Before PackPro existed as a fulfilment partner, we were Shopify sellers ourselves. We’ve been through the early setup stages, the first product launch, the late-night packing sessions, and the slow but steady order growth. So if you’re starting out, we understand exactly what that feels like — exciting, a bit overwhelming, and full of moving parts.
Shopify is one of the most popular ways to start selling online — used by over 4.4 million stores globally, and especially common among small and medium UK businesses.¹ It offers flexibility, built-in ecommerce tools, and the ability to grow at your own pace without needing web development experience.
This is a practical Shopify selling guide that walks you through how to sell on Shopify — from setting up your store to preparing for fulfilment as you grow. Whether you’re selling clothing, supplements, home décor, or handmade goods, the setup process is similar — but the decisions you make early on can make everything far easier later.
Table of Contents
What Is Shopify and Why Do UK Sellers Choose It?
For anyone looking to start a Shopify store in the UK, Shopify offers a beginner-friendly setup, flexible design options, and reliable tools to support growth. Shopify is an ecommerce platform that allows you to create an online shop, add products, accept payments, and manage orders — all in one place.
Why Shopify Is Popular With New Sellers:
– Easy setup – You don’t need technical or coding experience.
– Customisable store themes – Free and paid options available.
– Built-in checkout and payment processing – No need to configure separate systems.
– Apps and integrations – Useful for shipping, marketing, product reviews and more.
– Supports growth – Works whether you’re shipping ten orders a month or ten thousand.
For UK sellers especially, Shopify integrates well with Royal Mail, DPD, Evri and other domestic couriers, which makes sending orders straightforward in the beginning.
Step-by-Step: How to Start Selling on Shopify (UK)
Below is a straightforward breakdown for setting up a Shopify store in the UK, including beginner Shopify tips to help you avoid common early mistakes.
1. Create Your Shopify Account
Go to shopify.com and click Start Free Trial.
You’ll be asked a few setup questions such as:
– Are you already selling?
– What are you planning to sell?
– Where will you be selling?
These questions just help Shopify configure your dashboard — nothing is permanent.
Once you enter your business details, you’ll land in the Shopify Admin. This is your central hub for:
– Adding products
– Managing orders
– Editing your website
– Viewing reports
Tip: Don’t worry about “getting everything right” immediately. Shopify stores evolve over time.
2. Choose and Customise Your Store Theme
Shopify offers a library of free and paid themes in the Shopify Theme Store. For most new sellers, a free theme is perfectly fine.
Some of the best free starter themes:
– Dawn (clean, modern, flexible)
– Sense (good for lifestyle/product storytelling)
– Craft (great for handmade or home goods)
After choosing your theme:
1. Click Customise
2. Edit your homepage sections
3. Upload your logo (if you have one)
4. Add brand colours and fonts
5. Remove placeholder content
6. Keep the layout simple and focused
Your homepage should include:
– A clear headline describing what you sell
– 3–6 bestselling or flagship items
– A short intro about your brand (1–2 sentences max)
– Social proof if you have any (reviews, customer photos)
Avoid:
– Too many sections
– Long blocks of text
– Heavy animations (slows load speed)
3. Add Your Products
This step is essentially how to list products on Shopify — and getting it right early helps customers understand and trust what you’re selling.
Go to:
Products → Add Product
Fill in each section carefully:
Product Title: Clear and descriptive (e.g., Lavender Soy Candle – 180ml)
Description:
– Start with what it is and who it’s for
– Then list the benefits in clear bullet points
– If relevant, include care or usage instructions
Images:
Aim for:
– 1 front shot
– 1 close detail shot
– 1 lifestyle image (product in use/setting)
Pricing:
Enter your sale price.
If you want to highlight discounts, also enter a Compare at Price.
Inventory:
Turn on “Track Quantity” if you want stock levels to update automatically.
Delivery:
Tick This is a physical product so Shopify knows it needs shipping.
Variants:
If you have options (sizes/colours), use the Add Variant button.
4. Set Up Payments
Go to:
Settings → Payments
Most UK stores start with:
– Shopify Payments (recommended — simplest setup)
– PayPal (optional but widely recognised)
Shopify Payments covers:
– Visa
– Mastercard
– Apple Pay
– Google Pay
– Klarna (if activated)
Once enabled, customers can check out smoothly without leaving your store.
5. Configure Delivery & Shipping
Go to:
Settings → Shipping and Delivery
For beginners, the simplest setup is:
– Flat rate shipping (e.g., £2.95 standard, free over £40)
– Use Royal Mail or Evri to send parcels
Common early mistakes:
– Offering too many shipping choices
– Not testing packaging weight before listing prices
Once orders increase, manual shipping becomes time-consuming — and this is where many sellers begin exploring outsourcing to a 3PL fulfilment centre UK for picking and packing services and automatic Shopify syncing.
When You Should Consider Outsourcing Fulfilment
As orders increase, many UK sellers look for support managing storage, picking, packing and shipping. This usually happens a few months after you start a Shopify store, once demand becomes more consistent.
