How to Create Your First Shopify Store Quickly

If you think Shopify is an ideal platform for your e-commerce store, follow these steps to set it up quickly and easily.

Understanding the Advantages of Shopify

You needn’t be proficient in web design on computer programming. Shopify takes care of these tasks on your behalf. You can choose from over a hundred professionally developed templates for a modern-looking online store. That’s why Shopify has a reputation for being the WordPress of eCommerce themes – it’s simple to get started. Check out my complete Shopify Review here.

Your store will evolve as you grow. Pricing begins at $14 monthly, making online store management very affordable. The premium package lets you list all the products you want without any transaction fees. If your store explodes with popularity or traffic, Shopify will be able to accommodate your growth.

Simplify shipping. You can offer a fixed shipping price, or customize it based on the weight of each product.

You can also customize your store with apps. You can print FedEx labels, showcase customer testimonials about your shop, or have a live chat module installed. All of Shopify’s apps, some of which are free, are easy to install.

What’s the downside to all these features? The main negative is pricing. Shopify is not the cheapest platform of its kind – they charge a 2% transaction fee per sale. Further, although their themes are simple to use, they don’t come with a lot you can personalize. If saving money and customizing layouts and modules is important to you, consider using another shopping platform.

Shopify Free 14 Day Trial

You can try out Shopify for free with a 14-day trial. You won’t have to provide your credit card number until the store goes live. If you’re considering setting up an e-commerce store, it’s worthwhile to try out Shopify. The following tutorial will walk you through the process:

Sign Up with Shopify
To start your Shopify adventure, you will first require an account.

Sign Up
Upon visiting Shopify.com, you can navigate through their sample stores and features. Once you’re prepared to sign up, visit the homepage and find the sign-up form.
Submit the details you’re asked for, then click the button that says “Create Your Store Now”.
If you don’t have an original store name, Shopify will ask you to choose one that hasn’t already been taken. You’ll need some patience if you haven’t set up a store before, but once you get familiar with the control panel, things get easy.

Confirm Your Contact Info
You’ll be asked to provide your contact information. You’ll also be asked what kind of products you’ll be selling. Select the “I’m Just Playing Around” option in the field that asks if you have products if you’re just using it for demonstration purposes.
When asked what you’re selling, click the “I’m Not Sure” option.

Click “I’m Done” when you’re finished.

Admin Log In

After you’ve completed the sign-up process, you’ll receive an email from Shopify showing a link to your admin page. It will look like this: shopname.myshopify.com.
To access your admin page, log in with your email address and password.
You can start setting up your store via the dashboard you see upon signing in.

Use a Theme to Liven Up a Store
You need to decorate your shelves before you can place products on them.

Theme Browsing
Check out over 100 store themes you can use on themes.shopify.com, many of which are free.
To filter down your options, you can search by themes that are premium, free, recent, and popular. You can also filter themes by industry type (clothing, food, art, jewelry, etc.), by features (newsletter subscription options, drop-down menus), and cost.

Browse Theme Reviews and Details
Click on a theme you fancy to learn more details about it, including if it’s mobile -friendly.
Scroll further to read feedback from other Shopify users who will point out what they liked (and didn’t like) about each theme.

Theme Preview
Click “View Demo” to check out a theme in action.
If the theme is available in a variety of different layouts, you’ll be able to check out all the demos individually.

Obtain a Theme

If you’ve settled on a theme, you can grab it by clicking the button marked “Get Theme”.
You’ll be asked to confirm you want the theme by Shopify.
To use the theme for your store, click “Publish as My Shop’s Theme”.
Themes can always be changed. You’re not obligated to use one forever and are free to change them up as you see fit.

Personalize Your Theme
Upon installation of the theme, you’ll see the Theme Manager, which will display the theme currently being used, and which ones have been used in the past.
To change the fonts, colors, or anything else, click Theme Settings.

Add Products

You’ll need to add merchandise to your store once you set it up. To start adding products to sell, in the Products tab, click the “Add a Product” link.

Insert Product Details
Details about every product must be entered, such as:

• name of the product
• description of the product
• picture of the product
• product type (video game, kitchen knives)
• vendor (manufacturer or brand)
• cost

Additionally, you can choose if you want to charge taxes, if a shipping address is needed, and if the shipping costs are based on the weight of the product.

Further, you can add SEO details for each product and create a gallery. This will simplify the browsing process for customers and help them find what they’re looking for much faster.

Some advanced details about products might be asked for. These are generally not mandatory, but convenient for inventory purposes if your stock is vast. These details are comprised of the following:

• The code you track your products with.
• The lines and numbers you scan on a product.
• A feature you can add to compare your price to your competition’s.

Save
After you’ve completed listing all the details about a product, click the green button to save it.

Shop Launch

You now know the fundamentals of setting up your store on Shopify. From here, you’ll need to determine how you’ll collect payments for the goods you sell, establish how much – if any – tax you’ll charge, and list your shipping fees. These details can be added in the Store Settings tab in the Settings menu.

When you’re ready to show your shop to the public, you’ll need to input your credit card info. Shopify will bill you 2 weeks after your account was created.