Helping merchants succeed is core to our mission. As ecommerce has grown, so too have the opportunities – and pitfalls – facing new online businesses. Suboptimal setup decisions can stall momentum before it begins.
With shoppers’ expectations rising daily, every element must spark and satisfy. They demand seamless experiences across devices and payment methods. Content should captivate and converters must flow freely.
As leaders in online commerce, we’ve witnessed what works and what doesn’t. This guide shares proven strategies for emerging brands to start strong and stay ahead of the curve. Focusing on high-impact areas like SEO, mobile optimization and customer experience, you’ll learn how to launch and scale effectively from the outset.
Whether growing domestically or going global, positioning your store for success unlocks its full potential. Let’s explore some foundational steps all merchants should take to push boundaries from day one. The foundation you lay now will serve your customers – and business – well into the future.
Not Optimizing for SEO
SEO is a free traffic source so missing out on it is a huge mistake.
Proper Titles and Meta Descriptions
The title tag and meta description are key elements for ranking on search engines. Your title should be under 60 characters and inform shoppers exactly what your page is about. Include important keywords that match your content. The meta description gives a 150 character snippet enticing visitors to click.
Unique, In-Depth Product Content
Shoppers research purchases extensively online. Load each product page with thorough details, specs and multiple high resolution images. Include relevant keywords naturally throughout fresh texts. Editorial-style copy demonstrates expertise to boost credibility and trust. Ensure every piece of content on your site contributes its own value.
Internal Linking and Cross-Promotion
Search engines analyze internal site structure as a factor in relevance. Connect relevant category, collection and brand pages together with links. Featured product blocks on home promote new additions. Related products suggestions increase time onsite and likelihood of multiple purchases. Leverage strategic placements to highlight your strongest offerings.
Searchability lays the foundation for steady organic traffic. Those who prioritize discoverability and conversion from the first sale build loyal patrons and long-term market share. With diligent optimization, your store can rise to the top through compelling products and presentation.
Forgetting Mobile Responsiveness
Mobile traffic now eclipses desktop, with shoppers increasingly purchasing on smartphones. Websites ignoring this are neglecting their primary customer base. Responsive design adapts content to any screen, seamlessly resizing text and images.
Stunning visuals entice browsing, but amount to nothing without responsiveness. A non-optimized theme becomes a usability nightmare on mobile, with crammed content spilling from frames. Your visitors should experience ease from any device used. Ensure sitemaps, navigation, filters and payment all function fluidly across varying widths and form factors.
Testing themes extensively across platforms is essential to avoid nasty surprises post-launch. Optimize loading times too, as mobile users have low tolerance for delay. Many will abandon laggy pages that refuse to load. Conversions rely upon considered responsive updates, with simplistic designs often proving most effective on limited mobile spaces.
Focus on your visitors and their needs to drive sales. Those who barrier customers with disruptive mobile designs cripple their own success. A store must feel as comfortable in palms as it does on larger screens to thrive wherever people are.
Inadequate Payment Options
Accepting only a small subset of relevant payment methods severely handicaps your addressable market. Research which options resonate most with your target demographic and customize integrations accordingly.
Expanding beyond basic credit cards to include popular local e-wallets, bank transfers, installment plans and more lifts conversion by catering to customer preferences. Offering PayPal gives comfort to new users, while embedded payment frames foster seamless checkout.
Enabling geo-targeted displays based on visitor location streamlines the process further. Detect their country and present the 2-3 most frequently used domestic options prominently, with others accessible but less emphasized. Customers will appreciate convenient, familiar choices that inspire confidence in transacting securely with your brand.
For global sellers, prohibiting major regional payment solutions sacrifices untapped demand. Integrate globally-recognized alternatives to unlock new frontiers and boost sales internationally. Process payments locally within each market via on-the-ground processors whenever regulations allow.
Maximizing acceptable payment methods facilitates easy, appealing checkout that removes friction. Leave money on the table by offering too few options to complete sales. Consider future-proofing with installment plans or “Buy Now, Pay Later” integrations as customer expectations continue shifting.
