02 — TURN VISITORS INTO BUYERS

Launch a Shopify store set up to sell from day one.

We've built new Shopify stores for Oakton Home, Fresh Start Furniture and Furniture Collection. Once we have access, a typical store is set up in about 3 days, ready for launch week. The theme is the quick part. Most of the work goes into what decides whether your first orders make money: shipping rates by zone, the payment buttons shoppers expect, tracking that records a real order and a plan for your first ads.

30-minute call with Dair
The founder, not a sales rep.
New store · launch list ✓ Ready
  • ✓ Design and theme Done
  • ✓ Products and collections Done
  • ✓ Payments, shipping and taxes Done
  • ✓ Tracking and email Done
  • ✓ Launch day Ready
✓ Tested before the first order comes in.
100+ BRANDS WE'VE WORKED WITH
Tuff Crowd
Rüfüs Du Sol
Haven Sleep Co
Amourprints
Soul Comfort
Boss Dog & Boss Cat
Second Slumber
Dloria
Kydeco
Model Home Accents
Scorched Laser
Luxe Furniture For Less
Urban Home
Astra Furniture
Nancy Homestore
Industrial Home
Tomasso Tables
IN SHORT

Shopify store setup is getting a new store ready for its first order: the theme, products, payments, shipping, taxes, policies and apps. We do it for brands getting ready to launch, check every setting with test orders, and have tracking, your first emails and a plan for your first ads ready before launch day.

WORKS ON ShopifyShopify PaymentsGA4KlaviyoOmnisend
BEST FOR
New brands getting ready to launch, and businesses opening their first Shopify store.
HOW FAST
A typical first catalog set up within about 3 days of getting access, tested with real orders in launch week, and the store opened on the day you choose. Bigger catalogs take longer.
WHAT YOU GET
A store with its theme, products, payments, shipping, taxes and policies set up and checked with test orders, tracking tested with a real order, welcome and abandoned-cart emails on, and a plan for your first ads.
SOUND FAMILIAR?

About to launch your first Shopify store?

Pick the one that sounds like you. Each comes with the fix we make.

Not sure which one it is? Ask Dair →

Settings that quietly cost money

A flat shipping rate that loses money on far-away orders, free shipping set below your margin, or no Shop Pay at checkout. New stores rarely notice until the first month's numbers come in.

HOW WE FIX IT Shipping and payments set from your real costs

An app for every idea

New stores often launch with apps they don't need yet. Most add a monthly fee, and many add code that slows the store down.

HOW WE FIX IT Only the apps you need on day one

Launching without tracking or email

If tracking isn't working when your first ads start, Meta and Google can't learn from your first sales. Without email, visitors who leave get no reminder to come back.

HOW WE FIX IT Tracking and email live before launch
INSIDE THE WORK

What gets a new store ready for its first order.

A new store can look ready and still lose money on its first orders. These are the parts we check hardest before it goes public.

SHIPPING AND PAYMENTS

The settings that decide what each order leaves you.

Shipping is where new stores lose money first. A flat rate that covers an order across town can lose money on one across the country, and free shipping set too low gives away the profit on small orders. So we set rates by zone from what your carrier really charges, and put the free-shipping line where an order still pays for itself after shipping.

Then the payment buttons. During Black Friday Cyber Monday 2025, 32% of orders on Shopify were paid with Shop Pay, so Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal go on before launch, with installments for higher-priced products. If you ship from Canada to the US, duties are charged at checkout, so US customers never get a bill at the door. Sales tax is switched on for each place you're registered.

  • Shipping rates by zone, from your carrier's real costs
  • Free shipping set where an order still pays
  • Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal at checkout
The settings that decide what a first order leaves you, what each one is set from and what goes wrong when it isn't.
LAUNCH WEEK

Test orders for every way a customer can pay and ship.

New stores stay private, behind a password page, until launch day, and that's where we test. We place a test order with every payment method and shipping option, on a phone, and check the total, the tax and the confirmation email the customer gets. A region with no shipping rate shows up here, before a real customer finds it.

On launch day we switch test mode off, open the store and watch the first real orders come in. Then the first ads from your plan can start.

