Shopify is one of the world’s most popular e-commerce platforms for a good reason. It boasts a variety of benefits, all of which are perfect for managing an online store. Some of these features include an accessible interface, minimal configuration, and easy-to-use functionality.
With these mentioned features, there’s no doubt that Shopify is a must-try for online store owners and marketers alike. With Shopify, you can diversify your e-commerce website that utilises a perfect blend of practical and aesthetic features.
However, while using Shopify is quite easy, you need to understand how the platform works. The good news is that it takes less than an hour to learn the basics. In fact, you could know how to use Shopify in less than five minutes—if you’re a fast reader, that is.
So let’s go straight down to business and get you acquainted with Shopify. Here’s a guide to using Shopify for your e-commerce website.
Setting Up Shop: How To Use Shopify?
If you’re not yet convinced that Shopify is an excellent platform for e-commerce websites, you can try its 14-day free trial. That way, you’ll find out if Shopify is the perfect platform for your online store in two weeks. With that said, take note of the following step-by-step process for using Shopify.
1. Sign Up
First step: sign up for Shopify. The website will provide you with a form for you to fill up and create an account. In here, you’ll also see the “Start Free Trial” button. After clicking on the button, you’ll have to provide details regarding your store’s name, personal name, address, and contact number.
Shopify will ask you a few questions about your purpose or intent to use their platform. Once you’re done answering the questions, you can proceed to the next step, which is setting up your online store.
2. Set Up Shop
After finishing step one, you’ll be redirected to the admin screen. On the left sidebar of the page, you’ll see a list of features for managing your online store. You can customise your store, place products, set up payment options, and many more.
3. Customise Your Theme And Layout
To grab the attention of your customers, design your online store by incorporating a perfect theme and layout. Fortunately, Shopify offers a wide range of premium themes from top designers.
You can browse through the Shopify Theme Store and choose from 70 premium themes. However, you should take note that some of the premium themes require payment. Luckily, there are many free themes for you to try out. Click on the “View Demo” button to check out how the theme will look on your website.
4. Add Products
In the “Add Product” page, you can place a product and customise its price, details, and description.
Take note that this page holds viable components for search engine optimisation (SEO). All of your products consist of factors that will affect your site’s SEO, such as their name, URL, and description. That’s why you should create quality content for each product to boost your site’s SEO.
Remember, images are a priority when you’re adding a product to your store. Add high-quality images and optimise them for SEO to reduce the risk of slow loading times. Not to mention, doing so should make your products more attractive and appealing to your customers.
When choosing an image, pick one that captures your product’s best features. You’d want to highlight your product’s unique features by using close-up images.
5. Add A Domain Name
Before you publish your online store, you have set up a domain name first. Click on the “Add a Domain” button to create a new domain name or transfer an existing one.
Activating your domain name should allow you to conduct a test to see if your e-commerce website is up and running. While you’re here, you should check every section of your website and see if they’re functioning properly as expected.
6. Optimise Your Payment Strategy
Shopify offers different modes of payment for your customer. Of course, you should choose the least expensive option on the list, but you also have to consider the additional features that come with each payment gateway.
When choosing a payment gateway, consider the transaction fee, card types, off-site checkout. Transaction fees refer to the cost of using Shopify, while card types are the different payment options that your customers can choose from, such as Mastercard and VISA. As for off-site checkout, your customers will pay on the form provided by the payment gateway.
Summary
Make good use of Shopify by taking advantage of its 14-day trial so you can discover if the e-commerce platform is the right one for your online store. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy everything Shopify has to offer, so take your time and consider other alternatives if it’s not the ideal platform for your e-commerce website.
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