In our modern times, many resources and tips contribute to the maximum use of one of the most popular e-commerce platforms on the market in Shopify development company. This blog has mentioned tips and resources for e-commerce users before. You might remember this list of general tips for e-commerce sites that we put together a while back.
After reading this article, you will get acquainted with the top 10 resources, as well as get some tips on using Shopify. The article will be aimed mostly at newbies and will give you a great starting point into the world of e-commerce.
At each point, some key excerpts from the articles will be highlighted, as well as a link to the resource so that you can continue reading.
If you are wondering for what reason Shopify can be a very useful resource for you, then we suggest you carefully read and study our detailed review about it.
Editor’s clarification: the date of the initial publication of this post is November 16, 2018, then, to ensure accuracy and completeness, it was revised by the author.
1. How to set up your store.
When you’re taking your first steps into the world of e-commerce, your ambition plays an important role here. The ambition to build your brand and perception of the world means that the main fundamentals of this industry may be overlooked by you.
Foremost, you should make sure that the setup of your store has been performed correctly. Thus, we offer you the following for a good start: Shopify Beginner’s Guide.
This is a great resource from MonetizePros. It goes through significant topics such as evaluation of the platform and how to set up an online store from scratch. It also covers the various features needed for any newbie, as well as setting up a background in the app store.
The main conclusion.
Hosting — This includes domain hosting, as well as email. Thus, you will need to appeal to the registrar of Internet domains, namely GoDaddy or Namecheap. Concerning GoDaddy, it is proposed here to register a domain for the first year. Additionally, the service offers support by e-mail to your company, and the cost for each user will cost you about $2 per month. When using a special GET 30 OFF code, you will be given a discount of 30%;
Payment method — When you’re about to make your first payment on Shopify, you can get a 10% discount if you pay for a one-year plan, or a 20% discount for a two-year plan (two years);
Domain – If you are trying in every possible way to choose a name for your store, but do not know which ones are available to you, then you should use the company name tool;
Theme – Shopify has 9 free themes available for users, including such a very popular one as Brooklyn. However, if your attitude to your business is very serious, it is preferable to use one of the paid options. You can also request a service from a developer who will create your unique theme for you. This way you will significantly stand out among your competitors, but we will talk about this a little later.
The process of creating a page for your product.
If you complete a detailed description of your products, then this will be the key to the successful development of the e-commerce business, which is a very significant aspect of your business. We recommend that you study and adopt several tips from us for your product page.
Metadata — Shopify presents you with a preview of your search engine listings when you create your pages. Adding a short 50-60 character title that also matches your URL helps a lot here. Perhaps the most forgotten element is the meta description. While not a ranking factor, it does help improve your click-through rate, which in turn will help improve your ranking. The ideal number of characters for this is 130-160 characters.
Content — writing product descriptions is the most significant thing you will do, so how do you do it well? First, they need to belong and be unwavering. Make sure you use headings and spaces and markers. Don’t forget to use replacement text for your images as well. Search engines can’t “see” your product, so they will rely on your description to rank.
Customer Support Service — There are two important elements to this: reviews and frequently asked questions. First, you need to display full written reviews on the page. Our favorite free plugin, Yotpo, if you get less than 50 orders a month, is perfect for a startup. Each product page should include frequently asked questions, ideally, they should be searchable by the user. Another tip is to include a voting system so that the most popular answers are at the top.
2. Domain Setup.
When you initially set up your Shopify store, you are given myshopify.com for free, so your store URL will look like this: http://sportshoes.myshopify.
So it’s important to buy a domain from GoDaddy or Namecheap and specify your domain on Shopify.
Main conclusions.
Domain not connected — Initially, when you perform the steps to update your domain, you may see an error telling you that your domain is not connected. Don’t worry, sometimes it can take up to 24 hours to update the DNS records for a domain name.
SSL — If you want to get an SSL certificate and configure your website to HTTPS (and you should do it), you will need to contact Shopify directly for questions, not the domain registrar.
How to connect a third-party domain.
We prefer to buy a domain from the aforementioned companies. Here are a few things to consider when connecting a personal domain to your Shopify storage.
Transferring — Once you’ve purchased your domain, you can transfer it directly to Shopify. This allows you to manage all your domain settings from your Shopify admin section.
Delay — Remember that connecting your domain to Shopify can cause a delay. Plan for this in conjunction with the launch of your store, as it can potentially delay this procedure.
