Thanks to modern technology and platforms, creating and launching an online store has become much easier. One such platform is Shopify. It allows you to build high-quality and attractive stores with minimal costs and effort, even without any technical knowledge.
In this article, we'll explore how to create your own Shopify store from scratch. We'll cover every step, from signing up for an account and choosing a theme, to adding products, setting up payment and shipping methods, configuring SEO, and promoting your store.
We'll also share tips on optimizing and improving your store after launch, so you can make the most of the Shopify platform and achieve success in your online business.
Video Guide to Creating a Shopify Store
The Shopify team has prepared a complete video course on store creation. In this guide, you'll walk through all the stages of creating and setting up your store until launch, step by step.
The course instructor is Samantha Renée, a Shopify support team member who has her own store. She knows both in theory and practice how to build your business on Shopify.
Pros and Cons of Creating a Store on the Shopify Platform
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Ease of use
Shopify has a simple and intuitive interface, which allows even e-commerce beginners to quickly create online stores. You don't need to have design, development or SEO skills to create a Shopify store from scratch. The Shopify team's recommendations and tips will help you decide what to do at each stage to successfully start and grow your business.
Scalability
Shopify is suitable for businesses of all sizes. You can start a business on Shopify without any experience in retail. Even large brands can provide their business with everything they need using Shopify. For every business, Shopify will offer the right set of tools and recommendations for further growth.
Extensibility
With the many apps available in the Shopify app store, you can expand the functionality of your store. Adding video reviews functionality, upselling related products on the cart page, or connecting a provider of your favorite payment system – Shopify provides third-party developers with an API to implement the required ideas.
Integration with other trading platforms
Shopify does not limit you to the framework of its own platform. While trading in your store, you can simultaneously sell products on well-known trading platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping or on social networks. Shopify will offer you the functionality you need so you can manage your business on these platforms directly from the Shopify store admin panel. |
High price
When using the Shopify platform, you need to pay for the chosen tariff plan. Prices for Shopify tariffs start from $24 (if you pay for the store for a year in advance) or $32 if you pay monthly. This can be expensive for a new business, so Shopify offers everyone a grace period of 3 months for running your store for $1/month.
No access to the server part of the site
Shopify works on the SaaS principle. This means that you will not have access to the server part of the site and will not be able to transfer your store to your server. You have at your disposal information about products, collections and some other data that you can export as a CSV file if you want to transfer your business to another platform.
Payment for applications
In addition to paying Shopify fees, you may have other monthly or one-time costs for apps installed in your store. The cost of using apps should be considered an investment. And you can always delete an app that doesn't pay off.
Limited choice of languages
Shopify supports a couple of dozen languages for the store admin panel, among which there are no Russian or Ukrainian. This may be an obstacle for those who are not familiar with English, the main language of the platform. At the same time, Shopify does not limit the choice of language for your store users – you can create your store in Russian or any other language. |
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Create and Launch a Shopify Store
Step 1: Sign Up on the Shopify Platform
Sign up on Shopify to start creating your store. To do this, go to the official Shopify website and click the "Start free trial" button (the trial period lasts 3 days). Registration doesn't require a credit card or any other payment information.
Then fill in the required information and follow the on-screen instructions. You can skip most questions, including choosing a name for your future store, which you can add later.
Step 2: Add Products
To add products to your store, click the "Products" button in the left sidebar of your store's admin panel. Then click "Add product" and fill in product information such as title, description, price, etc.
Step 3: Create Collections
Collections allow you to group your products by categories, themes, or other characteristics, which can make the search and purchase process more convenient and efficient for your customers.
Step 4: Set Up Payments
To set up payments, go to your store's general settings page (the "Settings" button located in the bottom left corner of your Shopify admin panel), then click "Payments" and choose the appropriate payment systems for your Shopify store.
Step 5: Set Up Shipping
Set up shipping by going to the "Shipping and delivery" section from general settings. Here you can configure shipping costs based on weight and order amount, as well as choose which countries you're willing to ship to.
Step 6: Choose a Store Theme and Customize the Design
After setting up the basic store parameters, you need to choose a theme that will showcase your brand and products in the best light. Shopify has many free and paid themes from which you can choose one suitable for your store.
When choosing a theme, consider your business goals, as well as the needs and preferences of your potential customers. Pay attention to the design, ease of navigation, page loading speed, and theme functionality that can affect user experience and conversion. For example, if you have many products, choose a theme with good navigation and quick search capabilities. If you're selling products for children, choose a bright and colorful theme that will attract the attention of young shoppers.
Step 7: Add Information About Your Business
Create "About Us" and "Contact" pages to provide information about your business, its history, mission, and values, as well as contact details that will allow customers to reach you.
Create "Exchange and Return Policy", "Terms of Service", "Privacy Policy", and other pages necessary for running an online business. You can fill in these pages in one place - in the general store settings in the "Policies" section.
Step 8: Create Navigation for Your Online Store
Navigation is an important element of any online store, as it helps visitors quickly find the products and services they're interested in. You can add links to product categories, pages with information about shipping and returns, contact information, and much more. To simplify navigation for your customers, you can rearrange links and create submenus.
Step 9: Launch Your Store
After setting up your store and adding products, you can launch your store. To do this, simply remove the password from your store's theme. This can be done in the "Preferences" subsection of the "Online Store" section in your Shopify admin panel.
Step 10: Connect Sales Channels (Optional)
Shopify provides "Sales channels" functionality that allows you to integrate and manage your stores on Amazon, eBay, Facebook Shop, Google Shopping, and other marketplaces directly from your Shopify admin panel.
Step 11: Promote Your Store
After you've created your Shopify store, you need to promote it to attract potential customers and increase sales. Promote your store on social media, using contextual advertising, or through SEO efforts.
Step 12: Keep Growing
After launching your store, don't forget to optimize and develop it further. To do this, you can use analytics to understand which pages and products attract more user attention, as well as how they interact with your store. Use this information to develop your store by adding new features, improving the shopping process, optimizing pages, and creating new promotions and sales.
If you're having difficulties creating your own Shopify store, you can search for answers in the Shopify Help Center, ask for advice from the Shopify community, take the "Getting Started with Shopify" course, hire an expert to set up your Shopify store, or contact professional 24/7 support. It's perfectly normal if you figure everything out step by step. Shopify, in turn, offers many resources to help with this.