5-Minute Guide to Set up Your Own Online Store

Online stores are quite elaborate in their operations. At first glance, they look difficult to create. In reality, a fully operational online store can be developed in a matter of minutes. 

In no time, you can launch your product for sale. In today’s posts, we will focus on how you can create an online store on already established platforms. 

Without further delay, let’s get started.

Step-By-Step Guide to Build an Online Store

For the sake of convenience, our guide’s focus will be around how you can develop a store on Shopify. 

Shopify is one of the leading platforms that lets you create and operate an online store. You can choose from a variety of plans depending on how many products you want to list. 

You can check our detailed comparison of the two most used Shopify plans, Shopify Lite vs Shopify Basic. 

Now, let’s jump to the main part. You can follow the following steps to create an online store on Shopify.

1. Create an Account

When you first click on the Shopify website, a screen will pop up regarding account creation. Here you can add your email and choose a password.

Other than that, you have to select a name for your online store from the get-go.

It is important to note that you must select your store’s name very carefully. Shopify lets you change the name afterward but it comes at a high cost. 

2. State Your Interests

The next step is to fill out a simple form that revolves around your interests. 

You have to state what product you are selling currently, how much you are earning, and your field of choice.

This little form basically helps Shopify’s algorithm narrow down the target audience for you. So when your store goes live, you don’t have to do it manually. 

3. Personal Address

The second part of the form is for your address. It is a formality to ensure that you receive any paperwork related to your online store. 

You can use any valid address. It can be your home address or your business address if there is one. 

As the form states, you can use a temporary address to get started early. There is an option to change the address once the store goes live. 

4. Welcome to Your Dashboard

Once the basic formalities are out of the way, you’ll be redirected to your store’s dashboard. 

Here you can customize everything related to your store. It lets you choose products, themes, and prices. 

On the left-hand side, you can find various important shortcuts. These shortcuts let you track your orders, customers, discounts, and analytics. 

We highly recommend that you explore the dashboard and learn how each tool works. This will help you understand the platform and avoid confusion in the future. 

5. Create Your Page

The next step is to fill in the details about your product/products. You find this option in a big box on the main page of your dashboard. 

Once you click on the Add a Product button, you’ll be redirected to a new page. Here you can add information about your product in detail. 

As you can tell by the images, the information is required in detail. So take your time and fill each section carefully. 

Filling out the form with wrong information can lead to technical issues down the line. 

6. Select Your Theme

Once you fill out the information about your product, the next step is to choose the outlook for your store. 

You can choose either to select a theme from Shopify’s database or upload a theme of your own. It depends on your personal preference.

Moreover, this section enables you to edit or change your current theme as well. 

7. Add Pages 

After you select a nice outlook for your store, it’s now time to build the store with help of numerous pages. 

These pages are basically a story about your store/brand. You can add any relevant information about your store. 

It can be about previous ventures, your production practices, or your business ethic. This section is basically a gateway to building a brand.  

8. Organize Your Store

Once all the information is in order, you can then organize it and create a flow for your customers. You can select the order of your pages in an elaborate manner. 

You even select various menus and their contents. It is important to note that this section is only useful if you have multiple products or different categories of products.

9. Select a Domain

Even though your store is based on Shopify, you can still select a unique web address. 

You can either buy a domain from Shopify’s web hosting service or connect an existing domain address. 

Either way, it is important to select one because it will help with brand development in the future. 

10. Choose a Payment Method

It is now time to select a payment gateway for your online store. Shopify provides three different options for a payment method. 

You can choose a single gateway or select all three. It depends on how accessible you want your store to be to the general audience. 

Shopify allows you to choose credit cards, PayPal, or their in-house payment method. We recommend that you select two of these methods for better integration. 

11. Select a Shopify Plan

By this point, the hard work is complete. You have successfully filled out all the necessary information required to launch your store. 

The only thing left is to select a plan for your online store. These plans will provide various tools that you can use to further streamline your operations. 

How many Shopify plans are there?

There are three main Shopify plans that you can choose from, basic, standard, and advanced. 

Each plan has its own added benefits but one that stands out is the reduction of transaction and service fees. 

As you go higher, Shopify will take lesser cuts from your sales. 

12. Explore The Dashboard

Once you complete all the aforementioned steps, your store is ready to go online. 

Sadly, there is no big red button you can press to launch your store. Shopify does it automatically. 

However, there is still a lot for you to learn. You can go to settings and check different shortcuts related to your store. 

This is basically your Wikipedia. Every single thing related to your online store can be accessed from this menu. 

Wrapping Things Up…

With this, we come to the end of our 5-minute guide to set up your online store. We hope you can use this information and create a successful online store.

Online stores are quite easy to create because most of the process is automated. You can start an online store in a couple of minutes and start earning instantly.