For all Shopify store owners, we’ve compiled the top 30 common Shopify store mistakes that we see in our work with Shopify stores and how to avoid them.
In this guide, we’ll walk through common pitfalls like not having a clear value proposition or neglecting your social media presence. You can read more about each mistake below!
Don’t let these mistakes befall your business! Read on to learn what they are and how to fix them before it’s too late. By avoiding these common pitfalls, you’ll have a better chance of success with your online store.
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30 common Shopify store mistakes
Before going to tips and tricks, we need to figure out the common mistakes done by the Shopify store owners.
1. Having an unprofessional eCommerce website
An unprofessional appearance, including the website design, logo, user interface/user experience (UI/UX), and content writing, can repel new consumers, regardless of how informative or approachable your business is.
So, give some time to design the website and think about the best way to use fonts, images, colors, etc. If you want to make it more clear, you should check out How to pick the right Shopify theme in 2022: 10 pro tips.
2. Having no or a weak value proposition
The value proposition explains what makes your product or service a better choice than a competitor’s.
A strong value proposition is essential for a good eCommerce brand. A clear and specific value proposition helps your store stand out from others and enables you to focus on the best features of your product and service so that you can grow each area with confidence.
3. Not understanding your target audience
To build a successful business, it is crucial to understand your customers deeply. Making wrong assumptions about the buyer persona will only sentence your marketing efforts to doom. Your business will fail before it even starts.
It may result in you under-serving your customers and not delivering the optimum product mix.
4. Not adding enough products or having a limited product variety
A common mistake in building a Shopify store is not offering enough products or an appropriate number of product variations. Many people are prone to overcommitting, resulting in a lack of variety for your potential clients.
5. Not having a well thought out business strategy
It’s no use to have a great Shopify store if you don’t know where it’s going. Having a clear strategy for your business is essential in successfully setting and achieving a sustainable business.
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re involved in; instead, it’s about having a plan of action and knowing how to get from point A to point B. It’s about planning out the steps you’ll need to complete and knowing how long it will take to get there. Unique and intelligent business strategies help your Shopify store grow.
6. Not updating or refreshing your blog
An outdated blog is a clear sign that the store owner is not serious about running a successful business. Each time you update and refresh your blog, it’s an opportunity to show customers that you’re committed to providing valuable content and pushing your store forward.
Creating a quality product or a service may bring many customers, but creating a unique, and valuable content will help retain those customers.
7. Neglecting your social media presence
Setting up profiles on popular social media networks like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter is an obvious choice for any business owner looking to grow their Shopify store. The key here is to be consistent in your updates and engage with your customers.
Blogging is beneficial, but social media is crucial for online stores. Social media provides the opportunity to keep in touch with your customers where they spend most of their time online. If you want to spend some extra dollars you can do influencer marketing to attracting customers.
It’s about knowing when and how much to post so that it doesn’t become a distraction. Visiting different social media profiles should be a regular activity for the store owner to engage with customers and learn about their needs.
It’s also good to run paid ads on facebook or Google ads to get ideal customer.
8. Getting distracted by shiny objects
You can easily get carried away when you first begin building your Shopify store. You’ll have so much fun looking at excellent products, browsing through different themes, and watching training videos that your store will quickly get bogged down with unnecessary products, themes, and content.
Focusing on priorities is essential to ensure your business is growing on the right path.
9. Not having a process or system
Running a successful Shopify store requires lots of hard work, especially when starting as new eCommerce entrepreneurs. Having a process or system in place will ensure that you don’t leave any loose ends behind.
Having a well-defined system to follow means that tasks are completed without any fuss, meaning that your time can be used more effectively.
10. Not taking advantage of available tools
The Internet has a range of tools that can help you take your Shopify store to the next level.
Take advantage of marketing tools that will help you reach more customers and drive traffic to your Shopify store to reporting tools that provide insight into what’s working well and what needs improving.
11. Not listening or asking for feedback
Having a successful Shopify store means knowing your target market and what they want from your store.
Listening to what they want and understanding their needs is crucial for taking your business forward.
12. Neglecting shipping times and processes
Shipping products to customers on time is essential to maintain a customer base. Being late with shipping out orders will reflect poorly on your business and hurt sales.
13. Not being prepared for increased demand
Having a good product, solid marketing plan, and excellent branding is all well and good, but what happens when you get an increase in demand?
Being prepared is about knowing how to handle your increased sales and predicting what changes need to be made before it becomes a significant problem for your business.
