Shopify Store Builder: Guide, Features, Benefits, And More

With the ever-increasing importance of online shopping, it's become essential for businesses to have a reliable and user-friendly eCommerce website. While there are many eCommerce platforms you can choose from, only a handful can give you the results you want. 

Shopify is one such eCommerce store builder that allows you to create an online store without any fuss. It's a cloud-based platform that provides all the tools and features needed to build, manage, and grow an online business. In this blog post, we'll delve deeper into the features and benefits of using Shopify Store Builder to build your online store.

How to Build a store on Shopify: Step-by-Step Guide

If you are convinced about using Shopify as your website creator, then here are the next few steps you can take to get started.

Step 1: Define the Purpose of Your Online Business

The first step to creating a website on Shopify is to define the purpose or aim of the website. 

• What kind of products or services are you planning to sell? 
• What is your target clientele? 
• What is your business niche?
• What are your business goals?
• What value are your customers receiving from your products and services?

By determining answers to these critical questions, you will be able to create a clear roadmap of the features and design elements needed to accomplish your goal.

Check out what your possible competitors are doing and what you would like to offer your customers differently. Once you have a clear plan, then you can create your online store with the help of the Shopify store builder.

Step 2: Create Your Store on Shopify Store Builder 

Creating a website is the first step towards establishing your brand online. Creating an online store using the Shopify store builder is quite straightforward. 

You need to visit Shopify.com and sign up for a free trial, and you will be ready to start building your website in no time. Creating a website on Shopify has never been easier. With a range of website builder plans, you can choose the one that suits your business needs and start building your website right away. 

Whether you are selling products you have crafted with your hands or using product-sourcing apps, Shopify's eCommerce platform provides endless possibilities to reach your customers both online and in-store.

Step 3: Choose a Website Host and Custom Domain Name

You can easily purchase your custom domain name and take advantage of Shopify's free Business Name Generator and Domain Name Generator tools to find the perfect web address for your store.

By managing your domain and business in one place, Shopify simplifies the process, making it easier than ever to build your brand. In just a few clicks, you can jump from naming your brand to securing the domain name to launching your small business.

With Shopify's free Business Name Generator, you can run a domain name search for business names and check domain availability, ensuring you get the domain name that perfectly fits your business and your personality.

Step 4: Choose a Layout and Theme

During your free trial with Shopify store builder, you will have access to free stock photos from Shopify's Burst stock photo library to bring your website to life. Plus, you can choose from the many themes the Shopify Themes store has to offer for your website design. 

You don't need to be a coding expert to design your website on Shopify. The themes come with easy-to-use drag-and-drop functionality, which makes designing your website a breeze.

Step 5: Add Pages and Product Information

With Shopify’s website builder, you can add or update information about your products, including their price, variants, and availability, directly from the Products page in your Shopify dashboard.

Remember to provide accurate and detailed information about your products, as they not only help customers find what they're looking for but it also makes it easier for you to organize your products. 

Shopify's easy editing features make it simple to modify product information for any existing product. But managing products is just the beginning! With Shopify store builder, you can also create webpages for your online, such as your "About Us" or "Contact Us" page. Plus, you can even add a SEO-friendly blog to your eCommerce store to keep customers engaged with regular content updates. 

• Use a Shopify page builder to create stunning pages for your store that helps convert visitors into successful customers. There are many page builders available, so choose the one that best suits your Shopify store needs. 

• Your landing pages are one of the most important parts of your website. Ensure your landing page content is clear and concise, and at the same time attractive. 

• While choosing your page templates, keep in mind your target clientele and how you want your brand to be portrayed. 

Step 6: Configure Tax Settings and Add Payment Details

Simplifying tax management for your online store is easy with the Shopify store builder. The platform can handle most common sales tax calculations and even allows for tax overrides to accommodate unique tax laws and situations.

The default sales tax rates are updated regularly, but it's important to confirm they are correct for your specific circumstances. 

