Step-by-step Shopify store setup

Pick a brandable name that works as a domain, a social handle, and a trademark — before you create the account.

1. 1Brainstorm 10–20 short names (ideally 1–2 words, under 15 characters). Avoid the product name itself — 'PawGlow' ages better than 'BestDogBrushStore'.
2. 2Check .com availability for your top 5. If the .com is taken, a clean .co or .store is fine; avoid hyphens and numbers.
3. 3Check the same handle on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook so your brand is consistent everywhere.
4. 4Search the USPTO trademark database (or your country's equivalent) to make sure you're not using a registered mark in your category.
5. 5Say it out loud. If you have to spell it for someone, it's too complicated.

shopify.com → Start free trial

Sign up for the free trial, answer the onboarding questions, and choose a plan once you're ready to sell.

1. 1Go to shopify.com and start the free trial. Shopify frequently runs a '$1/month for the first months' promotion on the Basic plan — check the current offer.
2. 2Use a business email you'll keep long-term. This becomes the account owner login.
3. 3Answer the onboarding questions honestly; they only customize the setup guide and can be ignored.
4. 4Enable two-step authentication immediately (profile icon → Security). Store accounts are a common target for takeovers.
5. 5Stay on the trial while you build. You'll need to pick a paid plan before removing the store password.

Settings → General

Configure your legal business info, store currency, time zone, and units of measurement.

1. 1Add your store name, contact email (customer-facing), and sender email.
2. 2Enter your legal business name and address under Billing information. This appears on invoices and policies.
3. 3Set the store currency under Store defaults. This is the currency you're paid out in and report in.
4. 4Set time zone, unit system (metric/imperial), and default weight unit to match your main market.
5. 5Set an order ID prefix/suffix (e.g. #PG1001) so order numbers don't reveal you're a brand-new store.

Settings → Markets

Decide which countries you sell to. Start narrow — one or two countries your supplier can ship to quickly.

1. 1Your primary market is created automatically from your store address. Edit it to match your target country.
2. 2Only add international markets if your supplier can deliver there in a reasonable time.
3. 3Enable local currency conversion for international markets so shoppers see prices in their currency.
4. 4Use price rounding (e.g. .99) for each market so converted prices look intentional.

Settings → Payments

Activate Shopify Payments, add PayPal, and enable accelerated checkouts (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay).

1. 1Shopify Payments: click 'Activate' and complete business verification (legal name, tax ID or SSN for sole proprietors, bank account). It's available in most major markets.
2. 2Shopify Payments is built on Stripe. In countries where Shopify Payments is available, you can't connect a separate Stripe account — Shopify Payments is how you accept cards.
3. 3PayPal: Shopify pre-creates a PayPal Express checkout using your email. Click 'Complete account setup' and log in to link a PayPal Business account, or payments will sit unclaimed.
4. 4Enable Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay under Shopify Payments → Wallets. Accelerated checkouts noticeably reduce mobile friction.
5. 5If Shopify Payments isn't available in your country, choose a third-party gateway. Shopify charges an extra transaction fee on top of the gateway's fee when you don't use Shopify Payments.

Settings → Taxes and duties

Tell Shopify where you're registered to collect tax so it can calculate it at checkout.

1. 1US: add the states where you're registered to collect sales tax (usually your home state first). Shopify flags states where you may be approaching economic nexus thresholds.
2. 2EU/UK: register for VAT as required. For low-value imports into the EU, look into the IOSS scheme so customers aren't surprised by import VAT on delivery.
3. 3Decide whether prices include tax (common in EU/UK/AU) or tax is added at checkout (common in the US).
4. 4Enable duties and import taxes collection for international markets if you ship cross-border, so customers aren't hit with surprise fees at the door.

Settings → Shipping and delivery

Set up shipping zones per market and rates that reflect your supplier's real delivery times.

1. 1Under General shipping rates, create a zone for each market you sell in.
2. 2Add at least one rate per zone. Many dropshippers build shipping into the product price and offer 'Free Standard Shipping'.
3. 3Name rates with honest delivery windows, e.g. 'Free Shipping (7–12 business days)', not just 'Standard'.
4. 4Optionally add a paid 'Express' rate if your supplier offers faster lines (e.g. a US warehouse).
5. 5Set a free-shipping threshold (e.g. free over $50) to encourage bundles and raise average order value.

Settings → Notifications

Brand your order confirmation and shipping emails and authenticate your domain so they don't land in spam.

