Open an online store from scratch

Decide what you will sell and to whom

Write one sentence: "I sell [product] to [type of customer]." Start with something small and specific rather than a store for everything. Then check three things before you spend money:

• Can you get the product reliably, by making it or buying it from a supplier?
• Is the cost low enough to leave a profit after shipping and fees?
• Do people already search for or buy something like it?

Choose a store platform

A store platform gives you the shop pages, a shopping cart, payments and order tracking in one place, so you don't build them yourself. Shopify is one of the best-known options for beginners. Compare platforms on what the plan costs per month, what fees you pay on each sale, and how easy it is to set up.

Most platforms offer a free trial, so you can set up a test store before you commit. Check the current trial length and prices on the official site, because they change.

See Shopify

Pick a simple theme

A theme is the design of your store. Choose a clean, simple one and change only the basics:

• Your store name and logo.
• Two colors and one or two fonts, used everywhere.
• A clear homepage with a short sentence about what you sell.

Tip: don't spend days on the design. A plain store with good photos and clear descriptions sells better than a fancy one with weak product pages.

Add your first products

For each product, write down:

• Clear photos: bright light, a plain background, and a few angles.
• A simple title and description: what it is, its size or material, and who it is for.
• A price: cost of the product, plus shipping and fees, plus your profit.
• Stock: how many you have, so you never sell what you can't ship.

Start with three to five products. You can add more once your first orders arrive.

Set up payments

You need a way to get paid. Store platforms offer their own payment system and also let you connect others. Which options are available depends on the country where your business is based, so check the list for your country in the platform's settings.

You will usually need to give your name, address and bank or payout details to a payment provider so they can send you the money. Give these only inside the platform's own settings pages, never to anyone who contacts you by message or email.

Plan shipping and returns

Decide before your first order how the product will get to the customer:

• Which countries you will ship to, and which carrier you will use.
• What you charge for shipping, or whether you include it in the price.
• How long delivery takes, and what customers can do if the product arrives damaged or is not what they wanted.

Write this down in a short shipping and returns page, so customers know before they buy.

Add the pages customers expect

• About: who you are and why you started the store.
• Contact: an email address where customers can reach you.
• Shipping and returns, privacy and terms: platforms often provide templates. Read them and adjust them to your business, and check the legal rules that apply where you and your customers live.

Place a test order, then launch

Before you tell anyone, buy one of your own products to see the whole process: the cart, the payment, the confirmation email and the order in your dashboard. If your platform has a test mode, use it. Check the store on your phone, fix anything unclear, and then share the address with friends and a few possible customers.