As we discussed before, you can also enable a variety of payment methods for customers to choose from during checkout, so you can get paid in a way that works best for you.

Step 7: SEO Optimize Your Website 

Optimizing your online store for search engines can help you attract more traffic and customers, and with Shopify store builder's built-in SEO features, you can worry less. Shopify takes care of the basics, like auto-generated canonical tags and sitemap.xml files and themes that include social media linking and sharing options to boost your store's visibility.

By doing so, you can make it easier for search engines to recognize your store as a relevant match for queries related to your products. With Shopify's third-party apps, you get all the reinforcement you need to optimize your online store for search engines and drive more traffic to your site. 

Step 8: Preview, Test, and Launch the Store

Ensure your Shopify store is ready for launch by placing a test order to check that checkout, processing, inventory, shipping, and tax settings are working correctly. Remember to place at least one test order during setup or when you update payment settings. Before launch, you need to remove your store password to make the store live to the public. During the free trial, your store is password-protected, but you can remove the password and launch your store by selecting a subscription plan.

Shopify Features Explained

Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or an established business owner, starting an online store can seem a bit challenging at first. This is because most website creators come with a certain amount of learning curve, which would make the platform not so user-friendly for beginners. However, that's not the case with Shopify.

So, let's explore some of the most amazing features that Shopify has to offer (the best of many) and how they can help you as a future Shopify store owner.

• Shopify POS

Image Credits: Shopify

In today's ever-changing retail landscape, businesses must adapt quickly to remain competitive. One of the best ways to do that is by utilizing Shopify POS. This point-of-sale system is a powerful and flexible solution for businesses looking to sell in person. With its comprehensive features and easy-to-use interface, Shopify POS is the perfect tool for streamlining your retail operations.

• You can sell almost anywhere, from brick-and-mortar stores to markets and pop-up shops.

• It syncs with Shopify to track orders and inventory across all sales channels.

• It has a fully customizable interface for a tailored point-of-sale system.

• Integrated hardware that works seamlessly with Shopify card readers and compatible accessories.

• Comes with advanced inventory management features, including generating purchase orders and transferring stock based on performance.

• Payment Gateway and Integrations

Image Credits: Shopify

When it comes to running an online store, providing your customers with the right payment method is crucial. It's important to offer your customers a range of payment methods to ensure they have a seamless shopping experience. Shopify offers a variety of payment methods, from its own payment gateway to third-party providers, to ensure that you can meet your customers' needs. This includes:

• Shopify Payments: Shopify Payments eliminates the need for a third-party payment provider or merchant account and allows you to accept all major payment methods as soon as you create your store. 

• PayPal: One of Shopify's default payment providers, PayPal allows payment through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit, or PayPal account balances. Before collecting payments for orders made with PayPal, you need to set up your PayPal account.

• Other payment providers: In addition to Shopify Payments and PayPal, Shopify offers integrations with over 100 other payment providers worldwide. This ensures you can choose the best payment gateway for your business and your customers.

It is important to choose a payment gateway that is available in the countries your business is located in. You can learn more about the payment providers and gateways specific to your country here.

• Abandoned Cart Recovery

Image Credits: Shopify

In online retail, cart abandonment is a common phenomenon where customers add items to their shopping cart but leave the website before completing the purchase. With an average cart abandonment rate of 69.99%, taking the necessary steps to save your sales and revenue from dropping is imperative. 

Shopify enables businesses to recover their abandoned checkouts and aid in recovering lost sales, and increase their conversion rates.

With this particular feature from Shopify, you can easily identify customers who have added products to their cart but haven't completed the purchase. And the best part? You can send them a friendly email reminder that includes a link to their abandoned cart, giving them the opportunity to complete their checkout with just a click! Plus, you have the flexibility to customize the email template with your own logo and color scheme. You can also leverage any Shopify-enabled apps to automate this process. 

• SEO and Marketing Tools

Image Credits: Unsplash

Once your store is up and running, it's time to focus on marketing and SEO to attract visitors and turn them into loyal customers. But where do you start? 