TTL — the above has a specific solution that reduces the value of the period of existence (TTL) of your domain. In this case, to figure out whether it can decrease, you should appeal to the Internet provider.
3. Commissioning of the online store.
And now that you have studied the first steps, you can start bringing your store into the world!
However, it is recommended to carefully check if everything is done correctly before doing the launch. For this purpose, a team of professionals has prepared a checklist according to which you can successfully activate the Shopify store to do this, you can contact the shopify development company for help. .
This article offers a review of everything, starting with additional sales channels and image optimization, and ending with the setup of analytics, taxes, and delivery. After all, you will agree that during the launch process, there is no desire to mess with administrative tasks that you initially missed. You are already motivated by the desire to engage in content marketing to ensure the successful launch of your store.
Main conclusions.
Sales channels – Many users make serious mistakes during the launch of Shopify, focusing exclusively on the start procedure. According to a study conducted at Harvard, about 73% of buyers prefer to use several sales channels at the same time when buying the same brand. Based on this, it is very profitable to use such sites as eBay, Amazon, Kik, and Google Shopping. Also, it will not be superfluous to use software to manage stocks, as well as coordinate the above resources.
Analytics – The procedure for setting up analytics on your website acts as the most important thing that must be done. The bottom line is that thanks to it, information is provided about the interaction of visitors with your site. For these purposes, the ideal tool would be Google Analytics. We’ll also go into that a little more in the next step.
Delivery — The task is not particularly exciting, but it is a necessary one. Make sure that your shipping is priced correctly and that you can ship to the locations you specify. Take, for example, that your sales are carried out from the UK. Then the question is: will you have the desire to ship the goods to Northern Ireland? After all, even though it is part of the possession of the UK, it will be much more expensive to pay for delivery in comparison with the mainland of the UK.
Customer support methods.
You should understand that immediately after launching your website, you will also need to process requests from customers. The most suitable plugin for live chat Shopify Ping will be in this case. According to the data, for the period from March to July 2020, it was through this application that the number of conversations was increased in the amount of 85%.
Recommendations — with the help of Ping, you will have the opportunity to share product recommendations, including offers of discount codes, as well as perform actions to build relationships with your customers.
Direct shopping — customers can shop directly through Ping without leaving the Shopify app via Apple Pay.
Management — you can not only manage your conversations with customers but also collaborate with your team and use it as a messaging app.
4. Analytics
For newbies, Google Analytics will be the best tool to track your site’s performance. Don’t overcomplicate things at this stage, so take a closer look at how to add Google Analytics to Shopify.
You should be able to measure your store’s performance at all stages, and this detailed guide will help you set up the tool and better understand your reports. It also briefly explains how you can handle social media analytics.
Main conclusions.
Funnels — When setting up and launching any marketing campaign, you need to keep track of what stage of the funnel people are leaving. Understanding the barriers in your marketing can help you understand the psychology of your customers, which will improve your company’s future.
Tracking — The worst thing e-commerce site owners can do at the beginning is spent money on companies, but then not get results to show if it worked. Setting up UTM codes for all your companies will help you make sure you haven’t wasted your money.
Facebook — Facebook provides information about your customers that can give you valuable feedback about your customer base. You have access to demographic data, location, language, and purchase data. Very effective if you want to start using Facebook ads.
The best social media analytics tools.
Do you know which social media platforms work best for you? If the answer is no, or you’re not sure, the tools below – are a great way to get started.
Sprout social — this tool has some fantastically advanced listing metrics that allow you to track audience demographics, identify influencers in your industry, and gauge company performance.
HubSpot — If you want to splash out a little, it’s worth checking out HubSpot, a marketing platform. The social media element is just one aspect of this very powerful tool.
TapInfluence — If influencer marketing is going to be an important marketing strategy for your business, TapInfluence is a perfect choice. This tool matches you with your potential relationships before you start your way.
5. Plugins.
If you don’t want to get lost seeing these long lists of plugins, so here you can find some of Shopify’s most popular plugins.
This is a great list, with plugins to help you with email marketing, publishing products to social media accounts, and more. This is a great article for a startup before you delve into dozens of other plugins.
Main conclusions.
Shopify app store — It’s divided into different collections, check out our guide to the store that has all the stuff you need. Many of these apps tend to be free as well, which is very significant when you want to reduce the financial outlay during your launch.
Reviews — You can easily see which apps are the most popular by checking the user reviews and ratings next to each one. Take the time to click on the apps and read the detailed descriptions that come with them and the video tutorials. Reading the fine print ensures that you won’t get any unpleasant surprises about the commission.
