How to start an online store, step by step.
Everything you need to go from an idea to a store that takes orders: what to decide, in what order, and what you can leave for later.
Before you start
An online store is four things: something to sell, a website people can buy it on, a way to take payment, and a way to get the order to the customer. Everything else, from logos to email campaigns, makes those four work better. Get the four working first, then improve.
Ten steps to your first order
- 1
Decide what you'll sell
Things you make, products from suppliers (dropshipping), your own designs printed on demand (print on demand), or files people download (digital products). Each needs different amounts of money, time and space; downloads and print on demand need the least up front.
- 2
Know who it's for
Write one sentence about who buys it and why. It decides your prices, your photos, your words and where you'll find customers.
- 3
Work out your prices
Add up what each sale costs you: making or buying it, packaging, shipping, card fees and your platform's fee. Price so each sale leaves a margin you're happy with after all of them.
- 4
Name the store
Short, easy to spell and to say aloud. Check the domain is free, and that no one sells something similar under the same name.
- 5
Build the website
You need a home page, a shop page, a page for each product, an about page and an FAQ. Build it yourself on a platform, hire someone, or use an AI store builder that builds it from a description.
- 6
Write product pages that sell
Say what it is, what it's made of, sizes, how it's used and when it ships. Use clear photos on a plain background, and one of it in use.
- 7
Set up payments
Use a checkout from a payment provider such as Stripe, in your business's name, so payouts, refunds and disputes are yours. Place a test order before you launch.
- 8
Write your policies
Every store needs returns, shipping, privacy and terms of service. Say plainly how long shipping takes, what it costs and how returns work.
- 9
Launch on your own domain
Connect your domain, check every page on a phone, and place one more test order through the live checkout.
- 10
Get your first customers
Tell people who already know you: friends, followers, your email list, local markets. Then add search (titles and descriptions for every page) and one social channel you'll keep up.
Questions
Choose something you don't have to buy up front: digital downloads, or print on demand, where each item is printed only after someone pays. Start on a free address instead of buying a domain, and use a builder that's free until launch. On Steward, building the store is free with 500 credits, and you pay only when you want it live.
Planning what to sell and your prices can take a few days. Building can take weeks by hand, or minutes with an AI store builder, which drafts the store while you watch.
It depends on where you live and what you sell. Check with your local government before you launch, and register for sales tax where required.
Sell something without stock, start on a free address, and choose a platform with low monthly costs and fees. Compare what you'd pay in a typical month, including apps and fees on sales, not just the headline price.
Keep reading
- AI store builderAn AI store builder that keeps working after launchDescribe what you sell in a paragraph. Steward's AI agents build the store: products, pages, brand, policies and a tested Stripe checkout. You approve every change.
- GuideHow to start a dropshipping businessHow dropshipping works, how to choose products and suppliers, price for margin, build the store and handle orders and returns, step by step.
- GuideHow to start a print-on-demand businessStart a print-on-demand business step by step: pick products and a print partner, make designs, price for margin, build the store and launch your merch.
- Shopify alternativeSteward or Shopify? An honest comparisonAn honest comparison of Steward and Shopify: what each costs, who builds the store, and when Shopify is the better choice. Prices checked November 2026.
