Hi everyone, just wanted to ask what is thing you found to be the hardest to get your head around when starting your first store? I have a few friends who recently started their shopify journey and was wondering if the struggles where universal
For me it was the gap between “store is live” and “someone actually buys something.” Setting up the store is the fun part. You pick a theme, upload products, tweak colors. That part feels productive.
Then you launch and realize nobody knows you exist. That’s when the real work starts and it’s not something most people prepare for. Getting your first 10 visitors who aren’t friends or family is harder than building the entire store.
The other thing that caught me off guard was how many small decisions you have to make. Shipping rates, return policies, tax settings, email flows. Each one feels minor but they add up fast. You end up spending a whole afternoon figuring out whether to offer free shipping or not.
What kind of stores are your friends starting? Product type makes a big difference in what hits hardest.
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Yeah that gap you’re talking about is exactly what most people don’t expect. It feels like you’ve done the hard part, but in reality you’ve just set the stage. Getting those first real visitors is a completely different game and way harder than people think unless you have a budget for marketing and a clear plan on what platforms to use. Meta ads aren’t as cheap as they used to be
The small decisions part hits hard too. You think you’re just setting up a store, but you end up making a hundred tiny decisions that all feel important in the moment and that can add up!
One is in the wellness niche and the other is in the cannabis niche, so it’s been interesting seeing how different the challenges are depending on the product and audience.
Well, the most struggling part is to get sales.
This is the key point which every store owner face. As getting a enough sale is the big headace. In my understanding 90% of the store owners fail while to get sales.
As this is the most crucial element. Creating a store is not enough. It’s also include that you must validate it properly. It means you need to do the proper SEO, proper customization and proper advertising.
This is the thing that I face most difficult while starting a Shopify site.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Shopify Dev
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Yeah, I completely agree with you.
Getting the store live is actually the easy part, but getting consistent sales is where things get real. That gap between “it looks good” and “it converts” is where most people struggle.
You’re spot on about validation too. A lot of people skip that step and go straight into building, instead of making sure there’s actual demand first. Then they rely on SEO or ads without a solid offer or positioning, which just burns time and money.
From what I’ve seen, it’s rarely just one thing like ads or SEO. It’s how everything works together. Offer, product selection, messaging, store experience, and traffic all need to align.
Appreciate you sharing that, it’s something almost everyone runs into when starting out.