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What is Shopify?

Shopify is an application that allows anyone to set up an online store and sell their products/services online or at a physical location.

A girl peeking through a hole in the door. Overlay text: Do you want to build an ecommerce store.

What Do I Need Before I Set Up A Shopify Store?

  1. Business idea — decide what products or services you plan to sell.

  2. Business name — a friendly, recognizable name will go a long way.

  3. Logo — design the right type of logo that defines your product/service.

  4. Products/services to sell — make sure the products/services you plan to sell on Shopify are ready to go.

  5. Photos — good quality photos of your products/services leave a lasting impression of your brand.

    checklist

How Do I Set Up My Store? Part 1

Once you've created your account, you'll need to follow these steps to set up your store.

1. Add the products and services you want to sell

This is the first and the most important step. Here, you will:

  • Select the products and services you'll offer

  • Give a description of your products and services

A young student writing enthusiastically with mouth wide open. Overlay text says: 'I really love selling all my products'.

2. Set up key pages for your store

Morpheus looking serious. Overlay text reads: 'What if I told you building a website doesn't have to be painful'.

The key pages while setting up an online store are:

  • Contact

  • About

  • FAQ

  • Policy

  • Contact Us

Set up the above pages. You can always add new pages to your website.

3. Pick a theme and customize your online store

A cartoon character super excited. Overlay text reads: 'Customize all the things!'

The design of your store's website depends on the products and services you'll sell.

There are many ready-made templates available in Shopify.

  • Select the template that best suits the theme of your products and services.

  • Customize the template using different styles and features that showcase your products best.

  1. Shipping settings

You'll have to decide which shipping methods and rates are profitable for your business. Some of the commonly offered shipping methods by Shopify sellers are:

  • Real-time carrier rates

  • Charge a flat rate

  • Free shipping

Oprah announcing excitedly. Overlay text reads: 'You get free shipping! and you get free shipping ! We all get free shipping'

Did you know?

No website design is final! You can set up your website and always revisit it to make improvements.

How Do I Set Up My Store? Part 2

5. Taxes

As a business, you'll have to collect taxes from your buyers to send to the government. Shopify has default sales tax rates for countries from around the world. However, advice from a tax professional is always helpful.

A young man drinking soda and questioning. Overlay text reads: 'I'm a taxpayer, what are you?'

6. Setting up payment method

Shopify accepts all major payment methods and third-party payments. There's an option that lets you sell in different currencies. This will automatically convert your prices into the customer’s currency.

Woman upset while swiping her smart phone for payment and the guy receiving is happy and amazed at the ease of receiving.

7. Final touches

  • Add other online sales channels like Facebook, Instagram, etc.

  • Promote your online store using online and offline marketing.

  • Ask some people to peer review your online store to help improve its overall look and experience.

  • Test your online store by placing some test orders to check if everything is ready to launch.Chef Nusret Gökçe sprinkling salt. Overlay text reads: 'Adding final touches to your final'.

8. Launch

Icon reads: LAUNCH

Your store is ready. But it's not the end! You can always return to the settings to improve and customize it as you learn and grow.

Shopify Alternatives

While shopify is a popular choice, there are other options you can consider for your online store (that will follow a similar process to set up), like:

  • BigCommerce

  • WooCommerce

  • Magento

  • Squarespace

  • Wix eCommerce

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Where Can I Set Up My Shopify Store?

A man in suit is confused and surrounded with question marks.

You can set up your Shopify store easily using this link.

Do you find setting up Shopify store overwhelming? Well, you're in luck. Shopify offers free, detailed tutorials for every step, by the experts.

Take Action

Dory looking confused. Overlay text says: ' Closing checklist done...Feel like I'm missing something...'.

Before the final launch, make sure that you optimize your store's overall performance:

License:

This Byte has been authored by

SP

Sara Pirani

Engineer, educator, life long learner

English

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