What Is Shopify, How It Works And How To Fix The Most Common Errors: Comprehensive Guide

Today you’re going to learn about Shopify, how it works, and how to fix the most common errors and issues.

In this comprehensive guide I’ll cover:

● What Is Shopify?

● How It Works

● What Is It Used For?

● How Much Does Shopify Cost Per Month?

● Common errors and issues you can fix

● Lots more

So if you want your eCommerce business to generate more revenue, you’ll love this ultimate guide.

Let’s get started.

It is common for a person to come across issues with website builders.

You can expect technical problems with platforms such as Shopify, BigCommerce, and more.

With Shopify, it is common to face issues with themes, loading time, emailing, shipping, verification process, etc.

However, it doesn’t limit the capabilities of Shopify.

These problems are common in almost every website building platform.

While it might be interesting to read about BigCommerce Vs. Shopify, this article stresses on the typical errors of Shopify.

You will find a solution to your problem by the end of this guide. There is a solution for almost every error concerning Shopify.

Plus, you can use this article for future reference since there is a high chance of you coming across another problem in the future.

What Is Shopify and What It Is Used For?

Shopify is a software subscription that provides services in website creation. It allows users to access the shopping cart solution.

This solution enables users to manage, sell, and ship their products. You can easily access the admin panel with its services.

This panel will allow you to add products, visit store data, and process orders.

Different merchants use Shopify to carry out their business. It is an excellent choice for businesses that are just starting.

Investing in Shopify doesn’t garner loss, but it brings maximum profit.

The merchants can choose their themes. They have control over all the elements. You can change button colors, site colors, icons, and many more.

The Shopify headquarters is in Ottawa, Canada. The attractive Shopify logo is calling you to invest.

Shopify enables you to access statistics and reports of live visitors, abandon carts, popular products, funnel rates, etc.

Shopify reviews are always positive due to its satisfying services. The pricing, theme, design, collection, etc. are excellent.

The step by step process of signing up is also very secure. Plus, Shopify perfectly fits for people who don’t want to work with WordPress, SSL Certificates, HTML, Hosting, etc.

How Shopify Works And How Many Stores You Can Open

You can start using this eCommerce platform by following these nine important steps:

A). Signing Up

Head to Shopify.com.

Click on the “Get Started” option on the homepage.

You can try the 14-day limited free trial before starting your subscription.

It doesn’t require any payment information to get started. You will just need to provide your email and password.

Shopify will then ask you to provide a unique store name.

Proceed to hit the “Create Your Store” button.

B. Adding Products

Next, you will be on the admin page.

You will notice a visible navigation menu present on the left.

The sales figures will be present on the right. There will be shortcuts of three construction tools available in the middle.

They are extremely handy, and you shouldn’t miss them.

These shortcuts cover mandatory steps such as “Adding Products,” “Customizing theme,” and “Adding Domain.” You need to start with the products.

Start by pressing on the blue button to sell digital, physical, and service items.

In Shopify, adding products is quite easy. Proceed to name, describe, and upload pictures of your products.

There are some other interesting fields that you need to fill in. You can scroll down to find them.

C. Customizing Theme

You have three options when you are editing the graphic design of your store.

You can stick with “Debut,” which is the signature theme of Shopify.

Pick any one of the present free ten themes.

But you can also choose from the paid 50+ available templates. It can cost you around $140 - $180.

For this specific sample, let us use the Debut theme and how to edit it.

Edit Text

You can use the left part of the menu for your typeface needs. Press on every page tab for updating the overlay text and the header.

It also helps you change the size of the font.

You can also throw a “Button Label” for linking it to the URL.

You can start repeating this step for every page. In this way, your website will now say what you want it to. You can click on “Add Section” and select a section category for adding texts to more pages. Shopify allows you to add blogs, maps, testimonials, and galleries.

Click on the theme settings to edit the color of the typeface. It will be present on the left side of the menu.

Plus, you can also edit the link colors, label, and the form field. These visual cues and editing tools help ease the process of personalizing your text.

Add Pictures

You can start adding images by clicking on the blue “Select Image” button.