The 3 Best Shopify Plugins to Get Started.
There are many powerful plugins for Shopify store owners, but which ones are best for beginners at a low cost?
Yotpo — If customers aren’t familiar with your business, reviews can help them make a good impression. Can you have a giveaway in exchange for reviews? If so, Yotpo is a great option for collecting them.
Trust Badge — This free tool allows you to attach badges to product pages to assure customers of secure payments. Great visual display to reassure customers and increase conversion rates.
Free Shipping Bar — People love free shipping! This free shipping bar allows you to add a banner to any of your pages. Our favorite element is that you can target locations. Can you offer free on-site delivery? Then set up a bar that will be displayed for local customers.
6. Website design.
This is a guide for web designers who want to create their own Shopify: a Web Designer’s Introduction to Shopify.
You’ll learn how a theme is developed in Shopify, including an introduction that has the Shopify template language. There are many templates available to you through Shopify, but nothing beats your theme that can make your site unique.
Main conclusions.
Affiliate Program — If you know how to create your store, it’s worth looking into the affiliate program. This way, you can create as many stores as you want for free and list them in the affiliate program at a certain price. This can help you reduce your spending on your website.
Themes — Every Shopify theme consists of four key elements: HTML files, CSS, JavaScript (optional), and images. This article was written by Keir Whitaker, who works at Shopify, and he offers his theme, which is available through GitHub.
Shopify website design tips.
The technical elements of Shopify’s design program Liquid are well explored, but it’s important not to forget the bigger picture.
Loading — long loading times can kill your business. Make sure all your images are compressed using a tool like Compressor. You should also avoid carousels, they slow down your site, and too frequent calls to action can confuse the customer.
Transformations — A/b-testing is significant because you may like your design, but that doesn’t mean others will like it as well. Test calls to action, colors, images, navigation, and messaging.
USP — a fancy-looking website is great, but what are you trying to promote? It’s not the slogan, it’s what the product offers, making that front and center vital.
7. SEO for Shopify.
The Ultimate Shopify SEO User’s Guide, created by our colleague Joe, is a fantastic guide for beginners and experienced users alike when it comes to SEO.
It’s only a half-hour read, and you’ll find (almost) everything from the first steps to the Google Search Console to migrating sites from other platforms to Shopify.
Main conclusions.
Meta Description — You will have an auto-filled description of your store, but you must fill it out yourself to make it attractive and encourage visitors to click on your ad in search results.
Search Console — Add your site to the Google Search Console, this will allow you to see errors regarding missing pages and server issues. It will also let you know of any broken links and give you recommendations on how you can improve your HTML about title tags and meta descriptions.
Sitemaps — Shopify has a built-in XML sitemap feature, which is essentially a list of all the pages that are on your site. You’ll need access to this when you want to submit your site to Google Search Console.
The 3 best SEO Shopify tools for beginners.
As you’ve already figured out, we at E-commerce Platforms love the tool. There’s nothing like the tools they offer for SEO.
SEO Booster — used by more than 40,000 stores. This app helps you create a Google sitemap and can mass upload alternative text to save you time.
Plugin SEO Optimizer — This tool comes with an SEO scan that identifies critical problems with your site. Allows you to fix issues with a header, replacement text, or broken links.
Schema Plus — Schema is a very confusing topic, especially if you’re new to SEO. In a nutshell, schema helps search engines better understand your product and ultimately improve your rankings.
8. Theme Construction.
This resource acts as another tool for web designers. So far we have been considering the main aspects of Shopify web design, and now we will work on how to create our first theme.
This is important if you have the skills of a novice designer and can’t find the right theme for the site. Shopify app store. It gives you more tips on Liquid, as well as some great tips on how you can get creative to get your personalized theme.
Main conclusions.
Liquid — Shopify uses a highly readable and expressive Ruby-based language to help run their themes. Shopify has put together a comprehensive guide to Liquid that shows you how to use various tags, filters, and objects.
Slate — There was a demand from the Shopify community for a modern tool system. So they provided what they call the Slate Starter Theme, which provides everything you need to get started. This includes snippets and templates, as well as the standard tags you need for Liquid. Note that there’s not a lot of CSS in this theme, because it’s just a framework for you.
Key pages to focus on for your Shopify theme.
Learning how Liquid and Slate’s work is good, but it’s important to understand your path to purchase and which pages require the most attention. Here’s a shortlist of landing pages to focus your time on.
