🛍️ Shopify — Getting Started
Understanding the Platform Before You Start Building
Now that you've planned what your website needs to do, let's look at one platform many small-business owners use:
SHOPIFY
Shopify is a commerce platform designed to help businesses sell online and in person. It can provide the storefront, checkout, product management, inventory tools, payment options and other features needed to run an online store.
But before you start adding products, installing apps and changing themes, I want you to understand how the pieces fit together.
Shopify can be powerful.
But it can also become expensive and confusing if you start adding things without a plan.
🧠 FIRST — WHAT IS SHOPIFY?
Shopify can help you manage things such as:
🛍️ Products
📦 Inventory
💳 Checkout
🚚 Shipping
🏷️ Discounts
📂 Collections
📄 Website pages
🎨 Website themes
📱 Sales channels
👤 Customer accounts
📊 Reports
🧩 Apps
and more.
Shopify currently provides a full online store on its main paid plans, along with themes/templates and the ability to sell unlimited products.
But you do not have to use every feature.
Start with what your business actually needs.
🤔 WHO MIGHT SHOPIFY BE GOOD FOR?
Shopify may be worth considering if you want to:
✔️ Sell physical products
✔️ Sell certain digital products with appropriate tools/apps
✔️ Accept online payments
✔️ Manage orders
✔️ Track inventory
✔️ Offer shipping
✔️ Offer local pickup
✔️ Create product categories
✔️ Offer discounts
✔️ Sell through multiple channels
✔️ Operate an online store without building the entire system from scratch
For a business focused primarily on selling products, Shopify can be a strong option.
🚫 WHO MAY NOT NEED SHOPIFY?
If your business only needs:
A few informational pages.
A contact form.
A portfolio.
Basic business information.
A simple landing page.
you may not need a full e-commerce platform.
Don't pay for a shopping system if you don't need to sell anything.
Choose the platform based on what your business needs.
💰 HOW MUCH DOES SHOPIFY COST?
Shopify's pricing can change, so always check the current pricing before subscribing.
As of September 2026, Shopify's U.S. pricing page currently lists:
Basic: $39/month when paid monthly, or $29/month when billed yearly
Grow: $105/month monthly, or $79/month billed yearly
Advanced: $399/month monthly, or $299/month billed yearly
Shopify Plus begins much higher and is designed for more complex businesses.
DO NOT CHOOSE A PLAN JUST BECAUSE IT COSTS MORE.
Start by comparing the features your business actually needs.
And remember:
YOUR SHOPIFY PLAN MAY NOT BE YOUR ONLY WEBSITE EXPENSE.
💳 YOUR REAL MONTHLY COST MAY INCLUDE MORE THAN SHOPIFY
You could also pay for:
🌐 Your domain
📧 Business email
🧩 Apps
🎨 Premium theme
📅 Booking system
📧 Email marketing
🔐 Membership tools
📦 Shipping services
💳 Payment processing
📸 Other business tools
This is why I keep repeating:
WATCH THE SMALL MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTIONS.
A $9 app doesn't sound like much.
Neither does a $15 app.
Or a $20 app.
Until you've installed eight of them. 😳
🧾 KEEP A SHOPIFY EXPENSE LIST
Write down everything connected to your store.
Shopify Plan: $____________
Domain: $_________________
Email: $__________________
Apps: $___________________
Theme: $__________________
Other: $__________________
MONTHLY TOTAL:
$________________
ANNUAL TOTAL:
$________________
Review this periodically.
You may discover you're paying for apps you don't even use anymore.
🏠 YOUR SHOPIFY ADMIN vs. YOUR WEBSITE
This is important for beginners.
SHOPIFY ADMIN
This is the behind-the-scenes area where you manage the business.
You use it to handle things such as:
Products.
Orders.
Customers.
Discounts.
Content.
Settings.
Apps.
Analytics.
ONLINE STORE
This is what your customers see.
Think of it as:
ADMIN = BACK OFFICE
ONLINE STORE = CUSTOMER-FACING STORE
Don't confuse the two.
