Start a Shopify store and add your first product (2026)

6 min read

What you’ll have at the end

Before you start

Steps

1. 1. Click Start for free

   Go to shopify.com and click Start for free.

2. 2. Create your Shopify account

   Sign up with your email address and a password, or with your Google, Apple or Facebook account. If you already have a Shopify account, click Log in instead.

3. 3. Answer the setup questions, or skip them

   Shopify asks a few questions about your business so it can suggest setup steps for your industry. You can answer them, or skip them. Shopify's help names the skip option Skip customized setup on one page and Skip All on another, so please look for either.

4. 4. Choose your business location

   Shopify asks where your business is based. Please choose your own country. Shopify says pricing, payment options and some features can differ depending on where your business is based.

5. 5. Skip billing for now (asks for payment details)

   You can pause screen sharing while you fill in this page, and continue afterwards.

   Shopify asks for billing information, so your store can stay open after the trial ends. This is optional. To carry on without it, click Skip. You can add billing details later. Adding them now is your decision.

6. 6. Go to Products

   Your Shopify admin opens. In the menu, go to Products.

7. 7. Click Add product

   On the Products page, click Add product.

8. 8. Enter the Title

   Type your product's name in Title. This is the name customers see.

9. 9. Write the Description

   Type a description of your product in Description. Shopify says this box lets you format your text.

10. 10. Add a photo in Media

    In the Media section, click Upload new and choose a photo from your computer. You can also drag the file into the Media section.

11. 11. Enter the Price

    In the pricing section, type the price you're charging in Price.

    If you'd like to show a sale, you can enter the original price in Compare-at price. If you'd like Shopify to show your profit, you can enter what the product costs you in Cost per item. Both are optional.

12. 12. Turn on inventory tracking

    In the Inventory section, turn on inventory tracking. Shopify's help calls this setting Inventory not tracked while it's off.

13. 13. Enter how many you have

    In the Inventory section, enter the number of Available units you have.

    If you'd like a stock code, you can add a SKU here too. Shopify says SKUs are optional.

14. 14. Check Physical product is on

    In the Shipping section, make sure the Physical product setting is on if you'll ship this product.

    If you sell a service or a digital product, turn Physical product off instead and go to step 16.

15. 15. Enter the Weight

    In the Shipping section, enter the product's Weight.

16. 16. Click Save

    Click Save. Your product is now saved in your Shopify admin.

    Shopify gives each product a status. Its help says Active means the product details are complete and the product is ready to be sold, and Draft means the details need to be completed before it can be sold.

17. 17. Stop before choosing a paid planSpends money

    This step spends money. Whether to go ahead is your decision, and you’re welcome to stop here.

    When you're ready to sell, Shopify asks you to choose a paid plan. Shopify's plan help says this starts from Settings > Plan, where you click Choose plan or Select plan, select a plan, select a billing cycle, read the description of the credit card charges you're agreeing to, enter a payment method and click Subscribe. Shopify's help says you won't be charged until your free trial ends.

    This guide stops here, and the decision is yours. Shopify's help says that if you don't choose a plan by the end of the trial, your store is paused until you do, and your products and settings are kept.

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