Essential Shopify guide you’ll ever need to grow your business

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Being associated (or not, maybe) with Shopify may leave you with a lot of queries, which automagically makes you a house-fly, as you must fleeing different places just to find the solution, isn’t it?

Frankly speaking, here is the “complete Shopify guide” which you need to know as to jack-up your business. 

Table of Contents-

1. About Shopify.
   1. 1. What exactly does Shopify do?
      2. How to start selling on Shopify?
      3. Do I need a business license to sell on Shopify?
      4. Shopify subsidiaries
      5. Which languages does Shopify support?
      6. What is Dropshipping?
      7. Free Shopify tools
      8. Facts about Shopify

Step-by-step guide for the people who are

1. Not selling on any platform.
2. Selling on an Online store.
3. Selling on Marketplaces.

About Shopify

Headquartered in Ontario, Canada, Shopify is a complete eCommerce platform to create, customize, grow, and run your online business and is available in 175 countries.

Shopify is a SaaS-based and hosted framework, through which individuals can create their online store for their business. The best part about Shopify is that it is based on SaaS (Software as a Service), which means individual store owners don’t have to look at updating and maintaining their store. All the updations and maintenance will be done automatically and individually doesn’t require any developer or designer to look after their online stores.

Merchants on Shopify can sell on multiple online platforms. Shopify gives a free 14 days trial to test their services without asking for any credit card information. Store owners can use their own domain name and if they don’t have one they can buy either from Shopify or from any other sources available.

I Know still you have sweet little itches. Read below to scratch them!

What exactly does Shopify do?

Shopify is a “subscription to a software” service that offers you to create a website/online store where you can sell, ship, and manage your products.
Shopify is built considering technically challenged individuals. It’s, by far, one of the easiest platforms to add and sell products, create discounts, and process orders.

How to start selling on Shopify-

If you want to create an online store using Shopify, you can click here, else you can follow these steps to have one-

Set-up your Shopify account

The very first step a newbie would take is to register an account on Shopify.com. You have to create your own unique store name. They offer a 14-days free trial.
Later, (if you want) you can add your own domain to give it a professional look.

After filling the required & important formalities, you have to-

Select a Shopify theme

Choose an attractive and highly functional theme that can attract the customer’s eye. Because the famous idiom “Never judge a book by its cover” is invalid for the online store so, focus more on “the first impression is the last impression ” while choosing the theme.

Add or transfer your products

there are many ways to add products to your Shopify store-

1. Add products manually- Add products one-by-one manually to your store, fill details, add images & titles. May sound easy to you, but actually performing this can be your worst nightmare if you have a lot of products.
2. Import through CSV- if you have a huge inventory, then you can transfer your products through CSV.

You can perform marketing on different platforms to increase the reach and sales of your store or you can take the aid of Digital marketing services.

Sell on Shopify guide for beginners-

Step-by-Step beginners guide to sell on Shopify

Oh, wait! Are you also stuck on-

Do I need a business license to sell on Shopify?

The answer to your cheezy question completely depends on where you’re located. Some countries and cities require a business license and some don’t. Also, taxes depend upon how much you are generating revenue per month or per year.

Have a look at these Shopify subsidiaries-

Boltmade inc.	Shopify data processing (USA) inc.
Vinderbit pty limited.	Handshake corp.
Shopify payments Canada inc.	Helpful.com inc.
Tictail.	Solutions alveo Inc.
Oberlo.	Atatomic in.
6 river system inc.	Tiny hearts limited.
Shopify payment (USA) inc.	Kit CRM inc.

Which languages does Shopify support?

The admin of your Shopify store is currently available in the following languages-

English, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish.

What is Dropshipping?

A dropshipping is a business in which the store owner lists the products but doesn’t own, keep, or ship them. When the store owner sells a product, it purchases the item from a third party, usually a manufacturer or wholesaler who then ships it to the customer directly. This means that the store owner doesn’t have to store, manage, list or ship the inventory and order by themselves.

To make the selling process feasible for the sellers, there are several

Some free Shopify tools-

These Shopify tools are free through which you can manage orders, billing, and calculations, shipping, and logistics. Some are listed below.

Free Shopify tools to manage Orders

Pay Stub Generator Tool.
QR code generator.
Gift certificate template.
Invoice generator.
Purchase order template.

Free Shopify Tools to streamline Shipping

Shipping Label Template.
Enter Sender Information.
Bill Of Lading Template.
Barcode Generator.

Free Shopify Tools to master logistics

Terms and conditions generator.
Business loan calculator.
Profit margin calculator.
Privacy Policy generator.

Free Shopify Tools for Billing and Calculations

Business loan calculator.
PayPal fee calculator.
CPM calculator.
Profit margin calculator.

To get the information about these Shopify free tools in detail, you can Click Here. The tools are explained in deep, also the links are provided through which you can go for downloading the desired one.

