# How to start a Shopify store, step by step > Start a Shopify store in ten steps: gather your content, pick a plan, add products, choose a theme, set up payments and shipping, then go live. Published 2026-11-04, updated 2026-11-04. Source: https://forgefont.com/blog/how-to-start-a-shopify-store To start a Shopify store, gather your product details and photos, create an account, add your products, choose a theme, write your pages and policies, set up payments, shipping and taxes, connect a domain, place a test order, then remove the password. Each step is simple. The time goes to your content. ## Step 1: Gather your content first Everything later is faster if this is ready. For each product, collect the name, price, variants, stock and photos. For the store, write a few lines about your brand and decide your shipping and return terms. If you write these terms now, your policies and product pages will agree with each other. ## Step 2: Create your account and pick a plan Sign up on Shopify. As of November 2026, [Shopify’s pricing page](https://www.shopify.com/pricing) offers three free days, then $1 a month for three months. After that, Basic costs $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly. Basic is the usual starting point, and it includes unlimited products. Our breakdown of [what a Shopify store costs](https://forgefont.com/blog/how-much-does-a-shopify-store-cost) covers fees and the rest of the budget. ## Step 3: Add your products In your Shopify admin, go to **Products** and click **Add product**. Enter a title, description, price, photos and stock, then save. Do a few products well before you add the rest, so you have a model to follow. This guide to [writing a Shopify product page](https://forgefont.com/blog/shopify-product-page-guide) shows what each one needs. Then group your products into collections, the way shoppers look for them: by category or by use. ## Step 4: Choose a theme Go to **Online Store** and open the free themes section. Shopify’s [getting started guide](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/intro-to-shopify/initial-setup/setup-getting-started) uses the same order: products, then theme, then domain. A free theme is enough to launch. Paid themes come from third-party designers, and you can try one before you buy it. Added themes sit in draft until you publish one, so you can preview several. ## Step 5: Write your pages and policies Create an About page, a Shipping page and a Contact page. For your refund, privacy and terms policies, go to **Settings** > **Policies**. Legal text depends on where you sell, so have a professional check it if you have any doubt. Then add these pages to your header and footer menus. ## Step 6: Set up payments Shopify Payments is the simplest option where it is available. [It only works in supported countries](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/shopify-payments/supported-countries). Elsewhere, you need a third-party provider, and Shopify then adds a transaction fee: 2% on Basic as of November 2026. Check that your payout details are complete before launch. ## Step 7: Set up shipping and taxes Configure your zones and rates on the **Shipping and delivery** page of your admin, and make sure they match your Shipping page. For taxes, Shopify’s [tax documentation](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/taxes) says plainly that tax is your responsibility and advises checking with a local tax authority or accountant. This article cannot replace that advice. ## Step 8: Connect a domain Your store starts on a free myshopify.com address. Buy a domain through Shopify or another provider, or connect one you own, then make it your primary domain. Shopify says a new connection [can take up to 48 hours](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/domains/add-a-domain/connecting-domains/connect-domain-manual) to go fully live, so do not leave this for launch day. ## Step 9: Test the whole path Place a real order from a product page through to the confirmation email, on a phone, then refund it. Click every menu link. Our [Shopify launch checklist](https://forgefont.com/blog/shopify-store-launch-checklist) lists the twelve checks to run at this stage. ## Step 10: Remove the password and go live A new store is private. [Shopify requires a paid plan](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-sales-channels/agentic-storefronts/agentic-plan-setup) before you can publish it. Once you are on one, go to **Online Store**, select the **Private** label, switch access to **Public** and confirm, as the [password page guide](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/password-page) explains. The first time, the button reads **Launch store**. ## Which steps can you hand off? Already selling on a marketplace? Our [Shopify vs Etsy comparison](https://forgefont.com/blog/shopify-vs-etsy) shows when your own store is worth it. Steps 3 to 5 take the longest, and they are the ones Forgefont does for you: it builds the product pages, collections, pages, menus and homepage in a custom theme, from your products and photos. It stays unpublished until you approve it. Your Shopify plan, payments, shipping, taxes and domain remain yours to set up. If that split suits you, [configure your store](https://forgefont.com/configurer) to see the exact price. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need a registered business to start a Shopify store? It depends on where you live and what you sell, so check with your local authority or an accountant. Shopify’s help center is clear on one point: tax is your responsibility, whatever your setup. ### Can I build my store before paying for a plan? You can start on Shopify’s trial, which is three days free and then $1 a month for three months as of November 2026. Publishing the store and taking orders requires a paid plan. ### Can I start with a single product? Yes. Nothing requires a full catalog. One product with good photos, a clear shipping page and working checkout is a complete store.