How to start an online store with Shopify: step-by-step guide (2026)

You have something to sell — handmade goods, your own designs, a small range you source locally — and you want a proper online store that takes payments, works out shipping and looks good on a phone. This guide takes you from a blank Shopify trial to a live store ready for its first order: choosing a plan, picking a theme, adding products, setting up payments and shipping, and launching. It also covers a no-inventory route with print-on-demand through Printful. Each step lists the settings to choose and roughly how long it takes. Prices and features come from Shopify's and Printful's official pages and help centers, checked in October 2026.

Is Shopify right for you?

A good fit if you:

• want selling to be the main job of your site, with checkout, inventory and shipping handled in one place;
• want to start without code, using a free theme;
• plan to grow — Shopify's plans add staff accounts, more inventory locations and selling in up to 20 languages on Basic, Grow and Advanced;
• want to add apps such as print-on-demand instead of holding stock.

Probably not the best fit if you:

• mainly need an information site or portfolio with a handful of products — a general website builder or host with basic store features usually costs less per month;
• are based in a country where Shopify Payments is not available — you can still sell through a third-party payment provider, but Shopify adds a transaction fee on those orders (2% on Basic, as of October 2026);
• are on a very tight budget — after the introductory months you pay the monthly plan plus payment fees and any paid apps.

Step 1 — Start your trial and set the basics (15 minutes)

1. Go to Shopify and start the free trial with your email address. Shopify says no credit card is required.
2. Answer the short setup questions about what you sell and where.
3. Choose your store name carefully. Your free address will be yourstore.myshopify.com, and Shopify lets you change that name only once.
4. Add your business address and check the store currency.
5. Turn on two-step authentication for your account. It protects your store, and Shopify requires it before you can activate Shopify Payments.

Step 2 — Choose and customize a theme (30–60 minutes)

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store.
2. In the Discover themes section near the bottom of the page, click the free theme you like, then click Add. It appears in the Draft themes section of your Themes page.
3. Customize it: upload your logo, set your colors and fonts, and arrange the homepage sections — a clear headline, your best products and a short line about who you are.
4. Preview on a phone. Most shoppers will see your store on a small screen first.

The Shopify Theme Store lists 24 free themes (as of October 2026), including Dawn and Horizon, and Shopify says all free themes are compatible with selling in multiple languages. Paid themes exist too; Shopify lets you try one before you buy it, but a free theme is enough to launch.

Step 3 — Add your products (1–3 hours)

1. Go to Products and click Add product.
2. Title — say plainly what it is: "Hand-poured soy candle, cedar and orange, 200 g" beats "Cozy Vibes".
3. Description — who it is for, materials, size, care instructions and how long delivery takes.
4. Media — several clear photos on a plain background, all in the same shape, plus one showing the product in use.
5. Price — check that it covers your cost, Shopify's fees, payment fees and packaging.
6. Inventory — track quantities so you never sell something you don't have.
7. Shipping — mark it as a physical product and enter its weight; accurate weights make your shipping rates correct.
8. Variants — add sizes or colors as options of one product rather than separate products.
9. Click Save, then group related products into collections so shoppers can browse.

Step 4 — Set up payments (20–30 minutes)

Payments are where your country matters most.

If Shopify Payments is available where your business is based. Shopify Payments is Shopify's built-in payment option, so you don't need a separate merchant account. Open the Payments page in your settings, activate it and complete the business and bank details Shopify asks for, which depend on your country. According to Shopify's help center, the supported countries include the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Singapore, most of the European Union and the United Arab Emirates (as of October 2026).

If it is not available. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Morocco are not on Shopify's list (as of October 2026). Shopify says that in this case "you need to use a third-party payment provider." Shopify then charges a transaction fee on orders paid through that provider, on top of the provider's own fees: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.

Two details worth knowing:

• Orders paid through Shopify Payments, Shop Pay and Shop Pay Installments carry no third-party transaction fee.
• Manual payment methods, such as cash on delivery and bank transfer, carry no transaction fees, according to Shopify.

Step 5 — Set up shipping (30 minutes)

1. Go to Settings → Shipping and delivery.
2. In the Shipping profiles section, open the profile you want to edit. Shipping zones are groups of countries or regions that share the same rates.
3. For each zone, click Add shipping option, give it a name customers will understand, such as "Standard delivery (3–5 days)", choose Flat as the rate type and enter the price.
4. Click Done, then Save.
5. To offer free shipping, enter 0 as the price, or select Offer free shipping and set a minimum order amount.

Shopify also supports carrier-calculated rates from built-in carriers that depend on where you ship from (in the US, for example, USPS, DHL and UPS), and you can add transit times so delivery estimates show at checkout.

