How to Make a Shopify Account (2024 Guide)
Step 1: Understand the Basics and Prepare for Your Shopify Account
Research Shopify’s Offerings and Pricing Plans
Before you even visit the Shopify website, take time to understand what Shopify offers and, more importantly, which pricing plan aligns with your business needs. Shopify provides several plans (Basic Shopify, Shopify, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus), each with different features, transaction fees, and monthly costs. For instance, the Basic Shopify plan is ideal for new businesses with online sales, offering unlimited products, 2 staff accounts, and 2.9% + 30¢ online transaction fees. The Shopify plan (often referred to as the “standard” plan) reduces online transaction fees to 2.6% + 30¢ and adds features like gift cards and professional reports, making it suitable for growing businesses. Visit Shopify’s official pricing page to compare the features side-by-side. Consider your projected sales volume, the number of staff members who will need access, and whether you require advanced reporting or international selling capabilities. This research will help you select the most appropriate plan during the signup process, even if you start with a free trial.
Gather Essential Business Information and Documents
Having key business information readily available will streamline the account creation process. Before you begin, compile the following:
- Business Name: The legal name of your business, which will be used for billing and potentially for your store’s branding.
- Business Address: Your physical business address.
- Contact Information: A primary email address and phone number for account verification and communication.
- Credit Card/Payment Method: While you start with a free trial, Shopify will eventually require a valid payment method for your subscription. Have this ready to input when prompted after the trial period.
- Product Ideas/Inventory: Although you won’t need detailed product information immediately, having a general idea of what you plan to sell will help you conceptualize your store during the initial setup.
- Domain Name Idea (Optional but Recommended): Think about a custom domain name (e.g., yourstore.com) you might want to use. You can purchase one through Shopify or connect an existing one later.
Step 2: Start Your Shopify Free Trial and Initial Setup
Navigate to the Shopify Website and Begin Your Free Trial
Open your web browser and go to the official Shopify website (shopify.com). Look for a prominent button or banner that says “Start free trial” or “Start your free trial.” As of 2024, Shopify typically offers a 3-day free trial, often followed by a reduced monthly rate for a few months. Click this button to initiate the signup process. You will be prompted with a series of questions about your business to tailor your setup experience. Answer these truthfully, as they help Shopify guide you through relevant features.
Provide Basic Business Details and Create Your Shopify ID
After clicking “Start free trial,” you’ll be guided through a series of steps:
- Initial Questions: Shopify will ask about your current selling status (e.g., “Are you already selling?”), what you plan to sell, and where you’re located. Select the options that best describe your situation.
- Create Your Shopify ID: You’ll then be asked to create a Shopify ID. This involves entering your email address, creating a secure password, and providing your store name. The store name you enter here will become your default `.myshopify.com` URL (e.g., `yourstorename.myshopify.com`). Choose this carefully, as it’s your unique identifier within Shopify’s system. While you can later connect a custom domain, this initial URL is permanent.
- Business Address: Finally, you’ll be prompted to enter your business address. This is crucial for tax calculations, shipping settings, and billing purposes. Ensure accuracy here.
Once you’ve completed these steps, your Shopify account will be created, and you’ll be directed to your Shopify admin dashboard.
Step 3: Customize Your Store and Add Products
Choose a Theme and Design Your Storefront
Your store’s theme dictates its visual appearance and user experience. From your Shopify admin, navigate to Online Store > Themes. Here, you’ll see your current default theme (typically “Dawn”).
- Explore Free Themes: Click “Explore free themes” to browse Shopify’s collection of well-designed, mobile-responsive themes. Preview them to see how they look and feel before selecting one.
- Visit the Shopify Theme Store: For more advanced designs and features, click “Visit the Theme Store” to explore premium (paid) themes. These often come with more customization options and built-in functionalities.
- Customize Your Theme: Once you’ve chosen a theme, click “Customize” next to its name. This opens the theme editor, a drag-and-drop interface where you can:
- Upload your logo.
- Change colors and fonts to match your brand.
- Arrange sections on your homepage (e.g., image banners, featured product sections, testimonials).
- Create essential pages like “About Us,” “Contact Us,” and “Privacy Policy” under Online Store > Pages.
- Set up your navigation menus under Online Store > Navigation.
Save your changes frequently as you customize.
Add Your First Products and Configure Product Details
Adding products is fundamental to your store. From your Shopify admin, navigate to Products > All products and click the “Add product” button.
- Product Title and Description: Enter a clear, concise product title and a detailed description highlighting features, benefits, and specifications. Use rich text formatting to make it readable.
- Media: Upload high-quality images and videos of your product. Good visuals are crucial for online sales.
- Pricing: Set your price. You can also add a “Compare at price” to show a discount (e.g., original price $50, now $35).
