More than 1 million sellers across the world use Shopify to run their online stores. It’s a powerful and easy-to-use eCommerce platform, especially for new online retailers. A Shopify store is a good place to start, whether you want to sell your own items or items from dropship suppliers.
You can create your own Shopify website design however you want, add a blog, and market to anyone and everyone you want.
Shopify makes the process smooth for store owners to change and improve their eCommerce platform. The Shopify app store is a big part of how the best Shopify stores add new tools and features to their sites.
Online stores can make a lot of money from the app store. HostingTribunal.com says that 87 percent of merchants use the Shopify App Store, and on average, they have six apps installed.
The Shopify app marketplace is a big list of all the plugins that developers have made for Shopify merchants. However, there are several ways you or your Shopify web designer can effectively create your Shopify store. Some of the best tips to do this are:
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Analyze Your Competition:
Competitor analysis is a tried-and-true way to find out how crowded your target market is and reduce the risks of launching a new product. Even though you can run an eCommerce business in almost any industry if you have a good competitive edge, the most successful Shopify stores are the ones that found a niche that none of their direct competitors saw.
Also, analyzing your competitors can help you figure out what your target customers want when it comes to your marketing and sales strategies. If you know how long it took established competitors to grow, you’ll be able to predict how fast your store will grow and what challenges are coming up.
Look for:
- Primary and secondary competitors
- Categorize them
- Analyze the position of your competitors
Focus on Shopify Website Design:
People have high expectations these days, and they judge how trustworthy someone is by how their website looks. The way your store looks is very important, so don’t cut corners when you design it.
Once your store is live and running, and your first customers have given you some feedback, it’s time to get rid of friction points. Take care of the store’s performance, customer service, shipping, returns, etc., to make the experience as smooth as possible.
A successful Shopify website design store is one that makes people feel like they can trust it and shouts quality and dependability. To get there, you need to put money into the parts of your online store that send these kinds of messages.
Pay close attention to:
- No visual clutter and quick load times
- Choose a good domain name and email address.
- Make your brand look good.
- Spend money on a custom logo
- Show security information
Optimize For Mobile:
Business Insider says that in 2020, mobile devices used were 45 percent of all online shopping.
No one is surprised by this because more and more people are leaving their computers and doing everything on apps that work on their phones. Almost for sure, you are losing sales if your Shopify website design isn’t set up for mobile users.
You need to ensure your site looks and works great on all devices and is optimized for mobile first.
Avoid long text blocks and make sure that when someone lands on a product page, you get to the point quickly.
Make The Store SEO Friendly:
We need to talk about the store and website itself since we’re talking about SEO.
How well a Shopify store’s website ranks and works is the most important thing for getting people to visit it. To do well in search engines, your website needs to include a lot of relevant keywords in a way that makes sense.
If you sell scuba diving suits and the first page of your website is a rant about lawnmowers, that won’t help you rank for people looking for scuba diving suits. You want the information on your website to be related to what you’re selling.
For keyword research, you can use Google Keyword Planner and SEMRush, etc. If you want to launch a new store with a new domain name, you or your Shopify web designer should do this research first so you can decide what your store will be about.
Integrate with Several Social Media:
Since you’re not riding on the traffic of other sites like Amazon or eBay, you have to bring people to your own store.
It’s hard to do this for free, especially at the beginning. When you’re just starting out, advertising on social media is the easiest and most direct way to reach your target audience.
There are a dozen of ways to advertise, so don’t be afraid to think outside the box. You can also consult your Shopify web designer for his/her suggestions and get first-hand advice.
Some of the best Shopify stores started out with a great Facebook ad that went viral. Use all the analytics tools you can to track how well your ads are doing.
Make Blog Section:
If you don’t want to invest in advertising, you could always use SEO’s “low and slow” method to get relevant content to the top of search results. With each article you write that is full of useful information and SEO keywords, you can entertain, teach, and make money.
A blog is an excellent way to connect with your customers and show them that this store is run by a real person. People don’t buy things; they buy people. Use SEO tools like SEMRush, UberSuggest, Google Keyword Planner, or other tools to find keywords and figure out how competitive they are.
Offer Sufficient Payment Options:
With a Shopify store, the most important thing to think about is the payment gateway. After all, you want to be paid, right?
Things can be done the wrong way or the right way. You want to give customers enough ways to pay so they don’t leave, but you also want to keep things simple and easy to use.
Creating an account for sellers so they can save their payment information is a great idea. This will make them feel like it’s worth it to come back again. Ask your Shopify web designer to also offer options like PayPal, debit/credit cards, cryptocurrency, and wire transfer.
Integrate Email Marketing:
One of the most powerful tools in eCommerce is email marketing. With a list, you can send out targeted messages to specific customer segments that address their needs and wants. By appealing to their specific interests, you are directly talking to them in their own language.
To do this, you need to start collecting people’s information. Most stores do this with a pop-up window or by giving them something in exchange for their email. You could give them 10% off in your store if they sign up for your newsletter or something similar.
Use High-Quality Images:
We care a lot about how different things look, and the same is true for your eCommerce store.
To make a good impression, your store needs to have a lot of great images. When we can’t go to your store and touch the product in person, we need to look at it online to get the full picture.
This can only be done with sharp, high-resolution images that stand out.
Create Product and Collections Page:
To open a Shopify store, you need to make sure that each of your products has a page that is optimized for sales.
The following should be on the product page of a successful Shopify store:
- Product name: When naming your products, you should try to make them stand out and be easy to remember.
- Product Description: Include selling points in your descriptions so that your customers know what to expect.
- Product pictures (and videos): Take pictures from every angle and let people zoom in to see details (see how to make product images with a smartphone). And always make sure your product photos are the best they can be!
- Information about shipping and return: Summarize the main points and link to a full page of terms and conditions.
- Social proof (customer reviews): Nothing is more convincing to a potential client who is just looking around than a list of happy customers.
- A section for frequently asked questions: Predicting what questions customers might have saves time for customer service and helps clear up any doubts during the buying process.
- A button that says “Add to cart”: If people can’t buy your product, it doesn’t matter how well you show it off, does it?
Conclusion
Shopify has made it easy for almost anyone to start an online store. But that doesn’t always mean it’s easy. These Shopify store creation tips will help you take care of the most important things when you first start out in eCommerce. They’ll help you get ready and provide your Shopify web designer with a guide for everything you need to start your business and make sure you’re set up for success.
Read More: 4 Point Checklist to Choose the Best E-commerce Store Builder