14. Not having a well-defined marketing plan
Marketing your Shopify store can take up a lot of time and resources, but knowing how best to use these to get the most significant return is essential.
Creating an effective marketing plan is about knowing what works for your business and what doesn’t. This can save you money and enable you to achieve more with your limited resources.
15. Over emphasizing traffic generation without first building an audience or community
Creating a community around your Shopify store is about taking the time to ensure that people value what you offer before driving traffic to the store.
Social media marketing, blogging, and email campaigns are just some ways to build an audience for your business before turning on the traffic generation methods.
16. Giving up too soon
Running a successful Shopify store requires work and dedication, so it’s important to stick with it. Effectively using tools and techniques is about knowing what works for your business and having some patience to build sales and increase traffic.
Sending out newsletters, creating unique product promotions, and encouraging referrals are just some of the ways that you can increase traffic to your Shopify store.
17. Not having a marketing budget
Your marketing plan is about knowing what works best for your business and creating an actionable strategy that helps you get better results.
Having a marketing budget in place based on the methods will ensure that you don’t waste time or resources on marketing that isn’t working.
Changing or increasing your budget based on the results you’re getting means that you’ll continuously be investing in effective strategies to help grow your business.
18. Not optimizing for search engines
Having excellent products, unique content, and great branding doesn’t mean anything if no one can see your new online store. Optimizing product pages and blog posts for search engines is about knowing how to reach your target audience and drive more traffic through search engines.
Because of this, it’s essential to know what keywords are best suited for your products and services and create new content regularly.
19. Not having a mobile-friendly website
A mobile-friendly website is about knowing the current statistics on eCommerce traffic on mobile devices and being prepared for changes in this area.
A significant amount of consumers are using mobile devices to access the internet these days, so it’s essential to have your Shopify store set up on a responsive template to ensure that you’re not losing these potential customers.
20. Not having a customer service plan in place
Customer satisfaction is crucial if you want to retain the traffic you’ve worked so hard to generate.
Having a well-defined customer service plan is about knowing what kind of support your business can offer and how quickly you can respond to new queries.
Ensuring that your Shopify store is set up on a reliable hosting platform, with easy-to-navigate support pages and an effective social media presence, is the key to achieving this goal.
21. Not having an SSL certificate
Having an SSL certificate protects customer data and creates trust within your target market. It’s also about showing that you’re authentic and are willing to invest in the security of their personal information.
SSL certificates are easy to obtain on Shopify, plus this will increase trust among your customers due to the padlock symbol displayed within search engine results.
22. Not properly branding your Shopify store
Having a consistent brand across your blog posts, social media channels, and products creates a story behind the products being sold. It’s also about ensuring that you’re gaining attention from potential consumers through effective branding methods.
Having videos, infographics,, and engaging product descriptions are just ways to create compelling content that will encourage people to buy your products.
23. Not adding free shipping for higher-priced items
Having a free shipping option removes the barriers between potential customers and makes it easy to buy your products.
It’s also about marketing your store as one that offers incredible value for any product category, which will increase conversion rates and encourage more people to shop at your business.
24. Not having an FAQs page
FAQs pages are important for customers, as it provides them with common questions and answers about the products you’re selling. Additionally, it reduces the amount of queries that your support team receives on any given day.
By adding this information into one area on your Shopify store, customers are more likely to find the answers that they’re looking for immediately.
25. Not encouraging customer reviews
Customer reviews are about knowing what customers think of your Shopify store, which includes the products you sell and the level of service provided by your support team.
It’s also about engaging with these customers regularly through social media, encouraging people to post positive reviews.
26. Being vague with goals and not setting specific goals for your business
Having specific targets for your Shopify store is about knowing what you need to do on a day-to-day basis to achieve success.
Whether it’s setting yourself small milestones or important goals, being clear with your aims allows you to monitor the progress of your business and understand where any potential issues are arising from.
27. Not using Google Analytics regularly
Monitoring your business data daily is about understanding the performance of an individual page or section of your Shopify store.
By analyzing your Google Analytics reports, you’ll know if any areas need improvement and what type of content gets the best results from potential customers.
28. Not having an automated email marketing strategy
A well-defined email marketing plan is about building trust with your audience through regular contact with them. It’s also about staying in touch on an ongoing basis, encouraging people to return to your business for additional purchases, and ensuring that you’re always top of mind.
Having automated email workflows and nurturing campaigns (which encourage people to buy products or sign up for your newsletter) are just some of the ways that you can connect with potential customers regularly.
