Shopify has a free trial period that doesn’t require a credit card so that website builders can try out its great features before deciding whether or not to pay for a membership. Different websites talk about Shopify’s free trials in different ways.
At the time of publication, some of the websites had the right information, but information about Shopify’s free trials keeps changing.
Different things you read online leave you with one question: what is the official free trial period for Shopify stores? I’ll show you how to get a free trial of Shopify and explain the current free trial period, which free trials used to be valid, and how to make the most of your free trial.
The History of Shopify’s Free Trial
During the free trial period, you can try out a platform or service to see how it works. It’s also a time when you decide whether to keep using the service through payment plans or to stop using it altogether. Builders of e-commerce stores like Shopify use this time to set up your store, run test sales, and do other things to get ready for sales.
Most people who try a free trial end up buying one of the different payment plans. Back in 2014, you could find links to Shopify’s Basic plan that led to a 30-day or 60-day free trial. Shopify got rid of these longer trial periods and started offering the 21-day trial in February 2023.
At the moment, the official time for a free trial is 14 days. But you can still use it for 21 days by adding 7 more days to the official free trial period. To get the free trial period, you will need to get in touch with Shopify’s support team. To get this extension, you will need a good reason. One good reason would be that you need to finish setting up your Shopify Store.
Why is Shopify’s free trial period a good idea?
- You get to check out what the app can do.
- You can choose a theme that works for you from the theme store.
- You can use the templates to make a website.
- Choose items for your store, run test sales, and choose the best ones.
- Does the 60-day free trial still work in 2023?
No, Shopify cut off this free trial. Be wary of links that say you can try Shopify for 60 days. They are either scams or links to other sites that want you to join their affiliate programs.
Does the 30-day free trial still work in 2023?
No. Shopify also took down links to 30-day free trials. You could only use the 30-day trial if you asked for more time. You will need a good reason to extend your 14-day free trial to 30 days. If not, these links could be part of a scam.
Does the 21-day free trial still work in 2023?
Yes and no.
Why No?
Shopify has set a free trial period of 14 days for people who want to use the platform to make an online store.
How come?
If you contact customer service, you can get a 21-day free trial. They could give you an extra week to finish setting up your store. To get this extension, you will need a good reason.
Shopify is currently offering a free trial.
The free trial for Shopify runs for 14 days right now. After this time, you’ll have to choose a payment plan to keep your store running. Before you start the free trial, you can also choose a payment plan. During this time, Shopify will not charge you anything. Once the free trial is over, they will send you a bill.
What if my store is made by a Shopify partner?
A Shopify partner can help you set up a store. As soon as it’s ready, they’ll give it to you. But while the Shopify partner is working on setting up, the store is not live, so customers can’t visit and there are no sales.
The Shopify partner will be able to see information about your website, your customers, etc. Once the store is in your name, Shopify will open it and your customers will be able to visit and buy things.
You don’t have to pay anything while the Shopify partner sets up your store. But once the store is in your name, you will have to choose a way to pay for it.
Payment Plans for Shopify
The features your Shopify store can have depend on the plan you choose. Plans from Shopify have a lot to offer your store, such as:
- Flexible payment integrations
- Professional support
- There are a lot of tools already built in, like email autoresponders.
- The store is simple and easy to use.
Shopify offers payment plans. Among them are:
Simple Shopify
For this plan, you will pay $29 per month. If you decide to pay once a year, you’ll have to pay $78.60. The rate for a credit card is 2.9%, plus a fee of 30p for each online transaction. The plan is good for 2 staff accounts, and among other things, you can use professional support, discount codes, the website, and the blog. You can save up to 64% on shipping when you use Shopify.
Shopify
The monthly cost for the Shopify plan is $79. If you pay once a year, it will cost you $119.10. The rate for credit cards is 2.6%, plus a fee of 30p for each online transaction. You can save up to 72% on shipping costs when you use Shopify. You get everything that comes with the basic plan, plus professional reports, up to 5 staff accounts, and gift cards.