Home — This is your most important page. But what could give it that kind of momentum? A clear sentence detailing how your product offers a solution. Offer simple navigation with a clear call to action, and try not to overwhelm the page. Make contact options visible and use high-quality images to grab users’ attention.
Product page — highlight the key benefits of your product as a list. Use a tabbed system to provide additional information about your products, such as specifications, size, and shipping information.
Collection page — Users don’t want to endlessly scroll through your site, so selecting your products is a significant step. Make it easy for them to choose brands, sizes, prices, and product types.
9. Video Lessons.
If you think a video course is more your cup of tea, try Linda’s online video courses. They’ll walk you through the launch, setting up your store, payment gateways, shipping options, and how to set up your site.
Patrick, who leads this course, is an e-commerce expert and offers a fantastic insight into how you can launch a successful online store. Lynda’s courses are now available on LinkedIn Learning, and you can access over 6,000 courses. You can also start the first month for free.
Main conclusions.
Discounts — Not only can you set up a discount code, but you can also place a banner on your website to showcase your discount. Patrick will show you how to set this up to maximize sales during peak sales hours, such as Black Friday.
Shipping Labels — Patrick will show you how you can print your shipping labels in Shopify, which will save you a lot of time that would otherwise be spent waiting in line at the post office to ship your packages.
Orders — Patrick points out that when using third-party gateways such as PayPal, sometimes an order can be “unpaid”. This is because PayPal has to redirect the user back to the site, if the user doesn’t wait for this process, it may show up as unpaid. It is worth checking your order screen every day to match your orders with Gateways 3rd.
3 online courses on Lynda for Shopify store owners.
Lynda is a fantastic resource that will teach you the basics of Shopify, right down to the most advanced techniques. But which courses are better to spend your hard-earned money on?
Shopify. Basic Training — As mentioned above, Patrick Rauland’s basic training course is essential for e-Commerce retailers. Patrick will walk you from setting up your account to set up a point of sale (POS) for your business. It’s 3 hours of dynamite that will give you insight into Shopify, which I want to point out is very important in the future.
Shopify’s E-commerce for Marketers — After you’ve set up the administrative part, it’s time to hone your marketing skills. Led by Sam Day of Day tips, who focuses on the marketing tools in Shopify and demonstrates how to best use them. This includes email marketing, retargeting, and how the Shopify affiliate system works.
SEO: E-Commerce Strategies — The above two courses are designed for beginners. Once you’ve completed them, it’s time to move on to the intermediate level. Sam is back again to demonstrate how you can improve your keyword rankings and increase traffic to your website.
10. Product photography.
Using attractive, high-quality images is significant to ensure that your products appeal to your visitors. If people visiting your site can’t see a clear image of your product, then you may as well set yourself up for failure.
It can be very expensive to pay for a professional photographer, especially if you have a large collection of products. So the good folks at Sandbox (check out their template collection here) have put a handy DIY guide together called “Secrets to Creating Great Product Photos for Your Shopify Theme.” In an age where smartphones are becoming more and more powerful, taking photographer-style photos using your phone has never been easier.
If you want to use drop-shipping, then it’s worth asking your vendors if they already have any high-quality photos.
Main conclusions.
Data validation — Visitors to your website want the focus to be on your product, so you must have a white background. Outside the sandbox, suggest simply using a white piece of billboard against the wall.
Lighting — Your camera flash won’t be enough, so good lighting will make your shots stand out. The article proposes overhead utility lights and painting lights that are very affordable.
Uploading — Once you’re done with your photoshoots, you can easily upload them to your Shopify store backend. If you are an Apple or Mac user, you can use the Airdrop feature, which transfers your photos quickly and efficiently.
Basic tools for perfect product photography on a limited budget.
Camera — If you don’t have the extra money, in many cases the latest smartphones are powerful enough to take great product photos. If you want to branch out, we recommend the Canon Powershot SX430. At only $200, it’s a great entry-level camera for taking great pictures.
Tripod — To get the best images, you need to set the aperture on your camera to a very low setting. This means you’ll get a great depth of field, but it will mean there may be a lot of blurs in the image if the camera isn’t steady. You don’t have to spend a lot of money here, you can buy a tripod on Amazon for as little as $20.
Surface — It sounds trivial, but you need a flat surface for your products. Aim for something at least 20 inches wide that can be folded to save on storage.
Have you read any of these articles and found them useful? Got some tips on how to succeed with Shopify? Then share your comments below and let us start discussing the topic!
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