Is my desired Shopify store name already taken or unusable with spaces?

TB4
New Member
4 0 0

I'm migrating from Squarespace and am trying to open a new shop on Shopify. When I type in my shop name, Rock Candie Designs, it tells me that the shop name is taken. It will let me use the name RockCandieDesigns (all one word, no spaces) but I'm trying to figure out the following:

  • Does this mean someone else owns this shop?
  • Does this mean Shopify does not allow spaces in your shop name?
  • Is it possible that I own this shop and just don't know what email address I used (and if so, can someone help me rectify the issue?)

Thanks for your help!

Replies 17 (17)

Trevor
Community Moderator
3391 459 977

Hey, @TB4

Great question! If you are getting the error that the store name has already been taken, then it would mean that someone else has previously claimed the store name and would require that you create the store without spaces. Shopify does allow for spaces to be entered; however, the store name would appear with dashed in between each word (rock-candie-designs). Once a name is claimed, it can not be freed up for another merchant even if the store is no longer active. The store name you enter is what will create your free ".myshopify.com" URL which is used for login credentials once you add your purchased domain to your store. While the store name with spaces may be taken, in the end, what matters more is that you own the domain you wish to use for your business to ensure your customers are redirected to the correct site. 

It could be possible that you created a store before and do not know the email; however, in order for us to help update the email, we would need to fully verify the account. In order to verify the account, it would require having a payment method added and invoices generated. With that, our teams would ask you to verify the information on the payment method you added, and the amounts of the invoices. Without that information, we would not be able to verify the store to update the email on the account. 

Trevor | Community Moderator @ Shopify
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

TB4
New Member
4 0 0

Hey Peter,

Thank you so much for your reply.  Quick question: what invoices are would you need?  The invoices from the store that I may have created and forgot about or from the new store I'm currently creating?  If they are invoices from the store that I may have created, I never made the store live, so I wouldn't actually have invoices from that store to reference. 

Trevor
Community Moderator
3391 459 977

@TB4 

It would need to be invoices for the original store and not the newly created one. However; I wouldn't worry too much about this as the URL "rock-candie-designs.myshopify.com" leads to an error page which indicates it is not currently being used by an active store. I can see that rockcandiedesigns.myshopify.com Is active, so the next step you'll want to take is to connect your domain once your store is setup. Our help centre has guides on how to get that set up here; however, if you have any questions along the way let me know! 

Trevor | Community Moderator @ Shopify
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

MustafaWaiz
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi peter, similar to this subject, am trying to claim the store name VECE, However, shopify suggest the name is taken but the store is no longer available. any idea on how to claim that name since i own the domain vece.com.au and cant add or change store name. 

Appreciate your response, thanks.

Trevor
Community Moderator
3391 459 977

@MustafaWaiz 

I'm afraid what you are trying to achieve would not be possible. If a store name (aka, the .myshopify.com) has previously been claimed then it can not be freed up for use with another account. However; this URL is only needed for login purposes once you add a purchased domain. Your purchase domain will be what your customer sees when visiting your store, and not the ".myshopify.com" URL. 

Trevor | Community Moderator @ Shopify
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

lucyscabin
Tourist
4 0 1

Hi Peter!

I'm in a similar boat and tried to go through the customer service chat but it wasn't too helpful.

I signed up for a trial account back in 2014 but I never paid for the service and so my shop was closed after the trial ended. I am now able to pay for the service but my shop name wasn't available. My guess is because of the above reason that once it is assigned it is never made available regardless of the account closing.

Is there a way to get my original old shop name back? I have since signed up using an iteration of the name, but was hoping I could claim the original one.

Thanks,

Lucy

Trevor
Community Moderator
3391 459 977

@lucyscabin 

I'm afriad your account would be purged and marked as dead given the age of the account. Even if an account is purged and marked as dead, the URL will remain unclaimable as they are never freed up for future use. In the end, the store name you've created will only be used for login credentials once you add your purchased domain so your current URL should not impact the name your customers see when visiting your store. 

Trevor | Community Moderator @ Shopify
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

lucyscabin
Tourist
4 0 1

Hi Peter,

Got it, thanks!

Lucy

lucyscabin
Tourist
4 0 1

Hi Peter,

I have one more question. Is it possible to edit the way the shop name appears in the copyright section of the footer? Or does it have to be the exactly the same as our shop name? Since I had to combine my shop name into one word, I was hoping I could change the footer to reflect the way my actual company name is written.

Thank you.

Trevor
Community Moderator
3391 459 977

@lucyscabin 

You can update the store name in Settings/General - What you place there is what your theme pulls from, so once it is updated, you should see the new name reflected in the footer of your website. 

19-53-39871-55707

 

Trevor | Community Moderator @ Shopify
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

lucyscabin
Tourist
4 0 1

Awesome, thanks for all your help!

Luv-luzt
Visitor
1 0 0

Peter so I need help, my website name when you put it on the search bar it goes to a different place ? Im confused ive been using this for almost a yr now! 

Trevor
Community Moderator
3391 459 977

@Luv-luzt 

Do you have the domain added to your Shopify admin in Online Store/Domains? If yes, did you purchase the domain through Shopify or did you purchase it from a third party?

I suspect that either the domain is being spelt incorrectly, or the renewal may have lapsed and may be leading to a placeholder site until it is either renewed or purchased once the renewal period ends. In either case, we'll want to take a look at the account to determine why it is happening. 

While we’re not able to provide account-specific support via the Shopify Community at this time, we’d be happy to continue assisting you through live chat, email, or callback. Please visit https://bit.ly/3cJkx8V and log in to your account to create a support request.

 

Trevor | Community Moderator @ Shopify
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

Mathias16
Visitor
1 0 0

Hi

 

I also tried to make a store but it says that the store name is already taken. When I try to buy a store and search for the name I can't find it? I really like this name and I've got a URL for the domain, so is it somehow possible to get the name?

Trevor
Community Moderator
3391 459 977

@Mathias16 

If the ".myshopify.com" URL has previously been claimed, it can not be used by any other store, even if the store is inactive. You will need to create a store using a similar name such as "domain123" to create your store and receive your free ".myshopify.com" URL. If you own the custom domain you wish to use for your business then you can add this domain once the store is created. Once added, this will replace the domain that is seen publicly when customers view your website.

Trevor | Community Moderator @ Shopify
 - Was my reply helpful? Click Like to let me know! 
 - Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
 - To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

SimplifiedShop
Excursionist
29 0 10

I made a YouTube video here describing some workarounds if your store name is taken and what Trevor has also detailed through - hope it may help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egAg5IVovNk

mmarienko
Shopify Partner
23 0 11

mmmmm

Regards, Max Marienko - Shopify Expert