29. Not being able to handle return issues when they arise
Efficiently handling returns is about ensuring that your customers are satisfied with their purchases. It’s also about decreasing the number of negative reviews that you receive on any given day, which can encourage people to revisit your store for additional purchases in the future.
30. Not having a re-engagement strategy
Having a well-defined method to re-engage with your audience is about knowing how to make additional sales from people who have already bought products from your store.
It’s also about ensuring that former shoppers come back for repeat purchases, which will increase revenue and profits over time.
Tips & tricks to avoid 30 common Shopify store mistakes
Ecommerce is booming like never before. We are seeing new eCommerce stores opening every other day; because of this, competitiveness has also increased in all areas. So, what should you do to become successful?
People go wrong while doing so many things and eventually fail to maintain their Shopify store. Here we’re sharing some tips & tricks to avoid common Shopify store mistakes.
So, to avoid mistakes, please read the complete article.
Tip1: Always keep an eye on competitors-
Before you launch your Shopify store, it is important to know about all popular stores selling the same products as yours. By keeping an eye on them, you can easily understand what they are doing and how their store looks.
Tip2: Keep track of all social media accounts-
Maintaining your social media account is very important to make yourself popular among your targeted customers. If someone has a query about where he can buy this product, he can easily find you on social media accounts.
Tip3: Optimize your store for SEO-
Many people search for products and services online as they don’t want to roam offline markets.
So, if you have an excellent website that optimized for the search engines, more targeted customers will visit your site and convert them into customers. It can increase your organic traffic as well.
Tip4: Use email marketing for building trust-
This is a great way to build a good relationship with your targeted customers and make them reliable by sending them regular informative emails about the latest updates, new arrivals, etc.
Many tools allow you to send bulk personalized emails, such as MailChimp, Sendlane, etc.
Tip5: Always reply to customers’ queries-
A happy customer is the best customer, and he will surely come back to your store to purchase more products. So always make sure you provide a satisfactory answer to their query as soon as possible.
Tip6: Invest in good photography-
Hire a professional photographer if you want your target audience to be impressed with your pictures. There are many companies available that have the best photographers.
Suppose your store is based on some specific topic or product, for example. In that case, vintage wall clock photography becomes very important, so only hire the one who can provide you with incredible wall clock photography.
Tip7: Create a perfect product description-
If you want to make your store popular among your targeted customers, content plays a vital role. You need to convince your targeted customers to buy your product by writing a good product description.
Tip8: Take advantage of social proof-
Many people get confused while making their purchase, mainly if your store sells unique products, so make them feel confident about you by showing them positive reviews of other verified customers. Many companies are available that provide an option to add review widgets to your site.
Tip9: Use good packaging-
If you want to convince and impress your targeted customers, then make sure that your product arrives in good condition and it’s fully protected by using good packaging material.
Tip10: Give a discount-
If you want to push your targeted customers towards making a purchase, it’s better to provide discounts on your products. This will allow them to save some money and buy from you.
Tip11: Make use of product tags-
Many people are interested in buying the same product, but they are looking for some different features, so make them feel better by creating product tags.
Tip12: Track your store with Google analytics-
Use Google Analytics to track visitors. This tool tells you how many people have visited your website and from which source he has landed on your site, so use it to track visitors.
Tip13: Keep your customers updated with new arrivals-
Many people keep visiting the stores only if they have something new to offer, so always try to introduce some new items, styles, or designs at regular intervals so that you can hold their attention.
Tip14: Build a good relationship with your targeted customers-
Always try to give personalized answers to their queries as the more they will feel interested in knowing about you and your store, so try to build up a good relationship with them.
Tip15: Constant communication is the key-
To make your targeted customers trust your store, use your blog or social media to share regular updates or news about your stores, like new arrivals or discounts. This will make them feel that you are reliable and trustworthy.
Tip16: Use rewards program-
If you want to push your targeted customers towards making the purchase, try to provide some reward points or offers that can be redeemed later. This will allow them to save some money and they might buy from you again.
Tip17: Keep your site mobile friendly-
If people have trouble reading your site content on their mobile, they will not be able to make a purchase, so make sure your store is fully functional and responsive on all kinds of devices.
Tip18: Go worldwide, expand the market-
Whenever you are considering expanding your business, try to add worldwide shipping options or increase the delivery speed in local areas. This will allow you to capture a new market and make a good profit from it.
Tip19: Use suitable payment gateways-
There are many payment gateways available, but PayPal is one of the best ways to get the payment. Try to use two or three payment gateways to make your store more convenient.
