How to Set Up Your Shopify Store

A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

🚀 You’ve Chosen a Niche — Now It’s Time to Build Your Store

Welcome to Blog 3 of our eCommerce series! Now that you’ve selected a profitable niche, it’s time to set up your Shopify store — the foundation of your entire dropshipping business.

Whether you’re targeting customers in Europe or the United States, this guide will walk you through:

Creating your Shopify account
Configuring essential store settings
Choosing your theme and branding your site
Setting up payments, taxes, and shipping
Installing must-have apps to power your dropshipping store

🧱 Step 1: Sign Up for Shopify

Go to Shopify.com
Start your $1/month trial
Enter your email, store name, and business details

💡 Tip: Use a brandable store name that matches your niche. If undecided, use a temporary name — you can change it later.

🌐 Step 2: Buy or Connect Your Domain

Option A: Buy Domain via Shopify

Navigate to Settings > Domains > Buy new domain
Choose a .com or geo-specific domain (.co.uk, .de, etc.)

Option B: Use Namecheap or GoDaddy

Buy the domain externally
Point it to Shopify via DNS settings

💡 Pro Tip: Keep your domain short, easy to remember, and brandable.

🎨 Step 3: Choose and Customize Your Theme

Go to Online Store > Themes
Choose a free theme (like Dawn) or explore paid themes
Click Customize to edit layout, colors, fonts, sections, etc.

Customize These Key Pages:

Homepage
Product page
About Us
Contact Us
FAQ

📦 Add trust-building elements like reviews, money-back guarantee, and shipping info.

🛠️ Step 4: Configure Essential Store Settings

Navigate to Settings and go through the following:

✅ General

Store name, email, legal address (important for invoicing)

✅ Payments

Activate Shopify Payments, PayPal, or Stripe
Enable multi-currency if targeting both EU & US

✅ Checkout

Enable guest checkout
Add abandoned cart recovery email (auto-enabled)

✅ Taxes

Set up VAT (EU) or Sales Tax (US) using Shopify’s built-in calculators
Consider apps like Quaderno for automated VAT compliance

✅ Shipping

Use zone-based shipping for EU/US
Add free shipping or flat rates
For dropshipping, sync rates with supplier settings

🔌 Step 5: Install Dropshipping & Utility Apps

Go to the Shopify App Store and install:

🔹 Must-Have Dropshipping Apps

App	Purpose	Region
DSers	AliExpress automation	Global
Spocket	US/EU-based suppliers	Europe, USA
CJdropshipping	Fast shipping, customization	Global

🔹 Utility Apps

App	Use
Judge.me	Product reviews
Shopify Inbox	Live chat & support
SEO Optimizer by Booster	Improve search rankings
Plug in Speed	Store speed enhancement
Terms & Conditions Checkbox	Legal compliance

💡 Don’t overdo apps. Start with essentials to keep your store fast and clean.

🖼️ Step 6: Add Logo, Favicon & Branding

Use tools like Canva or Looka to create:

Logo (upload to Header section)
Favicon (under Settings > Brand)
Brand colors & fonts (match your niche tone)

💡 Keep branding consistent across your store and marketing assets.

📄 Step 7: Create Legal & Policy Pages

Under Settings > Policies, generate or write:

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Refund Policy
Shipping Policy

Shopify offers auto-generated templates you can customize.

📣 Step 8: Set Up Navigation & Menus

Go to Online Store > Navigation

Set up a Main Menu: Home, Shop, About Us, Contact
Add a Footer Menu: Policies, Track Order, FAQs

📌 Make it easy for your customers to navigate and trust your store.

🛒 Step 9: Add First Products (Optional Pre-Launch)

You can add products now or wait until the next blog.

To preview:

Connect DSers or Spocket
Import products into Shopify with 1-click
Edit product descriptions, images, and prices

🚀 Your Shopify Store is Now Ready!

Before you launch, make sure you:
✅ Check mobile responsiveness
✅ Test checkout process
✅ Proofread all pages
✅ Ensure app connections work properly

🧰 Quick Tools to Enhance Setup

Tool	Use	Link
Canva	Design logos, banners	canva.com
Looka	AI logo maker	looka.com
Hatchful by Shopify	Free Shopify logo tool	hatchful.shopify.com
TinyPNG	Compress images for speed	tinypng.com

Need help ? Contact Us info@salpersfirst.ch or visit salpersfirst.ch

🔮 Coming Next: Sourcing Products & Connecting Your Dropshipping Supplier

Now that your store is set up, it’s time to stock it with high-quality products.

In Blog 4, you’ll learn:

How to connect Shopify to DSers, Spocket, and CJdropshipping
Importing products with the right images and titles
Managing pricing, shipping, and variants
How to spot reliable suppliers

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