Planning to wind up your Shopify store? Irrespective of the reasons, in this read, you will know how to cancel your Shopify subscription effectively, quickly, and easily.
Though there are 1.75 million Shopify merchants using the platform, it might not fit every business owner’s needs. But if you’re already signed up on the platform and wish to discontinue, you can do so anytime.
Possible reasons to halt a Shopify subscription include limited customization options, higher transaction fees for not using Shopify payments, and possibly the price, too, but not doing so correctly can cost you a fortune.
Read along to learn how exactly you should cancel a Shopify subscription and other possible options you can consider.
Things To Know Before Cancelling A Shopify Subscription
Before you get going and cancel your Shopify subscription, you need to think about these things below to ensure you’re taking appropriate steps.
You don’t want to lose your previous work and customers, do you?
Follow these steps diligently to avoid further complexities:
1. Backup Your Data
First things first, backup your data. Whether you’re moving platforms or just want to wrap up your online business, you must get your customer data, analytical details, product information, etc., together.
2. Cancel Subscriptions And Settle Debts
If you are using any exclusive tools/apps/themes for your Shopify store, then you should check for their payment cycle and strike off from being a user.
Clear off any pending amount that you are to give Shopify, as without this, you won’t be able to cancel your Shopify subscription.
3. Domain-Related
If you have got your domain from a third-party provider, then make sure to remove it from your store using the Shopify admin. Failing to do this, your old domain may not be used further.
But, if you’ve got your custom domain via Shopify, you need not worry about this step, as transferring it to another service provider is very easy.
4. Let Your Customers Know
It’s essential to inform your customers about your business updates. If you haven’t already, you should let your customers know about the status of your Shopify store services.
Customers should be in the loop whether you’re closing down, migrating, selling, or pausing your Shopify store.
What Happens When You Cancel A Shopify Subscription?
You can deactivate your store whenever you wish to, but remember, after you cancel your Shopify subscription, you will no longer have access to the store you’ve built with so much effort.
Though you can reactivate the store with a new paid subscription up to 2 years after canceling, you won’t be able to use your old domain name!
Hence, think twice before you deactivate your Shopify subscription!
Guide To Cancel A Shopify Subscription (Step by Step)
Now that you’ve taken care of the essentials before canceling your Shopify subscription let’s move ahead. But before we do that, ensure you are fully aware of the effects of canceling your subscription.
Step 1: Log In to Your Shopify Store
To begin with, deactivating your Shopify subscription, you need to log in to your Shopify store with an active paid plan.
Step 2: Go to Settings, and Then Click Plan
Once logged in from your dashboard, reach the settings by clicking the button on the bottom left of your screen as directed in the image below.
Step 3: Deactivate Your Shopify Store
Next, in the “Plan” section, you’ll see an option to “Deactivate Store” highlighted in red. Click on the button to proceed.
Further, Shopify will ensure that you really want to deactivate your store and give you an option to sell it, too.
Step 4: Provide a Reason For You To Leave Shopify
In this step, you will need to provide Shopify with a reason for closing down your store to proceed with the deactivation.
Step 5: Enter Password and Confirm Cancellation
In this final step, Shopify gives a disclaimer once again about the effects of discontinuing Shopify.
Finally, enter your Shopify password to confirm canceling the subscription and click on “Deactivate now” to complete the process.
Thus, you have now successfully canceled your Shopify subscription. You will receive an official email from Shopify about the cancelation confirmation.
Note: Shopify stores your store information for up to 2 years just in case you change your mind about getting back on the platform.
Also, get in touch with Shopify support if you face any difficulty during the process. But remember, the support team cannot cancel the subscription for you, and you will have to do it yourself.
How To Pause A Shopify Store Subscription?
If your reason for canceling your Shopify store subscription is not dissatisfaction but something else, you can also consider pausing your store.
To be eligible, your store should be 60 days old after the trial, deactivate third-party apps, and not have a Shopify Plus subscription.
To pause a Shopify store:
- Log in to your Shopify account.
- Click on settings → Plan.
- Click Deactivate Store → Pause and Build Plan.
- Review the details and switch to the plan.
The pause and build plan is an option offered by Shopify for you to stop the sales operations of your store. You can still work and develop your store while only paying $9 monthly.
This plan is a much better option than deactivating when you’re either not getting the required response, want to enhance your store or have some supplier or distributor crisis.
Thus, you can take a step back, pause, and resume your full-fledged operations when you are ready again. But if you are utterly unhappy with Shopify and desperately seek another solution, I’ve got you covered.
Best Shopify Alternatives To Check
These closest alternatives to Shopify may provide you with a different or even better experience than Shopify. Have a glance:
Features | Shopify | Squarespace | WooCommerce | BigCommerce |
---|---|---|---|---|
Price | $39/mo | $23/mo | $25/mo | $39/mo |
Free Trial | 3 days | 14 days | 14 days | 15 days |
Products to sell | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Transaction fees | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ❌ |
Don’t give up on your e-commerce journey as of yet; try switching to the above platforms to keep it going.
Demandsage Bonus: To learn more about other reliable e-commerce platforms, follow this list of the most profitable e-commerce platforms I covered.
Conclusion: Cancel Shopify Subscription Easily!
Here, we reach the end of the guide with how to shut down your Shopify store correctly and everything you need to be aware of before doing that.
You can cancel your Shopify subscription at any time, but ensure you follow all the pre and post-cancellation steps mentioned above.
I am aware you might have your reasons to get rid of Shopify or your e-commerce business. But there are other options that you can consider – selling your store and pausing your store.
Even still, if you’ve decided to cancel your Shopify subscription, you can do that easily in 5 quick and easy steps explained above!