1. 1Add your logo and brand color under Customize email templates.
2. 2Set the sender email to an address on your custom domain (e.g. support@yourbrand.com).
3. 3Follow Shopify's prompt to authenticate your domain (it adds DNS records) — unauthenticated sender addresses are more likely to be filtered as spam.
4. 4Edit the Order confirmation email to repeat the expected delivery window. This alone reduces 'where is my order' emails.

Online Store → Themes

Start with a free Shopify theme. Horizon (Shopify's current default) and Dawn are fast, well-maintained, and flexible.

1. 1Open the Theme Store from Online Store → Themes and filter by Free.
2. 2Horizon and Dawn are both Online Store 2.0 themes, meaning sections work on every page (important for landing pages).
3. 3Preview themes on mobile first — most dropshipping traffic comes from mobile social ads.
4. 4Only consider a paid theme ($300–$400 one-time) once you have a proven product. A premium theme won't fix a weak offer.

Online Store → Themes → Customize → Theme settings

Define 2–3 brand colors and 1–2 fonts, then apply them globally in theme settings.

1. 1Pick one primary color (buttons, links), one neutral background, and one accent. Check contrast so text stays readable.
2. 2Choose one heading font and one body font. System or theme-default fonts load fastest.
3. 3Under Theme settings → Colors, create color schemes (e.g. light, dark, accent) and reuse them across sections.
4. 4Upload your logo (Theme settings → Logo) at 2× the display width for crisp retina rendering, and add a favicon.

Online Store → Themes → Customize

Keep the homepage simple: a clear hero, your hero product, social proof, and trust signals.

1. 1Hero banner: one headline stating the benefit, one supporting line, one button to your main product or collection.
2. 2Featured product section showing your best seller with price and 'Add to cart'.
3. 3A 3-column 'Why us' block: e.g. fast shipping, 30-day guarantee, secure checkout.
4. 4Reviews or UGC section (from your reviews app).
5. 5FAQ block answering shipping time and returns.
6. 6Remove anything that doesn't help someone buy: blog feeds, sliders, and 'Instagram feed' widgets usually just slow the page down.

Online Store → Navigation

Create a short main menu and a footer menu that holds your policies and contact page.

1. 1Main menu: Home, Shop (or your main collection), Track Order, Contact. Keep it to 3–5 links.
2. 2Footer menu: Shipping Policy, Refund Policy, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Contact, FAQ.
3. 3Add a 'Track your order' link pointing to your tracking app page — customers look for it in the footer.
4. 4Test menus on mobile. The hamburger menu should open cleanly without overlapping the logo.

Products → Add product / Online Store → Themes → Customize (Product template)

Your product page does most of the selling. Lead with benefits, show the product in use, and answer objections before they're asked.

1. 1Title: short and benefit-led (e.g. 'Self-Cleaning Pet Grooming Brush'), not a supplier keyword dump.
2. 2Images: 5–8, starting with the product in use. Include a lifestyle shot, a close-up, a size reference, and a 'what's in the box' image.
3. 3Above the fold: title, star rating, price (with compare-at price only if genuine), 3–4 benefit bullets, and the Add to cart button.
4. 4Description: problem → how the product solves it → specs → what's included. Use short paragraphs and icons.
5. 5Add an FAQ/collapsible tabs block covering shipping time, returns, sizing, and materials.
6. 6Show honest delivery estimates near the Add to cart button.
7. 7Offer bundles or quantity breaks (e.g. 'Buy 2, save 15%') to raise average order value.

Online Store → Themes → Customize (mobile preview)

Review every page on a real phone and keep the store fast as you add apps.

1. 1Use the mobile preview toggle in the theme editor, then check on your actual phone over cellular data.
2. 2Make sure the Add to cart button is visible without scrolling on the product page.
3. 3Compress images before uploading (under ~300 KB each is a good target).
4. 4Run your product page through Google PageSpeed Insights. Re-test after installing each app.
5. 5Uninstall apps you're not using — and remove leftover code snippets they add to your theme.

Settings → Policies

Explains what customer data you collect and how it's used. Required by law in many regions and by ad platforms.

1. 1Go to Settings → Policies. Shopify can generate a privacy policy automatically based on your store's settings and apps.
2. 2Review it and add any tools that collect data (Meta pixel, TikTok pixel, Klaviyo, reviews apps).
3. 3If you sell to the EU/UK or California, set up cookie consent under Settings → Customer privacy.
4. 4Link it in the footer menu.

Settings → Policies

The rules for using your store: pricing errors, liability, governing law, and dispute handling.

1. 1Use 'Create from template' in Settings → Policies.
2. 2Replace placeholders with your legal business name, address, and governing jurisdiction.
3. 3Add a clause covering pricing or availability errors so you can cancel mistaken orders.
4. 4Link it in the footer menu.

