Getting started with Ecwid

Hey! We are excited that you want to start selling online! If you want to create a stylish and professional site with an online store without spending tons of money and time on programmers and designers, you came to the right place. This guide will help you through the basic steps to set up your Ecwid store. If you already have product images and descriptions, you can easily start selling within a day!

Okay, Let’s get started!

Step 1: Sign up

You can sign up or log in to Ecwid on your desktop or by using the Ecwid app for iOS or Android. All you need is an email address.

To create a new account:

Ta-da! Now you have a store!

After you log in you will be taken to the Admin Panel, where you can configure the store and manage your products and orders. Inside of the Admin, you can also get customer support via chat.

If you need to sign out of your Ecwid account, just follow these directions.

Step 2: Add and organize products

Now it's time to add products to your store. With Ecwid you can sell physical or digital products, services, and anything in between. Note that there is a usage limitation of 10 products on a Free plan. Also, you can only sell digital goods on one of our paid plans.

It’s very convenient to add products through the mobile app. If you download the mobile app, you can try the Venture plan free for 14 days.

To add a new product:

That's it –– you have successfully added a product to your store!

Next, you can create product categories to organize your products, making it easier for your customers to navigate and search. For example, you can create the following types of categories:

• clothes for women, men, and children
• sale items
• items in a certain color or size
• seasonal items

Depending on how many products you plan to offer, adding and organizing your product listings can be the most time-consuming step in setting up your store. So grab some tacos and give yourself enough time to do the work.

Step 3: Add business information

In the General settings and Legal sections, add your business information, such as your store name and work email, then enter your currency, language, legal information, etc.

Entering all of this information is critical for both you and your customers. For example, your name and email will automatically be shown in customer email notifications. Setting up a timezone allows you to receive orders correctly if you offer in-store pickup. You will need to give your customers access to your policies for refunds, privacy, and terms of service before they buy a product.

Make sure to add:

1. Company’s name, web address, and email
2. Company’s physical address
3. Currency
4. Legal pages

See help article on how to configure the general settings of your store for more detailed instructions.

Step 4: Decide where will you be selling

You can sell with an Ecwid Instant site, or you can add an Ecwid storefront to an existing website or blog. You can even open a store on Facebook and Instagram. With Ecwid, it is possible to sell in all of these places at once. The Ecwid storefront can be added to multiple platforms and you can manage them all from one central location.

• Use Ecwid Instant Site →
• Or add Ecwid to any existing website or blog →
• Open an online store on Facebook and Instagram →

Step 5. Personalize store design

To help you get started, the Design page of your Admin Panel has a default set of settings to customize the look of your store. There are a lot of elements you can personalize in your storefront: header image, logo image, page layout, etc. With so many possible variations of design, you can create a very personalized and unique store. Ecwid has a responsive design, meaning that your store looks good on any screen size.

Check out this short video tutorial on making design and layout changes in your store.

Step 6. Set up a web address

Every Ecwid store has a free web address on the company.site subdomain in the form of "yourstore12345.company.site" where the first part can be customized by you. You can either use such a free subdomain from Ecwid, buy a new domain from a third-party provider, or connect an existing domain you already own.

If you use Ecwid Instant Site and choose to use a free Ecwid subdomain, you can still customize the name to better reflect your brand.

To customize the web address on Ecwid subdomain:

1. From your Ecwid admin, go to Website, and scroll down to Domain name and site address.
2. Click Change Address.
3. Enter the preferred name.
4. Click Save.

See help article on adding a domain for more detailed instructions.

Step 7. Enable payments

Next, you will need to add a payment gateway to collect sales revenue. Ecwid supports a variety of offline and online payment methods including PayPal, Stripe, Square, and many more.

Set up at least one payment method in your store by going to the Payment section in your Ecwid admin.

Step 8. Set up shipping and/or pickup

If you sell physical products that require shipping, you must decide how to distribute your products to your customers. There are three methods for distribution: in-store pickup, shipment via postal or delivery service, and third-party fulfillment services.

To set up shipping, you will need to:

1. Define your shipping strategy.
2. Calculate the rates.
3. Set up the shipping rates in Shipping & Pickup so that you charge your customers the appropriate amount based on your products and the customers’ location.

Follow our in-depth instructions to set up shipping for your business →

Or watch this quick video tutorial on setting up shipping.

Next steps

• Place a test order
• Launch your store
• Promote your store
• Learn how to manage orders
• Expand by adding your store on Facebook and Instagram