, then ClickFunnels also allows you to build your own landing pages.
They offer a drag-and-drop builder that is relatively easy to use, and you can add files or images as well as change colors to fully add your branding to the page.
A/B Testing
One feature that I liked a lot for my own business is the A/B testing functionality with ClickFunnels.
You can easily compare two pages against each other, and find out how well they convert. The platform also gives you some data on this, including risks associated with each page, bounce rates, and engagement.
The stats and the comparison view can then help you to optimize the page and improve conversion rates.
You can use split testing as often as you like, which means you can always adjust your marketing strategies with the latest data.
Statistic Tracking
I already talked a lot about data. That’s because it is a fundamental part of running a business, and making it a success.
Before you make any decisions, you will need to know your numbers. And ClickFunnels understand this as well.
Their cloud-based software gives you access to a statistic tracker which collates all your web page and funnel data. You can see the data in a dashboard.
Automated Email Marketing Campaigns
With ClickFunnels’ email marketing tool, you can send out email campaigns to promote your digital and physical services or products.
This makes it easier to reach customers, and as the process can be automated, you also save a lot of time.
You can create email sequences within a sales funnel, which can be optimized with your own subject lines. Just design the email and schedule it to go out whenever you want.
ClickFunnels also makes a few email templates available, which means you get your email marketing campaigns up and running even faster.
Integrations
I have worked with a large variety of different business tools in the past, and one thing that I found absolutely essential with each of them was their integration with other tools.
For example, can you connect your website with your email marketing tool?
One big advantage of ClickFunnels is that you can integrate a number of different resources, including MailChimp, Aweber, HubSpot, and even Facebook.
Conclusion: Which Is Better For Business, Shopify or ClickFunnels?
Now that you understand all the features for both platforms, what would I recommend?
I would say that if you plan to sell a single service or product without any website development knowledge, then ClickFunnels is a great option.
It allows you to set up targeted web pages and funnels in a few hours, which means you can get started selling almost immediately.
On the other hand, if you plan to have more than one product, then Shopify is the better choice.
Both applications are at the top of their game, so in the end, what works for your business depends on your business plan.
I’m a blogger and entrepreneur. I want to help you in your journey to build your business online.
