5 Essential Tips for Everyone Starting a Shopify Online Store

Shopify is one of the leading eCommerce platforms of today’s world with many tools to integrate with. Many business owners chose to use it as they believe that it is not a very difficult platform to master. But, creating a store with basic features will most likely lead to ‘basic’ results. On top of that, the eCommerce industry is growing bigger with each new day, and that only proves how important it is to start the store on a positive note and try to be different from the rest.

Fortunately, various tips and tricks can significantly help with the launch phase. Manage to go through this phase successfully, and you will get a decent base that will help you grow your business and reap maximum rewards later. Let’s take a look.

Choose your domain wisely

Selecting a domain name could make or break your business in its earliest phases, so it’s important to select a good domain name that reflects your business’s values and purpose. An effective domain name should give your website enough recognition for customers to start coming in to shop. Additionally, it should be easy to remember and attractive to your customers so that they come back to shop more.

Before you start researching the internet for different domain names, it should be mentioned that you don’t have to spend a fortune. You can buy cheap domain names that will fit your business perfectly. You just need to be a bit flexible.

If your desired name is available and it is not a trademark in use by another business, you can then proceed to buy it. Know that a wisely-selected domain name can bring you many benefits, such as the ones listed below:

• Brand control. Owners that do not secure their preferred business domain names run the risk of somebody else purchasing it and losing control of their brands;
• Memorable goes a long way. A memorable name will help your business stand out from the competition and remain in your customers’ minds.
• Brand booster. It allows a business owner to convey a message to visitors about the services and the company’s core message. When used correctly, a name can contribute to the overall reputation and branding, and with the guidance of a branding design firm, it will undoubtedly make your product shine.
• SEO booster. Having a relevant domain name that links directly to your service or product and includes the words people commonly use to look for them has a positive impact on the website’s search engine ranking.

Improve your main pages

It is essential to have a couple of pages that visitors can browse to learn more about the business. A study conducted by Shopify concluded that customers visiting a brand new store are looking for answers on whether the store is an upstanding business and whether it treats its customers properly.

Considering the results of the study, the following pages are essential, and as an aspiring online store, you should include them in your website map:

• The Homepage is the first place people land on, and it is basically the face of your online store.
• A Contact page offers customers the reassurance that a webshop is authentic.
• An About page shows customers important details about your company, brand, and the team behind the business.
• The chances are that you don’t have all the information on the three mentioned pages, so you should create an FAQ page. That’s why you need to predict and analyze the questions your customers often ask most and also look at your rivals to see what questions they answer on their websites.

Another important mention would be to strategically use icons since they’re a significant factor in your overall design. The importance of visual content is undisputed, and since it’s much easier to memorize and relate to a visual structure, utilizing icons from Design Bundles could be the crucial step that your website’s design is craving. In addition, it is important to create these pages and have them ready on your website from the beginning. Do not forget that a customer can easily bounce from your website if they have any doubts about your business. Luckily, your main pages can prevent that from happening.

Turn to experts to make the most out of Shopify

It is true that you can set up your own Shopify store even if you don’t have any technical knowledge regarding web development. However, if you wish to create a unique website with some premium features that the vast majority of your rivals don’t have, you might want to turn to a Shopify development company and seek help.

The main benefit of it is the opportunity to have an attractive and brand-consistent store, and professional Shopify developers can build that for you. Keep in mind that shoppers pay attention to your online store’s look and feel. A design that looks neat and a user-friendly interface improve your store’s credibility and reputation right away. On the other hand, a poorly-designed and unresponsive website will surely drive potential customers away.

The second most important benefit, in this case, is the improved SEO. Search engine optimization is the practice of optimizing websites to make them rank higher in Google’s search results, increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to a website.

A beautiful theme, nice photos, and an attractive store name are not enough for your website to rank highly. Simply put, if customers can’t find your website on search engines, all of these will not matter at all. But with a good agency, your online store can become SEO-friendly.

Think about your sales channels

The Harvard Business Review conducted a study a few years ago that found that only about 7% of consumers shop online. Also, the figures state that the consumer base is growing rapidly multi-channel.

Around 70% of customers rely on multiple channels to make a single purchase with a brand, spending 10% more than the individuals who use just one channel. It is clear that you should take advantage of the multi-channel approach, but you should first figure out what sales channels work well for your business and add them to your Shopify store.

Here are some online sales channels that can be added to a Shopify store:

• Amazon
• Instagram
• eBay
• Google Shopping
• Pinterest

All of these and some other sales channels connect with the core of a Shopify store, allowing the owner to keep track of orders, products, and customers across all platforms easily. Just remember that you must choose the right platform if you want to gain the most traction and earn good revenue.

Consider your checkout experience and payment gateway preferences

Prior to driving any traffic to your Shopify store, it is necessary to ensure that visitors can complete a purchase. A study conducted by the Baymard Institute indicates that the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is almost 70%. It would be wise to rectify any errors and eliminate friction at checkout. Fail to do so, and you might risk losing more sales.

Keep in mind the following things when testing the checkout process:

• Shipping rates need to be clearly visible during checkout.
• Discount codes should be enabled (for customers to apply them to the cart).
• Shoppers should be able to edit the cart content.
• Popular payment methods need to be included (PayPal, Payoneer, etc.).
• An option for order status tracking needs to be there.
• You should provide a language and currency switcher along with a shipping policy clearly stating who pays duties and taxes (for international sales and shipping).

Finally, know that with Shopify Payments, you can do a test order on the website with a live payment gateway to ensure that everything works fine.

Final thoughts

Consider the tips you have read in this article before you start setting up your new Shopify store. Starting everything properly could bring you the desired momentum that you can use to achieve further success.

Don’t forget that all details matter when creating your shop. For a more sophisticated experience on your website, you should turn to professionals that have experience in web development.