How to Set Up a Shopify Store Step by Step

Shopify makes it easy to open a store in an afternoon. It also makes it easy to launch with a broken shipping rate, no refund policy or taxes switched off. Most new-store problems aren’t design problems. They’re settings that nobody checked.

This walkthrough goes through Shopify setup in the order that saves the most rework: account and plan, store details, products, theme, domain, payments, taxes, shipping, policies and a test order. Menu names refer to the Shopify admin as it looks in late 2026, and Shopify does move things around, so look for the closest match if a label differs.

Before you start: what to have ready

Gather these before you sign up and setup goes much faster.

• Business details: legal business name, address, phone and an email you check daily.
• Bank account and tax ID: you’ll need them to receive payouts. Sole proprietors can often use a Social Security number; others need an EIN.
• Product information: titles, descriptions, prices, costs, weights, SKUs and at least 3 good photos per product.
• Logo and brand colors: a simple text logo is fine for launch.
• Shipping plan: box sizes, which carriers you’ll use and whether you’ll offer free shipping.
• Domain idea: check that the name you want is available.

If you’re still choosing what to sell, read our guide on how to find a product to sell online first. If you’re still choosing a platform, compare Shopify vs Etsy for new sellers.

Account, store details and products

Step 1: Create your account and pick a plan

Go to Shopify’s site and start a trial. At the time of writing, Shopify offers a 3-day free trial, followed by a low-cost introductory period on select plans. You’ll answer a few onboarding questions, which only shape the setup guide you see.

For most new sellers, the Basic plan is enough. You can upgrade later when you need more staff accounts, lower card rates or advanced reporting. Our breakdown of Shopify fees explains plan prices, card rates and the extra fee for third-party payment providers.

Plan	Best fit	What changes as you move up
Basic	Solo founders and new stores	Owner account only, highest card rates and third-party fee
Grow	Small teams	Staff accounts, lower card rates and third-party fee
Advanced	Growing brands, international sales	More staff, lower rates, more reporting and shipping features
Plus	High-volume and enterprise	Custom pricing, lowest rates, advanced checkout and automation

Step 2: Fill in store details

Open Settings > General (sometimes shown as Store details) and complete:

• Store name and contact email. The email appears on customer notifications.
• Billing and legal business address. Used for invoices, taxes and some carrier rates.
• Store currency. Set it before you take orders. Changing it later is harder.
• Units and time zone. Use pounds and ounces for US shipping so weights match carrier rules.
• Order ID format. Optional, but a prefix such as your initials looks more professional.

Step 3: Add your products

Go to Products > Add product. For each one, fill in:

1. Title and description. Write for the shopper’s question: what it is, who it’s for, size, materials and care.
2. Media. Use clean, consistent photos. Add alt text describing each image.
3. Price and compare-at price. Add the cost per item too, so Shopify can show your margin.
4. Inventory. Add SKUs and quantities, and decide whether to allow selling when out of stock.
5. Shipping. Tick “physical product” and enter the packaged weight. Wrong weights cause wrong shipping rates.
6. Variants. Add options such as size or color.
7. Search engine listing. Edit the page title, meta description and URL handle.

Group products into collections so customers can browse by category. Automated collections update themselves based on rules such as product type or tag.

Theme and domain

Step 4: Choose and customize a theme

Go to Online Store > Themes. Start with a free theme from the Shopify Theme Store. Free themes are fast, mobile-friendly and maintained by Shopify, and you can switch to a paid theme later.

In the theme editor, set up:

• Header with logo and main menu
• Homepage with a clear headline, featured collection and one strong image
• Product page layout, including reviews and shipping information
• Footer with policy links, contact details and newsletter signup

Build menus in Online Store > Navigation. Keep the main menu short: shop, a few key collections, about and contact.

Key takeaway: Don’t spend a week on design before your settings work. A simple free theme with accurate shipping, taxes and policies will outsell a beautiful store that charges the wrong rates.

Step 5: Connect a domain

Go to Settings > Domains. You can buy a new domain through Shopify or connect one you already own from a registrar. If you connect an existing domain, Shopify gives you the DNS records to add at your registrar, and changes can take time to take effect.

Set your custom domain as the primary domain, so customers see it instead of the default myshopify address. Shopify provides SSL certificates for connected domains, so your store loads over HTTPS. If you’ll send marketing email from that domain, set up email authentication too; our guide to SPF, DKIM and DMARC explains why it matters.

Payments, checkout and taxes

Step 6: Set up payments and checkout

Go to Settings > Payments. In the US, most stores activate Shopify Payments, which lets you accept major cards and wallets such as Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay without a separate merchant account. You’ll enter business details, bank account information and tax ID for payouts.

