Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world. It is easy to use, has many tools for customization and automation, as well as a large support base for users. With Shopify, you can create an attractive online store with minimal time and money, even without technical knowledge. The platform is suitable for start-up entrepreneurs and small businesses who want to quickly launch online sales without the need to hire developers. Despite the fact that the admin panel does not yet have full Ukrainian localization, more and more companies in Ukraine are successfully using Shopify — integrations with local payment systems and delivery services are emerging, so the platform is becoming more accessible to the Ukrainian market.

Step 1: Sign up for Shopify

The first step is to create an account on Shopify. Go to the official Shopify website and click “Start free trial”(Start a free trial period). Shopify provides a short free trial — for now it's 3 daysduring which you can test all the capabilities of the platform. Registration is very simple: just specify an email and create a password, you do not need a bank card at the trial stage. Next, the system will offer to answer a few questions about your business (this form can be skipped or filled out - the name of the store, the scope of activity, etc., all this can be changed later).

After creating an account, the countdown of the trial period begins. It's worth noting that Shopify now often offers a lucrative promotion for newbies — first 3 months of use for only $1 per month. This is a great opportunity to quietly set up shop and even start selling at minimal cost. At the end of the trial 3 days (or promotional months), you need to choose one of the paid tariff plans to open a full-fledged store for customers. For most new online stores it will be sufficient Basic Shopify— Basic plan, which costs about $32 per month. It contains all the basic functions to launch a store: the ability to add an unlimited number of goods, connect payments, create discounts, etc. In the future, as your business grows, you'll be able to move to higher-end plans (like Shopify or Advanced) with enhanced analytics capabilities and lower transaction fees.

Helpful advice:Make the most of the trial period — check out the admin panel, add a few test products, try changing the design to see if Shopify is right for you. All settings made during the trial are saved after switching to a paid plan, so this time will not be in vain.

Step 2: Choosing a template (theme) for the store

After signing up, you get access to the Shopify admin panel. One of the first steps of setting up is Choosing a store design, that is, themes (template). Shopify has its own Theme Store— a catalog of templates where both free and paid themes are available. Free themes (e.g. The Dawn— default theme) allow you to start quickly at no extra cost. Paid themes usually cost between $100 and $300 one time and can offer a more unique design and advanced features.

How to choose a theme?Focus on the specifics of your business and the expectations of the audience. For the Ukrainian market, it is important that the theme is easily customized to the Ukrainian language — check whether you can edit text blocks (menus, cart, messages) and translate them. Most Shopify templates allow you to do this through an editor or translation files. Pay attention to adaptability: All official Shopify themes are mobile responsive, meaning your store will look good on both your computer and smartphone. Also rate navigation and structure: Is the template suitable for the number of products you plan. If the assortment is large, look for a theme with an advanced menu, filters, convenient search. If there are few products or they are of a narrow category, you can choose a more minimalist design. The design should also correspond to your field: for example, bright, colorful elements that will attract the attention of the audience will be appropriate for children's goods, and for technological gadgets - on the contrary, a restrained modern style.

Come in Theme Storeand view demo versions of different themes. You can filter templates by industry (for example, “Clothing and Fashion”, “Food & Drink”, “Electronics”, etc.) or by features (availability of videos on the main, mega menu, customer reviews, etc.). After finding a topic to your liking, click Aggiungi temaor Previewto see how it will look with your products. The installed theme can be further customized: change colors, fonts, block placement, add your logo and banners. Even without design skills, you can customize the template to your brand — Shopify has a convenient Visual Editor(section Customize thema), where all changes are visible immediately. Remember that any theme can be redesigned for you, so the main thing is to choose the one that best suits the mood and functionality you need. Over time, as the store grows, the theme can be changed or improved, so this choice is not once and for all.

Step 3: Add products to the catalog

When the design is basic, you can proceed to filling the store — adding products. In the Shopify admin panel, go to the section Produkte(Goods) and click “Aggiungi prodotti”. You will see the form of creating a product card, where you need to fill in the basic information about the product: name, description, price, photos, options, etc. A carefully completed product card is a guarantee that buyers will receive complete information and want to make a purchase. Try to make the description of the goods as detailed and attractive as possible, add high-quality photos so that customers can view the product from different sides. Below are the main elements to look out for:

