I Set Up a Shopify Store in a Weekend: The Exact Steps

People overthink store setup for weeks. The whole thing is a weekend project if you follow a checklist. Here's the exact sequence I use, in order.

Saturday morning: foundation (2 hours)

1. Create the store on Shopify's trial. Pick a store name that's available as a .com — check a domain registrar before you fall in love with a name.
2. Buy the domain and connect it (Shopify → Settings → Domains). Don't launch on mystore.myshopify.com; it looks unfinished.
3. Pick a theme. Start with Dawn (free). Paid themes are for optimization later, not launch.
4. Settings → Payments: connect PayPal + a card processor. Test with a $1 product and refund yourself.
5. Settings → Shipping: set real rates. Free shipping over $X is the simplest policy that converts.

Saturday afternoon: products (3 hours)

1. Add 1–5 products max. Each needs: 5+ good photos (supplier photos are fine to start, replace later), a title that says what it is, and a description written for humans — lead with the outcome, not the specs.
2. Write the policy pages: shipping, refunds, privacy, terms, contact. Use Shopify's templates and edit the specifics. This takes 30 minutes and prevents 80% of disputes.
3. Install exactly 3 apps: an email app (Klaviyo free tier), a reviews app (Judge.me free tier), and an image optimizer. Nothing else until you have sales.

Sunday: launch prep (2 hours)

1. Test the full checkout on mobile. Over 70% of your traffic will be phones — if checkout is awkward on mobile, nothing else matters.
2. Set up the abandoned-cart email (one email, 4 hours after abandonment, plain text works fine).
3. Write your "about" page. One paragraph: who you are, why this store exists. Stores with a human story convert better than anonymous ones.
4. Launch. Share with friends, post in one relevant community, run $20 in ads to test. Done is better than perfect.

What NOT to do this weekend

• Don't design a logo for 6 hours (use a wordmark).
• Don't add 50 products (you can't market 50 products).
• Don't buy ads before the store is finished (see step 9).
• Don't install 15 apps (see step 8).

The store doesn't need to be perfect — it needs to be buyable. You'll learn more from 10 real visitors than from 10 more hours of tweaking.