You can also edit your homepage background by clicking on the “Explore Free Images” button.

You will get tons of free templates to pick from. It covers different industries easily.

D. Adding Domain

Naming your website is extremely important.

A Domain acts as a window for your site.

It is the first thing your buyers will see. So, you need to get a hold of the right URL for your business. It will increase the potential of your brand.

Your website will possess a subdomain of Shopify called “myshopify.com.” It is free, but it doesn’t look creative or professional at all.

You can connect to an existing one or purchase a new domain to spice up your store.

Shopify carries a search bar. It also helps suggest additional extensions such as ‘. Shop’ and ‘.net.’ The expenses might vary, but it often begins from $14 per year.

E. Enabling Payments

Shopify is the only site-building platform that supports its payment method. Its payment gateway is known as “Shopify Payments.”

Plus, it doesn’t charge any fees, unlike other gateways such as Amazon Pay, PayPal, and more.

Click on” Settings” present on the navigation menu’s foot.

Then you need to also click on the icon of “Payment’s Provider.”

You can always scroll down to access other payment options.

F. Adding Shipping

You can easily edit and streamline the process of shipping with Shopify.

Proceed to click on “Settings” and press the shipping icon.

Start adding shipping zones and purchase shipping labels.

Then you need to decide on how much you will be charging your customers.

Once you have done this, your Shopify shipping process will be all set.

Always make sure to keep your Shopify stock updated. Keep a check on your products.

G. Integrating Apps

Shopify enables you to add some of the most amazing apps.

It allows you to smoothly run your website. Your website will become nicer and clearer for the customers.

It becomes easier to scale and manage your business.

Select the “Apps” option present within the navigation menu.

 You get to choose from over 2400+ apps. It covers all the areas of eCommerce business, such as social media, shipping, and accounting.

You will also love the Shopify app store. It allows you to sell your items on any platform of your choice.

H. Picking a Price Plan

After the free trial ends, Shopify will require you to select a price plan.

You can click on the “Select a Plan” button available on the page’s foot.

Depending on your business plans, pick the one that will help you the most.

There is also a Shopify Lite plan for the users. It is for people who want to sell their items without having to maintain an online store.

The plan involves in-person contact.

Some examples can be a pop-up store, a farmer’s market, and a trade show.

I. Publishing Your Store

Once you are sure about your store, you need to publish it. Your website is password protected during the free trial period.

The customers won’t be able to view it.

So, you need to upgrade to a paid plan to make it live.

From the admin page of Shopify, you need to get to the “Online Store.” Then go to the “Preferences” section.

From there, uncheck the “Enable Password” option on the area of “Password Protection.”

Now your shop is ready to go live for customers to enjoy.

You can only possess one Shopify store per account. You can’t have multiple stores on every account. However, you can own many stores on Shopify with different emails. So, you can proceed to open many stores with multiple emails.

Just remember your account credentials to avoid confusion. You can write them down or store them on your device. Now you can enjoy benefits through multiple Shopify accounts.

How Much Does Shopify Cost Per Month?

You can sell just about anything with Shopify.

Users can now get fully working online stores at a low price.

Shopify will cost you $29 per month with a limited free trial. Now you can start selling your physical and digital goods quickly.

The price plans of Shopify subscription per month include:

● Basic Shopify - $29

● Shopify - $79

● Advanced Shopify - $299

The Basic Shopify plan is fitting for small or new stores. It has features that are necessary for the success of new businesses.

The Shopify Plan is suitable for businesses that are growing. You get to unlock bigger shipping discounts and professional reports.

The Advanced Shopify plan is excellent for continuing to scaling massive stores. This plan comes with shipping rates that are calculated from third parties.

Recently, Shopify COO “Harley Finkelstein” comments on the California regulation that is Amazon-backed.

He believes that this consumer protection bill will make it tougher for small online businesses.

Finkelstein believes that the future survival and thriving of commerce should be in the hands of the mass. It shouldn’t be in the hands of a few, as told to CNBC.

In an interview with “Mad Money,” he believed that the commerce world is best with many entrepreneurs.

