An All-Inclusive On How to Start an Online Store with Shopify

An All-Inclusive On How to Start an Online Store with Shopify!

The availability of almost everything online has significantly boosted the demand for online stores. Today, no matter if the person wants to buy a car or a small hairpin, they definitely check the product online.

With an increase in online shopping, many brands have surfaced, making it easy for sellers to set up an online store. WordPress, Shopify, and Woocommerce are some common names of eCommerce platforms that allow budding entrepreneurs to venture into the online selling business.

Why Shopify?

Among all of them, Shopify is an eCommerce platform that most sellers prefer. Here are some facts and statistics supporting the same.

  • Shopify powers over 4 million online stores worldwide.
  • The eCommerce platform is used by sellers in around 175 countries.
  • 65% of Shopify stores are based in the United States.
  • You can use Shopify for a selling cost as minimum as $5 per month.

By reading these stats, you might have decided to set up a Shopify store. The next question that you might have popped into your mind is how to start a successful Shopify store.

Let’s read ahead and find out all about it in this article.

How to Start a Shopify Store for Beginners — All the Essential Steps!

Make sure that you follow each and every step described below to get the best output!

  1. Have all the Prerequisites Ready!

The number one step to starting an online store is to have all the prerequisite information in hand. Before you begin an online store, you need to have the following!

  • The list of products and their images.
  • The pages you want and the content for the same.
  • The business idea and the website logo.

Other than these, your motive should be clear in your mind. You must be sure about the time and money you need to invest in the store. Most importantly, be clear about how casual or serious you are with this business.

  1. Get a Good Business Name

Starting an online store officially begins with deciding on a business name. This is an essential step. However, you need to ensure that you don’t spend much time on it. It is best to have the word ‘store’ or ‘shop’ in the name to decide on a domain easily later on. For example, if you are a jewelry business, go for an antique jewelry shop.

  1. Make a Shopify Account

When you have a business name, you need to make a Shopify account. In the beginning, you can go for a 14-day free trial that the platform offers. When you have signed up for the trial, you need to enter some details like your business name, email address, and password.

After answering some questions, you will see the dashboard of your Shopify account.

Tip: Make sure to think carefully before entering your business name, as you won’t be able to change it after that.

  1. Begin Adding Product

Yes, you must be tempted to redesign the store as per your preferences to make it look vibrant and attractive. However, adding products to your store will give you a better value for your time in the initial stages.

To add products, click on the Products Tab on the left, and choose “add your products.” In the add product section, there are numerous variables that you need to take care of.

Product Title Keep the product title relevant, clear, and as short as possible.
Description  In the descriptions.

 

·         Highlight your product’s USP.

·         Keep the product descriptions simple to read, short, and crisp.

Product media Add high-quality images and videos. The image should be 800 by 800 pixels for Shopify.

 

For videos, ensure that it is not longer than 10 minutes and less than 1 GB in size.

Product price  Make sure you keep the price of the product which isn’t much high so that users refrain from buying the product and is not too low, which may question the quality of the product.

Other than these details, you also need to add details like inventory, shipping, product variants, and search engine listing details. These details include a meta title and meta description. Do a thorough keyword search before writing the title and meta description. Keep the meta-description of 155-160 characters.

Tip: You can also make product collections once you have added all the products to the store. Shopify enables you to do it manually or automatically.

  1. Work on the Other Pages

After adding the products to the store, you need to focus on developing the other pages. About Us, Blog, Contact, etc., are some of the most crucial pages for your online store.

These pages can help the users understand your business well and make an informed choice based on their understanding.

  1. Get Started with the Visual Part

The visual part of your store includes a lot of things, such as

  • Navigation bar: this bar will contain all the major pages of your website. You can create it by going to Online Store > Navigation.
  • Theme: Go to the Shopify Theme store and pick your favorite theme. Make sure that the theme has all the features you need.

After this step, you can create the homepage of your store and add a logo to it. You can also make some color and font changes as the theme permits.

  1. Work on the Operational Part

Once the visual aspect is done, go for the functional aspect of the store!

  • Setting shipping rates: Go to Settings > Shipping and Delivery. Here you can set your shipping area and rates. You can go for flat, calculated, or free shipping rates.
  • Set up taxes: Go to Settings > Taxes and Duties and set up taxes based on your country.
  • Choose a payment gateway: In Settings > Payments, select the payment gateway using which you want to receive payments.

Note: There are over 100 payment gateways supported by Shopify!

All these are the basic and major steps for how to start a successful online store with Shopify. However, it is best to connect the store to a domain before you launch it.
You can do it by going to Settings > Domains. Here, you can either buy a new domain or connect to an existing one.

Conclusion

These are some major steps that you need to take to get an online store started. However, Shopify has a lot more to offer. You can develop your store further by focusing on SEO, leveraging content marketing, using online ads to drive sales, and whatnot. You can even add more channels to expand your reach. This is all about How to start a successful Shopify store.
If you are looking for professional support in developing an online Shopify store, you can seek assistance from Reinforce Global. The IT agency offers its clients all-inclusive app development, web development, and other IT services.

Web Development in 2022 Latest trends, mistakes, and misconceptions

Web Development in 2022: Latest trends, mistakes, and misconceptions

The world of web development is constantly transforming with new and significant changes altering the landscape and forcing the competition to evolve and keep pace.

