This article will provide a step-by-step guide that will help you start a Shopify store by 2021. This tutorial was created by Tomas Slimas, an angel investor and entrepreneur. It is based on his personal ecommerce success story. This post will give you dozens of great tips to help you make sales as fast as possible. You can finish the entire process in less than half an hour. You never know what the next 30 minutes might bring about a life-changing moment as you begin your journey as an eCommerce entrepreneur. Let’s get started.
It took me twelve months to launch my first online store. To start, I used traditional strategies. I set up the company myself, searched for wholesalers, and underestimated my marketing budget. However, I created a beautiful store, added thousands of products manually, and never sold a single product.
After selling my ecommerce company with $3M in annual sales and seven Shopify shops on my CV, I now understand the mistakes I made and have found a solution.
I did the same thing as most people — I focused too much on making a store look great instead of trying to sell.
Many people believe that you should not attempt to launch an online business without knowing the basics. It can seem complicated to set up an ecommerce store if you are a new entrepreneur.
My experience has shown me that learning and creating along the way is much more productive. Launching your ecommerce shop is the first step. After your store is launched, you can look into ad campaigns or logo designs.
My favorite quote is “Get moving, get better.”
This tutorial will show you how to create a Shopify store that sells dozens of products. It takes less than 30 minutes. Although it won’t be perfect this tutorial will help you get started.
This article will show you how to build a complete women’s jewelry shop with accessories. After learning how to open Shopify, I recommend that you stick with the guide. You can also try out additional features and ideas. If you are looking for a quick way to get into product research, we offer a dropshipping tutorial. We also made a video about the most important ecommerce terms beginners should know. These terms will make it easier to navigate the tutorial below.
How to Create a Shopify Store with DSers: Creating Shopify Stores in 5 Minutes
Choose a Business Name
It is important to choose a business name, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. You should choose something simple and random. For my women’s jewelry shop, I created Utopia Jewelry and Blackwell Jewelry.
I suggest adding “store” or “shop” to your domain name. It is easier to get one if there are multiple words in the name.
The Shopify Store Name Generator is a useful tool to help you create an ecommerce store name. It will suggest keywords that you might like to include in your ecommerce store’s name. You can then scroll through the options to choose your preferred business name and launch your business.
The Shopify Business Name Generator is free and easy to use. This is one less thing you need to worry about when starting a business.
Make a list with 10-15 ideas for brand names. Make sure that the name you choose is not trademarked and has an a.com domain address. Dot com domains rank higher in the search engines. Professional brands also use this extension. Shopify’s domain name registration tool can be used to search for available.com domains. You can also find out how much a domain is and buy one for your store.
Register for a Shopify account
You had to buy a server, upload an online store to it, and pay someone to modify and maintain it. It was time-consuming and expensive. The result was slow and ineffective.
Shopify makes it easy. Shopify makes it easy to create an ecommerce store. All of the server setups and maintenance are handled for you.
Go to Shopify.com and click start your trial’. Enter your store name and create your shop.
This is the first step towards setting up Shopify. Next, you need to create your business model.
Shopify Dropshipping: Get to know it
The traditional e-commerce model works: You first buy several hundred products. After they arrive, you stock them in your garage, or small warehouse. When someone places an order, your ship them to your customer.
This model is great for larger companies but can be costly for startups.
Dropshipping is an alternative model that allows you to open an online store.
Dropshipping is a quick way for people to get their ecommerce store up and running quickly. This allows them to spend more time on sales. Dropshipping is a way to save time and money. You don’t have to keep any inventory.
You can simply add products to an ecommerce shop and pay the supplier when you receive an order. The supplier will then ship it to your customer. You don’t need extra storage or worry about what to do if you have unsold stock.
We will be focusing exclusively on dropshipping from now on, as the alternative takes more capital, time, and risks. Dropshipping apps allow you to import products from your database in minutes. DSers allows you to import drop-shipped AliExpress products to your ecommerce store in just minutes. All orders received by your store will be sent directly to your customers within a matter of minutes.
It is a safe strategy to select products with high ratings, lots of orders, and many positive reviews. This indicates that these products are popular and loved by people. Remember that some items may have a lot of orders, but few reviews or ratings. These products are to be avoided by drop shipping.
Create Shopify Stores: Fine Tune Your Settings in 10 Minutes
To make your Shopify store work smoothly, you’ll need to adjust a few settings. Click the gear icon in the lower left corner of Shopify.
Go to “General” and fill in all details about your store.
Next, set up the payments.
Set up payments
Shopify payments are a great option, regardless of where you are located. You can accept credit cards, Google Pay, and Shopify Pay payments. Shopify Payments can be signed up by providing Shopify your personal information, business details, and bank account numbers.