He vouches for more independent entrepreneurs too. Anything that hinders that process isn’t a good thing.

Amazon is backing a measure of California that is of a threat to many online businesses.

This measure will subject online market areas to the same liable expectations as the counterparts of physical stores.

Amazon is currently facing scrutiny over anti-competitive activities.

The Most Common Shopify Errors and Issues to Fix

01). Unable to Access Themes Page

You might be unable to access the themes pages. You might also come across loading issues.

The problem doesn’t have anything to do with your browser. You can solve this issue in two ways:

● Check to see if you have a primary domain set up for your online store. You can do so from the domain’s menu. Clear your browser’s cache before reloading.

● You can log in to your browser by using a private mode.

02). Marketing Error for Facebook Ads

Facebook’s API tends to prevent the creation and publishing of ads at times.

This problem arises due to intermittent issues with the API.

Many users started reaching out to Shopify for this issue. The Shopify team has made Facebook’s API fully operational now.

So, the problem isn’t there anymore.

However, if you do come across this issue in the future, then you can contact Shopify. They will easily look into the matter for you.

03). PayPal Payment Error

You may have problems with Shopify payout on the checkout page.

The issue behind this problem is usually the payment gateway connection.

You need to log in to your Shopify admin page.

Then you need to click on “Settings” and access the section of Payment providers.

Double-check and see if you are connected to PayPal or not.

You will need to press on the checkout button of “Activate PayPal Express,” if your account appears like this:

04). Website Loading Issues

There are issues with Shopify, such as the website going offline and losing access to shops. If you are facing this issue, then consider doing any of the three steps:

● Make sure to use Chrome and no other browsers. They are not always supported.

● Try clearing your cache and cookies on your Chrome.

● If you have an antivirus system, try turning it off temporarily. Then proceed to try again.

05). Senders Email Problems

Let us assume that you are sending a promo email to your subscribers for your promo campaign.

But you are finding it difficult to change the email address from whom you are sending it to.

Even if you are making changes in the customer email settings, it’s still the same in the campaign.

The change might be visible in the regular abandoned emails.

However, it doesn’t appear the same in the campaign. You can solve this issue by clearing your browser’s cache.

You can also try using a different browser.

If the problem persists, then you need to provide your store link to Shopify’s customer service.

They will take care of it. It makes email marketing easier for users.

06). UPS Shipping Problem

Some users deal with problems of buying UPS shipping labels.

You can solve this issue by obtaining your UPS account number directly from Shopify.

Then you need to start contacting UPS with the account info. It should be in connection with your brand’s name and address.

They will track down any of the unpaid invoices of your account.

Make sure to let them know that it is a valid collect shipment. In this way, you can pay for the unpaid invoice.

07). Robot Challenge Issues

After you submit the robot challenge, it goes back to the same page again. This problem doesn’t allow customers to log into your site.

It affects Shopify plus merchants too. You can resort to any of the following methods:

● You need to edit your custom theme. That's because you just might be hiding the web site’s content to members that aren’t logged in except for some pages. This challenge page is required for customers to log in properly. Your custom theme just might be the issue.

● Shopify does make small changes now and then. The update might be affecting the templates. So, you need to contact Shopify to insert a beta flag in your coding.

● You can turn off the challenge. Just go to the “Configuration” setting. Proceed to click on “Online Store” and then to “Preferences.” You will notice the “Enable Google captcha” setting. It is on the contact forms at the bottom. However, you should know that it will expose you to spam within the “Contact Us” form.

08). API Health Fix

Certain users of Shopify come across the problem of fix overdue in API health.

There is a risk of the app getting delisted. The issue may arise when you update in less than 30 days.

You have to do it before the deadline exceeds.

But it can also be a display error that might be causing this issue. You can use the link present within the partner dashboard.

In this way, you can speak with the partner support team.

Another possible hack would be to update your Product API IMPL to the option of cursor-based.

09). Photo ID Verification Problem

It is common at times to have identity verification errors.

The problem pops up even though you are uploading actual documents.

Sometimes it can occur when you are underage or for other reasons.

However, the only way to fix it is to contact customer support.

It works once your account is validated.

