The Ultimate Guide to creating your Shopify store
Caroline Wire Setting up an online business has never been easier. The global boom of Shopify has generated over 4.15 million online stores worldwide. This is due in no small part to its user-friendly set-up and affordable fees.
But while Shopify has been a game-changer in the ecommerce market, it takes more than just setting up your own online store to succeed in this uber-competitive space.
From researching your competitors to optimising your store and creating a great customer experience, we’ve put together this guide to help set you on the road to Shopify success.
What is Shopify?
Established in 2006, Shopify is a one-stop global selling platform that helps digital sellers to start, run and grow an online store. Aimed specifically for anyone running an ecommerce business, it enables businesses to create and develop their own ecommerce store.
For one monthly fee, you can promote, sell, and ship products. It’s aimed at everyone – from start-ups embarking in the world of drop shipments to large-scale established businesses.
How does Shopify work?
Shopify works by combining your online and retail sales into one single platform. You can manage functions such as stock, marketing, shipping, and payments all in one place.
As an ecommerce platform, Shopify lets you build and customise an online store. You can then sell your products online with your own website, or in person by using a point-of-sale app.
Shopify also uses cloud-based software, meaning you don’t have to worry about hosting your own website.
What can you sell on Shopify?
One of the great things about Shopify is its flexibility. You can pretty much sell anything from clothes to jewellery, homeware to beauty products, and much, much more!
However, there are some restrictions, with financial services, gambling products, and fireworks being just some of the prohibited items. It’s best to check Shopify’s restricted item list before setting up your online store as you could find yourself suspended from the platform if you break the rules.
Shopify has also published a handy checklist of everything you need to know before get your Shopify log-in and start your ecommerce journey.
How much does Shopify cost?
There are 3 main Shopify plans to choose from:
| Basic | Shopify | Advanced |
| £25 per month | £65 per month | £344 per month |
| £1 per month for first 3 months | £1 per month for first 3 months | £1 per month for first 3 months |
| Credit Card rates | Credit Card rates | Credit Card rates |
| 2% + 25p online | 1.7% + 25p online | 1.5% + 25p online |
| 1.7% + 0p in person | 1.6% + 0p in person | 1.5% + 0p in person |
| Other features | Other features | Other features |
| Basic reports | Professional reports | Custom report builder |
| Up to 1,000 inventory locations | Up to 1,000 inventory locations | Up to 1,000 inventory locations |
| 2 staff accounts | 5 staff accounts | 15 staff accounts |
For £5 per month, you can sell products through social and messaging apps with the Starter plan.
More details on all the pricing plans, as well as information on the point-of-sale systems and Shopify in-app support, can be found on the Shopify plan comparison page. Startups.co.uk also provides a handy evaluation of the pros and cons of the Shopify plans.
10 steps to create a successful Shopify store
No matter how well-designed your Shopify store is, your products won’t sell themselves. It takes time, resources, and know-how to get your website out there in front of potential customers. Read on for our ten top tips to make your online store a Shopify success story.
1. Choose your products
The first step on your Shopify journey is to build your product strategy. This means coming up with ideas of what you can sell. Start with what you know, as this will make it easier to anticipate customer expectations and grow your product.
Do as much product research as you can before you order stock or sign any supplier contracts, and identify any gaps in your target audience that your products may be able to fill.
2. Research your competitors
Analysing your competitors is one of the best ways to understand how crowded your target market may be. The most successful Shopify stores are those that have found a niche that their competitors have missed.
Competitor analysis can also give you useful insights into the needs of your target customers, which will prove invaluable to your sales and marketing strategies.
If this sounds daunting, don’t worry – PeoplePerHour can help. As the longest-running freelance service in the UK, you can search our secure online marketplace to find experts who can help with your strategy research.
3. Invent your brand identity
Your brand is what’s going to set you apart from your competitors. In a busy market, it’s how your customers will identify with you when they interact with your business.
Taking the time to create a strong brand will also make you stand out from your competitors. Therefore, when creating your brand, you should think about:
– Your business name
– Font
– Tone of voice and personality
It’s important to get this right, which is why many new ecommerce businesses seek professional help.
4. Apply your brand consistently
Once you’ve created your brand, your website and product pages should reflect this too. It goes much further than just putting your logo and business name on your website pages.
Your copy should embody your brand tone of voice and personality while being clear and easy to understand for your customers. It’s worth investing in a professional if you can afford it. You can choose from hundreds of freelance expert copywriters with PeoplePerHour to help with this.
5. Promote, promote, promote
No matter how niche your products are, you’ll still have competition. An effective promotion strategy is key to success on Shopify.
You’ll need a basic marketing strategy before you launch your store, as you’ll generate hype and set your online business up for success from Day 1.
PeoplePerHour’s secure online marketplace can help you find freelance expertise with:
– Paid advertising (PPC) – a fast way to gain traction, but will need some investment to begin with which will devalue over time
– Email marketing – a great way to gain leads, keep tabs on your abandonment flow, and set up automated email journeys for customers
– Social media – one of the easiest ways to keep in touch with your customers and build your brand
– Organic growth, including SEO – it can take time to optimise your website for SEO, but it can deliver long-term value and is worth investing the time in keyword research and other techniques to improve the readability of your pages for search engines
6. Enhance your Shopify store
Invest time and effort to create your own unique Shopify store design with user-friendly functionality. This will make for a smoother customer journey and help aid conversion.
As Shopify only offers basic facilities for design changes, it may be worth hiring a Shopify expert.
7. Get to grips with CRO
CRO – or Conversion Rate Optimisation means doing everything you can to make your customers’ journeys as seamless as possible in order to maximise sales. Ways you can do this include:
– User experience (UX) – this includes making your website simple to navigate, with easy-to-read copy and clear design
– Call to action (CTA) – design or language prompts that are intended to give interested customers an extra push to take action
– Upselling and cross-selling – showing customers higher-end versions of your products. Cross-selling refers to offering additional items, for instance ‘frequently bought together’ to bring additional value
8. Collect customer reviews
There’s no better proof of your product quality and value than good customer reviews. You can set up post-purchase email campaigns, use a Shopify review app or add a CTA to existing reviews to encourage more shoppers to share their experiences.
9. Create a great customer experience
Your early reviews can make or break your brand, so take action immediately if you receive negative feedback about the quality of your products.
If you’ve had complaints about shipping or returns, consider changing suppliers and ensure the information on your website about deliveries and returns is clear.
Customer service is key, so ensure you go above and beyond for your customers to build your reputation.
10. Build a brand community
Successful brands engage with their loyal customers and supporters by being community-led. When managed properly, community management can bring your brand to life online through social media. Shopify’s blog on building community management provides more tips and information about this approach.
