How To Make Shopify Store Live: A Step-by-Step Guide

• Add products to your Shopify store, upload product images and descriptions, set the prices, and manage inventory.
•  Customize your Shopify store to match the design according to your brand, like font colors, layout, etc.
• Add essential pages like About us, Contact us. FAQ, Privacy Policy, Shipping Policy, etc.
• Adjust general settings like store name, email notifications, and legal policies.

Choose a Shopify plan.

A free trial on Shopify allows you to build a store, but you need a paid Shopify plan to make it live. Follow these steps to choose a Shopify plan.

Step 1: Navigate to Shopify Admin > Settings

Step 2:  Go to Settings > Plan

Step 3: Choose a plan depending on the business need(Basic, Grow, Advanced, or Plus) 

Step 4: Enter the Payment information to activate it. Without a paid plan, customers won’t be able to check out.

Remove the password protection.

By default, Shopify password protects the store so that only you and the collaborators you have to access to your store can access the store. To make it live, you have to remove the password protection from the store. Follow these steps to remove password protection.

Step1: Navigate to Shopify Admin > Online store > Preferences

Step 2: Disable the password protection checkbox to make it live.

Step 3: Save your Changes 

Set up a custom domain

Using a custom domain can make your store look professional, like (www.yourstore.com). Follow this guide to add a custom domain to your Shopify Store.

Set up Payment & Checkout

Make sure you can accept real payments from customers. Follow these steps to confirm payment settings.

Step 1: Navigate to Shopify Admin > Settings

Step 2: Go to the payment tab

Step 3: Enable Shopify Payment or connect PayPal or any other third-party providers like Stripe, etc.

Review Taxes and Shipping

Shopify automatically handles many tax settings for you, but you can configure tax-related settings based on the business location. Also, add Shipping rates, free shipping, or local pickup for your store. Follow these steps to add Shipping rates in Shopify stores.

Step 1: Navigate to Shopify Admin > Settings

Step 2: Go to the Shipping and delivery section.

Step 3: Navigate to your shipping profile or create a custom one 

Step 4: To add new Shipping zone, click on Add shipping zone

Step 5: To edit the existing Shipping rate, click on the three dots (...) and manage shipping rates according to your requirements.

Step 6: Save the changes.

Test before launch

Before launching your store, test everything like 

• Place a test order to see if payment methods work perfectly.
• Check the mobile responsiveness of the store.
• Review email notifications like order confirmations, Shipping updates, etc.

Need expert support? Explore our full Shopify Website Maintenance & Support services.

Launch your store

Once everything is done, remove the password protection and make the store live. Now your store becomes visible to the public. Promote your store on social media, emails, or ads. 

Bottom Line

Making your Shopify store live is the final step before you start selling online. From choosing a plan to setting up payments, shipping, and a custom domain, Shopify makes the process beginner-friendly. You need to double-check everything, test your setup, and then launch confident. Your Shopify store is now open for business!

Looking to maximize visibility after launch? Check out our Shopify SEO Services.