Settings → Policies

The single most important trust page for dropshipping. Clear terms here prevent chargebacks later.

1. 1State the return window (30 days is a common, trustworthy default).
2. 2Explain conditions: unused, original packaging, proof of purchase.
3. 3Specify who pays return shipping and where returns go. Many dropshippers refund low-cost items without requiring a return, since shipping back to a supplier overseas costs more than the item.
4. 4Describe the damaged/defective process: ask for a photo, then offer a replacement or refund.
5. 5State how long refunds take to process once approved.
6. 6Also set up your return rules under Settings → Policies so customers can self-serve returns from their account.

Settings → Policies

Sets delivery expectations. Honest timelines here are your best defense against 'item not received' disputes.

1. 1List processing time (e.g. 1–3 business days) and delivery time per region, separately.
2. 2Explain that orders may arrive in separate packages if customers buy multiple items (common with dropshipping).
3. 3State shipping costs and any free-shipping threshold.
4. 4Explain customs and duties for international orders.
5. 5Explain what happens with lost packages or wrong addresses.
6. 6Link to your order tracking page.

Online Store → Pages → Add page

A real way to reach you. Shopify, PayPal, and ad platforms all look for one.

1. 1Create a page titled 'Contact' and set the theme template to 'contact' so it shows a form.
2. 2Add your support email, expected response time (e.g. 'within 24 hours, Mon–Fri'), and business address if you're comfortable sharing it.
3. 3Optionally install Shopify Inbox for live chat.
4. 4Add it to both the main menu and footer menu.

Online Store → Pages → Add page

Answers the 10 questions every customer asks, cutting support volume and objections.

1. 1Cover: shipping times, tracking, returns, payment methods, product care, sizing, and contact.
2. 2Use the collapsible content section in your theme for a clean accordion layout.
3. 3Reuse the same answers in product-page FAQ blocks for consistency.

Settings → Domains

A custom domain is essential for trust and for ad platform verification.

1. 1Easiest: Settings → Domains → Buy new domain. Shopify configures DNS automatically.
2. 2Already own a domain elsewhere? Choose 'Connect existing domain' and follow the guided setup, or update DNS manually at your registrar.
3. 3Manual DNS: point the root domain's A record to 23.227.38.65 and the 'www' CNAME record to shops.myshopify.com.
4. 4Remove any conflicting A/AAAA records at the registrar. DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate.
5. 5Once connected, set it as your primary domain so all traffic redirects to it.

Meta Business Settings → Brand safety → Domains

Verifying your domain with Meta (and other ad platforms) proves ownership and is needed to control link previews and event setup.

1. 1In Meta Business Settings, add your domain under Brand safety → Domains.
2. 2Choose the meta-tag method: copy the tag, then add it via Online Store → Preferences (or your theme's head) — or use the DNS TXT record method at your registrar.
3. 3Click Verify in Meta once the tag or record is live.
4. 4Repeat similar verification for Google Search Console so your store gets indexed.

Settings → Domains → (your domain) → Email forwarding

Create branded addresses like support@ and orders@ that forward to your personal inbox.

1. 1For domains bought through Shopify, open the domain and add forwarding addresses (e.g. support@yourbrand.com → you@gmail.com).
2. 2For third-party domains, set up forwarding at your registrar or use a mail provider like Google Workspace or Zoho Mail.
3. 3Use the branded address as your customer-facing contact email in Settings → General.
4. 4Send a test email to confirm forwarding works before launch.

A simple wordmark is all you need at launch. Aim for clean and legible, not elaborate.

1. 1Design a wordmark in Canva or similar using your brand font and primary color.
2. 2Export a transparent PNG (or SVG) at roughly 500px wide for the header.
3. 3Create a square icon version (32×32 or larger) for the favicon.
4. 4Create a 1:1 profile image for Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook using the same icon.

Visual cues that reduce purchase anxiety, placed near the Add to cart button and in the footer.

1. 1Show accepted payment icons (your theme's footer setting shows these automatically).
2. 2Add a short guarantee line under the Add to cart button, e.g. '30-day money-back guarantee'.
3. 3Display real reviews with photos from your reviews app.
4. 4Use icon rows for shipping, returns, and secure checkout — only claim what's true.

Sales channels → Add channel

Consistent social profiles make the brand look real, and sales channels connect your catalog to ad platforms.

1. 1Create Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook Page profiles with the same handle, logo, and bio.
2. 2Install the Facebook & Instagram app and TikTok app from Sales channels. They install tracking pixels and sync your catalog.
3. 3Link your store URL in each bio.
4. 4Post 6–9 pieces of content before running ads so profiles don't look empty when customers check.