Setting Up Your First Shopify Store: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to set up your first Shopify store? This guide walks you through every step, from creating your account to your first product.

No coding required. No expensive apps needed to start.

Before You Start

Have these ready:

• A business email address
• Basic product information (names, descriptions, prices)
• Product photos (don’t worry if they’re not perfect yet)
• Your business address and phone number
• A payment method for the Shopify subscription

Optional but helpful:

• Your logo
• A domain name (you can buy through Shopify or use your own)

Step 1: Create Your Account

Go to shopify.com and click “Start free trial.”

You’ll answer a few questions about your business:

• Are you already selling?
• What’s your current revenue?
• What industry are you in?

Answer honestly, but these are mainly for Shopify’s own data. They don’t affect your store.

You’ll get a temporary URL like your-store-name.myshopify.com. You can add a custom domain later.

Step 2: Choose a Theme

Themes control how your store looks. Shopify has free and paid options.

Free Themes Worth Considering

Dawn (Shopify’s default) Clean, modern, fast. Works for most product types. A solid starting choice.

Craft Good for handmade or artisan products. Shows off product details.

Colorblock Bold and colorful. Good for brands with strong visual identity.

Taste Works well for food and beverage brands.

Refresh Good for health and beauty products.

All free themes work well. Start with one and customize it. You can change themes later.

How to Apply a Theme

1. Go to Online Store > Themes in your Shopify admin
2. Click “Explore free themes” in the Theme library section
3. Preview themes to see how they look with products
4. Click “Add” on the theme you want
5. Once added, click “Customize” to start editing

You can have multiple themes saved but only one published (live).

Step 3: Basic Customization

In the theme editor, customize your store’s look.

Add Your Logo

1. In the theme editor, click on the header section
2. Find the logo image option
3. Upload your logo (recommended: SVG or PNG with transparent background)
4. Adjust the logo size

If you don’t have a logo yet, Shopify has a free logo maker called Hatchful, or you can just use text for now.

Set Your Colors

Match your brand colors:

1. Click on Theme settings (paintbrush icon)
2. Find Colors
3. Set your primary color, secondary color, and background

Keep it simple. Too many colors looks chaotic.

Choose Fonts

Under Theme settings > Typography:

• Pick a heading font and a body font
• Stick to readable fonts
• Preview on mobile before committing

Step 4: Add Your First Products

Go to Products > Add product in your Shopify admin.

Essential Product Information

Title Clear, searchable product name. Include key details: “Blue Cotton T-Shirt - Unisex” not just “T-Shirt.”

Description Explain what the product is, what it’s made of, and why someone would buy it. Be specific. Include dimensions, materials, and care instructions where relevant.

Media Upload product photos. Tips:

• Use good lighting
• Show multiple angles
• Include a size reference when helpful
• Keep consistent style across products

Pricing

• Set your price
• “Compare at price” is for showing a sale (e.g., $50 compare at, $40 actual = shows as 20% off)

Inventory

• Enter SKU if you have one
• Set quantity (or leave blank if not tracking)
• Turn on “Track quantity” if you want inventory management

Shipping Check “This is a physical product” if applicable and enter weight for shipping calculations.

Variants For products with options (size, color), click “Add options.” Each combination becomes a variant with its own price, SKU, and inventory.

Organize with Collections

Collections group related products. Create them under Products > Collections.

Manual collections: You pick which products go in Automated collections: Products are added based on rules (tag, vendor, price)

Example collections:

• “New Arrivals”
• “Sale”
• “T-Shirts”
• “Gifts Under $50”

Step 5: Configure Settings

Before going live, check these important settings.

Store Details (Settings > General)

• Store name
• Store email
• Store address

Payments (Settings > Payments)

Set up how you’ll accept payments.

Shopify Payments is the easiest option if available in your country. It uses Stripe under the hood.

Click “Complete account setup” and provide your banking and business information.

Alternatively, you can connect PayPal or other payment processors.

Shipping (Settings > Shipping and delivery)

Set up shipping rates:

1. Create shipping zones (where you’ll ship)
2. Add rates (flat rate, calculated, or free)

Simple starting approach:

• Flat rate for your country ($5-8 is common)
• Free shipping over a certain amount ($50-75)

You can get more sophisticated later, but simple works to start.

Taxes (Settings > Taxes and duties)

Shopify can calculate taxes automatically for most locations.

1. Click on your region
2. Enable automatic tax calculation
3. Make sure your products have the correct tax settings

Tax rules vary by location and product type. When in doubt, consult an accountant.

Checkout (Settings > Checkout)

Configure what customers experience at checkout:

• Whether accounts are required, optional, or disabled
• What information to collect
• Order processing policies

Start with defaults and adjust as needed.

Legal Pages

Create essential legal pages:

Go to Settings > Policies and generate or write:

• Privacy policy
• Terms of service
• Refund policy
• Shipping policy

Shopify provides templates. Customize them for your business. Consider having a lawyer review if you’re handling significant volume.

Step 6: Connect a Domain

Your store has a .myshopify.com URL by default. For a professional look, connect a custom domain.

Option 1: Buy Through Shopify

Go to Settings > Domains > Buy new domain. Shopify handles everything.

Option 2: Connect an Existing Domain

If you already own a domain:

1. Go to Settings > Domains
2. Click Connect existing domain
3. Enter your domain name
4. Update your domain’s DNS settings as instructed

DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to fully propagate.

Step 7: Test Your Store

Before going live, test everything:

Place a Test Order

Use Shopify’s Bogus Gateway to simulate a purchase:

1. Go to Settings > Payments
2. For testing, enable “Bogus Gateway” in test mode
3. Go through checkout as a customer
4. Verify the order appears in your admin
5. Switch back to real payment processing when done

Check on Mobile

View your store on your phone. Most shoppers use mobile. Make sure:

• Products are easy to see
• Navigation works
• Checkout is smooth
• Text is readable

Click Every Link

Check all navigation links, footer links, and buttons. Fix any broken links.

Step 8: Go Live

Ready to launch:

1. Remove password protection:

   • Go to Online Store > Preferences
   • Uncheck “Restrict access to visitors with the password”
   • Click Save

2. Choose a plan:

   • Your free trial will prompt you to pick a paid plan
   • Basic ($39/month) is enough for most new stores

Your store is now live.

After Launch Checklist

• Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
• Set up Google Analytics (Settings > Apps and sales channels > Google & YouTube)
• Create social media accounts
• Announce your launch
• Monitor for issues and customer questions

Common First-Timer Mistakes

Not enough product photos Show products from multiple angles. Include lifestyle shots if possible.

Vague shipping info Be clear about shipping times and costs before checkout.

No contact information Make it easy for customers to reach you.

Skipping legal pages Privacy policy and terms of service matter.

Overcomplicating early Start simple. Add features as you learn what you need.

Your first store won’t be perfect, and that’s okay. Launch, learn, and improve.

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Gustavo has worked in web development and digital marketing for 15 years. He writes these guides to help small business owners understand technology without the jargon.