You can also add PayPal and other providers. Be aware that using a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments adds a Shopify transaction fee on most plans, on top of that provider’s own fees.

Then open Settings > Checkout and decide:

• Whether customers need accounts or can check out as guests (guest checkout reduces friction)
• Which contact method is required: email, phone or either
• Whether to collect marketing consent at checkout
• Tipping, order notes and address autocomplete

Lost sales at checkout are expensive. Our guide on why shoppers abandon carts covers the most common fixes.

Step 7: Configure taxes and duties

Go to Settings > Taxes and duties. In the US, sales tax depends on where you have nexus, meaning a physical or economic connection to a state. Since the 2018 Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can require remote sellers to collect sales tax once they pass an economic threshold set by each state.

In Shopify:

1. Turn on tax collection for your home state and any state where you’re registered.
2. Add your state registration number for each region.
3. Set product tax categories so items such as clothing or food are taxed correctly where rules differ.
4. Decide whether prices include tax (common outside the US) or tax is added at checkout (standard in the US).

Shopify Tax handles calculations. Shopify’s help center says it is free up to $100,000 in sales, then charges a percentage of transactions with calculated tax; for US stores on Basic, Grow or Advanced, the rate is 0.35%, capped per order. Shopify notes that merchants remain responsible for filing and remitting taxes. This is not legal or tax advice; talk to a tax professional about where you must register.

Shipping and store policies

Step 8: Build shipping zones and rates

Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery. Shopify organizes shipping into profiles, zones and rates. Every store has a general profile that covers all products. You can create custom profiles for items that need different rates, such as oversized or fragile products.

Rate type	How it works	Best for
Flat rate	Fixed price per order or by weight or price tier	Simple catalogs, predictable margins
Free shipping	Free over a minimum order value, or always	Raising average order value
Carrier-calculated	Live rates from carriers at checkout	Heavy or varied products
Local delivery and pickup	Deliver nearby or let customers collect	Shops with a local customer base

Start with 1 domestic zone for the US. Add a flat rate for standard shipping, a faster paid option and a free-shipping threshold if your margins allow it. Add international zones only when you’re ready for customs forms and longer delivery times. Shopify is gradually moving stores to shipping options managed by market, and says existing rates migrate automatically.

When orders arrive, you can buy and print labels from the order page. Our guide on how to print shipping labels at home covers printers, scales and pickups.

Step 9: Add store policies and legal pages

Go to Settings > Policies. Add a refund policy, privacy policy, terms of service, shipping policy and contact information. Shopify can generate templates, but edit them to match what you actually do: return window, who pays return shipping, processing time and how customers reach you.

If you collect customer data, check whether state privacy laws apply to you. Our guide to US state data privacy laws explains thresholds. This is not legal advice.

Step 10: Place a test order, then launch

Shopify recommends placing at least one test order during setup and again whenever you change payment settings. Use Shopify Payments test mode or Shopify’s test payment gateway, which simulate transactions without charges. You can also place a real order and immediately cancel and refund it, though your payment processor may charge fees.

Your test order checklist:

• [ ] Product page shows the right price, variants and images
• [ ] Discount codes apply correctly
• [ ] Shipping rates match your plan for each zone
• [ ] Tax shows correctly for your home state
• [ ] Order confirmation email arrives and looks right
• [ ] Inventory decreases after the order
• [ ] You can buy a label and mark the order fulfilled

Turn test mode off when you’re done, because customers can’t place live orders while payments are in test mode. Then go to Online Store > Preferences, remove the password page and you’re live.

Where to start after launch

Your first week matters more than your launch day. Connect Google Analytics or Shopify’s built-in reports, install only the apps you need, and get your first sales from people who already know you. For the full plan beyond the platform, see how to start an online store, and budget with our guide to online store startup costs.

The bottom line

A good Shopify store setup is mostly about getting the boring settings right in the right order. Add products with accurate weights, connect your domain, switch on payments, set taxes and shipping zones, publish real policies and run a test order. Do that, and your store is ready for customers on day 1.

Sources

• Shopify Help Center: Placing test orders — test mode, test gateway, real-order refund option, test mode blocking live orders
• Shopify Help Center: Shipping profiles — general and custom profiles, zones and rates, move to shipping by market
• Shopify Help Center: Shopify Tax pricing — $100,000 free threshold and US fee rates
• Shopify Help Center: Shopify Tax — merchant responsibility for confirming rates and filing
• Shopify Pricing — plan tiers, trial terms and third-party payment provider fees