5 aspects to consider before opening a Shopify shop

Your Shopify shop looks great, all the products have been loaded and, after all the hard work, you finally want to activate it and start selling. However, an ongoing question stands between you and this goal: "Have I forgotten something important?"

This is understandable, because starting one's own online business takes time. Nobody manages to have all the steps in their head. That's why having a checklist at hand is convenient: just scroll through it step by step to stay organised and tick it off.

In this article we have summarised 5 key steps that you absolutely must think about before opening a Shopify shop.

 

1. Purchasing and connecting the domain

If you want to make sales, you need the trust of your customers. This includes an individual domain name that represents your brand. A jumble of letters in the address bar that says almost nothing is not very trustworthy.

Generally you have three possibilities:

1. purchase a domain directly from Shopify
2. transfer a domain from a third-party provider
3. connect the domain to Shopify.

The domain options have a particular influence on how the domain is subsequently managed. If you transfer a domain you own to Shopify or purchase a domain directly in the administration area, domain management is fully integrated into Shopify. If, on the other hand, you purchase a domain from a third-party provider (e.g. Aruba, GoDaddy etc) and connect it to your Shopify shop, the domain and all settings remain with the third-party provider. We at DevInterface recommend that you link your domain to Shopify.

 

2. Creating important pages and making them visible

The basic equipment of every online shop includes some important pages that should help customers and are also expected by them. These include:

• An 'About Us' page. Here you can give your shop a personality and a back story. Work with vivid images and explain to the world who you are, what you do and why you do it. Talk about what makes your products special, evoke emotions and be creative. This builds trust and shows that your shop is real.
• Contact Options. Create a contact page and show your customers how they can reach you. The page should include a support e-mail address and a contact form. If you want it to be very personal, you can also include your company telephone number.
• Frequently asked questions. Especially if you are new to the market, your product may raise many questions in your target group. To anticipate this, the 'Frequently Asked Questions' will help you. These are questions that are expected to be asked frequently. Create a separate page for them and answer the most important questions about the company and your product yourself.

The last step: integrate the created pages into your navigation menu, so that customers can find them easily.

 

3. Installing a GDPR-compliant cookie consent tool

Many website visitors find cookie banners annoying, but if you do not want to be warned or even fined, you cannot do without a GDPR-compliant tool. GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation and regulates the processing of personal data in the European Union.

A single banner indicating the use of cookies is not sufficient. Cookies that are not essential for the functioning of the website require the explicit consent of the visitor and cannot be pre-set. This also includes cookies used by tracking tools such as the Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics. And you cannot do e-commerce without tracking!

The Shopify App Store contains many cookie apps, but only a few of them are actually GDPR compliant. A reliable, legally compliant and relatively inexpensive ($2.99/month in Shopify's basic plan) app is GDPR Legal Cookie by beeclever.

 

4. Optimise title and meta description

We cannot emphasise this enough: for the success of a shop it is essential to offer a professional appearance. This also includes presentation in search engines such as Google or when sharing links to your shop.

The title and meta description determine what is displayed as a preview in search engines and when links are shared. For you this means: optimise!

The title should be no longer than 50-60 characters and the meta description no longer than 150-160 characters. Otherwise, the words will be cut off in the preview. In addition, you should enrich both with the most important keywords for which your shop should be found on search engines.

 

5. Integrating the right payment options

As a merchant, you must offer the right payment options, otherwise your customers will no longer be able to pay. Also consider that setting up many payment options in Shopify is quick and easy. This is where Shopify Payments comes in. You can add it to your shop via the administration area, under Settings -> Payments.

It is advisable to activate the following payment options: credit card payment, instant bank transfer, PayPal, but also instalment payment options such as Klarna or Scalapay.

Other important integrations are those with social media profiles. If your company is also active on social media, let the world know! Whether Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest, you can easily integrate your accounts into your shop. To do this, simply go to 'Social Media' in the theme settings.

 

Would you also like to implement a Shopify shop but are intimidated by all the aspects that need to be considered beforehand or are you not sure how to go about it?

We can help you with a safe, structured and complete job: perfect design, optimised shipping, successful marketing, correct accounting, take a look at our case study.

An enduringly successful online shop needs many things. To make sure you don't forget anything or do anything wrong, our team will support you with best practices. Contact us.