However, even if you have a million-dollar idea, it can be overwhelming to sit in front of the screen and stare at the words “get started.” A business should always be taken seriously. No matter what size your business is or what your goals are, you want to make sure you’re doing the best you can.
Trust me – you’re not the only one who feels this way
Read on to learn how to start selling on Shopify in 2024, or sign up for a 3-day Shopify trial and start building your page while you read our article.
Step 1: Build Your Brand
Before you start selling on Shopify (or any platform), you need to have a clear idea of what kind of store you want to create. Will you be targeting a local or global audience? Is there a target demographic? These questions will determine everything from your color schemes to your logo to your brand identity.
Inspiration and Research
Creating an effective brand identity is no easy task laos telegram data but luckily there are plenty of brands online to get inspiration from. Find e-commerce stores that sell products similar to yours and browse their websites. Take note of the design choices that worked and the ones you prefer to avoid.
In a well-planned store, all site elements (such as text, color scheme, typography, and navigation options) should work together to enhance the audience’s experience. Identify what your favorite stores do to create a specific identity and design.
Add Your Own Touch
It’s incredibly helpful to see what’s working for other stores, but you need to have something that sets your store apart from the rest. Now is the time to start designing your own brand identity. Everyone will be different, so don’t feel like you have to do it a certain way. However, I recommend starting by creating a mood board.
You can do this using pen and paper, PowerPoint, or more advanced software. The important thing is to have a document where you can see how each design decision complements the others. Here are some things you need to clarify before moving forward:
- Your store name. The right name can make or break a store, so make sure you choose a memorable name.
- Logo. Your store logo is right next to your store name for recognizable reasons, so make sure you find a unique and accurate logo that reflects your brand identity.
- Colors. Think of at least three colors that represent your brand. These colors will appear everywhere from your front page to your product listing.
- Fonts. Tone is important here. Serif and Script fonts will create a more elegant and serious atmosphere, while Sans Serif fonts will look much more relaxed and casual.
Select Your Products
This will be the first step for most people. Once you have a clear idea of your brand identity, you will have a better understanding of your core products and how you can expand in the future.
Also, now that your store has a name and logo, you can add your branding elements to your store and get natural word-of-mouth traffic.
Finally, make sure you take the time to photograph your products in the best possible light – the better a product looks on your page, the more likely it is to sell.
Step 2: Get Started with Shopify
Shopify makes it incredibly easy to create and manage an online store. To start creating your store, simply go to Shopify’s homepage and click on the free trial button link. Shopify will then take you through a small survey that includes basic questions about your online store, such as your experience level and goals.
Next you’ll need to choose a name for your store
choose the country you’ll be operating in, and create a Shopify account. That’s it! Once that’s done, you’ll be directed to your Shopify dashboard. This dashboard also supports Turkish.
Shopify will show you a “start” list here. You can ignore this list for now, as we’re going to proceed a bit differently.
Step 3: Choose and Customize Your Theme
Once you have accessed your Shopify dashboard, go to the Online Store tab and open the Themes tab. Shopify offers a large theme store with over 110 options to choose from for all industries and needs . Some of the best themes have several different styles that can dramatically change the look and feel of your store.
Shopify has over 100 themes to suit every need
If you want to narrow down your search, you can filter the results by industry, catalog size, and features. I also highly recommend looking for themes that look visually appealing, even if they won’t exactly fit your needs. You can add new sections to your site if needed.
Once you have chosen the theme you like the most for your store, you can start making the necessary adjustments to adapt this theme to your own brand. Click on the Customize link next to the theme you have chosen , go to the menu on the left and select Theme settings . It will not be difficult to choose the right colors and font types with the inspiration board you prepared earlier.
The right theme settings can help you create the most suitable design for your store.
After that, you can start customizing your homepage. Click on Sections in the left menu . Here you can add and edit elements using blocks and block collections called sections. To change the content of a block, all you have to do is click on the content and go to the menu on the right. Here you will see various customization options that will make it easy to fill a block with your own content.
Block editor helps you structure your site
There will probably be sections of your store that you haven’t filled out yet, like featured products and collections, but more on that later. First, get the homepage set up the way you like it. Your final homepage will probably look different than the initial image you had in mind. Once you’ve got it just the way you want it, you can apply your design preferences to the rest of your store’s pages and elements.
Step 4: Create Your Website
Now that you’ve created your brand identity and homepage, it’s time to start laying the groundwork for the rest of your site. This process involves multiple steps, so let’s dive right in.
