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Shopify guides for growing stores

Practical guides for starting and growing a Shopify store, from dropshipping and pricing to shipping, checkout, photos, email marketing, SEO and catalog health. Written by the team building Shoply: Item Scan & Analytics.

Choosing Shopify and apps

Checklist of what Shopify includes: hosting, checkout, payments, sales channels and an app store

Why use Shopify? Pros, cons and who it's best for

Why use Shopify? An honest look at Shopify pros and cons, what it costs to run, who it suits best, and how beginners can get the most from it from day one.

· 9 min read
Grid of essential Shopify app categories for a new store, including reviews, email, shipping and catalog health

Essential Shopify apps for a new store: what you actually need

Which essential Shopify apps does a new store need? Learn what Shopify does built in, which app categories matter first and how to vet any app safely.

· 10 min read
Shoply Item Scan and Analytics scan results ranking catalog problems by money at stake, with a bulk fix button

Shoply: Item Scan & Analytics: what it does and why we built it

Shoply Item Scan & Analytics is a Shopify catalog audit app that checks every product for 27 problems and ranks them by the money at stake each month.

· 9 min read

Sales apps and app costs

App check-up showing three sales apps with their ROI and a keep or cancel verdict

How to calculate the ROI of your Shopify apps (with a simple formula)

Do your Shopify apps pay for themselves? A simple ROI formula, a worked example with bundle, upsell and free-gift apps, and why "revenue influenced" isn't profit.

· 6 min read
Average order value of orders with each sales app compared with regular orders

Are Shopify upsell and bundle apps worth it? How to measure their real profit

Find out if your Shopify upsell, bundle and free-gift apps really raise order value and profit, what discounts and gifts cost you, and when to cancel an app.

· 5 min read
Monthly list of Shopify apps with their cost and a keep, review or cancel decision

Too many Shopify apps? A monthly app audit to cut costs without losing sales

A five-step monthly Shopify app audit: list what each app costs, check which sales apps pay for themselves, spot overlapping apps and remove apps safely.

· 5 min read

Starting and growing a Shopify store

Store launch checklist with payments, shipping, policies, a test order and the domain checked off

Shopify store launch checklist: what to check before you go live

A Shopify store launch checklist: settings, domain, products, payments, shipping, policies and test orders to check before you remove the password.

· 10 min read
Pricing options for one product showing its cost, three possible prices and the margin at each

How to price your products: pricing strategies for Shopify stores

How to price products for your Shopify store: work out your full cost, use margin not markup, compare pricing strategies and see how discounts eat profit.

· 9 min read
Dropshipping order flow from customer to your store to supplier

How to start dropshipping on Shopify: a step-by-step guide

How to start dropshipping on Shopify: how the order flow works, testing suppliers, store setup, pricing for profit, a sample budget and a launch checklist.

· 9 min read
Waterfall chart of profit per order from a 29.99 price down to 2.33 net after costs and ads

Dropshipping profit margins: how to price products so you actually make money

How a dropshipping profit margin works: gross vs net, the full cost per order, break-even ROAS and how to price products so every sale makes money.

· 10 min read
Product scorecard comparing a pet water bottle (39 of 50) with a ceramic coffee set (26 of 50)

How to find winning dropshipping products without guessing

Find winning dropshipping products with a simple scorecard: check margin after all costs, shipping and return risk, test on a small budget, drop what fails.

· 9 min read
Comparison table of dropshipping and holding inventory on cost, margin, speed, risk and control

Dropshipping vs holding inventory: which is right for your Shopify store?

Dropshipping vs inventory: compare costs, margins, risk and workload, see a worked profit example, and learn when to start holding stock on Shopify.

· 9 min read
Conversion funnel from 2,500 sessions to 45 orders, a 1.8% conversion rate

How to increase your Shopify conversion rate: 15 practical fixes

Learn how to work out your Shopify conversion rate and raise it with 15 practical fixes for product pages, trust, checkout, speed, stock and pricing.

· 9 min read
Search results with a store ranking first and Search Console clicks rising over 14 weeks

Shopify SEO for beginners: how to get your store found on Google

Shopify SEO for beginners: set up Google Search Console, pick keywords, optimise collections and your homepage, and follow a realistic 30-day plan.

· 9 min read

Shipping and checkout

Shopify shipping profile with domestic, Europe and rest of world rates and delivery times

Shopify shipping settings explained: zones, rates and delivery times

Shopify shipping settings explained for beginners: shipping profiles, zones, flat, weight-based and free rates, product weights and honest delivery times.

· 10 min read
Shopping cart showing a 38 euro subtotal and a bar saying the shopper is 7 euro away from free shipping

How to set a free shipping threshold that protects your margin

Set a free shipping threshold that lifts order value without hurting your margin: pick the number from your AOV, check the maths and set it up in Shopify.