This is usually when:
– Orders take up evenings or weekends
– Stock takes over your home or office
– Mistakes begin to appear in dispatch
– Customer delivery times start slipping
At this stage, sellers often move to working with a 3PL fulfilment centre that connects directly to Shopify.
What a Fulfilment Partner Handles:
– Picking and packing services
– Labelling and packaging
Because Shopify integrates directly with the warehouse system, orders flow into fulfilment automatically — no spreadsheets or manual updates. Shopify fulfilment services then manage stock, picking and packing, and dispatch on your behalf.
Marketing Your Shopify Store (Getting Traffic)
Once your store is live, the next step is getting people to actually see it. Marketing doesn’t have to be complicated, especially at the beginning. The goal is simply to get your products in front of the right audience consistently. Here are approaches that are working well for Shopify sellers in the UK right now:
TikTok & Short-Form Video
Short-form video is currently one of the strongest traffic drivers. If you’re also exploring TikTok Shop, you might find our guide on how to start selling on TikTok Shop useful.
The key is to avoid over-produced content. People respond better to quick, honest, real clips. Think of it as showing the human side of your brand.
What to film:
– Opening and packing real customer orders
– What makes your product different
– Before/after product results
– Your workspace or day-to-day routine
– Stock deliveries, new product drops, behind-the-scenes prep
Consistency matters far more than perfection — if you can film and post 3–5 short clips per week, you’ll build momentum.
Influencer & Creator Gifting
You don’t need big-name influencers.
In fact, many Shopify sellers get better results from micro-creators (those with 1,000–20,000 engaged followers).
These creators:
– Feel more relatable to their audiences
– Often produce higher-quality content
– Are more cost-effective
– Tend to care about the product itself
Send your product with a short, friendly message and no pressure to post.
If they like it, they’ll share it.
If they don’t, you’ve gained feedback — which is just as valuable.
Email Marketing
Email might feel “old school”, but it consistently drives repeat purchases, especially in ecommerce.
Start collecting emails early.
Even if your store isn’t launched yet, have a Coming Soon signup box.
Once live, set up a simple 3-email welcome sequence:
1. Thank you + brand story (who you are and why you started)
2. Product benefit focus (why your product solves their problem)
3. A gentle nudge or first-purchase incentive
Even a 10% welcome offer can encourage new customers who are already already interested.
Final Thoughts
Shopify is one of the easiest ways to start selling online, but success rarely comes from a single viral moment. It comes from consistent marketing, understanding your customers, and improving your operations as you grow.
Start with small steps. Focus on getting your first orders, then your first repeat customer, and build from there.
And when packing orders begins to take more time than growing the business, you don’t need to handle fulfilment alone.
If you’d rather spend your time building your brand instead of packing parcels, PackPro can help.
Learn more about our Shopify fulfilment services here.
FAQs — Selling on Shopify (UK)
Do I need a business licence to sell on Shopify in the UK?
Not necessarily. Many people start out as a sole trader, which doesn’t require forming a limited company. You’ll just need to register for Self Assessment with HMRC once you begin making sales. If you prefer, you can register a limited company later — Shopify works with both.
Are Amazon alternatives cheaper to sell on?
Shopify’s standard plans currently start from £19 per month for the Basic plan.
There are higher tiers, but most new sellers start with Basic and upgrade later if they need advanced features.
There are also transaction fees if you use payment gateways other than Shopify Payments.
3. Do I need inventory to start selling on Shopify?
No. You can:
Hold your own stock
Use a print-on-demand supplier
Or dropship products
If you are holding physical stock, plan early for:
Storage space
How you will pack and send orders
When you may want to move to a fulfilment partner
(Internal Link Opportunity: Dropshipping: A Beginner’s Guide to Success)
4. How do I get people to visit my Shopify store?
Traffic usually comes from:
TikTok / Instagram short-form content
Influencer or creator gifting
Email marketing
Product reviews and UGC (user-generated content)
It’s better to post consistently rather than trying to create perfect content.
(Internal Link Opportunity: How to Start Selling on TikTok Shop)
5. How do Shopify stores ship orders?
You can:
Pack and post orders yourself, or
Use a Shopify fulfilment partner that integrates with your store.
If you’re receiving a growing number of orders and want to save time, a fulfilment provider can handle storage, picking and packing, courier dispatch, and tracking updates.
Internal Pillar Link Anchor:
→ Shopify fulfilment services
6. When should I consider using a 3PL for Shopify orders?
A fulfilment partner becomes useful when:
You don’t have time to pack orders consistently
Stock is taking over your space at home or the office
Orders are being delayed
You want faster dispatch or more reliable delivery
This usually happens sooner than expected once sales begin to increase.
(Internal Link Opportunity: Everything You Need to Know About Picking & Packing)
7. Can I sell on more than one platform at the same time?
Yes — many Shopify sellers also sell on:
TikTok Shop
eBay
Amazon
Etsy
If you expand to multiple sales channels, using a fulfilment provider with multi-channel integration can help keep stock accurate across all platforms.
(Internal Link Opportunity: Expanding Fulfilment Beyond Amazon: The Key to eCommerce Growth)