How to get your Shopify store ready for a new year of business

A new year can be an exciting time for a Shopify store owner.

However, before you start planning marketing strategies, considering new features or theme shopping (more on that in a bit), the new year is also a great opportunity to check on the overall health of your Shopify store and business.

First, schedule a time to do a “post mortem” after the busy holiday shopping season wraps up to review what went well, what didn’t, and areas for opportunity.

Next, take a close look at your yearly financials as well as how your holiday shopping season did.

This will give you a good idea of how much you can invest in your store in the new year — especially in aspects such as a new Shopify theme, marketing or other upgrades to your store.

• If your store was significantly profitable, you’ll obviously have more funds to use for a new theme, marketing and other investments.
• However, if your store was only marginally profitable, then you’ll likely need to be more cautious with what you can spend. One good guideline is to use a percentage of your profits as a budget (this way you’re not spending money you don’t have).
• For stores that aren’t profitable or losing money, investing in a new theme, marketing and other aspects can still be a wise investment if you have signs that it will improve your store’s financials.
• Of course, it will be trickier to come up with the funds to do this if your business isn’t making money, but it’s also important to remember that, just like a renovation in a physical store, a new theme or marketing is an investment in your business — and investments often require some risk.

All that said, it’s important to keep in mind that there rarely is a single “magical” solution that will instantly make your store successful — a lot of that depends on your products, content, pricing, and marketing strategies.

However, if you’ve seen positive signs that your products are the foundation of a viable business, then investing in your store in the new year can be a good move.

New or yet to be launched Shopify stores

If your store was relatively new (or if you’re thinking of starting a new Shopify business), you might not have a complete financial picture for your business — and that’s understandable.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that starting any business is rarely a “build it and they will come” proposition.

Shopify stores typically require significant investments in time and money — and that means you’ll need to be willing to put some of your own money on the line to build a business.

Shopify does make it a lot easier to launch businesses with much less money that used to be required, however.

New year, new Shopify theme?

A store redesign can be a great investment for the new year.

This can be especially true if you apply the lessons you’ve learned from running your business so far and invest wisely in a new Shopify theme.

Before you start theme shopping, however, there’s a few important steps to take.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you can do to both get your store ready for a new theme and make sure your business is on track.

• Do an app inventory: Check your apps dashboard and ensure that you still need all of the apps, especially ones you’re paying for. This will also be important when considering advanced Shopify themes with app-like features as well as setting up your new theme.
• Do a code check: On a related note, make a list of any code customizations you’ve done — or ones that may have been added in relation to an app.
• Do a content check: Also review any special pages you’ve built on your existing theme and understand how they will work on the new theme.

Once you have this information gathered, it’s time to get started shopping for your new Shopify theme:

• Make sure you get both the design and functionality you need
• How to set your expectations when choosing a Shopify theme
• A helpful checklist on things to look for when buying a Shopify theme
• Comparing Out of the Sandbox’s Shopify themes

In general, professionally designed Shopify themes with quality support start at around $200 — while ones with more features and design flexibility can cost $450 or more.