PayPal payments can also be accepted. Under Shopify Settings > Payments Section, add your PayPal email address. You can later modify, remove or add additional payment options.
Register at PayPal.com if you don’t already have a PayPal account. It takes about five minutes.
Register for a Checkout
Shopify allows you to view and change your checkout settings. New store owners should consider making customer accounts optional to allow customers to check out as guests.
Also, take a look at these options:
- Checkout abandoned: Shopify lets you set up reminder emails to remind people who visit your checkout but don’t complete their purchase. Shopify will send you an email 10 hours after someone abandons the checkout. This is to ensure that your site remains fresh in their minds.
- Contact Customers can choose how they wish to be reached after placing orders. You can choose to be contacted via text message or email. If you are looking to create an email list, it is better to send this email.
- Email marketing Customers can opt to subscribe at checkout. You can also reach out to customers with discount offers or new products later to increase sales.
Generate the required policies
Shopify provides useful tools to generate terms and conditions, standard privacy, and return policies. To view each sample policy, go to Shopify Settings > Legal > scroll to the Refund > Privacy section > Terms of Service section.
Get Free Shipping
It is a great idea to offer free shipping if you are looking to open an online shop. This can be set as the default in your Shopify account settings. Remember to include shipping costs in the item price if you wish to make a profit.
Navigate to Shopify Settings > Shipping, and then delete any shipping zones marked “Domestic”. Next, click on the “Add shipping zones” button. If you are offering free shipping, type it in. Then choose “Rest Of World” if you are okay with shipping to other countries. Next, click the “Add rate” button under the “Price-based rates” section. Select the “Free shipping rate.”
Once everything is set up, remember to click “Save”.
Not all companies offer free shipping. Make sure you let your customers know the shipping costs. This can be done by integrating Shopify and USPS to provide live pricing. If you plan to ship orders from the US, Canada, Australia, or elsewhere, Shopify shipping is a good option. You can save up to 88% on shipping costs by using the built-in shipping suite.
Set Up Taxes
You must collect sales tax from customers if you are an ecommerce shop. Shopify automatically calculates taxes based on the current sales tax rates across the globe. It’s still a good idea to consult a tax professional to make sure you are charging the correct amount of tax. You can modify the default tax settings to meet specific tax requirements in your area if you have such products.
Shopify allows you to create your tax regions by going to Settings > Taxes. You can then override defaults for products that have specific conditions or modify default rates if necessary. Here you can also enter your tax code. Shopify does not remit, file, or pay your sales taxes.
Online Store
Shopify lets you sell your products through multiple channels, such as an online store, Facebook Store, brick & mortar store, and so on.
We are currently creating an Online Store. If it hasn’t been added yet, go to Shopify Settings > Channel Sales and add Online Store as your channel.
Create a Shopify Store: Add Products & Content in 10 Minutes
Customize the products before you import them from DSers to your store. Add product descriptions, photos, and any other details such as assigning them collections or adding tags. It’s a huge headache to import products first, then customize them later. Don’t do this.
It is important to consider the content you use to personalize your products. As you improve and test your store, this is an area you should love.
People can’t touch your products. Writing good content that sparks interest is the best way to get them to see how amazing your products are.
Here are some suggestions for customizing these items:
- Description
- Images
- About Us page
- Pricing and inventory
- Categories
Description of the Product
Make sure your product description is clear and concise. This will help customers make an immediate purchase decision.
Ask yourself:
- What are the problems that customers face and what product can they solve?
- What are my customers’ benefits from using my product
- What sets my products apart from other products on the market?
These questions should be answered in a concise description that is easy to understand.
Your product descriptions will stand out if you keep them lighthearted and positive. You can also break down information into smaller, more digestible pieces. This is possible with the help of visuals, bullet points, and headings.
Images of the products
Dropshipping is a different story. You don’t have to take product photos on your own. Dropshipping suppliers will often provide decent product photos. If you are selling a popular product, I recommend that you check out stock photography websites such as Shopify’s burst.
About Us
Although this page will be unique for your online store, it will take some time to create. Copy and paste the following ‘About Us” pages into your browser. Later, you can edit the page to fit your store.
About Us Page Templates
Make your About Us page personal. You should tell a story about the reasons you created the brand. To show that you are a person behind your eCommerce business, take pictures of yourself. Luxury hair is my favorite company to have a great About Us page.