Add Required Pages
Some retailers may do well with a very minimalist design that includes little more than a homepage. Others will benefit from product collections divided into different categories and a comprehensive blog page. These variables are entirely dependent on your store and your needs. However, there are two pages you should never skip: the About Us page and the Contact Us page.
Your online store must have an easy way for your customers to contact you, otherwise you risk appearing unreliable. An About Us page can help you establish a more personal connection with your potential customers and increase your conversion rate.
Shopify lets you add as many pages to your site as you want . Go to your dashboard, click on Pages , then Add a page .
To add a new product page to your site (featured products, categories, etc.), you’ll need to go to the Products menu – more on that below.
Edit Your Navigation Options
Go back to your dashboard and click on Navigation under the Online store drop-down menu .
Here you can choose which pages will appear in your header menu and footer menu, and which will remain hidden. Try not to overcrowd your main menu.
Edit Your Site Settings
Click on the Preferences link under the Online Store drop-down menu in your store’s dashboard . You can change some important parts of your site’s search engine listings, such as its title, meta description, and customer privacy options.
Changing this information is quite simple and at the same time, it is very important to make your ecommerce store discoverable.
Step 5: Add Your Products
Adding products to your Shopify site is super easy . Go to the Products tab in your dashboard and click on the Add a product button. You will be directed to a page where you need to enter product information such as title, description, and price.
Make sure you update the settings for your product
The more prominent your product is, the better it will sell, so make sure you include compelling copy and high-quality images of your product (product videos are great too, but they’re not great as they can slow down your website).
Cover every detail about your product. If your product is a physical product, be sure to include details like weight and customs information in your product descriptions. Also, include your manufacturing or purchasing costs for each product. This information will come in handy when you want to optimize and track your store’s performance.
This information is also great for categorizing your products
Keeping your product information organized will not only help you but will also make it easier for potential customers to find products similar to the ones they love. To add a collection, go to the Collections menu under Products and click the Create a Collection link.
If you already have product collections, you can add products to them from the Add a product page or directly from the collection options.
Step 6: Set Up Your Domain Name
Think of your domain name as the “address” of your website. A domain name is made up of two parts. The first part is the name – this one is not hard to choose. If you have chosen the name of your store, your domain name should be that name too.
For example, our website is websiteplanet.com and our TLD is “.com”. I recommend using “.com” for almost all online stores. “.com” is the most popular TLD in the world and will make it easier for your visitors to remember the site name. Therefore, it may cost a little more.
To add your domain to Shopify, go to your user dashboard and click the Settings tab, then go to the Domains section. You can buy a new domain name or connect a domain you’ve purchased to your Shopify account through a third-party registrar. If the domain you want is already taken by someone else, you can use Shopify’s tools to find an alternative domain name .
Once your domain name is ready your online store will be almost ready to be published.
Step 7: Update Your Payment Information
Shopify makes it easy to get paid with a wide range of payment methods, cross-system integrations, and support for third-party payment providers. To connect payments to your online store, go to Settings and click Payments .
On the Payments page, you can set up to receive payments via Shopify-supported providers, third-party providers, or manual methods.
If you choose a Shopify-powered provider, Shopify charges a fee per transaction, depending on your plan. If you choose a third-party provider, you’ll be charged a flat 2% fee per transaction in addition to your payment provider’s regular fee. Manual payment methods include cash on delivery, bank deposit, and wire transfer.
I recommend adding multiple payment methods
To your online store. Each provider and method has a different setup process, but don’t worry – Shopify has comprehensive guides for these.
Before moving on to the next section, I recommend testing your payment methods by purchasing something from your store. This may seem strange, but this way you can identify any issues your customers may encounter before your store opens to the public.
Step 8: Preview and Publish
Now that you’ve set up your payment methods, stocked your inventory with products, and finished setting up your site how can live chat help you win more deals? there’s only one thing left to do: make sure your site is up and running.
Reviewing your site will help you identify what you like and don’t like.
Open and review your site on both desktop and mobile screens. Check each page for missing content, typos, broken elements, etc. Also make sure to thoroughly test every link, button fax database and e-commerce feature. Programs, menus, and other interactive features should work as intended both on the backend and for viewers.
Step 9: Optimize Your Store
Now that you’re sure your site looks and functions as it should, you’re ready to launch it to the public. But that doesn’t mean you’re done with your site. You’ll want to continue looking for ways to improve your store and make the necessary adjustments to ensure success.
Start by running your website through a performance test like Google’s PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. Performance has a big impact on conversion rate, so make sure your site scores well.
If your store is underperforming, you may want to consider compressing your images and reducing the number of animated elements on your site. It’s also a good idea to get rid of unnecessary pages.