Step 6 — Add a domain, pages and policies (30 minutes)

1. Domain — you can buy a domain through Shopify, connect one you already own from another provider, or transfer one in. A domain that matches your brand looks more trustworthy than a myshopify.com address.
2. Pages — add About, Contact and a short FAQ page that answers delivery and returns questions.
3. Policies — publish clear refund, shipping and privacy policies, and make sure you can actually honor them. Rules differ by country, so check what applies where you sell.
4. Taxes — set up taxes for the places where you are registered; if you are unsure, ask a local accountant.

Step 7 — Choose a plan and launch (15 minutes)

1. Choose a paid plan from Settings in your admin. Shopify says you need a paid plan when you are ready to start selling, and charges only begin after the trial ends.
2. Make the store public: go to Online Store, click the Private label, select Public and click Update — the first time, the button reads Launch store.
3. Go through your own checkout on a phone and on a computer, and read the confirmation emails your customers will receive.
4. Fix anything confusing before you start sharing the link.

Step 8 — Work toward your first sale (ongoing)

Every new store starts with zero visitors, and first orders take time. These habits help:

1. Tell the people who already know you — friends, family, colleagues and local community groups.
2. Show the product in use in short videos and photos on the social platforms your customers actually use.
3. Collect email addresses from day one so you can announce new products.
4. Answer questions fast and be honest about delivery times.
5. Ask your first customers for reviews and photos, with their permission.
6. Check your analytics weekly to see which channel brings visitors, and spend more time there.

No inventory? Sell print-on-demand with Printful

Print-on-demand means you design products — T-shirts, mugs, posters, tote bags — and a partner prints and ships each one only after a customer orders it. Printful is a print-on-demand service that connects directly to Shopify through a free app.

How it works:

1. Install the Printful app from the Shopify App Store. It is free to install, and Printful says the integration has no upfront fees or minimum orders.
2. Choose products from Printful's catalog and create your designs with its Design Maker.
3. Push the products to your Shopify store with mockup images, titles, descriptions and your prices.
4. When a customer orders, Printful produces, packs and ships the item from the fulfillment center closest to the customer's address.
5. You pay Printful for each order: the base product price — which covers the blank product, one print placement and fulfillment — plus shipping and taxes. Extras cost more, such as $0.99 for an inside label or $2.49 for an outside label (as of October 2026).

Your profit is your retail price minus Printful's cost and your Shopify and payment fees.

Printful says production takes 2–5 business days on average. Standard shipping in the US and Canada takes 3–4 business days after fulfillment, and international standard shipping 5–20 business days. Build those times into the delivery promise on your product pages.

Shopify plans and pricing

Shopify's offer: try 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months on most plans.

Printful costs

Prices checked October 2026 on Shopify's and Printful's sites as shown to US visitors — Shopify's prices can differ by country, and promotions change, check the final price at checkout.

Mistakes to avoid

• Starting the trial before your content is ready. Three days is enough to build a store, not to write it from scratch.
• Ignoring your payment options. Check whether Shopify Payments works in your country and what a third-party provider will cost in total.
• Installing too many apps. Each paid app adds a monthly cost; add apps only when they solve a real problem.
• Weak photos and vague descriptions. Shoppers cannot touch the product, so pictures and details do the selling.
• Leaving out weights or promising fast delivery. With print-on-demand, add production time to shipping time.
• Selling designs you have not seen. Order samples first.
• Launching without policies or contact details. They are among the first things a careful shopper checks.

FAQ

How much does it cost to start a Shopify store?

You can start with a free 3-day trial, then most plans cost $1/month for the first 3 months. After that, Basic costs $29/month billed yearly or $39/month billed monthly (as of October 2026), plus payment fees and any paid apps or theme you choose.

Can I use Shopify in Saudi Arabia, Egypt or other Arab countries?

Yes, you can open a store, but Shopify Payments is only available in certain countries. In the Arab world, only the UAE is on Shopify's list (as of October 2026). Elsewhere you use a third-party payment provider, and Shopify adds its transaction fee on those orders; manual methods such as cash on delivery carry no transaction fee.

Can my store be in Arabic?

Yes. Shopify says the latest Horizon-family themes support right-to-left languages such as Arabic, and you can sell in up to 20 languages on Basic, Grow and Advanced. With other themes, confirm right-to-left support first.

What happens when the free trial ends?

According to Shopify, your store is paused until you choose a paid plan. Your store data, products and settings are kept, so nothing you built is lost.

Do I need to buy inventory?

No. With print-on-demand through Printful, products are made only after a customer orders, and you pay Printful per order instead of buying stock upfront.

Can I cancel later?

Yes. Shopify's pricing page says that if Shopify isn't right for your business, you can simply cancel your account.

Your next step

Gather your photos, descriptions and prices today, then start the trial and work through Steps 1 to 7 — with focused work, your store can be ready to launch within a few days. If you sign up through our links we may earn a commission — it never changes what we recommend.