📦 START WITH YOUR PRODUCTS
Shopify's own getting-started guidance currently recommends adding a product, trying themes and setting up your domain as part of initial store setup.
For each product, you'll generally need information such as:
Product title
Description
Photos
Price
Variants
Inventory
Shipping information
Product category
Search information
and other applicable details.
Don't rush through your product listings.
Your product page is often where the customer decides whether to buy.
🏷️ PRODUCT TITLES MATTER
Avoid titles that only make sense to YOU.
For example:
NOT HELPFUL:
Item #2234
MORE HELPFUL:
Black Women's Crossbody Handbag
The customer should be able to understand what the product is.
Your titles can also help with search and store organization.
✍🏽 PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
Your description should answer questions the customer may have before buying.
Depending on the product, include:
✔️ What it is
✔️ Important features
✔️ Size/dimensions
✔️ Materials
✔️ Color
✔️ What's included
✔️ Condition
✔️ How to use it
✔️ Important restrictions
✔️ Care instructions
DON'T MAKE CUSTOMERS GUESS.
A good description can reduce unnecessary questions—and sometimes returns.
📸 PRODUCT PHOTOS
Use clear photos.
Depending on the product, consider:
📸 Front
📸 Back
📸 Side
📸 Packaging
📸 Details
📸 Size reference
📸 Any flaws or open-box condition
If you're selling open-box, resale or customer-return merchandise, photographs and descriptions should accurately represent the item's condition.
DON'T HIDE SOMETHING THE CUSTOMER NEEDS TO KNOW.
🎨 WHAT IS A SHOPIFY THEME?
Your theme controls much of how your online store looks and is arranged.
That can include:
Layout.
Fonts.
Sections.
Product pages.
Menus.
Images.
Colors.
Buttons.
Shopify currently offers both free and paid themes, and Shopify allows merchants to try certain paid themes before purchasing them.
DON'T BUY A THEME JUST BECAUSE THE DEMO LOOKS BEAUTIFUL.
The demo may contain professional photography, perfectly written content and carefully arranged products.
Your store will only look that way if your content works with the theme too.
🆓 START WITH A FREE THEME IF IT DOES WHAT YOU NEED
There is nothing wrong with starting with a free theme.
Before paying for a theme, ask:
What feature am I getting that my current theme doesn't provide?
If you can't answer that, you may not need to spend the money yet.
YOU CAN CHANGE THEMES LATER.
Your first theme doesn't have to be your forever theme.
🚨 DON'T KEEP CHANGING THEMES EVERY WEEK
Another common mistake:
You start building.
Then see another theme.
Change.
See another one.
Change again.
Then another.
😳
Before switching themes, ask:
WHAT IS THE CURRENT THEME NOT DOING?
Constantly changing the design can become a form of procrastination.
At some point:
BUILD THE STORE.
📂 WHAT ARE COLLECTIONS?
Collections help organize products into groups so customers can find them more easily.
Shopify currently allows collections to group products by category, theme, customer intent and other criteria.
For example, a clothing store might have:
Dresses
Shoes
Accessories
Sale
A hair business might have:
Wigs
Bundles
Adhesives
Accessories
A resale store might have:
Electronics
Home
Beauty
Clothing
Open Box
Clearance
COLLECTIONS ARE FOR THE CUSTOMER.
Organize them based on how people are likely to shop.
🧠 COLLECTIONS vs. PRODUCTS
Here's the simple version:
PRODUCT
One item you're selling.
COLLECTION
A group of related products.
Example:
PRODUCT:
Black 20-Inch Lace Wig
could appear in:
COLLECTION:
Lace Wigs
and possibly:
COLLECTION:
New Arrivals
and:
COLLECTION:
20-Inch Hair
depending on how you organize your store.
⚠️ SHOPIFY'S COLLECTION SYSTEM IS CHANGING
This is one reason I don't want you memorizing every button.
Shopify is currently rolling out a newer collections model that replaces the older manual/smart collection structure for some stores. Shopify says stores that haven't received the newer model can continue using the legacy setup until it becomes available.
