The Shopify Store Setup Playbook for Serious DTC

Launching a new Shopify store as an established brand is a different problem than launching your first store. You already have customers, a brand, an ESP list, an ad account, and revenue you can't afford to interrupt. This is the setup checklist we run.

Catalog

• Decide variant strategy first. Variants drive PDP, search, and ads.
• Set up metafields for everything that's not a default field: ingredients, materials, B2B price tiers, certifications.
• Use product taxonomy properly so Google Shopping and AI surfaces categorize you correctly.

Theme

• Pick an Online Store 2.0 theme. Section everything so marketing can ship pages without devs.
• Build a real PDP, not the demo PDP. Reviews, size guide, badges, sticky ATC, bundle picker.
• Performance budget: LCP < 2.5s on mobile 4G.

Payments

• Shopify Payments + Shop Pay (3–5% conversion lift on returning customers).
• Local methods per market: OXXO/SPEI in MX, iDEAL in NL, Konbini in JP.
• Card vaulting for subscriptions.

Shipping & tax

• Real rate calculator (Shippo, EasyPost, or carrier-direct).
• Tax: Avalara, TaxJar, or Shopify Tax depending on jurisdictions.
• Threshold-based free shipping configured in Shopify, not in an app.

Analytics & pixels

• GA4 with proper ecommerce events.
• Meta CAPI server-side. Klaviyo events. TikTok if relevant.
• Build a single source of truth — pick GA4 or your warehouse, decide which one wins.

Day-one integrations

• Klaviyo (or your ESP) with full event coverage from day one.
• Reviews (Junip, Okendo, or Yotpo).
• Helpdesk (Gorgias).
• 3PL/ERP if you ship volume.

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We set up Shopify and Shopify Plus stores end-to-end for established brands. Get a quote.