Shopify is a fully hosted SaaS (Software as a Service) platform.

That means:

• Shopify already has their own servers
• Your store runs on Shopify infrastructure
• You do NOT buy separate hosting
• You do NOT upload PHP files manually
• Shopify manages:
  • Hosting
  • Security
  • SSL
  • CDN
  • Scaling
  • Database
  • Server maintenance

You just:

1. Create a Shopify store
2. Customize theme/apps
3. Connect your domain
4. Start selling

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Example

When you create a Shopify store, Shopify gives you a default URL like:

myshop.myshopify.com

That store is already hosted on Shopify servers.

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How Domain Integration Works

Suppose you buy domain:

example.com

from:

• Namecheap
• GoDaddy
• Cloudflare
• etc.

Then you connect it to Shopify.

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DNS Setup

Usually Shopify asks you to add:

A Record

@
23.227.38.65

CNAME

www → shops.myshopify.com

After DNS propagation:

example.com

will open your Shopify store.

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What Happens Internally

When someone visits:

example.com

DNS points traffic to Shopify servers.

Then Shopify:

• loads your theme
• fetches products/orders
• renders pages
• serves everything from their infrastructure

So the domain is yours,
but the website hosting belongs to Shopify.

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Difference Between WordPress and Shopify

Feature	WordPress	Shopify
Hosting needed	Yes	No
Server management	You manage	Shopify manages
Upload files manually	Yes	No
Full backend access	Yes	Limited
Easier maintenance	No	Yes
More customization freedom	Yes	Less
Scaling traffic	Your responsibility	Shopify handles

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Can You Use Shopify With Next.js?

Yes.

This is called:

• Headless Shopify
• Shopify Hydrogen
• Shopify Storefront API

In this setup:

• Shopify manages products/orders/payments
• Your frontend can be:
  • Next.js
  • React
  • Vue
  • custom app

Then you host frontend separately on:

• Vercel
• Netlify
• VPS/server

while Shopify works as backend ecommerce engine.