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Making a website from scratch can be a huge hassle, particularly when it’s an e-commerce site. Luckily, there are answers out there for people who just want a straightforward and easy way to get their business started online without any confusion. Shopify is the ideal platform for such people. It’s a commercial solution that allows people to set up their own eCommerce business and starts at the low price of $29 per month, and includes everything to make it look just as professional as other, much more costly options. With that said, there’s no reason to commit without seeing the product work for yourself, as there is a 14 day free trial that’ll let you do some thorough testing of the product before committing money.
Let’s take a look and see just how to make an e-commerce website using Shopify.
Why Shopify?
It’s Easy To Use
There aren’t any big manuals to get through or Web support forms to navigate. Shopify has been specially designed from the ground up to give all users, from newcomers to expert webmasters, an incredibly streamlined and intuitive way to set up an e-commerce site. If you’ve got the pictures and the descriptions of your products, you’ll be able to get totally set up in just half a day.
It Has Everything You Need
Shopify covers all aspect of an e-commerce business. It’s not just web hosting, as it also covers security and all of the technical aspects of managing an online business, which makes it an ideal, all-in-one solution.
It’s Free To Get Started
An account on Shopify comes with a totally no-risk and free two week trial that’ll let you try everything out without having to worry about wasted resources
It Offers A Ton Of Themes
Branding is an important part of any customer-oriented business. Shopify has a wide variety of professional themes you can choose from to give your business that personal touch it needs to set it apart from the competition.
There Are A Variety Of Add-ons To Choose From
Shopify gives users all the tools they need for their own unique business. There are over 250 different plug-ins to choose from that will let users tailor their business. This includes things such as payment processing, social media, email marketing, along with many others.
It Has Round The Clock Support
If you ever run into any type of issue or have any questions, you’ll be able to access the Shopify help team by email, phone, or online chat to speak with a professional support agent whs’s ready to help you.
Getting Started
Before jumping into Shopify, it’s important to make sure of a few things first:
- You’ll want to have a credit card (or some alternative) available in order to set up your initial subscription (This won’t need to be done immediately, as you do have the 14 day trial available).
- You’ll want a good web browser to use. The suggested option is either Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.
- You’ll want a good chunk of uninterrupted time so you can quickly work on your site and get all of your product pictures uploaded.
Now that you’ve done that, let’s get started on Shopify.
Creating an Account on Shopify
Before setting up your own site, you’ll need to set yourself up on Shopify.
- Start by typing shopify.com into the address bar. Once the homepage has loaded, you’ll want to enter the name that your Shopify online store will be known by (this can be changed later). They will also need your email address and your desired password. From there, just click on the green “Try Shopify Free” button.
- The next page will have you putting in some more detailed info. Fill in each category with the requested information and click on the “I’m done” button.
- After that, you’ll find yourself at the dashboard with the default template loaded. You’ll notice a countdown timer in the top right that indicates how much time is left on your free trial. You haven’t put any products up for sale yet, but you’ll be able to look at the website by clicking the top left button.
- Once you’ve explored a bit, click on the “Select a Plan” option back on your dashboard to show you the different types of accounts to choose from. The basic plan is just $29 per month and will come with a variety of features.
You can either set the subscription up immediately or continue to use the demo version.
The Beginning
Now that you’ve created a Shopify account, you’ll be ready to start customizing your shop to give it that personal feel.
- Click on the button that says “Edit Theme.” This will bring up a page that’ll let you customize just about every individual portion of your page, from the colors of elements to fonts and logos.
- If you prefer a more pre-built option, click on the “Visit the theme store” button. It’s here where you’ll find numerous paid and free options to give your site a professional look.
- Choose one of the free options as an example. Once you’ve gotten it, you’ll notice that you’re still able to customize it to your heart’s content. You’ll be able to see exactly what your customers do back on the dashboard by clicking on “view your website.”
From there, you’ll get an idea of what your site would look like, but it really needs to have some products to give it life.
Adding Products
Now that the skeleton is complete, let’s start adding some products.
- From the dashboard, go to “Products” and then “Add a Product.”
- There are many options on the next page, but the main fields needed to be filled will be “Product Title,” “Type,” “Description,” and “Image.”
- Once the details have been filled out, choose which collection you want it added to (Such as “front page” to appear to customers as soon as they come in).
Launch Time
Once you’ve chosen the design and the products, there will only be a few more steps to complete before making the store live.
Click on “Settings” and then the “Checkout” page to set up payment options for your customers. From there, you’ll also be able to set up things such as your TOS, refund, and privacy policy. After filling in the required data, you’ll also want to go to “domains,” which can either be a sub-domain of Shopify or your own site.
From there, you’ll be able to choose shipping options before finally selecting a Shopify payment plan. At that point you’ve learned just how to make an e-commerce website using Shopify and will be ready to give customers your website address and wait for them to come to the site! You’re all set up.