THE LESSON ISN'T “MEMORIZE WHERE THE BUTTON IS.”
The lesson is:
UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE CREATING A COLLECTION.
Platforms change.
Menus move.
The purpose remains the same.
📄 SHOPIFY PAGES
Shopify isn't only for product pages.
You can also create regular website pages such as:
About Us
Contact
FAQ
Shipping
Returns
Services
Membership Information
Policies
and other content.
Shopify's setup guidance specifically recommends adding business-information pages such as About and Contact as part of organizing a store.
THESE PAGES HELP TURN A STORE INTO A COMPLETE WEBSITE.
🧭 YOUR MENU IS IMPORTANT
Your menu helps customers find:
Products.
Collections.
Pages.
Information.
Shopify currently provides default main and footer menus, and merchants can add links and create dropdown navigation.
A simple store menu might be:
HOME | SHOP | ABOUT | FAQ | CONTACT
Your footer may contain:
Shipping
Returns
Privacy
Terms
Contact
Social links
and other secondary information.
🚫 DON'T PUT EVERYTHING IN THE MAIN MENU
If your menu looks like:
Home
Shop
About
Wigs
Hair
Shoes
Electronics
Services
Blog
Returns
Privacy
Shipping
Terms
FAQ
Contact
Membership
Travel
Sale
New
Clearance
...your customer may not know where to look. 😳
Group related things.
Use dropdowns.
Put secondary information in the footer.
MAKE NAVIGATION EASY.
🧩 WHAT ARE SHOPIFY APPS?
Apps add extra functions to Shopify.
You may find apps for:
📧 Email marketing
⭐ Reviews
📅 Booking
🔐 Memberships
📦 Shipping
🛒 Upsells
💬 Chat
🎁 Rewards
📊 Reporting
🔄 Inventory
📱 Social media
and thousands of other functions.
Shopify's own overview notes that both free and paid apps are available through the Shopify App Store.
APPS CAN BE USEFUL.
But they can also become one of the biggest sources of unnecessary monthly expenses.
🚨 MY RULE BEFORE INSTALLING AN APP
Ask:
WHAT PROBLEM AM I TRYING TO SOLVE?
Then ask:
Does Shopify already do this?
Does my theme already do this?
Do I already have another app doing this?
Is there a free option?
How much will this cost monthly?
What happens if I remove the app later?
DON'T INSTALL APPS JUST BECAUSE THEY LOOK INTERESTING.
🗑️ REVIEW YOUR APPS PERIODICALLY
Every few months, look at:
APPS YOU INSTALLED
and ask:
Do I still use this?
Am I paying for it?
Does another app now do the same thing?
Did Shopify add this feature itself?
Platforms evolve.
Something you needed an app for three years ago may now be built into Shopify.
💳 SHOPIFY PAYMENTS
Shopify has its own payment provider, Shopify Payments, which allows eligible merchants to accept card payments directly through Shopify.
Payment availability, processing rates and additional fees can depend on:
Your country.
Your plan.
Payment method.
Whether you're using Shopify Payments.
Other circumstances.
CHECK CURRENT RATES BEFORE YOU DECIDE.
Don't assume the only cost is your monthly Shopify subscription.
💸 UNDERSTAND TRANSACTION & PROCESSING FEES
These are not always the same thing.
PAYMENT PROCESSING FEE
A fee associated with processing a customer's payment.
THIRD-PARTY TRANSACTION FEE
Depending on your Shopify setup and plan, additional fees may apply when using certain third-party payment providers instead of Shopify Payments.
Always review the current Shopify pricing and payment documentation for your specific setup.
INCLUDE THESE COSTS WHEN PRICING YOUR PRODUCTS.
🚚 SHIPPING
If you sell physical products, decide:
Where you ship.
How you'll calculate shipping.
What packaging you'll use.
How long processing takes.
Whether you'll offer free shipping.
Whether you'll offer local pickup.
Who pays for returns.
DON'T TURN ON SHIPPING OPTIONS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND.
Test them before launching.
📦 INVENTORY
If you want Shopify to help track inventory, your product information needs to be accurate.
