How do I get started with the Online Store?

Once you have signed up for the Online Store, the Online Store Wizard will take you through the steps to get started selling online.

 

The basic setup consists of six steps:

• ADDING PRODUCTS

• VERIFYING GEO SETTINGS

• CONFIGURING YOUR SHIPPING

• SETTING UP YOUR PAYMENT METHODS

• PLACING A TEST ORDER

• SHARING YOUR STORE

 

ADDING PRODUCTS

1. Click Let’s set up your store! to start building your product catalog.

2. On the product set dialog box, you can do the following:

• Upload your product image.
• Add your product name.
• Enter your price.

3. To add additional products, click Add more. Once you're done uploading your products, click Save.

Tip! You can edit the product’s category, options, images, tax and shipping information at a later stage.
 

ADDING YOUR GEO SETTINGS

This step allows you to set up your country, currency, and preferred metric system.

1. Click the Customize your store for your local market icon.


 

2. On the "Verify your geographic settings" page, you can customize your store for your local market on this page. If the country and currency displayed are already correct, you can click Proceed to the next step. If not, follow steps 3, 4, and 5 to edit the settings.

3. To make changes to this page, click Edit. Make your changes, and then click Save.

4. You will be taken to a page to set up your company info.

5. Enter your company’s info, and click Save. You’ll see a green check mark on the "Verify geo settings" icon verifying you’ve completed this step.
 

CONFIGURING YOUR SHIPPING

Now that you've established your location and currency, you can set up your shipping. The Online Store supports shipping options worldwide and also gives you the flexibility to choose your shipping provider.

1. Click Setup Shipping.


 

2. You can determine if you require shipping or not. For this tutorial, we will say that you do want to set up shipping. Click Setup shipping.


 

3. Depending on your country's location, the setup shipping dialog box will list a few default shipping methods. For the United States, it will display the following:

• UPS
• USPS
• Custom flat rates

4. If the one you want is not listed, you can check out the advanced shipping options link.

5. We're going to select set custom flat rates.

6. To set up a flat rate shipping fee based on The World, enter the rate and click the Proceed to next step button.

Advanced shipping flat rates:

Should you require more options and flexibility, you can click Advanced shipping options. Click Custom Rates.

There are three different shipping calculations available:

• Carrier­ calculated: Automatically calculate costs based on carrier rate tables.
• Flat rate: Set a flat shipping rate, or specify free shipping.
• Custom table: Customize your shipping costs by weight, number of items, or cart total.

For a detailed explanation of the difference between the methods, and how to set them up, please visit the Ecwid Knowledge Base Shipping article.

Shipping costs are generally calculated on weight and distance. To ensure you receive the correct carrier­ estimated cost of delivery for tangible products, you must configure your product weight correctly.
 

SETTING UP YOUR PAYMENT METHODS

You're nearly done! The last big step you need to complete is how you wish to accept payments from your customers.

1. Click the Setup payment options button.


 

2. The Online Store will have two default methods:

• PayPal
• Stripe

The Online Store supports many other payment gateways as well. To access these alternative payment options, you can click Advanced payments setup. If you are not ready to select your payment options, you can skip this step by clicking I will set up my payment options later.
 

PLACING A TEST ORDER

Is your store working as it should? You can place a test order to find out before it goes live. Please note that you need to have your payment method set up to use this feature.

1. Click Place test order.

2. Select the product that you wish to test, and click Place test order. You'll be taken through the process of ordering your item and experiencing what your customers will go through. This is an excellent time to ensure that all the details for your item are displaying the correct information.

3. Click either Place test order or I’ll do it later to view the "Your Store is Open" page.


 

4. Click on the Your store is open! Button. The next step is to share your store.
 

SHARING YOUR STORE

Your store is now all set up and ready for shoppers, and you can let others know to come check it out!

You can share the news by sending out a link via Facebook, Twitter, or email.


 

Congratulations on setting up your store!