Fortunately, Shopify store builder has got you covered with a range of powerful marketing and SEO features that will help you grow your business and increase sales.

• You can create marketing activities and automation directly from the Marketing section of Shopify and watch as your sales soar.

• You can also set up discount codes for them to use in your online store or physical retail location.

• Shopify's SEO tools simplify optimizing your search engine ranking and help customers find your products.

• Shopify lets you integrate Google Analytics into your store so you can make better decisions about improving the customer experience on your site.

• Customer Management Tools

Image Credits: Unsplash

Customer management is essential for any business, and Shopify makes it easy to interact with your customers. Shopify store builder comes with features that help you manage all your customer information, including their name and address, order history, and even group them according to similar characteristics to help you communicate with them more effectively.

• You can track your customers' purchases and interests and send targeted offers based on their purchase history or profile information.

• Organize your customers according to what they buy or how much they spend. This allows you to send targeted promotions to specific customer segments, which can increase sales and improve customer retention.

• You can also send email messages to individual customers or groups of customers using customer segments. 

All these features from Shopify are aimed at improving customer retention, increasing sales, and ultimately leading to a successful business.

6 Standout Benefits of Creating a Website With Shopify

There's no doubt that Shopify website creator is a one-stop shop for creating a website that's intuitive, cost-effective, and packed with features. So, here are 7 benefits you stand to gain when you use Shopify to create your website.

01. Cost-effective Pricing and Plans

Shopify offers various pricing plans at affordable rates that cater to different business sizes and budgets. The basic Shopify plan costs $39 per month and comes with everything a new online store would need to get started. It also offers a 3-day free trial for new users.

02. User-friendly Interface and Easy Setup

Shopify is known for its user-friendly interface that requires no technical expertise to set up and run an online store. It has a simple and intuitive dashboard that allows you to manage your store with ease. You can also choose from a variety of customizable templates and themes that cater to different niches. 

03. Mobile Responsiveness and Customizable Templates

Shopify provides fully mobile-responsive templates that work seamlessly across all devices, including smartphones and tablets. This is important in today's mobile-centric world, where most online shopping is done on mobile devices. It also provides a variety of customizable templates to make your website unique and visually appealing.

04. Customer Support and Resources

Shopify offers 24/7 customer support to help you with any issues or queries. It also has an extensive help center with a wealth of resources that cover everything from setting up your store to advanced marketing techniques.

05. Security

Shopify is known for its high-level security measures protecting your website and your customer's data. It comes with SSL certificates, fraud analysis, and compliance with PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) standards.

06. App Integrations and Extensions

Shopify App store comes with a vast range of app integrations and extensions that enable you to customize and enhance your website's functionality. From email marketing to social media integrations, these apps provide additional features and tools to help you grow your online business.

Post-launch Tips for Shopify Store Owners

To ensure your Shopify store runs smoothly and drives more traffic and sales after the launch, here are 3 tips you can follow:

Run a Post-launch Promotion 

After you've launched your Shopify store, consider running a post-launch promotion, such as a sale or discount code, to encourage visitors to make their first purchase. You can also leverage social media and email marketing to promote your store and encourage repeat visits.

Optimize for Search Engines

As a new Shopify store owner, focusing on search engine optimization (SEO) is essential to help your store rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This includes optimizing your website content continuously, product descriptions, and metadata for relevant keywords. You can also build backlinks and guest posts on relevant blogs to improve your store's authority.

Leverage Customer Feedback

Gathering customer feedback to improve your store's user experience is important. Consider using a customer feedback tool or survey to collect feedback and suggestions for improvement. You can then use this feedback to optimize your website, product offerings, and customer service.

Conclusion

Shopify is a powerful and user-friendly store creator offering many features and benefits for first-time online store owners. From its intuitive interface and customizable themes to its comprehensive payment and shipping options, Shopify provides all the tools you need to build a successful e-commerce business.