Shopify is an eCommerce website builder, and it is part of the easiest you can try, irrespective of your technical experience. Whether this is your first time using Shopify or creating a website from scratch, there is always something you can learn.

In this article, we are going to present comprehensive tutorial steps in building Shopify as a beginner. You should be able to set up a Shopify store after this article.

What is Shopify

Shopify is a paid software that allows you to use the SaaS model-that is, there is a service subscription. When you pay for support worth one year at once, you usually benefit from a slightly lower cost.

Shopify enables e-commerce entrepreneurs and businessmen to use an integrated shopping cart solution to build websites and sell digital and physical products to customers worldwide. For example, Shopify also provides a system that allows customers to quickly and easily manage shipping and track inventory. Shopify provides you with an excellent management window where you can view sales products, write descriptions, process orders, and more.

Sign up

The signing process starts on the official website (Shopify.com). Utilize the signup form to create your account. Input necessary details and select the "Start free trial" button. Your company name must not be existing; it should be completely new; otherwise, Shopify will ask you to choose a different name. 

After this, you will be asked to provide more detailed information, such as name, address, country/region, and contact number.

In addition, you will be asked if you have a product and, if so, what you want to sell. If you just want Shopify to see if it's right for you, you can select "I’m just playing around" under "Do you have a product?" And select "I'm not sure" from the "What will you sell?"

You can click "I’m done." When you are done.

Add a Product to Your Shopify Store

After successfully logging in to Shopify, the software will direct you to the admin page of the new website. Here, you can customize the store and upload products for customers to browse.

If you go to the Shopify backend, there is a step-by-step guide to setting up a store. You will see a button so you can add a product. So please click it first.

The "Add Product" page is the same as what you see in WordPress. You can enter detailed information such as title, description, price, and supplier. Feel free to fill in the required product pages. Make sure to save the product last.

Keep in mind that images related to your product can create or destroy your sales opportunity, so it will be advantageous for you to select images that are attractive to your audience. And do not overlook the essence of visual effects for your website.

Choose and Customize Your Theme

A theme is an already made website design that you can add to your business without writing any code to make it look beautiful. There are a couple of themes you can select; however, they are not equally good. Many themes created by third-party developers can be used in the Shopify theme store.

If you want to edit your present theme, select “Online Store” > "Themes” and then the "Access Themes" button.

Once you have selected the theme, the next thing is theme customization. To do that, click on the Online Store> Theme and then the blue Customize button. Ensure that the theme you are customizing is the one you selected previously.

Setup Your Domain with Shopify

After choosing a template and designing your website your way, it's time to choose a domain to make your website official and live.

Return to the dashboard and click where you will be asked to add the domain. From here, you will be asked if you want to transfer the domain or signup for a new domain. Select your preferred domain and follow the steps to complete your purchase. In addition, you will need to specify the Shopify payment you want to use.

Remember, you can either purchase a domain from Shopify and have it added directly to your store, or you can buy your domain name elsewhere and add it into Shopify – it’s totally up to you. You will need to update your DNS records if you’re uploading an existing name, however.

After activation, you can go to that specific domain and view your website.

Ensure the following information is included in the main body of the Shopify website:

General: All your information must be in the "Settings" section; this includes billing information and legal details.

Taxes: Make sure to check the box next to "Charge taxes" in your website's "Version" section to make your accounting easier.

Shipping: You will need to select the "requires shipping" option next to the product to know which products are subject to additional postage and packaging fees. Remember to choose shipping specifications based on weight or choose something that will allow you to sell unlimited products.

Payment Processor Activation

Click the left tab of the dashboard labeled "Payments". In this section, you can choose from various payment processors, like Stripe and Authorize.net. Shopify also features its payment processor, which is very easy to use. Just follow the steps below for your payment processor activation. This way, you can accept payments and enter them into an account.

Part of the essential things to consider when setting up your Shopify store is the payment gateways. Remember that choosing the right gateway for you will depend on many different factors, including:

Transaction Fees: Many of the payment gateways charge a small fee every time someone purchases on your website. Ensure you choose the gate with the lowest price.

Card type: It is very important to choose a payment gateway that supports different types of bank cards and other payment methods (including PayPal, Stripe, etc.).

External checkout: Some payment gateways use forms to transfer the payment process from your website to their server. This strategy may be a little safer, but there will also be some issues for customers.

Once you are done with all of this, you can click the “Launch Website” button to make your store go live.

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