The customer service of Shopify will guide you throughout the entire process.

10). Unable to Install App

Users often face issues in installing paid apps.

The fix is that the store owner should download the paid apps. App downloading will affect billing.

It is a feature that only the store owner has control over.

You should consider reaching out to your client. So, they can download the app for you.

After that, you can carry on with the rest of the process.

You might also have problems with non-paid apps. In this case, you can try the following methods:

● Install screen and log into the app by using your developer’s login.

● Clear your cache and cookies. Then proceed to try again.

● Use another browser.

● Log out of everything and try logging back in.

● Contact Shopify’s customer service.

11). Problem Purchasing a New Domain

The issue arises when your default method of payment is set to PayPal.

It can also be a third-party payment processor. In situations like this, the process will face a stuck.

You can solve this issue by switching your payment method to a credit card.

It should be the same one that is usable by PayPal payments. Now you can have proper domain hosting.

12). Tax Override Addition Issue

A tax override issue may pop up when you are trying to select a collection of products.

You will want to add tax overrides for every product, but errors occur.

You can fix it by setting it to “Manual” on the collection editing page.

13). Transfer Problem from Wix to Shopify

You might face errors when you are transferring your domain from one platform to another.

When you are making that shift, you need to configure some settings.

You should resort to automatically configure the DNS settings of your domain. It is required to point towards Shopify.

After that, you need to clear the cache and cookies of your browser.

Wait about 24-48 hours to let your domain settings to successfully update.

However, if the problem persists, then it’s advisable to get in touch with customer service.

If it works, then you can also do the following for MailChimp.

14). Payment Error

Constant problems with Visa, Mastercard Debit, etc. are a recurring theme in the Shopify community.

If your customers are getting rejected at the checkout section, you need to reach out to your payment provider.

Your payment provider will troubleshoot this issue for you. They will ensure that your payments are processing accordingly.

But you can also contact Shopify to look into that matter for you. You can provide the customer service with examples for quick results.

Today the beautiful down under Australia is eligible for providing Shopify payments.

The country joins the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada to support this feature.

15). Homepage Video Issue

Some users face problems with their videos appearing less wider than normal.

The containing elements have CSS rules for max-width and margin.

You can use a code editor to add the SCSS file or CSS of your theme.

Add this code, and you will be good to go.

Since it’s interior work, consider hiring developer experts for future purposes if you lack experience in CSS or HTML. Avoid pasting the code in the wrong section.

16). Product Publishing Issue on Facebook

The “Publish” button is greyed out on your android tablet if there aren’t any changes.

The publishing button is only usable once you edit the collection orders. You can make changes by dragging and shifting the collections.

You can move it up or down the list in your admin. Do it according to your convenience and need.

Make sure to go through the Facebook’s Commerce Policy and the Community Standards too.

You need to read the product requirements that will be present below. Your products should meet all the legal requirements.

17). Variant Pricing Problem

You would want to edit the prices for variants.

There will always be varying prices with products.

For example, let us say that the price tag should be between $26.99 - $33.99.

However, the pricing may instead appear as $269,933.99.

It is a liquid issue.

You can check both the frontend and backend of it.

The fix around this problem is to tinker with the currency format of Shopify.

You need to add a “</span>” to the back of your currency line.

That should fix the problem for you.

Key Takeaways

Shopify is undoubtedly one of the biggest and best eCommerce platforms out there.

Shopify alternatives such as BigCommerce and Volusion comes close to it in terms of performance.

Is Shopify worth it?

Millions of users are a testament to that, but you can always try it out for yourself.

Certain issues keep occurring with Shopify.

However, it is the same as many other big website building platforms.

You can go through the error fixes to find a solution.

Shopify helps elevate new businesses to their highest potential.

Shopify will allow you to sell colorful jewelry, furniture, clothing, electronics, food, etc.

You can sell just about anything possible. You can also get creative with the page Shopify table.

Also, remember to make use of the color swatch.

Over To You

If you have made it to this section of the article, then I highly appreciate it.

You can drop down your queries now.

I’ll do my best to get you all the clearance that you need.

My team is here with you all the way.