- Inventory: Enter your SKU (Stock Keeping Unit), barcode (if applicable), and track quantity. Enabling “Track quantity” is vital for inventory management.
- Shipping: Specify if the product requires shipping and its weight. This is essential for accurate shipping rate calculations.
- Variants: If your product comes in different sizes, colors, or materials, add variants. For each variant, you can set unique prices, SKUs, and track individual inventory.
- Organization: Assign your product to collections (e.g., “Men’s T-shirts,” “Summer Sale”) and add tags for better organization and searchability.
- SEO Listing: Edit the website SEO listing to optimize your product for search engines, including the page title and meta description.
Click “Save product” once you’ve entered all the necessary details. Repeat this process for all your initial products.
Step 4: Configure Shipping, Payments, and Launch Your Store
Set Up Shipping Rates and Delivery Options
Accurate shipping configuration is critical to avoid customer dissatisfaction and unexpected costs. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery.
- Shipping Profiles: By default, you’ll have a General shipping profile. You can create additional profiles if you have products requiring different shipping rules (e.g., heavy items, fragile items).
- Shipping Zones: Within your shipping profile, define shipping zones based on countries or regions you want to ship to. For each zone, you’ll set up rates.
- Add Rates: For each zone, you can add different types of rates:
- Flat rates: A fixed cost for shipping (e.g., $5 flat rate).
- Price-based rates: Shipping cost varies based on order total (e.g., $5 for orders under $50, free shipping for orders over $50).
- Weight-based rates: Shipping cost varies based on the total weight of the products in the order.
- Carrier-calculated rates: Integrate with shipping carriers (like USPS, UPS, FedEx) to get real-time shipping quotes at checkout. This often requires a higher Shopify plan.
Consider offering free shipping as a marketing incentive, but ensure it’s built into your product pricing.
- Local Delivery/Pickup (Optional): If you offer local delivery or in-store pickup, configure these options under the “Local delivery” and “Local pickup” sections.
Configure Payment Gateways and Billing Information
This is where you enable customers to pay you. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Payments.
- Shopify Payments: This is Shopify’s built-in payment gateway and is highly recommended as it simplifies setup, reduces transaction fees (no additional Shopify transaction fees beyond your plan’s rate), and integrates seamlessly. Click “Activate Shopify Payments” and follow the prompts to provide your business banking information for payouts. You’ll need your bank account number, routing number, and potentially other business verification details.
- Alternative Payment Methods: You can also activate other payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, or third-party providers. Click “Add payment methods” to explore options. Note that using third-party gateways may incur additional transaction fees from Shopify unless you are on Shopify Payments.
- Manual Payment Methods: For options like “Cash on Delivery” or “Bank Deposit,” you can set these up under “Manual payment methods.”
- Billing Information: While still in Settings, navigate to Billing. Here, you’ll see your current plan and can update your payment method for your Shopify subscription. Ensure your credit card details are up-to-date to avoid service interruptions after your free trial ends.
Once your shipping and payment settings are configured, and you’re satisfied with your store’s design and product listings, you’re ready to remove the password protection and officially launch your store to the public!
FAQs
Q1: How long does the Shopify free trial last?
A1: As of 2024, Shopify typically offers a 3-day free trial. After this initial period, new users are often eligible for a significantly reduced monthly rate for a few months (e.g., $1/month for the first three months) before the standard plan pricing applies. Always check the current offer displayed on the Shopify website when you sign up, as these promotions can change.
Q2: Can I change my store’s .myshopify.com URL after I create it?
A2: No, the `.myshopify.com` URL that you choose during the initial setup is permanent and cannot be changed. This URL serves as your unique identifier within Shopify’s system. However, you can (and should) purchase a custom domain name (e.g., `yourstorename.com`) and connect it to your Shopify store. This custom domain will be the primary URL your customers see and use, while the `.myshopify.com` URL will still exist in the background.
Q3: Do I need a business license to open a Shopify store?
A3: The requirement for a business license depends on your local and national regulations, as well as the type of products you plan to sell. While Shopify itself doesn’t require you to submit a business license to open an account, it’s highly recommended that you research and comply with all legal requirements for operating an online business in your jurisdiction. This often includes obtaining a business license, registering your business name, and understanding sales tax obligations.
Q4: What are Shopify transaction fees, and how can I minimize them?
A4: Shopify charges transaction fees on sales made through third-party payment gateways (e.g., PayPal, Stripe) if you are not using Shopify Payments. These fees vary by your Shopify plan (e.g., 2.0% on Basic Shopify, 1.0% on Shopify, 0.5% on Advanced Shopify). To minimize or eliminate these fees, the most effective method is to use Shopify Payments as your primary payment gateway. When you use Shopify Payments, Shopify waives these additional transaction fees, and you only pay the processing rate (e.g., 2.9% + 30¢ for online credit card transactions on Basic Shopify) which is competitive with other payment processors.