Hello everyone,
For those of us who are still learning or relatively new to Shopify, what is one basic function, tool, or setting that you believe every novice should be familiar with from the outset? I’d be interested in hearing your opinions!
Honestly, I’d say get comfortable with the Products section first. Being able to properly manage variants, inventory, collections, product descriptions, images, and pricing will save you a lot of headaches later.
After that, I’d learn how Shopify’s Analytics and customer/order data actually work. It’s tempting to install a bunch of apps straight away, but I’d understand what Shopify already gives you before adding more tools.
For SEO, I’d also get into the habit of checking your site regularly rather than waiting until something looks wrong. I use SiteGuru for that because it makes it pretty easy to spot things like indexing issues, broken links, missing titles and other stuff you might not notice while managing the store normally.
The biggest thing I’d tell a beginner is probably don’t install an app for everything. Learn what Shopify can already do first, then add tools when you can clearly explain what problem they’re solving.
Hi @angelina-new-user
According to my experience, for beginners, the most important thing is to understand Shopify’s core features before relying heavily on apps.
Start with Shopify Markets (Settings> Markets). It helps you manage different countries, currencies, domains, taxes, shipping, and payment methods.
I’d also recommend learning the basics of the Shopify theme editor and Liquid structure from the beginning. Understanding how sections, blocks, templates, and settings work makes it much easier to customize a store without needing an app for every small change.
Finally, get familiar with order management and Shopify’s built-in analytics. These help you understand how the store is actually performing and where improvements are needed.
I hope this will help.
Thanks!
"I would advise learning how to use the Theme Editor’s Sections and Blocks.
Shopify’s native Online Store 2.0 theme builder is incredibly flexible once you grasp how section templates and header/footer modification operate. Many new merchants believe they need bespoke code or costly page builders to make their store seem professional.
It depends on what you’re learning it for.
If you’re coming at it from the developer side, I’d start with the Theme Editor so you can make front-end changes quickly without breaking anything. Two habits worth picking up at the same time: always work on a duplicate theme instead of the live one, and learn to tell what lives in the theme, what comes from an app, and what’s just a setting in admin. A lot of “why did this suddenly change” questions come down to not knowing where the thing actually lives.
If you’re running the store rather than building it, the answer is different. Products and orders first, since that’s what you’ll touch every day.
Either way you’ll end up learning most of the admin anyway, and a fair bit beyond it.