Intro

Shopify is evolving fast. So I thought instead of writing down some sort of cookbook recipe, I start with some general thoughts.

Some considerations

1. As a Designer the question if there is already a finished design (branding) available comes to my mind immediately. Because if there isn't a design, I can create one.
2. How many products will there be when the shop goes live for the first time. This is important for many reasons, one is, because a big inventory makes changes much more time consuming.
3. What kind of Product should be sold in the Shop? What makes the product unique and stand out compared to its competitors?
4. Do the individual products habe product variants (for example different colors, sizes, ...)
5. What languages shoud the shop frontend be able to display?
6. In which countries does the client want to sell? Are they in the European Union?
7. Can the shop be run with one-stop-shop? Is there a tax consultant we can ask during the project?
8. Does the client have experience with ecommerce? Is he a digital native for example?
9. What will be competitors of your shop? What is the Shop URL of this competitors?
10. Does the client like one Shop in particular and wants it to be a kind of blueprint for the shop we create?
11. Is there a deadline that has to be met?
12. Is there already a domain registered for the shop? If so, at which provider?
13. Where will the shop have its head office?
14. Is there a feature the shop should have, which extends the functionality of a regular shop? Something special?
15. Is there someone on client side who helps working on the shop and helps delivering informations for the shop that are needed.
16. Who ist the contact person on client side?

Final thoughts

There are many things you should think about in advance, if you want to build a shop. Of course, try and error is an option, too. But especially when you are working with a SaaS you have to follow the rules of the tool. Even though some things can be undone, there are certain configurational steps, where your freedom is limited to a set of options. For example the shop has to have a phone number. You can not go live without it. Knowing things like that makes configuring the shop much easier and also faster, as you can get the information in advance.