• Product Name:It should clearly show what kind of product it is. The name is the first thing that the buyer sees in the catalog and search results on the site, so it should be informative and noticeable. It is advisable to include key characteristics: for example “Summer dress for women, yellow”or “Ceramic cup 300 ml”. The name should be concise, but at the same time meaningful, so that the client immediately understands the main features (type, purpose, color, size, etc.).
• Product Description:This is a text that sellsyour product. In the description, describe in detail the characteristics and advantages of the product. Think about what your buyer needs to know so that he clicks “Buy” with confidence. Include information about materials, sizes, functions, equipment — everything that makes the product valuable. It is very useful to add data on guarantees, shipping, returns: for example, to indicate that there is free shippingor exchange within 14 days — this increases customer loyalty. The style of presentation should be clear and readable: avoid a solid “sheet” of text. Use short paragraphs, labeled lists, subheadings, and highlights so that the buyer can quickly find the information they need. Think about typical customer questions and doubts and give answers directly in the description. For example, if you sell clothes, provide information about the size grid, if food - composition and calorie content, if electronics - compatibility or technical standards. The quality of the description directly affects the buyer's decision, so invest in it maximum benefits and specifics.
• Product photos: Image is 50% of successin online sales, because the customer can not see the product live. Add high quality photoswith high resolution, which show the product from different angles. It is advisable to have at least 3-5 photos per product: main (general view) and additional - details, product in use or model, packaging, etc. If details (fabric texture, components, equipment) are important to your product, get up close. Observe Uniform image style and sizestore-wide — this will give your site a professional look. Backgrounds in the photo are better to choose neutral (white or light), so that nothing distracts from the product. Also take care of the loading speed — too “heavy” images can slow down the site. Shopify allows you to edit photos right in the admin panel (crop, resize) and add Alt-text— do not forget to register an alternative text with an image description (for example, “Yellow dress in floral print, size M”), this is useful for SEO and for buyers with limited visual perception.
• Product Price:Set a competitive price that matches the value of the product and the market. Shopify has a field Preço(Price) — here we enter your selling price, and the field Vergelijk aan prijs(Old price) — it can be used if you want to show a discount. For example, your product costs 500 UAH, and before it was 600 UAH — then in “Compare at price” enter 600, and the buyer will see that the promotional price is valid with a discount. This psychologically encourages the purchase, because it emphasizes the benefit. If the product has options (different sizes, colors, modifications), add them through the function Variants— then on one page of the product, the customer will be able to select the desired option from the drop-down list (for example, color or size of clothing). Do not forget to also fill in the field Quantità(quantity in stock) and set up balance tracking if you plan to track inventory through Shopify.

After adding the first product, you will see how it appears in your store. You can immediately check what the product page looks like, whether all the data is in place. Repeat the process for all your products. Shopify allows you to group products in collections(Categories) is the next step to take if you have a lot of titles. For example, create collections “New Items”, “Sale”, “For Her”, “For Home”, etc., so that it is more convenient for customers to search through the catalog. Collections can be made manually or automatically (provided, for example, all products of a certain brand or with the tag “sale”). Competent organization of the catalog improves navigation and increases the chances of a sale.

Step 4: Set up payments, taxes and shipping

Payments (payment systems).To accept money from customers, you need to connect payment methods. In the Shopify admin panel, go to the section Instalaciones > Payments(Settings > Payments). By default, in some countries Shopify supports its own gateway Shopify Payments, but This service is not available in Ukraine, so you will connect third-party payment systems. Fortunately, Shopify supports over 100 different payment providers around the world, and there are already integrations with the major ones for our marketplace. The most popular payment methods for Ukrainian online stores on Shopify:

• Bank cards through LiqPay. LiqPay— this is a Ukrainian payment system from PrivatBank. It allows you to accept payments from Visa/Mastercard cards, through Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as payment in installments from PrivatBank. LiqPay integration ensures a secure transaction process: after placing an order, the customer goes to a secure LiqPay page to enter data. This method is very popular among Ukrainian buyers and can significantly increase payment conversion. You can connect LiqPay to Shopify through an official application or service intermediary (for example, through the Chekly application without programming) — you will need API keys from your LiqPay account.
• Fondy payment gateway. Funds— another common service in Ukraine for accepting online payments. There is an official Fondy plugin for Shopify that installs in a few minutes. Fondy supports payments in any currency, accepting Visa/Mastercard cards, e-wallets, Apple Pay, Google Pay and other methods. Thanks to the direct integration, developed specifically for the Ukrainian market, you get all the necessary functionality without complex settings. To connect, you need to register with Fondy, install the Fondy app in Shopify and follow the instructions (you will need a Merchant ID and API keys). Fondy's commission is ~ 2.5%, plus Shopify will charge 2% of transactions on the Basic plan for using a third-party gateway (unless you're on the Advanced plan or using Shopify Payments).
• It's PayPal. PayPal— international payment system, well known all over the world. Many Ukrainian stores connect PayPal primarily for payment from foreign customers. If you plan to sell outside Ukraine or target foreigners, PayPal is a must-have. In Shopify, PayPal support is built in: just specify your PayPal inbox (email) in the settings and buyers can pay in one click through their PayPal account. Please note that receptionPayments via PayPal in Ukraine became possible only from 2022, but now this option works (PayPal will convert currencies and allows you to withdraw funds to Ukrainian accounts). PayPal's transaction fee is approximately 3-4%, consider this when pricing.

