How to Sell on Shopify: Step-by-Step Guide to Launch and Grow
If you’re looking for a clear answer to how to sell on Shopify, you’re in the right place. Whether you're starting from scratch or transitioning from another platform, Shopify makes it easy to build a store, showcase your products, and manage everything from one dashboard.
This guide covers the exact steps you need to launch your store, sell your products, and start generating revenue.
Step 1: Decide What You’re Selling
Before setting up your store, decide what you want to sell. This could include:
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Physical products (clothing, supplements, candles)
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Digital downloads (ebooks, courses, artwork)
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Print-on-demand goods
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Subscription boxes or services
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Dropshipping products
Choose something you can describe clearly, price competitively, and fulfill efficiently.
Step 2: Create a Shopify Account
Visit shopify.com and start your free trial. You’ll answer a few questions and be taken straight to your store dashboard, where all setup and store management happens.
Step 3: Choose and Customize Your Theme
Pick a theme that fits your brand. Shopify offers both free and premium themes, and you can customize fonts, colors, layout, and content—all without coding.
If you need something more advanced or unique, a Shopify Partner agency (like us) can help tailor it to your brand and conversion goals.
Step 4: Add Your Products
Inside your Shopify dashboard, go to “Products” and click “Add Product.” You’ll need:
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A product title
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A compelling, benefit-focused description
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Images or videos
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Price and SKU
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Inventory details and variants (size, color, etc.)
The more detailed and helpful your product pages are, the higher your conversion rate will be.
Step 5: Set Up Payments
Go to “Settings” > “Payments” to enable Shopify Payments. This lets you accept credit cards, Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more.
You can also enable PayPal or third-party gateways if needed. Payments are handled securely and automatically.
Step 6: Configure Shipping
Go to “Settings” > “Shipping and Delivery” to set:
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Shipping zones
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Flat-rate or real-time shipping
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Free shipping thresholds
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Local delivery or pickup options
You can connect carriers or fulfillment services, or use apps to calculate duties and international rates.
Step 7: Build Your Pages
You’ll want to set up a few core pages beyond your product listings:
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Homepage
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About Us
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Contact
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FAQ
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Return Policy
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Privacy Policy
These pages help establish trust and give shoppers confidence to buy.
Step 8: Connect Your Domain and Launch
You can buy a custom domain through Shopify or connect one you already own. Once you're happy with your design and product setup, remove the password protection from your store and go live.
Now your Shopify store is open to the world.
Step 9: Promote Your Store
Once your store is live, it’s time to drive traffic. A few proven strategies include:
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Posting consistently on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
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Running Meta and Google ads
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Launching an email capture form with Klaviyo
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Partnering with creators or influencers
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Offering a launch discount or free shipping promo
Focus on your most likely buyers and measure what works.
Step 10: Track Performance and Keep Optimizing
Shopify gives you a powerful analytics dashboard to track your sales, customer behavior, and marketing performance. Use it to:
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See which products are converting best
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Find drop-off points in the funnel
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Adjust pricing, offers, and content
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Improve based on real data
Great Shopify stores evolve constantly. The key is to launch, learn, and optimize.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been wondering how to sell on Shopify, now you have a clear path. From product selection to launch and promotion, Shopify gives you the infrastructure to start strong and scale smart.
Want help building a high-converting store or turning traffic into sales? Book a free discovery call with our team and we’ll walk you through it.