# Create your store and find your way around the admin

Level: Beginner. About 30 minutes. Plans: All plans. Checked against Shopify's documentation on 2026-10-08.

**Short answer:** Go to shopify.com, click **Start for free**, create or pick an account, and your Shopify admin opens [1]. Then go to **Settings** > **General** to set your store name, address, currency, time zone and units before your first order [5]. The sidebar holds orders, products, customers, analytics, marketing, discounts, sales channels, apps and **Settings** [4].

## Before you start

This guide takes you from no account to a Shopify admin with the basic business settings in place. It suits a hypothetical candle shop that plans to sell 40 products in the US and Canada, or any new store.

- Shopify's pricing page says new stores start with a free trial and that no credit card is needed to begin. The trial length and any introductory offer are shown on that page, so read it before you sign up [2].
- While you are on the trial, your store starts in private mode or with checkout inactive. Customers cannot buy until you choose a paid plan and set up a payment provider [3].
- Work you do during the trial is kept when you pick a paid plan [3].
- Shopify publishes separate setup guides for some countries, including Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain. Check them if your business is based in one of those countries [1].

## Steps

1. **Start the sign-up.** Go to shopify.com and click **Start for free** [1].
2. **Create or choose an account.** Enter an email address and password, or sign up with Google, Apple or Facebook. If you already have a Shopify account, click **Log in** and select it [1].
3. **Decide on billing now or later.** You can add a payment method so the store stays open after the trial ends, or click **Skip** and add it later. Billing details you add here apply only to this store [1].
4. **Answer or skip the setup questions.** Shopify offers a short questionnaire that gives setup suggestions for your industry. Complete it, or select **Skip customized setup**. Your new Shopify admin then opens [1].
5. **Learn the sidebar.** The sidebar is the main navigation. It holds orders, products, customers, analytics and reports, marketing, and discounts. A separate area lists your sales channels and apps, including **Online Store**. **Settings** is also in the sidebar [4].
6. **Use search and Home.** Press `ctrl` + `K` (Windows) or `command` + `K` (Mac) to search from any page. Depending on your admin design, the search bar is in the sidebar or the top bar. The **Home** page shows sales and traffic, task reminders and urgent actions such as unpaid orders [4].
7. **Set your store name.** Go to **Settings** > **General**. In the **Store contact details** section, click your store name, edit the **Store name** field, and click **Save**. The default name is "My Store". Changing it does not change your myshopify.com domain [5].
8. **Add your store address.** In **Settings** > **General**, in the **Store contact details** section, click **Store address**, enter your company name and address, and click **Save**. Store contact details are public and appear on your store and policy pages [5].
9. **Set the store currency.** In the **Store defaults** section, click the **...** menu, click **Change store currency**, select a currency, and click **Save**. Do this before your first order. After the first order, you must tick **I understand the risk of changing the store currency** to change it [5].
10. **Set the time zone and units.** In the **Store defaults** section, select a **Time zone**, then a **Unit system** and **Default weight unit**, and click **Save**. You can still change the weight unit on single products later [5].
11. **Check your plan and billing.** Shopify's trial article names **Settings** > **Plan** as the place to see your current plan [3]. Bills, payment methods and your billing address are under **Settings** > **Billing** [6].

## Check your work

- Open **Settings** > **General** and confirm the store name, address, currency, time zone and weight unit read the way you want [5].
- Press `command` + `K` or `ctrl` + `K` and search for "Products" to confirm you can reach any section from search [4].
- Open **Settings** > **Plan** and note whether you are still on the trial [3].

## Common problems

- **"My store name changed, but my web address still says the old name."** Changing the store name does not change the default myshopify.com domain [5].
- **"I can't change the store's country."** If you use Shopify Payments, Shopify Balance, Shopify Capital or Shopify Credit, you must deactivate them before you can change the country in your store address [5].
- **"The currency setting won't let me save."** After your first order, tick **I understand the risk of changing the store currency** first. If you use Shopify Payments, change the currency through the bank account and currency settings for Shopify Payments instead [5].
- **"My store is paused."** When the trial ends before you choose a paid plan, Shopify prompts you to pick a plan and pauses the store until you do [3].
- **"Customers can't check out."** During the trial the store is private or checkout is inactive. To take orders you need a paid plan and a payment provider [3].
- **"I can't find the search bar."** It is in the sidebar in the refreshed admin design and in the top bar in the current design. The keyboard shortcut works in both [4].

## Further reading

- Shopify's plan list and current trial offer [2].
- How the trial ends and what happens to your work [3].

## Sources

1. [Signing up and starting a new store](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/intro-to-shopify/initial-setup/sign-up), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
2. [Shopify pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), Shopify, accessed 2026-10-08
3. [Free trial](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/intro-to-shopify/pricing-plans/free-trial), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
4. [Shopify admin overview](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-admin/shopify-admin-overview), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
5. [Adding business settings for your store](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/intro-to-shopify/initial-setup/setup-business-settings), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08
6. [Managing your Shopify bills](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/your-invoice/change-plan), Shopify Help Center, accessed 2026-10-08

Source page: https://webmerchants.net/guides/create-your-store