Think about what you want to accomplish – do you want to sell products only online or do you plan to sell in person as well? Will you sell your products through social media outlets? Going through this exercise will help you consider which Shopify plan meets your needs. Keep in mind you will have a 14-day trial period before billing begins.
You may want to speak with an attorney or accountant regarding taxes and laws for your area.
If you already have an ecommerce website, you may want to consider if migrating it to Shopify is right for your business.
Think about which sales channels you want to use.
If you plan to sell in person, review details for Shopify’s point-of-sale hardware.
Review all of the pricing plans to determine which one works best for your business.
Consider buying an existing Shopify business using Exchange Marketplace.
Initial Steps
Begin by entering information about yourself and your store. You will need to decide on some basic standards for your product listings and customer transactions. You will also need to set up your domain so your customers can find your store online.
- Log in to your store
- Password-protect your store
- Enter the name of your store
- Enter your legal business name and address
- Enter your billing information
- Set up your payment provider
- Select the default currency for your store
- Enter the weights of your products
- Set up your shipping settings
- Choose your times for pickup and local delivery
- Set up your taxes
- Determine which payment methods you will use and accept
- Identify who will have access to your staff to assist and manage your account
- Set up your domain
- Review the Shopify App store to see which apps could help you with your business
Organize Your Store
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It’s important to make sure your store has a pleasing appearance and blends with the type of products you plan to sell. You may want to try a few different themes to determine which one you like the most. You can then add your products. If you have a lot of products to sell, this can be one of the most time-consuming tasks when setting up your store. Take extra care to organize your items into logical groups. You’ll also need to include tax and shipping information.
- Choose a theme that blends well with you brand and your products
- Customize your theme to add a personal touch
- Upload your products
- Organize your products into categories
- Create your menu and navigation
- Add a blog
Test Your Store
- Place a few test orders to make sure your store works.
- Test orders that work and fail
- Try to cancel and refund an order
- Test partially and fully fulfilling an order
- Test archiving successful orders
- Review the fraud analysis settings for Shopify
Launch Your Online Store
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Once you have determined which Shopify plan works for you and tested your store, you are ready to share it. Activate your online chat widget so online store visitors can ask questions.
Add Other Online Sales Channels
After your online store has launched, you may want to add other online channels to your Shopify store. This may help you grow your business.
Note: Sales channels have eligibility requirements based on your products, your region, and sometimes your Shopify plan. Review your plans features for more information.
- Use Buy buttons
- Sell with Facebook Messenger and Instagram
Promote Your Business
You will need to promote your online store. Include information that will be found by search engines. Promote your store in places that align with your brand and your product line.
- Define your home page metadata – well-selected titles and description
- Begin marketing your business with a full plan
- Set up Shopify email and distribute your first email
- Consider including an SEO plan for your store
- Include sales and discount codes
- Customize your emails including abandoned cart notices
- Use Shopify Ping to read and respond to chat message – make sure to monitor questions and respond in a timely fashion
Product Fulfillment Solutions is an order fulfillment company specializing in shipping products on behalf of our customers. PFS can assist with all aspects of setting up your e-commerce business. If you’d like to collaborate or learn more, please call or email Jason at (800) 893-9331.