Setting Up a New Shopify Store: Step by Step Guide

At Avalanche Creative, we’re always trying to work smarter, not harder.

That’s why we created an internal standard operating procedure for setting up a new Shopify store. We think sharing is caring, so we’ve pasted it below for anyone looking for a checklist of items to set up your own Shopify Store. Some items may not be relevant, but we promise this is a great starting point.

Sign up for a free trial of Shopify here and we’ll give you a half hour consultation for FREE!

Shopify – Internal Avalanche Team Use

• • Log in to Avalanche Creative’s Shopify partner account
  • Click on “Development Stores” at the top of the sidebar menu
  • Click “Create Store”
  • Fill in all Login information and Store details (all can be changed later)
    • Do not select “Enable multi-location”

• Settings

• • • Settings > General
      • Fill out Store address
      • Save
    • Settings > Payment providers
      • If client has their own, select it from “Third party credit card provider” drop-down menu
      • If client does not have their own, default choice is Shopify
    • Settings > Account
      • Click “Add staff account”
        • Add client’s name and email
        • Select “This staff account will have full permissions”
    • Settings > Checkout
      • Customer accounts
        • Select option based on client’s preference
      • Customer contact
        • Select first option – “Customers can check out using phone or email”
        • Do not select additional contact method
      • Form options
        • Full name – select “Require first and last name”
        • Company name – select “Hidden”
        • Address line 2 – select “Optional”
        • Shipping address phone number – select “Hidden”
      • Order processing
        • While the customer is checking out – select “Use the shipping address as the billing address by default”
        • As for permission to send promotional emails to customers from your store – select “By default, customer agrees to receive promotional emails”
        • After an order has been paid – select “Do not automatically fulfill any of the order’s line items”
        • After an order has been fulfilled and paid – check “automatically archive this order”
      • Abandoned checkouts
        • Check “automatically send abandoned checkout emails”
        • Send to – select “anyone who abandons checkout”
        • Send after – select “1 hour later”
      • Refund, privacy, and TOS statements
        • Click “Generate sample refund policy” for each
        • Client will need to approve or write their own later
      • Save
    • Settings > Notifications
      • Order notifications
        • Add an order notification
          • Notification method – select “email address”
          • Enter email address provided by client
          • Click “add an order notification
    • Settings > Shipping
      • Consult with client to fill in this information

• Website Storefront

• • Online Store > Themes
    • Choose theme and click “Add”
  • Products > “Add products”
    • Download sample csv at https://help.shopify.com/manual/products/import-export#get-a-sample-csv-file
    • Fill in product information as provided by client
    • Click “Import” to upload csv
  • Products
    • Click on individual products and upload images
  • Online Store > Pages
    • Add all client’s required pages
  • Online Store > Navigation
    • Choose pages to include in main menu and footer menu
  • Online Store > Themes
    • Current theme – click “Customize”
      • Use products and descriptions provided by client to customize:
        • Home page
        • Collection pages
        • Product pages
        • Cart page
      • Click “Theme settings” near top left side of page
        • Set each option based on client’s branding
      • If theme templates and code need to be customized, go to Themes > Current theme > Actions > Edit code
  • Online Store > Preferences
    • If provided by client, go to “Google Analytics” and “Facebook Pixel”
      • Paste in text box
      • Save
  • Online Store > Domains
    • Enter domain name > click “Next”
    • Shopify will walk you through how to change DNS settings

Needed from Client

• Contact information
  • Legal name of the business
  • Phone number
  • Street address
• General content for homepage (describing business)
• Payment processing provider
  • If none, we recommend Shopify for ease of use
    • Shopify credit card rates are 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction
• Do you want to automatically or manually capture payments?
  • Manual allows you to hold payments for up to 7 days before charging the card
  • Automatic is preferred and recommended
• Choose an option for customer accounts:
  • Required to create account upon checkout
  • Only able checkout as a guest
  • Be able to choose either option
• Client will need to approve or provide their own refund, privacy, and TOS statements
  • Settings > Checkout > Refund, privacy, and TOS statements
• Do you have a preferred vendor or account with a logistics company for shipping?
  • Or do you want to set a price-based rate?
    • Ex. free shipping over $50, anything under $50 is a flat rate of $5
• Provide a list of collections and products
  • Ex. Collection = Apparel
    • Products = t-shirt, long-sleeve shirt, pants
  • For each product:
    • Title/name of product
    • Description
    • Price
    • Photo(s)
    • Variants (colors, sizes, type options)
    • Collection(s) that it belongs to
• Choose which additional pages you would like and provide content.
  • Ex. About, Contact, Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Terms of Service, FAQ’s
• If you need it/require it, provide your Google Analytics tracking code and Facebook Pixel ID
• Either provide us with a registered domain name and the log-in to the registrant (ex. GoDaddy) OR let us know what domain name(s) you’d like to purchase, and we will purchase them on your behalf to connect to your Shopify account
• What email address should order notifications go to?
• Name & email address for staff person that will manage account
  • This person will receive an email to create their account
  • They need to complete account set up for payments
    • Once logged in, select “Settings” at bottom left-hand corner of homepage
    • Click “Payment providers”
    • Click purple button that says, “Complete account setup”
    • Fill in all information
    • Click “Complete account setup”
• Pre-launch
  • Settings > Account
    • Under Account overview, click “compare plans”
    • Choose the plan that’s right for you
      • Most likely “Basic Shopify”
  • Settings > Billing
    • Billing information (for Shopify fees)
      • Click “Add credit card”
        • Enter information and click confirm

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