More about Shopify
Shopify Advanced costs $299 per month. You will be charged $314.10 a year for payments. The rate for credit cards is 2.4% plus a 30p fee for online transactions. You can use 15 accounts for staff. With this Shopify plan, you can save up to 74% on shipping.
You’ll get everything that comes with the Shopify plan, plus an advanced report builder and shipping rates that are calculated by a third party.
Plus for Shopify
For this plan, you will have to pay a $2000 fee every month. They will charge you $2041.25 for payments made once a year. The rate for credit cards is 1.6% plus a 30p fee for online transactions. This plan gives you all of the features of the last plan, plus an amazing Shopify discount and an unlimited number of staff accounts.
Note: With any Shopify plan, you can sell as many products as you want and store as many files as you want.
How to Run Your Free Shopify Trial
During the free trial period, you can tweak and improve your store as much as you want. During this time, you can’t afford to be careless. You can also finish setting up your store just in time to make some sales before the free trial period ends. Here are some tips you can use to get the most out of your store while it’s free.
Choose a narrow market and do research.
When choosing a niche, you should think about what you’re interested in and who you want to reach. You can spend a few days getting to know your target market. Find out what makes them decide what to do based on their age, culture, and interests. You can do research on social media to find out how to communicate and market to your audience in the best way.
You can also do research to find out who your competitors are and what they are selling and how they are marketing it. Find out what you don’t like and work on making it better. At this stage, you do research that will help you decide what products you want to sell.
Choose at least ten items for your store.
Based on what you learned in the first step, make a list of the things you want to sell. You can also use supplier platforms to find the products in your target niche that sell the most. AliExpress is one place where you can find this kind of information. The platform shows the top ten products and brands as well as products that have recently been bought.
You can also list products that have just come out from well-known companies. When you work with well-known brands and manufacturers, you can reach their large customer base.
Choose a reliable provider.
There are many dropshipping suppliers that let you sell their products on your Shopify store. Oberlo, Chinabrands, SaleHoo, and Worldwide Brands are just a few of them.
You can figure out how reliable a supplier is by looking at things like:
- How many vendors are on the platform
- How many products the dropshipping supplier has. Do they automatically fill orders?
- Will the supplier let you put your store’s name on the items?
- How good is the product?
- How much things cost.
- Shipping times
- Do they ship everywhere?
Marketing Influencers’ Source
You should use influencer marketing as part of your marketing plan. People who have a lot of followers on social media sites are called “influencers.” They will help you compete better with people who have been in the market longer than you have.
They’ll post about your products and tell their followers about them, giving you a lot of leads that are likely to turn into sales. Contact at least four of them before you start your business and ask for their help. Keep in mind that you will have to pay for their help.
Your influencers can start marketing your store before you even open it. They will use calls to action, and you can work with them to give people the chance to pre-order. When your store opens, a lot of people will come in, which will help your sales.
Make a shipping policy, descriptions of your products, and ways to pay.
Before making a purchase, your customer will think about these things. Before they buy, they will want to know how you handle shipping and returns, how they can pay, and what the products are like.
Your supplier needs to send you pictures and descriptions of the products you want to sell. Also, if you want to get more customers, you should think about offering more than one way to pay. PayPal and credit cards are two of the most common ways to pay for things.
The process of setting up can be done in a couple of days. Some have been known to finish setting up in less than 24 hours. It’s up to you to decide. Take the time to set up a store that works well. But the sooner you set up your store, the sooner you can start advertising and selling things.
Once your store is ready, you can start your marketing plans, like sending the links to people who have a lot of influence.
One Last Thing
Shopify’s free trial only lasts for 14 days. In the past, the period was longer, but now you have to contact customer service to extend it. You also have to have a very good reason for getting the extension. With an extension, you might get a free 21-day trial.
Once your free trial is over, you have to sign up for a payment plan if you didn’t do so at the start of your trial. Shopify has four different payment plans: basic Shopify, Shopify, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus.
During this free trial, you should take steps that will help you make your store as good as it can be. They are: researching and choosing a niche, choosing the products you want to sell, finding a supplier, getting in touch with marketing influencers, and making shipping policies, product descriptions, and payment methods.
