To enhance your sales as well as brand presence, building an online store in today’s digital age is one massive opportunity one should never miss. To market your product range, your next decision is to figure out ways to create an e-commerce website, which is easy to build, design and manage. Shopify is one of the best e-commerce websites offering amazing templates within the budget range.
Users across the world are using Shopify and running incredibly successful online stores.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is incredible software for non-technicals to create their online store and enhance their market presence. Starting from a 14-day trial to various service subscriptions, e-commerce business owners can create a website and use in-built shopping solutions to sell all sorts of products whether handmade, digital or ready-ones. Moreover, it is effortless to manage including product posting, description, shipping requirements, inventory management, orders processing and sales.
The platform offers 100 plus themes to make your website attractive and allows you to accept online payments. It also has built-in SEO features that help you optimize your website for search. It is extremely easy to set up, manage and process.
Versatile Platform
Shopify is a platform which can be used by anyone looking to set up his brand digitally due to its versatility and user-friendly features.
It can fit any business due to its wide offerings such as easy-to-use features, affordability, offline and online support, and scalability. The website can be set up in no time, integrating great design, SEO features, amazon integration, social-selling features, third-party app integrations and retail POS.
It is good for beginners as well as those who are already running an offline business and wish to enhance their market presence.
Pricing
Free-trial
Shopify offers a 14-day trial by which you can test and try its features which can help you decide if they are best suited for you or not.
By using all its features, themes and managing your online store you can thoroughly check the basis on which you can decide if it’s best suited for you or not.
Sign Up
Once you are on the Shopify.com website, sign up by putting your email id with the free trial, completing forms by selecting a type of business, the kind of products you are going to sell and the unique name of your shop to start with a free trial.
And, once you are done filling in all the details, you’ll see your homepage.
Set-up Online Store
Once you have signed up, you will be directed to the admin page of your store. You can here add your products with descriptions, manage orders and product inventory, transfers, collections, gift cards, shipping, sales etc.
In addition to that, managing as well as tracking the customers is extremely easy with an altogether different tab. After adding customers’ names, you can update their details, track a summary of their order history, and can send personalised communications and use all in-built elements that drive sales and strengthen customer relationships.
Check your analytics with detailed reports including live view, automate your marketing by running campaigns, and add more marketing apps to promote your products and engage shoppers.
Also, there is an option to create attractive discount codes and promotions.
Choose the Theme and Layout
There are three types of themes you can use:
Free, Premium and customised.
Shopify offers innumerable themes free and paid both with guaranteed support. Without any tech knowledge of coding, you can modify themes as per your liking and if you go for premium themes then shopify will surprise you with even more options and amazing designs to create an attractive online store of yours. Shopify has an experienced team to support throughout out to even create your fully customized site of yours.
You can opt for any free or paid themes suiting your business requirement or even by sorting themes by price, more recent and popularity.
Things to be kept in mind before you customize your theme
- Duplicate your theme to create a backup copy, which can be used if you want to start again.
- Keep in mind the level of support that could be required and available.
- Learn about the requirements for uploading images.
Customize the look and feel of your theme
Set up your online store with different styles and layouts for higher engagement of your shoppers.
Based on your preference, Shopify picks a theme for you, but on the other hand, you can always explore and add other themes as per your liking. After choosing a theme, customize your content, layout and typography to reflect your brand.
Review the theme
Once the layout is chosen, integrate a theme’s sample image and check whether the theme is responsive and mobile ready including all features.
You can also view Demo to preview the theme and see if everything matches your requirement.
Get the theme
Once you have selected the theme, click the button- Add theme. The installation process will start and you will be directed to the theme manager wherein under Themes Library you can customize the theme or you can choose to Publish under the drop-down Actions.
Edit the theme
You can always modify your theme and update it to match the trends as well as your business requirements.
The most common features will include:
- Uploading logos
- Uploading slides to a homepage carousel
- Adding related item functionality to product pages
- Choosing how many items appear on each line of the collection
- Font choices.
Product Management
Adding products to your online store on shopify is a very easy process. Click on the products and start adding your product’s information including:
- Add product-title
- A compelling description of your product
- High-resolution and quality images
- Pricing plans
- Inventory
- Shipping availability
- Tags and product type
- The vendor
As per your product line you can also add sizes of your product or whatever quantity description it requires.
Shipping Features
With this feature, you can set up free shipping rates, flat rates, and weight or quantity-based rates. You can also mention local delivery rates or local post services, etc.
Shopify allows you to accept all types of modes to accept payment whether it’s UPI, credit cards, third-party payments, etc.
In-built Marketing Features
It offers a number of in-built marketing features like e-mail marketing, creating blogs and social media integrations such as Facebook, etc.
Setting up Your Payments
It offers a number of in-built marketing features like e-mail marketing, creating blogs and social media integrations such as Facebook, etc.
SEO and Analytics
With a built-in SEO structure, Shopify allows you to manage your website effortlessly. With the help of the Analytics Management tab, you can check where your business stands including store visits, customer rate, etc.
Easy to Use Dashboard
Everything from product to customer management, a user-friendly Dashboard with clear and automated support makes you manage and set up your business store in no time. So, just check out and start your store today.
Image Source: Shopify website