The world of e-commerce has evolved to its most competitive yet productive state. Technology has made everything accessible. You can get your work done with the help of your fingertips. Online Shopify store is getting much hype in the e-commerce field. Online shopping is a process in which consumers buy products directly over the Internet. Most people use a browser or mobile application to find the product they want and then send that person money with a click of a button. As of 2020, online shoppers can buy on any device, making this process near-universal.
If you want to successfully create an online store, you got to be on top or at least be in the top leagues of this business. And to be successful, you have to be mindful of what you choose from the start. The journey of your online store begins with you choosing the e-commerce platform. Selecting the right e-commerce platform is crucial for creating an online store. Shopify has been a top e-commerce platform. Shopify has many features to offer its users. In addition, it is effortless to use. You can set up your online store in just a few minutes. Here is a complete guide about How to start an online Shopify store in 2022.
Step 1: Choose the name of your online store
After agreeing on choosing Shopify as your e-commerce platform, name selection is the next crucial step in creating your online store. A business is the first thing the audience comes to know about your business. The brand name should be exciting enough to attract customers to the product. Therefore, it’s essential to think of a name that most represents your business.
Here are a few characteristics of a good business name:
- Your business name should be short yet elaborative.
- It must not be a repetitive business name. It should be unique.
- A business name should be genuine and representative of the business goal.
- Be resourceful with your domain name.
- Don’t be boring.
- Getting an exciting business name tends to make customers curious about the business.
- Don’t seek inspiration outside. Get inspired within your work.
If you cannot come up with a creative name, you can rely on the name generators. There are many name generators available online. Shopify also provides a free business name generator for its consumers.
If you are unable to come up with a creative name you can rely on the name generators. There are many name generators available online. Shopify also provides a free business name generator for its consumers.
Step 2: Create Shopify account
The next step for creating your online Shopify store is building a Shopify account. There is no rocket science to it. You can set up your account in a few minutes by following an easy procedure. Don’t worry; this process only requires a few clicks, and that’s all.
You have to go to Shopify.com and click “Start Your Free Trial.” This will lead you to a page where you’ll be required to provide your email and Shopify store name. Set up a password, and you are good to go.
Step 3: Create Business model for the Online Shopify store
A precise and proper business model is necessary for any business. You have to develop a robust model to stand out and be efficient in the market. A basic business model for an online store takes a traditional approach:
- Buy several products.
- Stock them in your garage or a small warehouse.
- Ship them to your customer when someone places an order.
These alone will not be enough for early-stage entrepreneurs without the capital to invest in full factory automation because of extra costs and risks associated with missed inventory.
Today, there is an alternative to the “exclusively distribute your products by yourself” model: dropshipping.
Shopify Dropshipping
Shopify Dropshipping has made things very convenient for store owners and traders. The concept of dropshipping is revolutionary for e-commerce or online shopping. Drop-shipping is a business model where products are delivered directly to the customer by a third party. As such, most of your costs will be eliminated. In this case, you aren’t expected to keep inventory on hand. Instead, you are likely to profit from the difference between what an item typically sells for and what you ultimately sell it for at the checkout – less any merchant fees or external shipping charges.
Step 4: Set up settings according to your preferences
Shopify allows you complete control over your store settings. You can arrange and set everything according to your business preferences. Here are the basic settings that are required to start your Shopify online store:
Shopify Payments
It is worth setting up Shopify Payments no matter where you are. Shopify Payments allows you to accept various payments, including credit cards, Shopify Pay, Google Pay, and more. You can register for Shopify Payments by providing them with your business information, personal details, and product information.
You can accept payments via PayPal by registering accounts on your Shopify account and PayPal. It will take about 5 minutes to process the payment, and you can remove or switch the option after that.
Shopify Payments simplify shopping by adding payment methods and local currencies to your checkout experience. You’ll also have a complete view of your finances to track orders and payments all in one place.
Check out setting
Shopify gives you other options for your checkout settings by allowing customers to select whether to create an account. For first-time store owners, I recommend that you keep your checkout as a guest option so that both parties are happy with the experience. You can choose from the given options below:
Abandoned checkouts:
With Shopify’s abandoned checkout feature, you can set up automatic reminder emails for those who are made it to the end of your checkout without completing their purchase. When your site is in their thoughts, they’ll get an email 10 hours after they left, when your site is still fresh in their mind.
Customer contact:
Customers can continue interacting with you by text messages and email after placing an order. Keep in mind the focus of the campaign when deciding this.
Email marketing:
With an easy-to-use subscription interface, businesses can allow customers to subscribe for news or promotional messages. For example, if customers are deciding what car to purchase, you can send a reminder about your latest model or offer discounts on that lot.
Add Legal Policies
Get Policies With Different Scenarios. Shopify offers several tools that simplify managing terms and conditions, privacy, and returns. You can access the legal policy setting from the Shopify settings page by looking under Legal. Below you can find sample policies for refund requests, terms of service agreements, and shipping information.
Set Shipping rates
To offer free shipping for your shop, Type “Free Shipping” in the Custom Label field and select “Rest of World.” Then, click on the “Add rate” under “Price-based rates” to set up a fee-based option for domestic customers.
If you’re not planning on offering free shipping, don’t forget to let customers know how much shipping will cost by integrating Canada Post, USPS, and other carriers into Shopify. Then I’d recommend looking into Shopify Shipping if you’ll ship from Canada, Australia, or the US. The built-in shipping suite offers 88% savings on carrier shipping rates.
Set-up Taxes
Online stores, such as online eCommerce stores or vendors, must collect sales taxes from their customers. The great thing about Shopify is that it calculates taxes based on the ongoing tax rates around the globe for a business in one automated step. You don’t need to consult with a tax professional when using Shopify, but it’s good to do so if there are specific tax requirements for your country/region.