Think about:
How many you actually have.
Where the inventory is located.
Whether you sell the same inventory somewhere else.
Whether overselling should be allowed.
IF YOU SELL ON MULTIPLE PLATFORMS, INVENTORY MANAGEMENT BECOMES EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.
Selling the same last item twice can create an unhappy customer.
👤 CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS
Depending on your setup, Shopify can allow customer accounts.
Accounts may help customers access things such as their order information and other features.
But ask:
DOES MY BUSINESS ACTUALLY NEED CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS?
For some stores, yes.
For others, guest checkout may be perfectly fine.
Don't add friction just because a feature exists.
📧 CUSTOMER NOTIFICATIONS
Shopify can send notifications related to things such as:
Orders.
Shipping.
Account activity.
and other customer events.
Review these before launching.
Ask yourself:
WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMER RECEIVE AFTER THEY ORDER?
Don't wait for your first customer to discover your email says something outdated or incorrect.
📝 REVIEW YOUR STORE POLICIES
Your Shopify store may need information such as:
Shipping policy
Return/refund policy
Privacy policy
Terms
Contact information
Depending on your business, other policies may also be appropriate.
GENERATING A POLICY TEMPLATE IS NOT THE SAME AS REVIEWING IT.
Read the wording.
Make sure it matches what your business actually does.
🌐 YOUR DOMAIN
When you first create a Shopify store, you'll have a Shopify-provided store address.
You can later connect your own custom domain.
Shopify's current getting-started guidance includes setting up a domain as part of launching a store.
We'll cover this in detail on:
🔗 PAGE 6 — CONNECTING YOUR DOMAIN
🔍 SEARCH ENGINE LISTINGS
Shopify allows you to edit search-engine information for many pages, products and collections.
You may see fields such as:
PAGE TITLE
META DESCRIPTION
URL HANDLE
Don't ignore those fields.
You don't have to become an SEO expert, but you should understand what they do.
We'll cover this more on:
🔍 PAGE 10 — GOOGLE, SEO & GETTING FOUND ONLINE
🤖 SHOPIFY NOW INCLUDES AI TOOLS
Shopify currently includes AI-powered tools such as Sidekick and Shopify Magic to assist with store tasks and content. Shopify's own getting-started materials currently reference Sidekick for theme/store guidance and Shopify Magic for product content.
These can be helpful.
But remember our AI rule:
REVIEW THE WORK.
Don't publish something simply because AI generated it.
Check:
Facts.
Prices.
Policies.
Product specifications.
Claims.
Tone.
Spelling.
🚫 DON'T SPEND THREE DAYS PERFECTING YOUR HOME PAGE BEFORE ADDING PRODUCTS
If your business is an online store, customers ultimately need something to buy.
I would rather see you have:
✔️ Accurate products
✔️ Clear prices
✔️ Good photos
✔️ Working checkout
✔️ Correct shipping
✔️ Clear policies
than spend two weeks choosing the perfect font.
FUNCTION FIRST.
Then polish.
🧪 TEST YOUR STORE BEFORE LAUNCHING
This is extremely important.
Shopify's own launch checklist recommends testing the online store and placing test orders before launch.
Test your store like you're a customer.
Use:
YOUR COMPUTER
and
YOUR PHONE.
Try:
☐ Homepage
☐ Menu
☐ Search
☐ Product page
☐ Variants
☐ Add to cart
☐ Discount code
☐ Shipping
☐ Pickup
☐ Checkout
☐ Contact form
☐ Confirmation email
☐ Links
☐ Policies
☐ Customer account if used
DON'T ASSUME IT WORKS BECAUSE IT LOOKS GOOD.
📱 PLACE A TEST ORDER YOURSELF
Go through the buying process.
Ask:
Was anything confusing?
Did the price look right?
Was shipping correct?
Did the confirmation arrive?
Did inventory update?
Did the order appear correctly in the admin?
You may discover things your customer would otherwise discover first.
🏪 DON'T FORGET THE STORE FROM THE CUSTOMER'S VIEW
Business owners spend so much time inside the admin that they forget to visit their own website.
