How to open and build a Shopify store

Shopify stores have been taking the ecommerce market by storm for a while now. This article is for those of you who want to join in but don't know where to start. Want to know what a Shopify store is? Wondering how it works? Looking for a guide to opening and building an online store on the Shopify platform? Read on to find out.

A Shopify store - what is it?

Broadly speaking, a Shopify store is a store-type website that lets you sell products online. The store runs on infrastructure developed by the Canadian company Shopify, and gives store owners the tools they need, such as item identification, real-time tracking, a revolutionary payment method and more. If we look a little below the surface, we can see that this is no ordinary store. 

A dive into the revolutionary concept

In the past, building an online store meant building a unique, custom payment flow, so that site visitors who wanted to buy its products could pay online, enter their shipping and contact details and, finally, receive the products at the location of their choice. Today, however, the world of online stores is going through a revolution, and the Shopify system stands proudly at its forefront.

The idea behind Shopify

The concept Shopify's developers were aiming for is fairly simple. Customers were put off from buying online by tedious form filling, site registration and even manual payment, so to save them valuable time, Shopify developed a platform for building an online store with a built-in payment system. It's a brilliant move on their part, for one simple reason: the Shopify system makes the buying process more accessible to potential customers and, as a result, increases sales for online store owners.

Building and opening a Shopify store - the process itself

Setting up a store on Shopify's infrastructure is simple and accessible. The process has six stages in total, each of which can be tailored to the store owner's needs and wishes. It isn't complicated, but to understand it and get the most out of it, we'll explain each stage separately:

Step one: sign up for Shopify

In the first step, you sign up for Shopify. To start opening the site, you enter the relevant details for the online store you want to build. Once registration is complete, you get a short free trial to use Shopify (Shopify's pricing page has the current terms). After signing up, you move on to the second step.

Step two: make operational decisions

In this step, you set up the Shopify platform your online store will run on. This platform will serve as your store's control center, so it's a good idea to make sure it fits your various needs and that you can grow along with it. After choosing the platform, you enter the details relevant to the kind of store you want to build: target audience, field of business and so on.

Step three: design the store

You don't need to hire professionals to design your online store. All you have to do is choose a design you like from more than 100 different templates and move on. If you want to invest more in your site's design, which is recommended if you have the budget and resources, you can dive deeper into design principles by learning the field or hiring professional services.

Step four: add products

After designing the store, it's time to enter and build out the "meat" of your store - the products you'll sell. Adding products includes a title, images, descriptions, prices and any other values you choose to add. It's worth putting as much effort as you can into this step - it's no less important than the store design itself. Investing in how you present your products leads directly to immediate results. Publishing a product with a high-quality image, well-written content and a clear presentation of its added value will raise your sales significantly.

Step five: choose a payment method

There are many ways to process payments when you use the Shopify platform as an online store. The simplest option is to use the payment providers that integrate directly with Shopify, together with accelerated checkout options. If you choose this method, your customers get an efficient, simple payment process: all they have to do is choose the products they want, add them to the cart and let the system do the rest. Customers who use accelerated checkout pay with details they have already saved, without typing them in again.

Step six: choose a domain for the site

In the last step of building a Shopify store, you choose your site's address - the domain. This is the address people will use to visit your store, and it will also be the main name you appear under across the web. If you already have a domain ready, that's all you need; otherwise, it's best to choose a catchy name that matches your brand and is easy to remember. Examples of good domains: Surfershop.co.il, PRIMEFILM.com,  BuyPaintings.com and so on.

Congratulations, you have a Shopify store

As mentioned above, this process is simple and revolutionary. Only six steps stand between you and a profitable Shopify store - it's that simple. Beyond the basic store-building process, there are many options for improving and optimizing your online store. Once you've finished, it's a good idea to start exploring the subject so you can make adjustments based on the data your store's activity generates. The path is laid out in front of you; now it's your turn to take it. Good luck.