Ecommerce is on the rise worldwide as more and more people are turning to online stores to buy clothes using their Cox cable deals, appliances and equipment, and other items. All the indicators for the industry’s growth are green and pointing up. A fact that might compel you to even start your own eCommerce business in 2022
However, starting an ecommerce business from scratch can be challenging, which makes taking the right steps at the right time that much more important. To setup an ecommerce store, you have to know about the various platforms and websites that offer you ease and access of setting up an online shop. Shopify is one of the easiest to use ecommerce platform that will help you set up your online store in a few minutes and start selling products from the comfort of your own home.
In this article, we will go through a detailed beginner’s checklist for setting up an online store with Shopify.
Name Your Business
First things first, before you could begin setting up your store, you must name your business. Choose a name that aligns with your business niche. People like simple and catchy store names that roll easily off the tongue. Next, you will need a domain name. Choose one that has your store name in it and one that has preferably no numbers or symbols.
After choosing a suitable domain name, it’s time to design your store. Although, on the Shopify platform, everything is super intuitive and easy to design and you might not even require expert help. But if you were setting up your shop on a platform other than Shopify, where design features are not so intuitive,then you should let experts, like the ones at web design Brisbane, work their magic as they know all the ins and outs of designing an ecommerce store.
So, in sum, choose a business name that aligns with your niche, a catchy name also helps, and look for available .com domain name that is going to be your ecommerce website address. For domain registration, you can also use Shopify’s very own Domain Name Registration tool.
Open a Shopify account
Previously, doing ecommerce was cumbersome and involved buying your own server, uploading an ecommerce system onto the server, having it customized to your needs, and paying for maintenance. Despite doing all that, the final result was a slow, inefficient, and unresponsive website.
Shopify has simplified the process. Server and website maintenance are taken care of by the platform itself, leaving you to focus your energies on growing the business.
You can easily start your free trial at Shopify.com by clicking on ‘start your free trial,’ and entering your store name. However, setting up a licensed business on Shopify requires that you verify with the local and state government authorities. The licensing requirement isn’t an issue for most online sellers, but requirements may vary by location and product type sold on the store.
Once you’ve completed the free trial sign-up, you must consider payment plans and choose one that suits your needs.
Shopify offers three different plans. Each one includes a 14-day free trial. Select a plan by clicking on the “Select a Plan” button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.For just $29.50 per month, you can get started with Shopify’s online store hassle free.
Getting Started with Your Online Store
After choosing your store type and payment plan, it’s finally time to set up your store. Managing your store can be done through the admin screen, where you can upload product images, set up payment and checkout options, and finally offer shipping and delivery tracking. You can also view your orders, customers, store analytics, and other store-related information.
It’s better to familiarize yourself with the layout and explore all the options available on the store admin page.
You can even customize and manage your store from your mobile device. For example, if you log into your store from the Shopify app on your phone, you can see the store’s recent activity, make updates to your catalog, and manage orders.
Design Your Shopify Store
Shopify’s theme store lets you choose a theme that suits your product niche and store type.
With easy drag-and-drop features for design, you can customize the theme to your liking, without writing a single line of code yourself. Adjust font, color, and style of your store, logo, banner, and the way products are displayed by easily dragging the element around on the screen. As stunning free customizable themes are on Shopify, you can make your site look even more professional by investing in some premium themes.
Change Your Shopify Theme
In most Shopify free themes, you have the option of making simple tweaks here and there to suit your style preferences.
To access themes, click on the “Themes” link on the left. Right above, you’ll see your live theme in a box along with two buttons. You can add up to 20 themes to your theme’s library. A theme won’t go live until you specifically publish it. Changes made to the template will be saved on the theme that you specifically tweak and won’t affect the code underlying templates on other themes.
Clicking on the “Customize Theme” button takes you to another page where you can control all of your store’s basic features. Make sure you familiarize yourself with your site’s capabilities by going through all the settings and testing all the features.
Add Products to your store
Once you are done with the store’s settings, it’s time to add your products. Click “Products” on the left-hand navigation bar. You’ll see a blue “Add a Product” button in the middle of the page. You can enter as much information about your product on the next screen. The name, product description, and URL are areas that will help with search engine optimization. A detailed description will help customers choose wisely from your products.
Upload the images of your products and add shipping details.
Plan your marketing strategy
Launching your store without a marketing plan is a big mistake. But, with Shopify, marketing is also something already taken care of by the platform. Despite that, you should ensure that you have a solid email and social media marketing campaigns set up and ready to launch. A solid marketing strategy will ensure that your Shopify store gets in front of maximum people so that you can reap the profits sooner rather than later.
Final Words
The above-mentioned steps will help you set up a Shopify store without getting confused about the whole process. When in doubt, come back to this checklist. With a catchy business name, domain name, marketing strategy, and basic knowledge of how to set up Shopify store themes and settings, you’d be selling your own merch or drop shipping with Shopify in no time.