In Shopify, go to the setting of Taxes to set up your regions and override the defaults if specific conditions apply to your products, or edit the default rates if you desire. You can also enter your tax number here. Note that Shopify doesn’t remit or file your sales taxes for you.
Step 5: Add Products to your Online Shopify store
Shopify offers the ability to sell your products on multiple channels such as the Shopify Online Store, Facebook Store, and Mobile.
Now that your Shopify store is integrated with your Online Store, you need to create a sales channel for your online merchandise. Go to the Shopify settings and add an “Online Store.”
When importing products, the first thing to do is enter all the product parameters such as names, descriptions, images, and links. If you enter the wrong details for your products, the whole import will fail. The better option is to do that right away.
With automated blog posts for your products, you’ll need to focus on quality content. You should make sure to test and tweak your website. To get a sense of how amazing your products are, you have to write good content that sparks their interest. Here’s how you can use them to make your blog better
Description:
Write precise product descriptions and to the point – and make your customers want to buy instantly. The essential points that your description should cover are:
- What is your product?
- Why would customers buy my product?
- How is it different from other similar products?
You should break down information into short, digestible chunks, including headings, bullet points, and visuals. It is a great way to make your product descriptions stand out.
Photos:
Increase Conversions With Product Images. Dropshipping suppliers often include high-quality product shots in their listings. I also recommend checking out stock photography websites like Shopify’s Burst if you’re selling a popular product. And for quality images of your own, a good course might be Product Photography.
About Us Page Templates:
When you create an About Us page, tell a personal story about why you started the brand and use pictures to show that there’s a human behind the eCommerce business. You have a lot of work to do and can’t face the long hours just now. Thankfully, there is an alternative for you. This page on your store will look unique and professional with these accessible templates.
Pricing and Inventory:
Create a primary pricing section that includes three fields: the cost, the price compared to past prices, and one item’s total cost. To alert customers to an upcoming sale on your product, insert the initial fee in “Compare “at a price and the sale price in “Price.” Make sure you consider what it will take for your business to stay profitable with each sale.
Shopify allows users to indicate how many items are available for purchase. Every time an order is placed, you’ll see how many things remain until the inventory is filled. For example, if you sell 30 units of your product, and those are all accounted for, then “out of stock” will be displayed on your website.
Categories:
You can create collections on the Shopify website to correspond with your main product categories. These collections will be ordered (from top to bottom) as Earrings, Rings, Necklaces, Watches, Bracelets, etc.
Go to Collections and select Add New Collection to create a new collection. Enter your terminology into the text box when you make your new design. For example, select “Products” as the collection category and “Collections” as the collection name.
Why it’s so essential to use collections?
Give customers a quick overview of your product offerings on your homepage or navigation menu. It is possible to create discounts on selected collections of products with this tool.
Step 6: Create Store Layout
One of the most extensive parts of creating and maintaining an eCommerce store is making sure how you present your eCommerce business looks appealing to your customers. Luckily, Shopify will automatically create a theme for you that can be modified as needed. Making your design is unnecessary when first launching the store, but it can enhance your brand if desired once more time has been invested.
Check out the best free Shopify Themes like Debut and Simple when you want to switch themes. All themes contain sections that you can edit, rearrange, temporarily hide, or remove. You can experiment with different layouts until you’re satisfied with the outlook of your store.
Until you have a few sales, purchasing a costly theme is unnecessary. You can still invest in other elements such as your banner graphic and colors to create an excellent website. Then, it would be best if you used free online logo makers to have something on hand to use for your logo.
Shopify Main Menu
Customers use your main menu to find information about your store and shop. Mention your main menu on all of your pages and use it to list your collections. Create a separate card for each collection, including guides, images, and terms. Update the card’s title when you add or remove content from that collection.
You can group different items into one menu item. For instance, you can present shoppers with additional options for categories such as Men’s Shoes with a single click.
Main Banner
With Banner Designer, it only takes a few minutes of your time to create a professional, high-quality banner. Anyone can create an effective promotional marketing tool using this service. With Google’s search engine and Canva.com, you can easily find and execute any necessary edits to create an appealing banner.
Designs by Canva are easy to create. Don’t shy away from using templates if you’re skilled in design. With hundreds of templates, it’s easy to create a unique and visually appealing banner.
You can add a specific slideshow to your homepage with the new Online Store. Go to Themes > Customize Theme > edit Homepage Slideshow to customize it.
Featured Products
When you navigate to Customize Theme > Home page > Featured Products. You can choose a collection of featured products. If you create a collection, as you did earlier, name one featured and then add the tag ‘Featured’ to the tags field. Every time you add a new product that you want to showcase, add the ‘featured’ tag to the tags section, and it will automatically appear under the ‘Featured’ category on your home page.
Footer Settings
There are footer settings available in the Plugin Settings >Categories option. It deals with what you can choose to add to a footer menu. Click “Footer menu” and create a title for it, then select what the footer should include. In addition, you can also choose graphics or special links like email subscriptions to be set in the footer.
Hire an Expert for your Shopify Store Maintenance
You can be good in many things but you are not great in everything. That’s why you should always look for experts to get help from and do things right way. Our Shopify Maintenance Service is a great service which can help you manage your store more efficiently.
Conclusion
We hope this profound guide on How to start an online Shopify store would help you in your new business endeavors. Shopify could be of great help for both business start-ups and business extensions to the online world. It is convenient and reliable and easy to set up. Being a user-friendly platform, Shopify can be accessible to all sorts of people and businesses.
