In this article, we show you how Shopify works, why the software pairs so well with professional fulfillment, and how to launch your first Shopify online store in just a few clicks.
More than a million online merchants worldwide swear by Shopify — and for good reason. Online stores built on Shopify are easy to use and even easier to scale, so your business can grow while your workload keeps shrinking.
Whether you're handling one order or a thousand: Shopify's powerful E-Commerce software takes the pressure off you and your team — even in the middle of peak season — so you can enjoy the growth. Thanks to automated workflows and quick, hassle-free integration with the fulfillment provider you trust.
In this article, we show you how Shopify works, why the software pairs so well with professional fulfillment, and how to set up your first Shopify online store in just a few clicks.
Shopify is a cloud-based online store platform that lets merchants design their stores using a modular system and expand them flexibly as needed. What sets it apart from other systems is the cloud. With Shopify, you don't have to install software on your computer — instead, you access your online store from your browser, stored in the cloud, whenever and wherever you want.
That doesn't just make your day-to-day work much more flexible — it also means you can scale your business quickly and efficiently. More products? More customers? More data flowing between you and your partners? No problem: there's always enough room in the cloud for everything you need.
Shopify's store system is cloud-based and doesn't need to be installed on your PC.
So you can connect not only your various points of sale, but also all your databases and service providers to your online store as efficiently as possible, Shopify also gives you a wide range of digital interfaces. If you want to connect your fulfillment provider's warehouse management to your store, the integration is set up in no time.
Shopify is built as all-around software that grows with your business and minimizes your administrative workload. From product data stored in a central database to automated invoice delivery to your customers, Shopify helps you make all those workflow steps more efficient — the ones that are repetitive and easy to execute, but eat up time you could invest much better elsewhere.
There's just one thing Shopify can't do: get your perfectly prepared orders out the door. And that's exactly where professional fulfillment comes in — as the next step in an automation process that takes your online business to the next level.
When your Shopify online store and your fulfillment provider handle the entire order processing, that's the start of a steep scaling curve: the less you have to manage manually in your online store, the more time and energy you have to focus on your customers, your products, and your marketing strategy.
You can easily set up a Shopify store yourself.
Want to set up your Shopify online store yourself but can't code? No problem: one of the main reasons Shopify is the most popular online store system in the world is the software's intuitive interface. From creating the store to adding your products to switching design templates, you can do everything with a click of the mouse.
To set up your Shopify store, all you need to start is an email address to register your online store with, plus your product data and photos. Once you've created an account, Shopify greets you with a short questionnaire to find out, on the one hand, whether you already have E-Commerce experience and, on the other, the right product category for your items. If your products don't fit any of the preset categories, just click "other."
Then you'll be taken to your profile. Here you'll enter your name, your address, and — if you want — your website. And voilà: you're now the proud owner of a virtual storefront. Once your online store is created, Shopify takes you to your admin area, where you can manage your store.
Now it's time to set up your Shopify store. The best place to start is choosing a theme, because that determines the design of your store — it doesn't just provide an attractive frame for your products. It also plays a major role in adapting your website to your brand and creating a polished overall look.
To select a theme in the admin area, click on "Online Store" and choose "Themes" from the menu. This takes you to the Shopify Theme Store, where you'll find a wide selection of designs. Many of them are free, but you'll need to buy a license to use others.
Once you've picked a theme, click "Add theme." You can then activate it through your admin area by going to "Online Store > Themes," opening the "Theme Library," selecting your new design, and publishing it for your store. To make your store visually appealing, use high-quality images and graphics. Depositphotos offers royalty-free photos and illustrations you can easily add to your Shopify theme — matched to your branding.
Done with the interior design of your online store? Great — now all that's missing are the products. Back in the admin area, click on "Products" and then "All products." That takes you to an overview page showing all the items currently in your store. Here, click on "Add product."
In the form that opens, you can enter the item name, product data, your description text, and of course a price. In our experience, it's worth taking your time here. Easy-to-read, informative texts that have been through a spell-check are more likely to convert.
By the way, if you connect your fulfillment partner to your Shopify online store, it's exactly this product data — especially size, weight, item numbers, and batch numbers — that the fulfillment center can pull remotely to coordinate your shipments.
Once you've entered and formatted all the data and texts, click "Product media": here you can upload product photos, videos, and 3D models, easily by drag-and-drop. Then save the product — and you're ready to move on to the next item.
Together with Shopify and professional fulfillment, you create a secure and flexible online experience for your customers.
To take your store live, you'll need one of Shopify's plans, from Basic to Advanced Shopify. Choosing a plan doesn't lock you in forever though: depending on how your business develops, you can switch between the different options.
You can also try the system out with the free Shopify trial for 14 days. That gives you time to set up your online store at your own pace, get familiar with the interface, and figure out which software integrations support your workflow.
That way, you can start a new chapter in your E-Commerce career with automated processes in order preparation — and in the next step, bring your fulfillment partner on board to pick up exactly where Shopify leaves off: with professional order processing.
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