Before you start: a few things to decide first
Shopify can have you selling in a day if you are prepared. The people who drag out the setup process for weeks are usually stuck on decisions they did not make before logging in. Figure these out first:
- What are you selling? Physical products, digital downloads, services, or a combination? This affects which Shopify features you need and which apps to install.
- What is your store name? It does not have to be perfect, but you need something to start. You can change it later.
- Do you have product photos? You can build everything else before you have photos, but your store will not look ready to launch without them.
- Who are you selling to? Knowing your customer affects every design and copy decision. If you are not sure yet, make your best guess and adjust later.
Step 1: Create your Shopify account
Go to shopify.com and start a free trial. As of 2025, Shopify offers a 3-day free trial and then a $1/month promotional period for the first 3 months on Basic. You do not need a credit card for the trial period.
When you sign up, Shopify will ask about your business. Answer honestly. It uses your answers to tailor the setup experience. Then you land in the admin dashboard.
Your store URL at this stage is something like yourstore.myshopify.com. You will add a custom domain later.
Which Shopify plan do you need?
For most new stores, the Basic plan at $39/month (or $29/month billed annually) covers everything you need to start. Here is the honest breakdown:
- Basic ($39/month): 2 staff accounts, up to 1,000 inventory locations, 2% transaction fee if not using Shopify Payments. Fine for starting out.
- Shopify ($105/month): 5 staff accounts, lower transaction fees, better reporting. Useful once you are generating real revenue.
- Advanced ($399/month): Adds advanced reporting and third-party shipping rate calculations at checkout. For established businesses only.
Start on Basic. You can upgrade at any time and you will not lose any data or settings.
Step 2: Choose and set up your theme
Your theme controls how your store looks. Shopify has a Theme Store with free and paid themes. Free themes are good. Most new stores do not need to spend $200 to $400 on a premium theme.
Recommended free themes for new stores:
- Dawn - Shopify's default theme. Clean, fast, works well for product-focused stores.
- Craft - Good for handmade and artisan goods. Warm aesthetic.
- Sense - Clean and modern. Good for beauty, wellness, and lifestyle products.
- Refresh - Bold, good for apparel and streetwear.
Do not overthink the theme choice. Pick something that looks close to what you want and customize it. You can always switch themes later without losing your products or settings. Your content and brand identity matter more than theme selection.
Customizing your theme
From the Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes and click Customize. The visual editor lets you change colors, fonts, section layouts, and content without touching code. Things to set up before you add products:
- Your logo (or a text-based logo if you do not have one yet)
- Brand colors
- Homepage layout
- Navigation menus (what categories appear in your header)
- Footer content (contact info, links, policies)
Step 3: Add your products
From the admin, go to Products > Add product. For each product, you need:
Title and description
Your title is what shows up in search results and at the top of the product page. Write it for real people, not just for Google. The description should answer the questions a buyer would have: what is it made of, how big is it, what does it do, why should they buy yours?
Photos
High-quality photos are the most important element on a product page. Shopify recommends at least 2048 x 2048 pixels. Show the product from multiple angles, include lifestyle photos if you can, and show any important details up close. Do not use blurry or low-resolution images.
Price and compare-at price
Enter your selling price. If you want to show a strikethrough original price (for sales), enter that in the compare-at price field. Do not set a fake inflated compare-at price. Customers notice.
Inventory and SKU
Enter how many you have in stock. Give each product a SKU (stock keeping unit) - a unique identifier for the product. If you plan to sell on multiple platforms later, consistent SKUs make inventory syncing much easier.
Shipping details
Enter the product weight and dimensions. Shopify uses these to calculate shipping rates. If you get this wrong, your shipping costs will be inaccurate and you will either overcharge customers or eat the difference.
Variants
If your product comes in different sizes, colors, or styles, add variants. Each variant can have its own price, inventory count, and SKU. Set this up correctly from the start since changing variant structure later is tedious.
Product organization
Use Collections to group products (by type, season, or use case). A well-organized store with clear collections makes it easier for customers to find what they want. From Products > Collections, create manual or automatic collections. Automatic collections use rules to add products (e.g., all products tagged "summer").
Step 4: Set up payments and checkout
From Settings > Payments, you have two main options:
Shopify Payments (recommended where available) is Shopify's built-in payment processor. No transaction fees beyond the standard card processing rate (around 2.9% + 30 cents for Basic). Available in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and many other countries. This is the simplest setup and saves you the 2% third-party transaction fee.
Third-party processors (PayPal, Stripe, etc.) are also supported. If Shopify Payments is not available in your country, you will use one of these. Note that Shopify charges a 2% transaction fee on non-Shopify Payments sales on the Basic plan.
Checkout settings to configure
- Require customer accounts, guest checkout, or both (guest checkout converts better)
- Contact information you collect (email only vs. email + phone)
- Checkout language and currency
- Order confirmation email settings
Step 5: Configure shipping
From Settings > Shipping and delivery, you need to tell Shopify where you ship from and what you charge for shipping.
Shipping origin: Enter your address. This is where Shopify calculates shipping rates from.
Shipping zones and rates: Set up zones (domestic, international) and the rates for each. Your options:
- Free shipping: Flat zero. Simple, and it improves conversion rates. Works if you build shipping cost into your product prices.
- Flat rate: Charge a fixed amount regardless of weight or destination. Predictable for customers.
- Calculated rates: Shopify calculates real-time carrier rates at checkout based on package weight and destination. Requires you to enter accurate product weights.
For most small stores, a simple flat-rate or free shipping setup is easier to manage than calculated rates and converts better. You can always get more sophisticated later.
Step 6: Pre-launch checklist and going live
Before you remove the password from your store and let the public in, work through this checklist:
Place a test order
Use Shopify's Bogus Gateway or a real card to place a test order. Go all the way through the checkout. Make sure the confirmation email looks right and inventory decrements correctly.
Add your legal pages
Shopify generates draft versions of your Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Terms of Service, and Shipping Policy. From Settings > Policies. Customize them to match your actual policies and add them to your footer.
Connect a custom domain
From Online Store > Domains. Buy a domain through Shopify or connect one you already own. Your .myshopify.com domain stays active but customers will see your custom domain. This makes your store look professional.
Review product pages on mobile
Most of your traffic will come from mobile. Check every product page on your phone. Check that images load quickly, text is readable, and the add-to-cart button is easy to tap.
Remove the storefront password
From Online Store > Preferences, disable the password protection. This makes your store publicly accessible. You are now live.
After launch: what to do next
A new store with no traffic will not get sales on its own. Here is where to focus first:
Google Search Console and Analytics. Connect both for free. Google Search Console shows you how your store appears in search. Google Analytics (or Shopify Analytics, which is built in) shows you traffic, conversion rates, and where visitors come from.
Start driving traffic. Shopify does not bring you customers. You need to. The options: organic SEO (takes time, but free), paid ads on Google or Meta (costs money, fast results), social media, or connecting to marketplaces like Etsy or Amazon where buyers already search.
Collect email addresses from day one. Add a newsletter signup to your store. Email is the highest-converting channel for ecommerce and you own the list. Do this before you have traffic so the habit is built in.
Expand to other channels when you're ready. Once your Shopify store is running well, many sellers add Etsy, Amazon, or eBay as additional sales channels. If you do this, you'll need a way to keep your inventory in sync across platforms so you do not oversell. That is where Commerce Kitty comes in.
Ready to sell on Shopify and Etsy together?
Once your Shopify store is live, Commerce Kitty keeps your inventory synced across Etsy, Amazon, and other channels automatically. No double-selling, no manual updates.
Learn About Multichannel Sync