Why do you want to cancel your Shopify store subscription?
Is your business not doing well to cover the monthly subscriptions? Is your business seasonal, or do you operate only at specific times of the year?
There are many reasons why it may be necessary to cancel Shopify account subscriptions and close your store permanently.
Whether you’re looking to switch platforms, pause your online business, or cut costs, understanding the process to cancel is essential.
This guide walks you through the steps to terminate your Shopify subscription, uninstall applications, and delete your online store while ensuring your data is securely exported.
Plus, I discuss other legal grounds related to canceling Shopify stores to know upfront.
Reasons to Transition Away from Shopify
Though Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform, there are valid reasons for closing your store.
First, Shopify is very customizable and gives you more control. However, compared to hosted platforms like Woocommerce, Shopify customization is limited, which may restrict businesses that need more flexibility and absolute control over design.
The extent to which you can customize, manage a server, manipulate code, automate, modify core features, etc., is limited.
Case in point, Shopify’s Account terms of service stated that:
“You agree not to access the Services or monitor any material or information from the Services using any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means.”
For some businesses, this line in Shopify’s terms of service could limit their ability to gather marketing information to make smarter business decisions.
Another reason is high transaction fees on specific payment methods, which can become burdensome, especially for growing stores.
Though Shopify’s native payment system (Shop Pay) offers free transaction fees, it’s unavailable in some countries.
While this is not likely to happen, payment method limitations might not meet the needs of all business models, especially local businesses.
Shopify offers a wide selection of payment methods, from credit cards to offline payments, but some local payment methods may still be unavailable.
Migration challenges are another aspect of canceling Shopify stores to consider.
If you hope to move to alternative ecommerce platforms sooner, you must reconsider Shopify.
Steps to Cancel Shopify Subscription
Once you’re sure you must cancel your Shopify store and move on, here are the following steps.
1. Prepare Your Account
Before you cancel your Shopify store, settling pending business is crucial.
Fulfil all outstanding orders, inform your customers about the impending shutdown, and ensure your store is inactive.
2. Export Your Shopify Data
Losing access to your data can be a significant drawback of canceling a subscription. Be sure to export key store data such as customer lists, sales reports, and product information.
Shopify does not guarantee data retrieval after account termination. Though Shopify keeps inactive or deactivated store data for two years, it is advisable to export your data immediately.
3. Uninstall Applications
Go through your Shopify admin dashboard and uninstall any third-party applications. This prevents unwanted charges that may continue even after your store is closed.
Third-party apps you might have purchased and used on your site do not automatically close when you cancel your Shopify subscription. You must contact the Shopify third-party apps vendor and request cancellations separately.
4. Cancel Subscription
To officially cancel your Shopify subscription, navigate to Settings > Plan within your admin dashboard.
From there, click Cancel subscription or Close store, then follow the on-screen prompts to confirm the cancellation.
Here are the steps:
- From your Shopify admin dashboard, go to Settings > Plan.
- Click Deactivate store.
- If you need more time to close your store, review the options to switch to the Pause and build a plan or start a new Shopify store.
- If you‘re sure about your decision to close the store, then click Deactivate store.
- Select a reason for the deactivation, and then click Continue.
- Enter your password, and then click Deactivate now
5. Delete Your Shopify Store
If you’re sure that you no longer need the Shopify account, confirm the store deletion to prevent automatic renewal charges.
Deleting a store also removes access to any related services tied to the account, like domains.
Consider Shopify Pause and Rebuild
If you need more time to prepare to close your store or your business is seasonal, Shopify offers a Pause and Rebuild plan.
Shopify’s Pause and Rebuild plan allows you to temporarily pause your online store and work on it in the backend. Your store will remain online with limited access to core payment features like checkout, POS, order processing, transactional emails, etc.
Customers will still be able to view your store’s products but cannot place orders or make purchases.
However, the Pause and Rebuild plan is not free; you pay a reduced Shopify monthly subscription of $9.
This can be useful for seasonal eCommerce stores that still need to keep brand awareness and drive leads. It also allows store owners to pause active sales while maintaining access to the admin dashboard for a reduced fee.
