Top Tips to Prepare for a Successful Shopify Ecommerce Site Build

Building a new ecommerce site can feel both exciting and daunting. But with the right preparation and partners, you can ensure a smooth development process and a successful launch.

In this guide on Shopify site builds at Asen, our team shares top tips on how to effectively prepare for the development of a new Shopify ecommerce site, so you can get ready to start selling online sooner rather than later.

Why Shopify?

With a multitude of ecommerce platforms available, including well-known options like Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, and Wix, businesses today have a wide array of choices to consider. Brands looking to grow significantly or strengthen efficiency will especially benefit from choosing the right ecommerce solution for their business.

For many businesses, Shopify stands out for several reasons, including its user-friendly interface, extensive app ecosystem, and scalability, catering to businesses of all sizes. Providing ideal support and integration capabilities, Shopify is a preferred choice for businesses looking to grow and manage their online stores efficiently, which is why it’s what we build on at Asen.

• Built for ecommerce from the ground up
• Designed to handle large volumes of traffic & transactions
• Able to easily scale to meet changes in demand
• Unified, familiar user interface with features that simplify the customer experience

Key Information & Assets to Have on Hand

To hit the ground running with your Shopify site development, be sure to have the following information and assets prepared for smooth sailing:

• Logins: A domain login is crucial, as well as the current site login (if applicable), and any other relevant logins, such as payment gateways.
• Brand Style Guide: If your company has an existing style guide, share it with your web development or marketing partner! Referring to it often will help your team maintain brand standards across the store.
• Design & Functionality Preferences: Outline specific design preferences or required functionalities, such as interactive store maps, mailing list signups, or rewards programs.
• Existing Assets & Imagery: Providing product information and images upfront allows us to prepare and input data efficiently, reducing time and costs while minimizing errors.
• Other Essential Info: A sitemap, product count, shipping information, payment gateway details, product management system information, and a list of who will maintain the shop post-launch are all essential for a successful build.

Optimizing Ecommerce Product Listings

If you already have an existing site or you’re in the midst of planning for a new build, you might catch yourself wondering, “What can I do to improve my product listings, boost SEO, or otherwise optimize my site?” 

While our team handles the technical aspects, there are several steps you can take to enhance your product listings and help with search engine optimization:

• Create unique product descriptions: Crafting unique, detailed descriptions for each product not only benefits SEO, but also enhances the shopping experience. We can help with that!
• Go for custom imagery: High-quality, custom images are a great way to make your products stand out, especially when marketing through popular channels like Google.
• Dare to be different: Strive to differentiate your shop from competitors by offering something unique, whether it’s in your product offerings or how you present them. A true partner will help you determine what your unique selling points are and ways to lean into them in your ecommerce site.

Testing Your Site Before Take-Off

Thorough testing is a critical part of the development process with Asen. We frequently perform front-end tests by shopping our sites in “test mode” to ensure everything works well from a user’s perspective. We’ll also conduct thorough back-end testing by running the full order process as if we were the shop manager. This includes testing email notifications, shipping and tax, payment connectivity, and other vital features before responsively-styling the site for use across all devices. If everything functions and appears correctly, your site is now set for launch!

Ecommerce Site Maintenance & Store Updates

Keeping your Shopify ecommerce site running smoothly requires regular maintenance and updates. Shopify and theme developers frequently release updates; while off-the-shelf themes can be updated easily, custom themes might need a developer’s help to integrate changes without losing customizations. 

“Shopify kindly installs updates as a separate copy, allowing you to review and adjust before activation. You can always activate the old theme if you need to.” – Quinton, Web Developer

While maintenance requirements differ for stores of different scales, store maintenance for a custom Shopify site includes processing, preparing, and shipping orders promptly, fielding customer service requests from users, managing tags, collections, and menu changes, and adding or removing products. This helps keep everything organized and efficient; staying proactive with these tasks can help ensure your Shopify site is functioning properly and user-friendly. 

Shopify Sites by Asen

At Asen, we’re here to support teams and build strong brands with the tailored ecommerce solutions and guidance needed to thrive in a crowded online market. By leveraging our expertise in the world of ecomm, we’ll help you create a Shopify site that sets your business up for success. Ready to thrive? Let’s chat!

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