Neglecting User Experience
UX is one of the most important part of your store.
Intuitive Navigation and Filters
A frustrating user experience will see customers abandon ship at the first hurdle. Logically group products into hierarchies, optimize your menus and insert filters into every applicable location. This allows shoppers to drill down exactly to what suits their needs fast. Ensure all navigation is responsive and remains clear across breakpoints.
Speed, Loads and Search Functionality
Users have zero patience for poor performance. Optimize images, cache frequently accessed pages, leverage a CDN and minimize requests through compiler merges to drastically improve load times. Speed index, Lighthouse metrics and monitoring tools uncover bottlenecks to eliminate. Include an instant search everywhere to maintain engagement whilst browsing.
Focusing on usability and performance shows customers their time and comfort matters. It is essential that nothing impedes a blissfully simple experience from start to checkout, whether comparing ten products or just browsing. Discoverability must feel effortless across all functions. A streamlined, intuitive interface retains shoppers and converts interested visitors into lifelong buyers with exemplary experiences each interaction.
Ignoring Email Marketing
Building Loyalty with Communicated Sales and Announcements
Leveraging email is proven to significantly boost revenue and loyalty over the long term. Deploy automated email journeys to resonate at every stage from first purchase follow ups to birthday messages. Nurture subscribers with related product recommendations, newly added items and time-sensitive deals. Ensure communications are personalized with the recipient’s name.
Increasing ROI Through Automated Flows and Personalized Content
Develop segmented lists based on past purchases, cart abandonment and sign ups. Trigger automated emails with tailored content like cookbook recipes to past meal kit buyers. Personalized abandonment emails rescued 60% of potential purchases in one study. A/B test subject lines and call-to-actions.
Track engagement and unsubscribes to continuously refine campaigns. Well-designed automations build meaningful one-to-one relationships at scale. Consistent nurturing keeps your brand top-of-mind, driving repeat buys and referral sales. Those neglecting this loyalty-building powerhouse leave earnings on the table.
Launching Without Analytics
Gathering Actionable Data Insights
Without analytics, crucial signals go unseen. Integrate Google Analytics upon launchday and apply event tracking to uncover friction points. Understand exactly which pages drive the most engagement and why. Recognize top conversion funnels and where they fall apart to surgically optimize processes.
Analytics illuminate performance benchmarks as well as growth opportunities. Granular goals and funnel reporting equips informed decision making essential for continual betterment. With testing, split testing and customized reports, chart performance trends clearly over time.
As your store grows, so too does the complexity of evaluating what’s working well and what could be improved. Data-driven insights are crucial for making evidenced business decisions at every stage.
Iterating Effectively from Store Inception
Starting analytics-first futureproofs your store from day one. Launch and learn concurrently, using real user insights to refine the experience ongoing. Iterate based on hard data rather than assumptions alone. Ensure Google Analytics tag fires on all pages clean for complete reporting.
Know precisely which tactics influence KPIs. Adapt rapidly to shifting conditions and capitalize fully as traffic scales. Those blind to customer behaviors stumble without visibility into what actually converts. Begin with analytics for fact-based growth from launch onwards.
Conclusion
Setting up your new Shopify store requires diligence right from the beginning. Small oversights in key areas like SEO, mobile experience, payments or analytics can leave business potential on the table. However, taking a user-centric, data-driven approach to site development and ongoing optimization positions your brand for long term success.
Prioritize discoverability, engagement and conversion from day one. Future-proof your operations with a responsive foundation built on proven strategies. Continually evolve through testing and insights as customer preferences shift over time. Staying adaptable secures relevance amidst industry changes.
Most importantly, make every decision based on clear goals and metrics. Analytics grant visibility into exactly what draws and keeps customers. With the right diligence and customer-first mindset, you equip your store to scale sustainably as a trusted authority in your field. The foundations laid now foster loyal patronage and marketplace dominance for years to come
