Before discovering how to create a Shopify online store, let’s say that you are convinced you to want to open an e-commerce platform, and your choice is made. What is the next step? In an ideal world, you would like your shop to be open to the public as early as next week. Rest assured, it is possible, and we will guide you through the steps. Before you begin, you will need to ask yourself some questions.
Determine who you want to sell to
Who is your target audience? Answering this question is essential at the beginning of the project because it affects all the next sections of the development of your Shopify online store. For example, if you want to sell your products only in Montreal, the delivery will not be the same as if you serve all of Quebec.
Do you want your site to be accessible in French and English? At the content entry stage, if your site is bilingual, you will have all of the site’s pages and product descriptions to be produced in two languages. Depending on the number of products you sell, this task alone takes time. If this task hinders your e-commerce, know that Parkour3 can accompany you.
Shopify offers only one currency per installation. However, you can accept payments in multiple currencies. For example, if you sell to both the United States and Canada, you may need to use specific modules to offer your customers the choice of choosing their currency in your store.
Product Preparation
The first thing to do is to prepare the products on the site. You will need at least one image for each product, possibly more if you opt for a product carousel. Then you will need a description. If your product has precise technical details that must be separated from your description, the Shopify platform allows you to have additional content fields in addition to the product description.
If you have all this information even before the site’s production, so much the better; Shopify allows the mass import of your products from a CSV file (the file can be created from an excel list). Naturally, if you want to integrate your information directly into Shopify, you can go directly through the administration.
Contents
In addition to content for your products, you will probably need content pages on your site. If you have simple content pages to present, Shopify can be enough for you. Content editing is done right in the tool and is user-friendly. Another possibility is running a WordPress site alongside your Shopify site, allowing you to have a blog and more complex content pages. Users could switch between your blog and your Shopify site without issue. In this way, you use the strength of both platforms. But be aware that Shopify can present content without the help of an additional site.
Dispatch
Now that your products are added, you have to think about shipping. Is your solution already in place? Do you simply proceed with a pick-up in-store, for example? Shopify offers several types of connections to various tools to help you with the shipping of your products. The fees and features of each can vary from service to service, so it is very important to take the time to find the right service that applies to your business.
Payment
Shopify offers connections with a wide variety of payment methods, whether with Paypal or with Shopify’s proprietary payment method; you will have to choose the solution that suits you best when creating your Shopify online store. As with shipping, rates vary from service to service.
Maintenance
Finally, after setting up your online store, you will need to set up an internal operation to check orders or modify the stocks of your products. You will need someone in your organization who is comfortable producing sales reports and making product and content changes. There are several apps to help you with any sort of aspect of your online store. As a Shopify Partner, we also support you in training and integration to help you discover how to create a Shopify online store.
In conclusion, if you have any questions about how to proceed or if you would like to obtain a Shopify demo and its administration, do not hesitate to contact us so that we can discuss each of the points mentioned in this article in greater depth together.