Here are some stupendous facts about Shopify-

1. Shopify has had 218 million buyers, from 175 countries, in the last 12 months.
2. Shopify had more than 57 million visits in June 2019.
3. Mobile optimization is important on Shopify: 79% of its traffic is from mobile devices.
4. The average visitor spends over 3 minutes on Shopify and visits more than 3 stores.
5. The average Shopify conversion rate is 3.08%.
6. Shopify had its billionth order last year.
7. More than 5,300 businesses use Shopify Plus.
8. Shopify had a weekend that saw over $1.5 billion in sales.
9. So far, merchants have spent over $100 million in the Shopify App Store.

Listen to our Spotify Podcast for emerging trends shaping the eCommerce in 2020!

Generally, there are 3 types of people who want to sell on Shopify

Let’s wrap-up the things with your favorite childhood fantasy, Pokemon!

These 3 categories are represented by 3 integral characters of the pokemon,

 

Let’s start with “Ash” who is,

Not selling on any platform!

If you haven’t initiated your selling process yet, then the very basic ingredient you need to go about is Shopify Store development.

You can follow this Step-by-Step beginner guide for the Shopify store setup if you wish to have one by yourself. It’s a time taking process if you are doing it by yourself, but as I have mentioned earlier, you can take the help of Shopify Store development experts who are experts in creating online stores.

If you have already had your online store developed but you are looking forward to having more traffic and a better theme, then Store customization is the right option for you. Store customization gives your store a completely new look and design.

By Hook or by cook now you own a Shopify store. The very next step you have to jump on is Digital Marketing, through which your store will get higher reach and you will be able to secure more conversions.

Digital marketing got a handful of benefits in this Digital era, major ones are listed below-

1. less expensive than traditional marketing.
2. It helps you generate higher revenue.
3. Facilitates Interaction with Targeted Audiences.
4. Caters to the Mobile Customers.
5. Builds a brand reputation.

Have a brief look at the Importance of Digital Marketing in A Business to know more about its benefits and power.

However, if you are deciding to perform it solely, you may face some of the most common issues. If you want to tackle them you can go for some Shopify SEO tips for the optimization of your store.

Most important: You may have the vivid image of Digital marketing & Shopify Store development or you must be quarrying whether to go for this or not?
In case, you can click here to know what Shopify Store development and Digital marketing can do for you.

Now, you own an online store and you have tried enough of Digital marketing techniques. However, it may be possible that you are getting enough of the day. But don’t you want more?

There is an away to simply skyrocket your sales and get the most of your business potential, which is-

Selling on Marketplaces

An online marketplace is one of the most powerful armors in eCommerce. The sales of these marketplaces are breaking records every year.

Net eCommerce sales 2019 alone is expected to cross $3.46 trillion.

The power of marketplaces is unbeatable, so it is a good move to team-up with the giant.

This is how you can start selling on marketplaces

You must be aware of the below two product uploading methods as they are similar to those on Shopify. The two common methods are-

1. Add products manually. 
2. Import through CSV. 

upload products on marketplaces, sellers are leveraged with the best of all the existing methods of uploading products which is,

3. Use of Marketplace Integration apps- These apps are life and time saviors for the sellers who wish to sell on marketplaces.

• • Through these apps, sellers can transfer all their products and details in bulk. All their store inventory will be transferred to the desired marketplace in bulk without any error in the product details.
  • Management of the products would be much easier, as a seller can manage both i.e. Shopify store & Marketplace account from one place. Their inventory & order on the Shopify store and marketplace will be synced in real-time.
  • They can also upload/update the product details of similar products in bulk by creating profiles.
  • Shipping related actions can also be performed in bulk. By creating shipping templates, you can set the desired set of actions on complete products of a template.

There are a lot more features of marketplace integration apps. Features are specified according to the marketplaces, as different marketplaces have different algorithms. You can click here to have one dedicated integration app for your marketplace. The apps mentioned are available on free trials with 24*7 customer support.
As you all must be aware of the potential of mobile phones, neglecting them is like leaving a bigger piece of a cake. According to Statista,

3.3 billion smartphone users in the world today. Nearly, 42.63% of the world’s population have a smartphone today.

Will you accept to leave this much audience, of course not. Therefore, to reach them, you should acquire a mobile application for your store. This can be done through,

Converting your Shopify store into an app

To do so, you need to download an app from the Shopify store which performs the same.

Follow these unchallenging steps to convert your Shopify store into an app-

• • 1. Install the app- MageNative.
    2. Configure Your App.
    3. Submit details for your app.
    4. After the submission, the app will be delivered to you for approval.
    5. After the approval, the app will go live.

Not clear enough? Don’t worry, click here and unlock more secrets in detail.

Here are the top reasons why you should go for a native mobile app-

• • 1. In the 1st quarter of 2019 itself, 79% of traffic and 69% of orders on Shopify stores came through mobile phones.
    2. 47% of all eCommerce transactions occurred through a mobile app in 2018.
    3. You can be visible to customers at all times.
    4. It enhances communication.
    5. Helps Your Company Build a Stronger Brand.
    6. Provide Direct Marketing Channel.

Its benefits are not restricted until these features only, there is a lot more. mCommerce is a revolution, blend your business to get the most out of it. To know more about it Click here.

Okay, so Ash got it all, he now knows each and everything to sell online with a Shopify store, knows enough about digital marketing of his store, also, he is empowered to trade on various marketplaces, also he knows how he can trap the mobile audience into the Pokeball.