  • A test order for each payment and shipping option
  • Every key page checked on a phone
  • Test mode off, store public, first orders watched
The launch-week checklist for a new store: test orders for every payment and shipping option, pages checked on a phone, and the store made public only on launch day.
TRACKING AND EMAIL

Tracking and email working from the first visit.

Meta and Google decide who sees your ads based on the sales they can see, so a store that launches with broken tracking starts its ads half blind. Before launch, we install Google Analytics, Meta and Google tracking and follow one real order through all three. It should show up in each platform a single time, at its real value, before any ad money is spent.

Email starts on day one too. A welcome email goes to new subscribers, and an abandoned-cart reminder goes to shoppers who leave without buying, both switched on and tested before launch. The email app, Klaviyo or Omnisend for most stores, is one of the few apps worth installing before launch. Once orders come in, email & SMS marketing can add the rest of the flows.

  • Google Analytics, Meta and Google tracking tested with a real order
  • Welcome and abandoned-cart emails on before launch
  • Each purchase counted once, at its real value
How a new store's first visits and orders reach each tool: sign-ups and abandoned carts start the first emails, and a real test order is checked in Google Analytics, Meta and Google Ads before launch.
WHAT'S INCLUDED

Everything a new store needs before its first order.

Every engagement also includes the growth strategy: profit targets, a channel plan and a 90-day roadmap you approve first.

  • Theme and design

    A Shopify theme chosen for your products and set up with your logo, fonts, colors and photos. Every page is laid out for phones first.

  • Products and collections

    Products added with their options, photos, prices and descriptions, then grouped into collections and menus that are easy to shop.

  • Payments, shipping and taxes

    Payment methods, shipping rates and taxes set up for where you sell, then checked with test orders. Your refund, shipping and privacy policies go in at the same time.

  • Only the apps you need

    A short list of apps for email, reviews and anything your products need, set up properly. Everything else waits until there's a reason for it.

  • Tracking and email

    Google Analytics, Meta and Google tracking tested with a real order, and welcome and abandoned-cart emails switched on before launch.

  • A plan for your first ads

    Which platform to start on, what to spend, which ads to test first and what each sale has to earn for the ads to pay for themselves.

HOW IT WORKS

How we launch your new store.

  1. DAY 1

    Plan

    Your products, brand and launch date agreed, with the launch planned around your first campaign.

  2. DAYS 2–3

    Set up

    Theme, products, payments, shipping, taxes and policies set up for a typical first catalog. Bigger catalogs take longer.

  3. LAUNCH WEEK

    Test

    Test orders placed with every payment method and shipping option, and tracking and the first emails checked.

  4. LAUNCH DAY

    Launch

    The store switched from private to public, with the first real orders watched as they arrive.

TO GET STARTED

What we need from you on day one

  • Your Shopify account, or we'll help you open one
  • Your logo and brand colors
  • Your product photos, prices and descriptions
  • Your shipping rates and return policy
HOW WE MEASURE IT

The numbers to track from launch day.

A new store has no history yet, so these start counting on launch day. The first two are worked out before you spend anything on ads.

Margin before ads
What a sale leaves you before any ad spend. The example store in our calculators keeps $41.80 of a $100 order, a 41.8% margin.
Break-even ROAS
What each sale has to earn for your first ads to pay for themselves: about 2.4× for the example store. Our break-even ROAS calculator works it out from your own costs.
CVR
Conversion rate
The share of visits that end in an order. A new store's rate swings in its first weeks, so read it as a trend from launch day.
Email sign-up rate
How many visitors join your list. Each one gets the welcome email, so this sets how many people you can sell to again without paying for another click.
Tracking match
Checked from the first real order. Meta and Google learn from the sales they can see, so a gap here shows up in your ad results.
OUR APPROACH

Ready before your first customer arrives

A store can look finished and still have a problem that a customer finds first. Before launch, we check everything a first order depends on: payment methods, shipping rates for each place you deliver to, taxes, and the policies linked at checkout. Then we place test orders on a phone with each payment and shipping option. Sales tax is switched on for each place you're registered to collect it.

