If you’re looking for a way to sell physical products online, Shopify is one of the best options available. And setting up your account is surprisingly simple—here are five steps to help you get started.
Create your Shopify account
The first step is also the easiest—you’ll set up your Shopify account and take advantage of the free 14-day trial. Visit Shopify’s website and click the Get Started Button.
From there, you’ll enter your email address, password and a unique store name. Next, you’ll answer questions about your business and share your personal information.
Once you’ve finished entering all the necessary information, Shopify will redirect you to the admin panel. Now you’re ready to start setting up your store.
Choose a theme and customize your store
It’s time to start thinking about how you want your online store to look. Fortunately, Shopify offers hundreds of free and premium themes in its Themes store.
If you’re trying to save money, a free theme will do the job. With a free theme, you can adjust the fonts, colors and carousel slides, and change your logo.
But premium themes do come with additional modifications that let you create a more professional looking store. That’s because premium themes allow you to access the CSS and HTML coding.
If you don’t know how to code and want some help setting up your store, you can check out Shopify Experts. These are individuals who are masters of their craft and were hand-picked by Shopify.
Add products to your store
Now it’s time to start adding product listings to your store. To do this, you’ll go to the Products tab and click Add Product to get started.
Your product listings are one of the most important aspects of your store because they help potential customers decide whether they’ll buy anything. It’s a good idea to browse through other popular Shopify stores to see how they display their products.
Here are the most important aspects of your product listings:
- Product title: Your product title should make it clear what you’re selling. Keep it short and use keywords that customers would use when they’re browsing.
- Product descriptions: Your product descriptions should outline the features and benefits of using your product. They should explain who the product is for and what customers need to know before buying it.
Make sure your product descriptions are easy to read and quickly scan over. It’s a good idea to use short paragraphs and include bullet points whenever possible. - Photos: Your product photos are likely one of the first things customers will look at. Make sure to use high-resolution photos that put your products in the best light possible. Once you upload your images, you can edit and resize your photos.
- Prices: Next, you’ll set your prices. Many variables go into pricing products, and you can always come back and update your pricing at a later date if you don’t get it right the first time.
It’s a good idea to browse through other popular Shopify stores to see how they display their products.
Set up a payment processor
Next, you’ll activate a payment processor so you can accept payments. Shopify gives you a lot of options when it comes to accepting payments. You can use Shopify’s payment processor or a third-party system like Stripe.
When you’re choosing a payment processor, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind. First, you’ll want to consider any fees that the company charges. Most payment gateways will charge a fee for every transaction, so you’ll want to look for one that comes with low fees.
You’ll also want a payment processor that accepts a wide variety of payment options. You’ll want to accept credit and debit card payments, PayPal transactions and mobile wallet payments.
[Read more: Guide to E-Commerce Credit Card Processing]
Choose your domain name
Finally, it’s time to choose your domain name and launch your store. By default, your Shopify domain will include “myshopify.com” unless you pay to buy a domain from Shopify.
To do this, you’ll go to the main dashboard and click the Add Domain button. You can either connect your site to an existing domain, buy a new domain or transfer a domain you already own.
Once you’ve set up a domain, you’re ready to launch your store and let people know that you’re officially open for business.
[Read more: How to Drive Traffic to Your E-Commerce Store]
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