⚙️ Other methods:In addition to those mentioned, there are other payment solutions for Shopify in Ukraine — for example, WayforPay, Portmone, Stripe (not yet officially working in Ukraine), payment solutions from monobank (Platon/PaySave). Their connection may require the use of third-party applications or developer services. At the start, you will have enough 1-2 main payment methods, too many options can even confuse the client. Choose the most convenient for your audience: for example, payment by card through LiqPay or Fondy — for the local market, and PayPal — for international customers. In the future, you can always add other methods if the need arises.

Adjustment of taxes.If you officially carry out business activities, do not forget about the tax settings. Shopify allows you to automatically calculate base tax rates in different countries. In the Admin panel, go to Settings > Taxes and duties(Settings > Taxes and Duties). Add the regions (countries) for which you want to charge the tax and set the tax rates according to the law. By default, Shopify can substitute your country's standard VAT rate, but you can change it or add your own rules if, say, certain products aren't taxed or have individual tax conditions. For Ukraine, the standard VAT rate is 20%, but many small online sellers work as individual entrepreneurs of 2-3 groups without VAT, so you can completely disable tax collection from customers (in this case, prices are indicated gross(including taxes). It is important to consult with an accountant or tax consultant to adjust everything correctly for your situation. Shopify provides a tax collection tool, but doesn't automatically transfer them to your budget — you're responsible for paying your store's taxes.

Delivery of goods.The last key block of settings is delivery methods. Go to Instalaciones > Shipping and delivery(Settings > Delivery) in the Shopify admin panel. Here you can create Shipping Profilesand delivery areas. For example, you can make a zone “Ukraine” and separately “International” with different tariffs. Shopify allows you to customize the cost of shipping by various parameters: fixed price, cost based on weight, based on the order amountetc. A popular approach is to set free delivery when ordering more than a certain amount (say, free from 1000 UAH), and for orders of a smaller amount — to charge a standard tariff. Free shipping can be an additional incentive for shoppers to add items to the cart for a larger amount. Think about what will be beneficial for both you and customers.

For Ukraine, it is necessary to immediately provide for integration with local delivery services. The most popular carrier — Nova Poshta. In Shopify, you can manually register the tariffs of Nova Poshta (for example, set the average delivery price in the country, or do it for free — and you pay the actual cost to the service when sending). But a more convenient way is to use a special application Nova Poshta Shippingfrom the Shopify App Store, which automatically calculates the cost of delivery to the customer's department/address and even allows you to create express invoices directly from the admin panel. Such integrations greatly simplify the process of processing orders. In addition to Nova Poshta, you can also connect other carriers (Ukrposhta, Meest, etc.) or international delivery services (DHL, UPS) — through the appropriate applications or manually. At the initial stage, it is easiest to offer 1-2 delivery options: for example, Nova Poshta — to the officeand Courier deliveryin Ukraine, and separately International shipping(if you plan to ship abroad). Over time, having received the statistics of orders, you can optimize these options.

By setting up payment, taxes, and shipping, your store is almost ready to go. Make sure that the site contains the correct contact details, information about the store, policies (terms of delivery, return, confidentiality). These pages can be added in Instalaciones > Policies(where Shopify offers policy text templates — just edit them for yourself). Also test the entire purchase path: from adding the goods to the cart to successful payment and creating an order. Check if you receive email notifications about a new order, and the customer receives a confirmation email. If everything works properly, you can remove the password from the store(during the trial the store is closed with a password) and open your site for public access.

Closure

Launching an online store on Shopify is a realistic task even for a beginner. In this article, we took a step-by-step look at how to create a Shopify store from scratch: from registering and choosing a template to adding products and setting up all the important aspects (payment, taxes, shipping). Shopify is advantageous in that many complex things (hosting, design, payment security) are already done for you — you are left to fill the store and manage the business. If you make efforts at the stage of setup and optimization (for example, issue high-quality product cards, connect convenient payment methods, set up fast delivery), you will get a powerful tool for online sales.

Don't hesitate to test Shopify's capabilities to grow your business. And if you need professional support or advice on how to quickly launch a store — Seek advice. Our experts will be happy to help you set up a turnkey Shopify store, take into account the specifics of the Ukrainian market and ensure the fastest release of your business online. We wish you success in your endeavors and high sales!

Ready to start?Take advantage of Shopify's free trial today and create your dream online store. If you have any questions — we are always in touch to help make your e-commerce journey successful from the start.

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