Shopify is one of the go-to tools for those who want to sell online for a reason. It’s jam-packed and full of features to help you work faster and easier. As a bonus, it also offers you multiple ways to fully customize your site from back to front.
Choosing Shopify as your CMS is already a great start, but where do you go from there? What can you do to help your brand stand out from day one?
This guide gives you an overview of just what you’ll need to set up a Shopify store:
1. Create and Launch your Account
Shopify comes available with a free trial, so you can try it out before you commit to paying. However, when it does come time to upgrade, you’ll want to select between Basic, Shopify, Advanced, or Shopify Plus. Each one will suit different business needs, so read through their features carefully.
2. Choose Your Basic Themes
You can speed through your store creation easily by choosing a theme. There are many to choose from, too, so explore the options, and once you find the one that speaks to you, fully customize it with your branding. For best results, choose an SEO-friendly theme. This means that it runs fast, is very accessible, and, above all is mobile-first. Most people will visit your store on their phones, so design with the phone in mind.
3. Set Up Your Store
The next step is going to take the longest, but you don’t need to do it all on your own. You can hire on Shopify SEO services to ensure that your site, product listings, landing pages, and content are fully optimized and ready for both humans and algorithms from day one.
You can even rely on the agency’s in-house content marketing team to help create a winning content approach that helps you draw in a larger audience.
Working with experts during this phase is how you can set up a store that:
- Works flawlessly
- Stands out
- Is fully optimized
- Has great content
- And more
4. Set up Your Shipping and Fulfilment Lines
The next step is to look outside of your shop. Yes, you can do a lot to organize shipping and fulfillment through Shopify’s features, but that’s just the start. You’ll also need to make sure that you’re collecting enough taxes, putting those taxes away, keeping your books in order, and then on top of it all you need to consider how you are shipping products from A to B.
You can use the local mail delivery system if you are a small site. Otherwise, you’ll need a custom supply chain solution.
5. Launch Your Store
You’ll want to keep your website behind a closed door, so to speak, until every step is set up and optimized. Then, you’ll want to create a launch campaign. This means getting your name out there, drumming up interest, and then launching – often with a hook like an “early bird sale.”