Understanding the latest trends and transformations in the web development world helps businesses figure out what to focus on and make the right business growth decisions. Additionally, knowing the common misconceptions about web development and major mistakes that developers make allows businesses to stay ahead of the competition.

Let’s look at some trends, misconceptions, and mistakes about web development in 2022.

Web Development Trends 2022

Let’s begin by looking at the web development trends of 2022.

  1. AI- A sure-shot way for enhanced customer experience

Artificial intelligence is a game-changer in various industries, and web development is no exception. AI has simplified, personalized, and improved customer experiences. By incorporating AI in chatbots, virtual assistants, and product design, businesses are harnessing the immense potential of this technology.
AI-powered chatbots have become a staple in websites as they deliver enhanced customer support. By being trained on NLP, these chatbots provide personalized customer support by analyzing user behavior, search and purchase history.

  1. Blockchain – For enhanced security

Blockchain is the latest technology advancing the security and transparency needs of the business. Blockchain is a centralized repository of all transactions, allowing for greater accessibility, transparency, and security. For the web development industry, in particular, blockchain has been useful in creating a secure payment gateway system that eliminates the risk of identity and data theft.

  1. AR and VR – For an Immersive customer experience

Augmented and virtual reality usher in immersive customer experiences by blending the digital environment with the real world. AR and VR are used to provide product visualization tools, market, and demonstrate new products in web applications.

  1. Voice Search – A simpler and better way to navigate the web

Voice search is still one of the leading transformative technologies that are reimaging how people search for web products and services. It is convenient, faster, and provides accurate results.

  1. SPA – Seamless Navigation

Single Page Applications are becoming the most preferred application framework. Unlike a typical web application that loads with every click, a SPA will only have to load the HTML page once as there is no need to navigate from one page to another.

In addition to delivering a seamless and smooth navigation experience, it comes with a faster load speed with limited bandwidth usage.

Web Development – Misconception

Similar to any industry, there are a lot of misconceptions and misinformation when it comes to web development. Clearing out these false impressions’ paves the way for a better and enhanced web application.

  1. Rough on the pocket

Unlike generally perceived, web application development is not extremely expensive or unaffordable. The fear of running into financial trouble deters many businesses from investing in it. With a clear idea about your requirements, you can be sure that it is not rough on the pocket or time-consuming.

2. Exclusive for Large conglomerates

Web development is not the exclusive domain of the large and powerful. The first thing a business- big or small – should do is develop a web application. Every business – regardless of size – can benefit from a web presence.

  1. A thing of the past

Many internet commentators had written off web development a few years ago, yet here we are talking about the latest trends in web development. It is obsolete.

  1. Serverless architecture

Serverless architecture is best suited for prototyping or building applications that do not require additional development. If the business has an application poised to grow, the developer will be compelled to shift from serverless architecture to API. This transition could prove to be costly and complex. Opting for a serverless architecture from the beginning is not the right move.

  1. Virtual Reality

VR is not an essential part of web development, and when incorporated, it demands the use of expensive equipment and expert help.

Web Development Mistakes in 2022

Every experienced or novice web developer would have made these mistakes. However, if these are not rectified, these mistakes could grow into blunders that could drastically impact the outcome of projects.

  1. Not exploring CSS Framework

The CSS framework is extensively used to develop websites with multiple browser versions and is compatible with several browsers. When a CSS framework is used, it can help developers eliminate bugs that might crop up during testing. As a result, when developers use the CSS framework, they can develop faster and more efficient applications.

  1. Not Testing Enough

Not testing enough is a recipe for disaster. Testing is one of the fundamental steps in developing web applications. Testing should ideally be done at several stages in the development process – performance, functionality, user, usability, and more.

Once the development phase is done, the application must be tested on multiple platforms – cross-device and cross-browser testing to check compatibility.

  1. Non-responsive layout

A responsive web front-end is ideal, but it is not always the case. A responsive front-end ensures that the changes made to the website’s appearance are dynamically modified depending on the device or orientation the user uses to view.
Initially, it is alright for the developer to sidestep mobile views. However, once the mobile views are set in, it is better to implement them into your code, keeping in mind the needs of your mobile screen.

  1. Developing unscalable architecture 

When building applications, it is always prudent to make the architecture flexible and scalable to handle future requirements and growth needs. Building apps that cater to future needs help you save time, coding, and energy.

  1. Design Overboard

A new developer or a business venturing into the world of websites for the first time could want a lot of design elements in their website that might seem overly complicated or cluttered. Therefore, it is always better to question the purpose of colors and design elements and make a sleek website that serves a purpose.

Although the looks and feel of a website matters, what really turns the tide in your favor would be the performance. But always ensure the web application you have performs well, loads fast, and provides a valuable experience to customers. To get the best of your web applications, get the best in the industry to work for you.

As one of the leading mobile app development companies in the US, Reinforce Global provides end-to-end mobile app solutions. Our experts are proficient in cross-platform mobile development and can handle the entire project from concept to design, development to testing and launch. Using an agile development methodology, we can create intuitive Android apps and iOS mobile applications that have the potential to take your business to greater heights.