Product Pricing & Inventory
Shopify’s pricing section includes three fields: price and compare at price. The third field is the cost per item. If you wish to inform your customers that the product is currently on sale, use the second field. You can enter the initial price in the “Compare at Price” field and the final price after the sale in the “Price” field. But, don’t list random sales. Make sure you are covering your costs and still making a profit.
Shopify can also be notified that you wish to track your product inventory. Click the “Track Quantity” checkbox to define the number of products you wish to track. Shopify will show “out of stock” if you have sold 30 units of a product. This will stop customers from placing orders until your suppliers replenish the stock.
Make collections
Shopify calls product categories collections. Your collections will include (from top-to-bottom) Earrings and Rings, Necklaces, Watches, and Bracelets if you are selling women’s jewelry
Simply go to Products > Collections > Add New collection, then enter your collection name and choose your collection conditions.
There are many benefits to setting up collections:
- Different shoppers can quickly navigate your catalog using links to product collections on your homepage and in your navigation menu.
- You can curate products you wish to sell. You can offer discounts on certain products.
How to launch an online store: Create your layout in 5 minutes
Design is an essential part of creating an ecommerce shop. Your ecommerce store’s presentation is key to building trust with customers. Shopify will automatically set a default theme for your ecommerce store. It looks great so there is no need to modify it unless you are willing to spend time customizing it. While a customized website can enhance your brand, it is not required to do so when you first launch the store.
If you do decide to use a different theme we recommend checking out the best Shopify themes such as Debut or Simple. You can modify, rearrange, temporarily hide or remove sections in all themes. You can play with many layouts until your store looks great.
You shouldn’t purchase a premium theme before you have enough sales to make it payable through your ecommerce store. You don’t have to spend a lot of money at the beginning. Your banner graphic, color scheme, and other visual elements can all be used to create a stunning website. A free logo maker can be used to create a stunning logo for your store within minutes.
Make the Main Menu/Navigation
Your main menu appears on every page of your website. The main menu is usually displayed in the header as an item or in the sidebar as a list. Your main menu is where people will go to get information about your store. Open Shopify admin > Navigation > Edit ‘Main Menu’ card. List all collections.
To give customers more options, you can add multiple dropdown levels to any items in the main menu. You can, for example, group several collections under one menu item that focuses on men’s footwear (to not overwhelm women shoppers with products that don’t suit them).
Upload the Main Banner
In just minutes, you can create a banner that looks great. Search Google for “banner editing tool” or click here Canva.com. Choose banner dimensions (1200x360px), upload a product image, select your background, insert some text, and click the “Buy Now” button.
Canva also offers templates that can be used to create visually appealing designs. You can use them to create a unique design. Canvas templates can be used as inspiration to create a banner that impresses. The website is easy to use and even those with no design experience can create unique banners.
This banner can be added to your ecommerce store via Online Store > Templates > Customize theme > Edit Homepage Slideshow.
Editing featured products
Navigate to Customize Theme > Homepage > Featured products. You can select a collection of featured products. You can create a collection by going to Customize Theme > Home page > Featured Products. This will allow you to choose a collection of featured products. It will then appear on the Home Page under the title ‘Featured.
Set up your footer
Online Store > Navigation > Add Menu can create a footer. You can write “Footer Menu” in the title, and then choose what you want to include in your footer. Because we haven’t yet created blog posts, I hide the “Latest News column”.
Go to Online Store. Navigate to the Navigation section. Select Footer Menu. Now, list all pages you have created previously.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You just created your first Shopify eCommerce store!
It wasn’t difficult, but it was still a great achievement. Now you can call yourself an eCommerce entrepreneur.
Remember that although you have figured out how an ecommerce store can be started, you still need to learn how to make it grow. Ecommerce is all about improving your customer service, sales, and most importantly, yourself.
So now the question is: How do you start a Shopify store that’s successful? You’ll need to concentrate your efforts on marketing your shop via ads and content creation. Building an audience on social media. These three elements can make a big impact on your brand’s long-term success. You need to make your brand visible to everyone. People won’t find you by chance. Shopify and DSers make it easier to manage your ecommerce store. There are many marketing tools and tutorials online. To increase your sales, we recommend Facebook Ads. It’s better to get into this area of your eCommerce business immediately than try to create a marketing plan.
Start by writing down what you want to accomplish with your ecommerce store. Start by dedicating one hour each day to improving your Shopify Store to further edit your website and find new ways of increasing sales. You can also continue to learn how to grow your eCommerce business.
The possibilities are endless if you work hard and have a strong sales team. You can focus on the reason you started your ecommerce business and allow that to drive your determination to succeed. No matter where you go on your ecommerce journey, you will learn so much about yourself, and see your creativity, determination, and perseverance rise to new heights.