Regularly go to your actual domain as a customer.
CLICK AROUND.
Pretend you've never seen your store before.
Can you find what you need?
🔒 ACCOUNT SECURITY
Protect your Shopify account.
Use:
✔️ Strong unique password
✔️ Two-factor authentication when available
✔️ Current recovery information
✔️ Appropriate staff permissions
Don't give everyone the owner's login.
If someone is helping with your store, use the appropriate account/access tools whenever possible.
👥 STAFF ACCESS
If you have employees or contractors helping with your business, don't automatically give them complete access to everything.
Give people the level of access appropriate for the work they actually need to do.
THE PERSON ADDING PRODUCTS DOESN'T NECESSARILY NEED ACCESS TO EVERYTHING IN YOUR BUSINESS.
📋 SHOPIFY STARTUP WORKSHEET
My Shopify Plan
Monthly Cost
$___________________________________
Billing Date
Store Name
Custom Domain
Primary Business Email
📂 PRODUCTS
Number of products I plan to start with:
Main product categories/collections:
🎨 THEME
Theme I'm Using: ______________________
☐ Free
☐ Paid
Theme Cost: $__________________________
Why did I choose this theme?
If the answer is only:
“Because it was pretty.”
go back and make sure it actually has the features and layout you need. 😄
🧩 APPS
List every app you install.
| APP | PURPOSE | MONTHLY COST |
|---|---|---|
| __________ | __________ | $______ |
| __________ | __________ | $______ |
| __________ | __________ | $______ |
| __________ | __________ | $______ |
TOTAL APP COST:
$________________ / month
✅ BEFORE YOU LAUNCH YOUR SHOPIFY STORE
Check:
☐ Products are accurate
☐ Prices are correct
☐ Inventory is correct
☐ Product photos display properly
☐ Collections are organized
☐ Main menu works
☐ Footer works
☐ Contact information is correct
☐ Policies are published
☐ Domain works
☐ Payment settings are correct
☐ Shipping settings are correct
☐ Pickup settings are correct, if used
☐ Notifications were reviewed
☐ Store looks good on mobile
☐ All important links work
☐ Apps were reviewed
☐ I understand my monthly costs
☐ I placed a test order
☐ I reviewed the store as a customer
⭐ MRS. GWEN'S SHOPIFY RULES
1. DON'T INSTALL AN APP UNTIL YOU KNOW WHY YOU NEED IT.
2. Start with a free theme if it does the job.
3. Organize products for the customer—not just yourself.
4. Don't confuse products, collections and pages.
5. Keep your main menu simple.
6. Know every recurring charge.
7. Check your website from your PHONE.
8. Read your own policies.
9. Test the checkout before taking real orders.
10. Don't give away complete control of your store.
❤️ ONE OF THE BIGGEST SHOPIFY LESSONS
Shopify gives you a lot of tools.
That does not mean you need to use all of them.
A simple store that works correctly is better than a complicated store full of:
Apps.
Popups.
Animations.
Menus.
Features.
and subscriptions...
that confuse the customer.
START SIMPLE.
MAKE SURE IT WORKS.
THEN IMPROVE IT.
➡️ NEXT: CONNECTING YOUR DOMAIN
Your Shopify store can be built before your custom domain is connected.
On the next page, we'll talk about:
Connecting vs. transferring a domain.
Primary domains.
DNS.
What happens when your domain is registered somewhere else.
www vs. non-www.
Redirects.
And why you should never cancel your domain just because you change website platforms.
← PAGE 4: PLANNING YOUR WEBSITE BEFORE YOU BUILD IT
🏠 ONLINE BUSINESS HOME
PAGE 6: CONNECTING YOUR DOMAIN →
⚠️ IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
This information is provided for general educational purposes only.
Shopify plans, pricing, payment rates, features, apps, themes, policies and administrative menus can change. Always verify current information directly through Shopify before choosing a plan, purchasing a theme, installing a paid app or making changes to your store.
Your business may also have legal, tax, privacy, shipping or payment requirements not covered in this basic website resource.