Tracking and email from the first visit

Every visitor you pay for should count. If tracking isn't working when your ads start, Meta and Google can't learn from your first sales. So we install tracking and test it with a real order before launch. We also switch on a welcome email and an abandoned-cart reminder, so visitors who leave without buying get a reason to come back. After launch, email & SMS marketing can take it further.

A plan for your first ads

We plan your first ads with you before launch: which platform to start on, what to spend, which ads to test first and what each sale has to earn for the ads to pay for themselves. Once the store is live, we can run them for you on Meta or Google. For a big launch, we also test the store and checkout under heavy traffic. We did that before a Tuff Crowd launch, and the luxury streetwear label took more than 600 orders in the first hour.

No Shopify account yet? You can start a Shopify trial through our referral link before our first call. If you sign up through it, Shopify may pay us a commission, at no extra cost to you. Already selling on another platform? See store migration.

IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU?

Is store setup the right place to start?

A good fit if

  • Your products, photos and prices are ready, and the store isn't.
  • You're opening your first Shopify store or launching a new brand.
  • You want tracking, email and a plan for your first ads ready on launch day.

Not the right fit if

  • You already sell on WooCommerce, Wix or another platform. Store migration moves what you have.
  • Your Shopify store is live and needs a new look. See Shopify web design.
KEEP EXPLORING

Go deeper on launching a store.

FREE TOOLS
Ads & offers

Ad budget calculator

How much should I spend on Meta and Google ads to hit my revenue goal?

Customers & email

Abandoned cart calculator

How much could abandoned cart emails and texts win back each month?

FROM THE BLOG
INDUSTRIES WE DO THIS FOR
WORKS BEST WITH

Often paired with store setup for new brands.

All services →

A store designed around your brand and the way your customers shop, with product pages that make buying easy on a phone.

  • A look built around your brand
  • Product and collection pages
  • Designed on a phone first
ShopifyShopify PlusShopify themes

Custom features, app clean-ups and launch prep for Shopify stores, built on a copy of your theme and priced before work starts.

  • Store builds and redesigns
  • Faster load times
  • Apps, tracking and integrations
ShopifyShopify PlusGA4

Tracking that gets your sales to Meta, Google, TikTok and GA4, checked against your Shopify orders.

  • Meta Conversions API and GA4
  • Google Ads enhanced conversions
  • Every platform checked against Shopify
GA4Conversions APIEnhanced conversionsServer-side
FAQ

Store setup for new brands: common questions.

Don't see your question? Ask Dair directly on the call.

Dair Rose
Still have a question?
Email or call. Dair replies personally.
Book a strategy call →

Ours covers the theme and design, products and collections, payments, shipping, taxes and policies, and only the apps you need. Before launch, we also test your tracking, switch on your first emails and plan your first ads.

Your products with photos, prices and descriptions, your shipping costs, your business and bank details for payments, and your refund terms. We'll tell you exactly what we need from you and set up the rest.

A typical first catalog is set up within about 3 days of getting access. Big catalogs and custom designs take longer, so you'll get a timeline on the call, and we plan the launch date around your first campaign.

Only the ones you'll use from day one. For most new stores that means an email platform such as Klaviyo or Omnisend, a reviews app and anything your products need. Extra apps add monthly fees, and many slow the store down.

You can, as long as tracking works from the first visit and you know what each sale needs to earn. We plan your first ads before launch: where to start, what to spend and which ads to test first.

For the look, it's a good start. Shopify launched its AI store builder in May 2025, and it designs a store from a description of your brand. It doesn't set shipping rates from your carrier's costs, check that tracking records a real order or plan your first ads, and those decide whether your first orders make money. We can start from what it made.

Start on the smallest plan that has what you need on day one, and use Shopify Payments if you can. With another payment provider, Shopify adds 2% a sale on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, on top of that provider's own fees. PayPal doesn't trigger the fee when Shopify Payments is your main provider.

It depends on the size of your catalog and how much design the store needs. You'll get a clear price on the call.

Talk to Dair about store setup for new brands.

Book a free 30-minute call. Bring your numbers, and leave knowing what we'd fix first.