5 Things To Keep In Mind Before Building Your Shopify Store

With millions of merchants across 175 countries leveraging Shopify and Shopify Plus to scale their businesses, it is easily one of the world’s leading ecommerce platforms. Despite having multiple features for entrepreneurs to cherry-pick and better manage their stores, setting up Shopify can still be daunting or nerve-racking, even for experienced ecommerce experts.

Why choose Shopify?

The great thing about Shopify is its ease of use as well as having that arsenal of awesome features to help you nurture and scale your business. The reasons to choose Shopify are aplenty.

User-friendly backend Content Management System (CMS)

Shopify boasts an easy-to-use-back-end content management system that offers merchants a comprehensive overview of the information at their fingertips. We are not exaggerating when we say you can navigate between viewing your detailed sales report and managing products or orders with a simple click. Additionally, Shopify integrates seamlessly with various payment gateways, making transactions smooth and secure.

PCI Compliant for Secure Payments

Two, all stores powered by Shopify are PCI complaint. Online stores that accept payments from Visa, Mastercard, and American Express need to be PCI compliant; the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a security standard for organisations that handle credit and debit card information. Essentially, this means you can keep your payment information and business data safe while using Shopify.

Start with Shopify templates or create a custom design

Shopify's ecommerce platform offers flexibility and scalability, allowing businesses to grow quickly with a wide selection of secure, customizable themes. With a wide selection of secure templates, you can launch a professional-looking store without building a web design from scratch. For brands seeking complete creative control, Shopify also enables custom template development, allowing you to design and implement a unique storefront tailored to your brand’s identity. More prominent brands can subscribe to Shopify Plus for even more advanced features and customization options.

Expand your store’s functionality with Shopify App Store

There are Shopify apps for almost everything. Shopify’s app store is a treasure trove of functionality that you can add to your shop. You can add reviews, loyalty programmes, customer wishlists, get in-depth analytics, print labels and packing slips, integrate with accounting software, shipping programs and social media sites, not to mention all the marketing apps available. With over 10,000 to choose from, whatever you want to do it’s likely there’ll be an app for it. Note that whilst many are free, over half are charged for.

Built-in SEO & Marketing tools

It’s all well and good having a beautiful online shop but if no-one visits you’ll be pulling down the virtual shutters in no time. Another of Shopify’s big selling points is its powerful Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) features that will help your website rank higher in search results so customers can find you. These SEO features are designed to increase your website's visibility and drive organic traffic to your online store. You also have access to advanced analytics to tell you where your customers are coming from so you can tailor your marketing accordingly. 

For B2B and large enterprise businesses, learn how to upgrade to Shopify Plus with our consultation and Shopify platform demo.

Understanding Shopify’s Commerce Platform

Shopify’s commerce platform is a comprehensive solution that helps businesses create and manage online stores quickly. It offers a suite of services that cover everything from payments and marketing to shipping and customer engagement. Whether you’re a small business just starting or a larger enterprise looking to scale, Shopify provides the tools you need to sell online and in-person products.

You can create a professional-looking online store that reflects your brand with Shopify. The platform allows you to manage inventory, process payments, and ship orders to customers efficiently. Additionally, Shopify’s analytics and reporting tools provide valuable insights into your store’s performance, helping you make data-driven decisions to grow your business. By leveraging Shopify’s robust commerce platform, you can streamline your operations and focus on what matters most—serving customers and expanding your business.

Choosing the Right Plan for Your Business

Selecting the right Shopify plan is crucial to ensuring your business has the features and support necessary for it to thrive. Shopify offers a range of plans tailored to different business needs, from the Basic Shopify and Advanced plan, to the Shopify Plus plan. The Basic Shopify plan is perfect for small businesses just getting started, offering essential features at an affordable price. On the other hand, the Shopify Plus plan is ideal for larger businesses that require more advanced features and greater support. Read our comparison between the Shopify Advanced and Shopify Plus plans.

When choosing a plan, consider the number of products you plan to sell, the number of staff accounts you need, the level of support you require, as well as the subscription fees associated with each plan. Shopify’s free trial is a great way to test the platform and determine which plan best suits your business needs. By carefully evaluating your requirements and taking advantage of the free trial, you can select a plan to help your business succeed.