Tip20: Avoid overstocking-
Always try to predict the demand and keep a proper check on your stock; if you find more inventory waiting for customers,, this might lead to some long delays in order processing and shipping times, so try to avoid overstocking.
Tip21: Use the advanced search option of Google-
Many people are looking for specific things, but they do not know about them, so if someone searches with some generic keywords, then Google will show the related search terms, which can be helpful for you.
Tip22: Better user interface-
Your site should have an exemplary user interface so that your targeted customers can easily understand the products and navigate through them quickly. This will increase the conversion rates as well as sales.
Tip23: Proper product categorization-
Use product categories so that targeted customers can easily find the products without wasting too much time. It’s better to use parent categories with sub-categories to make this process easier.
Tip24: Use only one call-to-action at a time-
It’s better to use only one call-to-action at a time, which means if you want them to sign up, then don’t ask for their email ID and social media account at the same time.
It’s also important to trust your targeted customers, so choose things carefully depending on your product or service type.
Tip25: Keep your shipping charges low-
People do not prefer to purchase products that come with substantial shipping charges, so always try to offer a free or reduced shipping and make sure that you provide tracking numbers.
This will help them trust your store, and it can also increase your conversion rates and sales. You can also offer free shopping or discounts for first-time buyers.
It can attract new customers to your store, and they will spend more. Using a free shipping bar can be an incredible way to boost your average order value and conversion rates if you haven’t tried it yet.
Tip26: Send extra care to high-value customers-
Always keep in touch with the customers who are spending a good amount of money on your products, so try to make sure that you send them some freebies or something special to make them like you and they might come back again for more.
Tip27: Provide social sharing options-
You can quickly increase your reach by using social media. So always try to provide share or like buttons on your site because it will allow people to share them on their social media profiles which can help you build up a good brand image.
Tip28: Avoid shipping delays-
Ship the orders within one to two days of receiving payments that will make your customers trust your store, and they will also increase the chances of purchasing from you again.
Tip29: Use proper branding options –
You should have a strong brand image if you want to make your customers trust your store, and you can do it by using proper branding options like logo, images, etc. Always include contact details and other essential things that can help people find out more about your business.
Tip30: Constant improvement is the only key –
You should always try to improve yourself, or you will not succeed in the long run. So always try to improve your products, site content, and other things to meet customer satisfaction.
Q&A’s about Shopify eCommerce store
Q: How to reduce the shipping charges of your online store?
Answer: You can set up a flat rate of estimated shipping costs for different countries, and then you will not need to worry about shipping. So try to find out which countries have most of your targeted customers and then offer free shipping there. Keeping things simple will allow you to keep your targeted customers happy. It’s also good to look for local suppliers to reduce shipping charges.
Q: Should I try to sell about 200 different products online?
Answer: It’s not a bad idea, but you should have enough time and patience to handle all of them. So try to stick with fewer SKUs if you want to avoid too much frustration.
Q: How can I increase social shares on my online store?
Answer: If you want to increase social shares, it’s vital to offer share or like buttons on your site because people can easily share them on their social media profiles.
You should also develop some creative options to encourage them to share your products and services because that will help you get more exposure.
Q: What kinds of products should I sell online?
Answer: It’s better to sell those products that you know well or else it may create problems in the future if you start selling something new.
So try to read a lot about your targeted product and then decide after finding out all possible pros and cons. Also, try to find out the best time to buy because it will help you save more money.
Q: Where can I sell my handmade crafts online?
Answer: You can start your own eCommerce store quickly on Shopify, and then you need to upload some images of your products with their specifications.
So choose a proper theme and then get started. Promote your store using social media platforms, and you’ll be surprised by seeing the results. So try it yourself and see how things work for you.
Q: What is the best amount of money to invest in an eCommerce store?
Answer: You can easily start a Shopify store for $29 or $39, depending on the theme that you choose. So it’s unnecessary to spend more money to start your store!
Q: How can I check my products’ ratings & reviews?
Answer: You can easily check your products’ ratings & reviews by adding a review tab that will help you get feedback about your products.
It’s better to use some professional-looking images instead of taking pictures with mobile phones because it can help people trust your store, so try it yourself!
To Conclude
You can do several things to make your store more successful, but the most important thing is to keep learning, keep improving yourself, and you’ll be surprised by seeing the results. So never try to give up on your dreams because only a persistent person can enjoy success.
I hope our article will help you avoid common mistakes of Shopify stores. Please visit our website for more helpful information, and you can also share your experiences in the comment section below.
We encourage you to ask any questions or express any concerns you may have, and we will respond as soon as possible.
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