· 9 min read
Checkout funnel from 1,000 carts to 270 orders with common causes of abandonment

Why shoppers abandon carts on Shopify, and how to fix it

Why do customers abandon carts? Learn how to reduce cart abandonment on Shopify by fixing surprise costs, forced accounts, trust gaps and slow mobile pages.

· 9 min read
Abandoned cart email with the product and a return to cart button, sent at 1, 24 and 72 hours

Shopify abandoned cart recovery: emails that bring shoppers back

Shopify abandoned cart recovery explained: cart vs checkout, a 3-email sequence with example copy, when to offer a discount and which numbers to track.

· 10 min read

Product pages, photos and email

Before and after product description: a vague one-line description rewritten with benefits, details and care instructions

How to write product descriptions that sell (with examples)

How to write product descriptions that sell: start with the buyer, turn features into benefits, use a simple template and see three before-and-after examples.

· 10 min read
Camera viewfinder framing a product on a white background, with a checklist for light, background and angles

Shopify product photography: better product photos on a small budget

Shopify product photography on a small budget: the gear you need, a simple setup, a shot list for each product, and editing tips for consistent photos.

· 8 min read
Grid of square product images labelled 2048 by 2048 pixels, with checks for aspect ratio, file size and alt text

Shopify product image sizes: dimensions, file size and consistency

The best Shopify product image size: 2048 × 2048 px square images, one aspect ratio, compressed files, clear file names and alt text, plus a checklist.

· 9 min read
Email marketing dashboard showing subscriber growth and one campaign's opens, clicks and orders

Shopify email marketing for beginners: build a list and send emails that sell

Shopify email marketing for beginners: get consent, build your list, set up six key automations, plan monthly campaigns and track the metrics that matter.

· 9 min read
Welcome email series timeline: welcome on day 0, brand story on day 2, best sellers on day 4 and reviews on day 7

Welcome email series for Shopify stores: what to send and when

A welcome email series for Shopify stores: what to send on days 0, 2, 4 and 7, with subject lines, example copy and how to decide on a welcome discount.

· 10 min read

Social media marketing

Weekly social media content calendar with reels, carousels and stories planned for each day

Social media marketing for Shopify stores: a simple plan that sells

Social media marketing for Shopify made simple: pick one or two platforms, plan a weekly calendar, track sales with UTM links and turn followers into buyers.

· 9 min read
Instagram-style post of a linen shirt with a product tag showing its name and price

How to sell on Instagram with Shopify: setup and posts that convert

Learn how to sell on Instagram with Shopify: connect your catalog, tag products, set up your profile, write captions that convert and measure sales per post.

· 10 min read
Vertical short video with a hook caption, next to a list of video ideas for one product

TikTok marketing for Shopify stores: videos that bring sales

TikTok marketing for Shopify: set up your account, hook viewers in seconds, film 10 videos for one product, and turn views into sales you can track.

· 9 min read
Influencer shortlist with follower counts, engagement and orders tracked by discount code

Influencer marketing for small Shopify stores: find, pay and measure

Influencer marketing for small business: find micro influencers for your Shopify store, check engagement, choose how to pay and track sales with codes.

· 10 min read

Catalog health: pricing, stock and product pages

Catalog health dashboard showing a score of 72 and problems by category with the money at stake each month

Shopify catalog health: a monthly checklist to protect your margins

A monthly Shopify catalog health checklist to catch selling below cost, stock-outs and weak product pages, and fix the problems costing you the most first.

· 8 min read
Inventory overview with stock levels, days of stock left and reorder suggestions

Shopify inventory management for small stores: a simple system

Shopify inventory management for small stores: SKUs, ABC analysis, cycle counts, reorder points, dead stock and a simple weekly and monthly routine.

· 9 min read
Product list showing price, cost and margin, with one product flagged as selling below cost

How to find Shopify products you're selling below cost (and fix them)

Find Shopify products you're selling below cost: fill in cost per item, check margin vs markup, spot losses in a CSV export and reprice to a target margin.

· 7 min read
Inventory list flagging oversold, out of stock and low stock products, with a reorder point of 76

Out of stock and oversold on Shopify: how to stop losing sales

Out of stock, oversold or still selling with no stock? How Shopify inventory settings work, when to reorder, and a weekly routine to stop losing sales.

· 7 min read
Google search result for a linen shirt product page, with an SEO checklist below it

Shopify product page SEO checklist: titles, descriptions and alt text

A practical Shopify product page SEO checklist: product titles, SEO titles, meta descriptions, alt text, product type, category and URL handles.

· 8 min read
Product listing for Google Shopping with GTIN, brand and category filled in and alt text missing

Google Shopping on Shopify: GTIN, brand and product category explained

Google Shopping on Shopify: where GTIN, brand, titles, product category, images, price and availability live in Shopify, and how to fill them in correctly.

· 8 min read