Shopify Registration
Apply for Registration
1. Sign Up with Shopify
Visit Shopify.com. Use the signup form to create an account.
Enter the required details and click the ‘Start free trial’ button.
Your store name needs to be unique or Shopify will ask you to choose something else.
After this initial screen, you’ll be asked for a few more details, including your name, address, country, and contact number.
You will also be asked if you have products and, if so, what you aim to sell. If you’re just trying out Shopify to see if it works for you, you can select ‘I’m just playing around’ in the ‘Do you have products?’ dropdown, and ‘I’m not sure’ in the ‘What will you sell?’ section.
Once complete, click ‘I’m done’.
Step 2. Start Setting Up Your Online Shop
After you’ve signed up, you’ll be directed straight to your store admin screen. Now you are ready to start customizing your store, uploading products, and setting up payments and shipping.
Step 3. Choose a “Theme” or a “Layout”
Shopify has its own official theme store. These themes are all guaranteed to have full support from the designers so you know that your store is in good hands.
There are free and paid themes. All of them come with a comprehensive list of modifications you can make without having to touch a line of code. However, premium themes usually offer more modification options and slicker design.
If you decide to opt for a premium theme, it will set you back between $100 and $180. However, they are a good investment especially since there are many themes aimed at certain industries or products. So, you get a fitting look instantly at a reasonable price.
However, you can also achieve a great-looking site with a free theme. We will outline detailed steps for that in the next section.
If you want to make wholesale changes to a theme, there are very few limitations on what can be achieved by accessing the HTML and CSS. Don’t worry if you haven’t got any coding experience. Shopify has an international team of design agencies they call ‘Shopify Experts’ that you can hire to fully customize your site.
To find a theme that suits your needs, we recommend the following:
Step 3.1 Browse the Theme Store
Log into Shopify and visit the Shopify Theme Store at themes.shopify.com. You’ll find over 70 theme variations to choose from, including a good selection of free ones.
You also could find Shopify themes on other Marketplaces, like TemplateMonster. Just choose, category, features to pick your theme.
You can filter by paid or free, industry, and features. You can also sort themes by price, popularity, and most recent.
Step 3.2 Check the Functionality and Reviews
Once you’ve found a theme you like, click on the theme’s sample image. You’ll be given more information about the theme, such as whether the theme is responsive/mobile ready among other features.
Scroll down to read some reviews about what other e-tailers using the theme think of it.
Step 3.3 Preview the Theme
To see the theme in action, click View Demo.
If the theme comes in a range of styles, you can also view demos of the different styles by clicking on them.
Step 3.4 Get the Theme
Once you’ve found a theme you like, click the green button “Add theme”.
Shopify will start the installation and once it’s done you’ll be redirected to your Shopify “Themes” manager.
Under “Theme Library” you can customize your theme or choose “Publish” under the dropdown button of “Actions” to replace the current theme that you have.
Don’t worry if you’re not 100% sure it’s the right theme for you. You can always change your mind later.
Your theme manager shows published themes (the one you installed or activated most recently) and unpublished themes below (previously installed themes).
Step 4. Edit Shopify Settings
The majority of Shopify themes allow you to make simple changes that can massively change the appearance of your store, so you can rest assured knowing you won’t end up with a website that looks like a clone of thousands of other stores.
On your admin screen, select ‘Themes’ from the left navigation menu. On this page you will see your live theme in a box at the top, in the top right corner of that box will be two buttons. The first one is “Actions”, which gives you some basic settings changes. One of these allows you to make a duplicate of the theme. We highly recommend you do this in case you make some changes you don’t like, you can delete the duplicate and start again.
The second button says “Customize“. If you click it, you will be taken to a page that controls all the basic functionality of your store. This is a great time for you to have a thorough play with the settings and test out all the features so you can find out what your site is capable of.
The most common features will include:
- Uploading logos
- Uploading slides to a homepage carousel
- Adding related item functionality to product pages
- Choosing how many items appear on each line of the collection pages
- Color schemes
- Font choices.
Some themes will also allow you to reposition elements on pages such as showing product images on the left, right, or center of the page. You can also choose whether you want to display social like/tweet/pin/+1 buttons.
Step 5. Add Your Products to The Store
Navigating the bar on the left select ‘Products’. You will then see a green ‘Add a product’ button in the middle of the page. Use the following screen to add as much detail as needed about your products. Especially look at those that will help with SEO such as name, description, and URL. Include as many details as possible to help inform the customers about your items.
This is the screen where you upload product pictures. Once the images are uploaded, you can rearrange them so don’t worry about uploading them in any particular order.
Product images can make a sale so make sure you show your products off to their best and highlight any special or unique features with close-up photos. To keep your store looking tidy, we suggest you keep all images in the same dimensions. Unless you plan to make your collection pages look like a Pinterest board.
Once everything is filled out, always remember to click the ‘Save product’ button in the top and bottom right corners.