But what about Brock who is having an existing online store? Let’s help him out as well

What if you are having an existing online store

If you’re having an online store on any other framework and you want to sell on the Shopify store, then calm down! There is a solution for this as well. That is Omni-migrator.

Omni-migrator migrates all your fully-fetched product data, customer data & order data from any framework (i.e. Magento- 1 or 2, Bigcommerce, etc.) to Shopify in Bulk within minutes.

Through this, you would be able to sell on Shopify without re-uploading your feed again. This will save your tons of time which you can use to increase your business sales.

But, if you are selling on Shopify and want to upgrade your store’s layout/ theme. Then you can,

Customize your Shopify store

Store customization is very essential for your online store because the online store needs to be updated according to the trends. A remarkable number of the audience leaves an online store within seconds if they find the store layout/theme unattractive.

Customization gives your store a fresh new look, which is one of the biggest reasons to decrease the bounce rate of your website.

Click here to get the best-in-class Shopify store customization services.
After getting a perfect Shopify store of your choice, you should aim to perform the following in the sequence mentioned-

• • 1. Digital marketing.
    2. Converting your online shop to a Native mobile app. 
    3. Marketplace integration.

Brock now got a feasible idea which will lead him and his business to the sky. By performing these key steps, he will end up having a good brand reputation and huge sales.

But what about Misty? She was already trading on a marketplace but is that good for the future of business? Let’s see,

What if you are selling on a marketplace

If you are a merchant in any marketplace, then having a Shopify store would be much beneficial and easy for you.

Having a Shopify store will help you in creating your own brand and trustful audience which will help your business and ensure your business survival in the future. In order to achieve this, you need to import all your products to the Shopify store.

To be honest, It would be very time consuming and daunting if you decide to do it by yourself. Here is the list of 5 major problems faced by product importers–

• • 1. Inconvenience in Bulk Transfer of Product.
    2. Inconvenience in Store development.
    3. Difficulty in Product Authorization.
    4. Problem in maintaining Inventory Levels.

Here is the honest “5 problem, 1 solution” for y’all- Omni-importer app.

Through this app, all your products, and product details will be transferred to your Shopify store in minutes.

Thinking about why to sell on Shopify? Here is your answer-

• • 1. You will have your own Brand.
    2. Kissmetrics reveals that consumers expect the load-time of a website to be less than 2 sec. According to stats, Shopify has the fastest average page loading time with 0.89 seconds.
    3. Selling on Shopify is very much cost-effective. In Addition, Shopify provides 14 days free trial.
    4. Your client service will be improved because of greater flexibility.
    5. Business professionalism will be increased.
    6. You will have a trustworthy Customer Base.
    7. You’ll have a Broader Scope for Promotion of your own brand.
    8. It will act as an additional sales channel apart from the marketplace.
    9. You can run your own offers and discounts whenever and whatever you want. etc.

These Omni-importers not only transfer your products data to the Shopify store in bulk but also offer you some value-added benefits which will make you drool. have a look-

• • 1. Inventory & Price Syncing.
    2. Multiple Warehouse Support.
    3. High-Resolution Image Transfer.
    4. Currency Conversion.
    5. Product importthrough CSV.

To have a crystal clear knowledge of Omni-importer, you can click here.

Omni-importer app is also embroidered with FBA

Shopify product importer is now compatible with FBA. Sell hassle-freely on Shopify and let all your shipping processes be handled by Amazon. Omni Importer lets you manage your Shopify orders with FBA in order to make your selling easier.

The Omni importer app will sync all your orders from Shopify to FBA in real-time. After that, the app will push the order further to the FBA account. In addition to this, the app will update you with all the processes going on inside the Amazon warehouse, like- packing, processing & shipping of the orders. After the order is out for delivery, the app will show you the “complete” status. Therefore, You can sell on Shopify easily.

Here is a complete guide to importing products from-

– Amazon to Shopify.

– eBay to Shopify.

Now you are armored with a Shopify store, further-

• • 1. Lit-up the ignition with Digital marketing techniques.
    2. And remember, never lose your Mobile audience as mentioned above.

Now Misty has got a clear way which will lead her to success and her own brand without any obstacle.

All three of them Ash, Misty & Brock (and you) now got the solution to their business success.

On the Whole

Shopify is one of the leading eCommerce giants, they have millions of customers visiting every month, and they account for their annual sales in trillions. So, the potential of Shopify cannot be taken for granted. As Shopify is such a massive player in the eCommerce world, this blog aims at providing you all the knowledge about Shopify.

Growing your business with Shopify is also a barrier where most of the people stop because of the lack of knowledge and proper guidance. Considering this, the blog has a major section representing three different types of people associated with Shopify. Those respective sections will direct you one-by-one to the business success.

But still, if you have more queries then please let us know below in the comment section.
Experts will be there for you all the time to solve your doubts.

Other relevant reads-

A secret sauce to make your business spicier than ever before

How Future of Ecommerce Retail is being Shaped by Millennial Shoppers

Power Up your 2020: 7 Digital Marketing Trends Revealed!