Did you know that Amazon will still lead the pack in retail e-commerce, with a 37.8% market share in 2023? It’s, without a doubt, one of the best platforms for selling most physical products.
But this platform is indeed getting much more competitive, with approximately 3,000 new sellers joining the Amazon platform each day!
To become less dependent on Amazon as their only sales channel, and to open new sales possibilities, many e-Commerce entrepreneurs set up an e-Commerce website via Shopify.
Over 1.75 million merchants sell using Shopify, which makes this platform the third-largest retailer in the USA, right after Amazon and eBay.
If you have an eCommerce store or want to set up a high-converting Shopify store, then this article is for you!
Keep reading to learn EVERYTHING you need to build a profitable Shopify store from scratch.
Let’s start with the reasons why you should choose this platform.
Why Shopify?
E-commerce merchants often have several options when choosing a platform to build and manage their online stores. While there are various e-commerce platforms available, Shopify stands out as a popular choice for many of them due to its range of features, ease of use, and flexibility.
Here are some reasons why you might prefer Shopify over other platforms:
User-Friendly Interface
Shopify is a user-friendly platform that allows users to create and manage their online stores easily, no matter whether they are beginners or experienced users.
Setting up a store, adding products, and managing orders is straightforward, requiring minimal technical expertise.
Customization Options
Except for a range of professionally designed themes and templates, Shopify also allows for extensive customization.
You can modify the appearance of your store by using the visual editor or edit the HTML/CSS directly for more advanced changes.
Various Payment Gateways
This platform supports a wide range of payment gateways, including major credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and more. This gives your customers the possibility to choose their preferred payment method.
Security and Reliability
Shopify takes security seriously, providing SSL certificates and compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. This helps protect both your and your customers’ data.
Mobile Responsiveness
Shopify themes are designed to be responsive and look great on both desktop and mobile devices. This ensures a seamless shopping experience for your customers across different devices.
24/7 Customer Support
Shopify offers reliable customer support around the clock. Whether you have technical questions or need assistance with your store, their support team is available to help.
Considering all its listed advantages, we can say that Shopify can be the all-in-one solution for your online store. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools that covers every aspect of e-commerce, eliminating the need to manage multiple third-party tools or services.
How to Create a High-Converting Shopify Store from Scratch?
Building a Shopify store that generates high conversions requires a blend of effective design, marketing, and customer experience tactics.
This section will walk you through the essential steps to creating a Shopify store, helping you guide shoppers all the way through checkout.
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Choose a High-Converting Shopify Theme
Selecting the right theme is a crucial decision when launching your Shopify store. The design you opt for sets the tone for your brand, helps you attract customers, and enhances their overall shopping journey.
Given the wide array of available Shopify store themes (both free and paid), it’s important to pinpoint the design that maximizes conversions for your store.
To identify these themes, pay attention to the following items:
- Built-in conversion features: In the most effective Shopify themes for driving conversions, you’ll find incorporated features intended to elevate sales and enhance conversion rates. Seek out attributes such as prominent call-to-action buttons, functionalities for upselling and cross-selling products, seamless integration of customer reviews, streamlined checkout processes, and intuitive navigation for an enhanced shopping experience.
- Mobile-friendly design: Recognizing that a substantial majority of customers engage in shopping through their phones, it becomes imperative to not only select a theme that’s tailored for mobile optimization but also prioritize a mobile-centric approach in its design and user experience.
- Customization options: An effective theme should offer versatility, allowing you to tailor colors, fonts, layouts, and other visual components to align with your brand’s identity. Verify whether the theme accommodates the integration of personalized sections, banners, and promotional functionalities.
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Organize Product Categories Properly
When you create product categories, ensure that they are appropriately categorized so that visitors can easily find them.
If all the products are displayed on one page, it will make your store look unorganized, and people will have a hard time finding the products they want.
To avoid that, create separate product pages for different products. If there are subcategories, create special pages for them.
For example, if your store sells clothes for different genders, then it must have two pages to display the clothes to the visitors: men and women. The subcategory for women can be further subdivided into tees, sundresses, skirts, jeans, etc.