Businesses on the Shopify Plus plan are not eligible for the pause and rebuild plan.
Implications of Canceling Your Shopify Store
Once you’ve canceled your subscription and deleted your Shopify store, you will lose access to your account data, and your store will go offline.
However, Shopify has a 2-year store data retention policy. This means that even after canceling your Shopify account, your store data and personal information will be kept safe for 24 months from the date of successful cancellation.
This is to help you pick up from where you left off in case you later decide to return and start over. If you no longer need to use Shopify, you can request Shopify support to permanently delete your personal and store data.
If you have a custom domain purchased through Shopify, you can transfer it to another domain name registrar like Namecheap that offer transfers discount before closing your account to avoid losing it.
You won’t lose your custom domain connected to your Shopify store, but you’re responsible for its management and renewals.
One legal ground to be aware of is the issues of unpaid bills, invoices, and refunds.
Any outstanding amount owed to Shopify automatically becomes due at the point of cancellation.
Shopify will email you about the unpaid invoice. You must pay the total invoices and any outstanding bills to cancel the store’s ownership.
In contrast, Shopify is not obligated to provide a refund if you request account closure.
Getting refund when you’re closing your Shopify account is not likely to happen. So, ensure you’re on the safer side be going ahead to delete your account.
Alternatives to Shopify
If you’re switching from Shopify, several robust e-commerce platforms are available.
Here are some popular ecommerce platforms to consider, both hosted and self-hosted.
WooCommerce
A flexible, open-source platform built on WordPress, Woocommerce is many businesses’ top choice alternative to Shopify.
Woocommerce is self-hosted, meaning you’re responsible for hosting your store, managing servers, custom domains, plugin and themes updates, etc.
The beauty of this is that it gives you more control and flexibility, powerful customization capabilities, and the ability to extend core platform features.
As with WordPress, you can power up your Woocommerce store functionality with plugins and Woocommerce-specific extensions.
There are also purposely built Woocommerce themes to enhance your store’s design and look. Self-hosted platforms like WordPress and Woocommerce offer endless possibilities.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is another viable option, along with comprehensive eCommerce selling solutions for Shopify.
It’s also a hosted platform, which means you can focus more on selling, while BigCommerce handles hosting, security, payment gateway integrations, platform features, etc.
BigCommerce is more suitable for an enterprise business than beginners or growing businesses.
You can also integrate BigCommerce’s backend functionality with WordPress. This allows you to use WordPress as your storefront while managing the backend with BigCommerce for WordPress.
Weebly
If you want to combine blogging with eCommerce using a hosted platform, Weebly serves you right.
While not as popular as the other options above, Weebly is one of the most beginner-friendly website builders and online store solutions.
Its easy-to-drag-and-drop editor makes it a good option for beginners who want to get ahead quickly without a complex design setup.
Weebly eCommerce solution has all the essential tools to power your online stores. You can start selling in minutes, from seamless checkout (PayPal, Stripe, and Square) to shipping tools, inventory management, and coupon and gift card management.
FAQs
Can I get a refund after canceling my Shopify subscription?
Shopify generally does not offer refunds for canceled subscriptions. Their TOS states that no refund is considered except where it is stated in the terms of services.
What happens if I’m on a yearly subscription?
Your store will remain active until the end of the billing period unless you delete it. This is one reason you must think thoroughly before deciding to cancel your Shopify subscriptions.
Can I keep my domain?
Yes, you can transfer your Shopify domain to another provider before canceling.
Conclusion
Canceling a Shopify subscription is a multi-step process, but with careful planning, you can ensure a smooth transition.
Whether moving to another platform or temporarily pausing your store, exporting data, uninstalling applications, and understanding Shopify’s billing policies will save you headaches.
But you must think about it thoroughly. Do you really need to close your Shopify store or take a break?
The answer will show you the right steps to follow.
Whether to use the Pause and Rebuild, look for alternative ecommerce platforms, or walk away, this article offer guidance to navigate the process.
