Shopify is an all-inclusive online selling place which uses Software As A Service platform. It is popular due to its easy-to-use interface and low startup cost. For one monthly rate, people can create and develop an online store from which they can sell, promote, and ship their products. It is possible to run a complete online store for as low as $29/month, and people can have everything online in less than a week. Shopify is an excellent solution for many merchants.

Few steps have to be taken into consideration while setting up a Shopify account[i], those are:

• Sign Up for an account with Shopify 

1. Use the signup form at shopify.com to create an account.
2. After entering shop name, mail id and other information and click the ‘Create your store now’

The store name has to be unique.

After this initial screen, few more details have to be filled up, including name, address, and country.

Once complete, click ‘I’m done’ tab[ii].

• Start Setting Up the Online Shop 

After signing up the person will be directed straight to the store admin screen. Here the person can customize the store, upload products and set up payments and shipping.

• Choose a “Layout” or a “Theme” 

Shopify has its own official theme store. These themes come with full support from the designers. Shopify has an international team of design agencies which they call as  ‘Shopify Experts’ that a person can hire to fully customize the site.

All themes come with a comprehensive list of modifications a person can make without making use of coding. The premium themes come with more modifications.

If a person wants to make wholesale changes to a theme, there are very few limitations on what can be achieved by accessing the CSS and HTML.

To find a theme that suits the needs following steps are recommended:

1. Browse the Theme Store
2. Check the reviews and functionality
3. Preview the theme via View Demo
4. Get the theme
5. Edit Settings to customise
6. Add Products to The Store

• Set up groups of products

A collection is any group of products having a certain feature in common that customers might look for when visiting the store.

Products can appear in any number of collections. Usually, collections will be displayed in the navigation bar and on the homepage. This helps customers find what they are looking for without having to click through the whole catalogue.

• Payment gateways

The payment gateway allows taking payment from the customers via the website. The commission rate and price are important, but it is also important to see all the features they offer.

• Test the order system

Using Shopify’s Bogus Gateway a person can simulate a transaction to test the system.

People can have a unique, great looking, and fully-functioning store in less than half an hour without having to be a web expert. This way they can spend most of their time marketing the products rather than having to maintain the site[iii].

One of the biggest disadvantages of Shopify is not being able to fully customize the checkout. Shopify restricts access to the checkout page for various security reasons. But it will work perfectly for customers shopping on mobile devices as the checkout comes fully responsive.

[i]https://websitesetup.org/build-online-store-shopify/

[ii]https://www.quora.com/How-does-Shopify-work-exactly-How-it-will-help-me-being-an-Amazon-affiliate

[iii]https://www.merchantmaverick.com/what-is-shopify-and-how-does-shopify-work/