Five things to keep in mind

Now that you know some of Shopify’s salient pointers, you might be keen to get started on using the ecommerce platform. Read on to find out five key things to keep in mind while digitalising your business and building your Shopify store.

1. High quality visual assets

Here’s the truth: the quality of visual assets, such as photos and videos, can make or break a brand. Having a library of high-quality visual assets is a win-win, as you update your digital storefront and social media. If you are just starting out, here is a list of visual assets you need:

• High Res Logos - in JPEG, PNG, SVG
• Product Images
• Branded Images
• Some stock images

If you sell physical products and have the budget, consider hiring a professional to help you take the photos or videos you need. Plan ahead for your campaigns and work out a neat package with the creative. It is always good to nurture a pool of creatives to work with for the long haul. 

Otherwise, You can make use of simple design tools, such as Canva, or get free images via Pexels, Unsplash or Shopify’s Burst. Check out our list of free stock images sites.

2. Ensure the website is mobile-optimised

This should come as a no-brainer but not many brands optimise their webpages for mobile usage. People shop on mobile phones and they do so throughout the day, whether they commute to work, having lunch, and even in the loo too.

As a customer, it can be infuriating to attempt navigating an online store that doesn’t load well or display nicely. Chances are, you will likely repeat your search elsewhere and click or shop from somewhere with a user-friendly website.

The great news about Shopify is that you can choose to optimise your website such that it appears as you wish on mobile. Some practical tips you can consider when editing your storefront for mobile include:

• Ensuring that your site speed is fast - you can consider reducing the file size of the images and videos you upload if you find that your website loads slowly
• Spacing out the call-to-action (CTA) placements strategically so as to convert customers to make a purchase. The rule of thumb is having 1 CTA per page
• Reducing the number of pop-ups on your website
• Checking for cropped-out images or missing CTAs

3. Add social media links

In 2021, there were a total of 4.2 billion active social media users. That’s right, there is much potential to be tapped on here. Take advantage of the power of being sociable and incorporate that into your digital marketing strategies to reach out to potential customers.

Consumers today are now looking to shop with brands that are authentic. Leverage social media to humanise the brand, interact with fans and stay on top of mind is a great way to show this authenticity. If you are starting up a Shopify account, be sure to have your social links ready and have them incorporated at the footer or relevant pages!

If you don’t already know, Instagram is looking to emulate the likes of TikTok. Which makes learning how to create attention-grabbing Instagram Reels a good skill to have.

4. Avoid the free Shopify domain

Building a brand can be as simple as purchasing and owning your domain. Having your own web domain facilitates greater brand retention and builds authenticity. It also enhances brand recognition, making your business more memorable to customers. Stand out from Shopify greenhorns (who likely will stick with abc.myshopify.com) with your own web domain. You can choose to purchase from Shopify or get them at an affordable rate on your own.

5. Pre-write your FAQ section

Having answers to the most commonly asked questions on a single page can help merchants convert and convince curious customers to move along the sales funnel (from adding items to the cart to checking out). An FAQ section can also improve customer satisfaction by providing quick answers to common questions. Different businesses will have different FAQs, but the basics are almost always the same. We recommend doing your due diligence and researching similar or rival brands for some of these commonly asked questions.

If you are still clueless on where to start, consider addressing the following:

• Shipping policies - Do you offer free local and international shipping after ordering a certain amount?
• Return policies - Does your store allow customers to return their goods? If so, do they have to foot the delivery expense back to your warehouse?
• Refund policies - For how long are customers allowed to refund their goods after receiving them?

That said, do remember to update your store’s FAQ from time to time.

6. BONUS - Focus on first impressions

To increase conversions on your ecommerce store, you should focus first focus on first impressions. Consumers often form an opinion or judgement when they first enter your site, which makes having a seamless user experience and awesome user interface a boon to have.

To that extent, it makes sense to invest in a trustworthy and good web designer, who is proficient in UI and UX designs, to design your Shopify store from the get-go. Learn how to meld your brand’s story onto your website with 360&5 here.