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Create a “Brand Story”
Selling products on Shopify requires a much broader skill set than selling on Amazon. On Shopify, your store won’t get any organic traffic without investing in content or performance marketing.
That’s why you have to create a “brand story”, something with which your customers can emotionally connect. When people are emotionally attached to your brand, they will be more likely to make a purchase at your store.
A brand story is an essential component of building well-converting Shopify stores.
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Add High-Quality Product Images
High-quality product images can convince your customers to hit the “buy” button.
If your images are of below-average quality, it will hurt your conversion rate. Otherwise, if your images (or even better, product videos) are above standard, then it will likely improve your conversion rates.
Unlike Amazon, which adjusts image sizes automatically to prevent slow website loading times despite high image quality, Shopify does not currently provide this feature. Therefore, it’s important to ensure your images are appropriately sized to avoid any issues.
Additionally, it’s advisable to incorporate features and benefits through infographics overlaid on the images. Features communicate what your product does, while benefits explain to customers how what they can gain from using the product.
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Include Live Chat Feature
Adding a live chat to your Shopify store can play a vital role in boosting your conversions and revenue. How?
Sometimes the quality images are not enough to convince visitors to add goods to their carts. They may have questions and queries related to your products, and your answers can influence their buying decision.
When customers are responded to and answered promptly, they feel more at ease trusting your store and shopping from you. So, add a live chat feature to your website to let visitors know that you are always available for them.
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Leverage Pop-Ups for Email Marketing
Email marketing can be a potent strategy for boosting sales and cultivating customer loyalty. The easiest way to collect emails from potential customers is to include on-site pop-ups on your site.
Use those email addresses to send targeted email campaigns. Offer your users exclusive discounts, personalized product recommendations, and informative newsletters to keep them engaged and interested.
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Use Shopify Pixels for Retargeting
It can be complicated to sell products or services to prospects who have never heard of your brand. In fact, conversion rates for first-time visitors to your websites are much lower compared to visitors who have already had touch points with your brand in the past.
You might be familiar with an old marketing concept called “Rule of Seven” by marketing expert Dr. Jeffrey Lant. According to this concept, you have to contact the prospect a minimum of seven times within an 18-month timeframe before he makes a purchase. So, it is easier to retarget an existing client than to sell to a new client.
While it’s not possible to pixel customers on your Amazon product pages, with your own Shopify website, this is much easier!
Shopify gives you the possibility to add pixels to your Shopify website so you can retarget your clients via Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, or other related ad networks.
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Offer Free Shipping
As the owner of an e-commerce store, you need to determine what kind of shipping costs you will set. Undoubtedly, one clear advantage exists: if you opt to provide free shipping and conspicuously communicate this via an announcement bar in the header and your product detail page, you will observe an increase in conversion rates.
However, many store owners have concerns about the free shipping offer and returns, as they will further cut into their margins. You may be one of them, but there is a fact that you may have forgotten.
You can easily increase your prices and thereby include the shipping costs in the product cost. This way, you won’t be at a loss, and your customers will be delighted with the free shipping option.
Conclusion
The journey of building a high-converting Shopify store from scratch is a strategic endeavor that intertwines numerous Shopify web development components.
The process begins with the crucial choice of a high-converting Shopify theme, which sets the visual and navigational foundation for your store. Organizing product categories logically and efficiently enables seamless navigation for customers seeking their desired items.
However, building a successful Shopify store isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about fostering an emotional connection with your audience. Crafting a compelling “brand story” provides a narrative that resonates with customers, building loyalty and trust.
The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” holds true in e-commerce. High-quality product images visually communicate your products’ value, enhancing customer understanding and conversion potential.
Adding a live chat feature offers real-time assistance, addresses customer queries promptly, and enhances the overall shopping experience.
Effective email marketing is a cornerstone of success and leveraging pop-ups strategically for email capture aids in building a valuable customer database. Utilizing Shopify Pixels empowers you to retarget potential customers effectively, converting those who have shown interest.
Lastly, the incentive of free shipping can tip the scales in your favor, boosting conversion rates and customer satisfaction.
By seamlessly integrating these strategic elements, you’re poised to create a Shopify store that not only attracts visitors but also converts them into delighted and loyal customers.
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