How to add products to Shopify: Your step-by-step guide

A Shopify store without any products is just like a store with shells showcasing… nothing! Learning how to add products to Shopify is one of the most important things for any store owner to know. Sounds techy, maybe, but in fact, it is very easy and rewarding.

In this guide, we will be talking about the two most basic and simple methods on how to import products to Shopify, manual and automated. In the end, you would have your Shopify store up with a fully filled virtual shelf and reach that sky-high conversion rate every seller aspires to. Let’s find out together.

1. Key takeaways

When it comes to how to add products to Shopify, you have two choices:

• Doing it yourself, crafting each product by hand – manually.
• Let the system do everything at once – automatically. 

Those are also two methods written about in this article. Both are effective, but both have their own advantages depending on your specific needs.

Check out this quick comparison to see which suits your style:

That’s all about the overview picture. Let’s now move in-depth for each method along with its step-by-step process on how to upload products in Shopify so that you can select the method suited best for your Shopify store and start selling!

⚠️ Warning: The next sections assume that you already have your Shopify store set up. Otherwise, read this article to learn How to launch Shopify store from scratch first before moving on.

2. How to upload products to Shopify manually?

2.1. What is Manual product addition?

Manual product addition refers to manually adding each product’s details – name, pictures, price, everything, etc. directly into your Shopify admin panel. You log into your Shopify store and add the information of each product one by one.

It’s perfect if you don’t have many products or if you need to make sure that absolutely everything is just the way you like it. Using this approach means you have complete control over your product listings, from descriptions to images and SEO details.

2.2. Pros and Cons of manual addition

2.3. Method 1: Adding individual products directly

The following method is the most basic and easiest way to add products. If your product has more than just one simple variation, adding products this way will be very convenient.

Step 1: Log in to your Shopify store

First, navigate to your Shopify admin dashboard by logging in to your account (using email, Apple account, Facebook account, or Google account).

🔥 If you are new, let’s sign up for a trial, grab this deal: Shopify 1 dollar, and work on your dream today! Shopify makes it easier than ever for everyone to start a business quickly and cheaply!

Step 2: Click Add Product

From the left sidebar, click “Products” > hit the “Add Product” button in the top-right corner of the screen.

Step 3: Add product details

Here comes the most crucial step when learning how to add products to Shopify. The setting panel will give you a bunch of fields to fill in. Follow the instructions below to make the most of them to create an appealing and informative listing:

👉Title and Description:

Let’s think about what people would search for and enter a clear, keyword-rich title for your product. Then, draft a description, and make sure it highlights features and benefits. Use bullet points in the description to enhance readability. Otherwise, you can click on the sparkle icon from the top left to use the AI power for the description.

👉Add Media:

Customers love to imagine how the products look in real life! Upload high-quality product images from different angles/ or videos if available to the “Media” section. Ensure consistent image dimensions, since it gives your store a professional look.

👉Add to Collection:

Adding the product to a relevant collection is a great way to organize your store. It makes your customers navigate more easily and helps the bot understand your website structure better. To do so, just find the “Collections” field under the “Product organization” and tick the box to assign it to an existing collection or create a new one if needed.

👉 Pricing

For the product’s price, there are several things to set up:

• “Regular price” – for example: $20, which is the fixed price you want to sell or the discounted price.
• “Compare-at price” – for example: $30, which is the price before discount. This helps your customers know your products is on sale and how much it is discounted.
• The “cost per item”, “profit”, and “margin” are the things that your customer can’t see, but can help you better at tracking your cash flow.

👉 Inventory

Configure inventory tracking options for the product:

• Add SKU and barcode information
• Tick the “Track quantity” if you need tracking information on every item sold.
• Tick “Continue selling when out of stock” to avoid the out-of-stock alert and let customers continue buying.
• If you have multiple locations, add a quantity for each of them. This is specifically helpful for picking up in-store.

👉 Shipping:

If you sell a digital product such as gift cards, digital prints, etc, don’t tick the box “This is a physical product”. Otherwise, check that box and enter the product weight under “Shipping” for auto calculations.

👉 SEO Optimization:

Scroll to the end to adjust some SEO elements, such as adding meta descriptions with some main keywords and customizing the URL handle. Thus, you can include alt-text for images you use for your product.

Step 4: Save and view your product

After adding all relevant details, click the “Save” button in the top or bottom right corner. Then click “Preview” to see how your product appears on your store. And don’t forget to double-check all the images, content, and the price to ensure a perfect online shopping experience.

2.4. Method 2: Add products using CSV file (Bulk product importer)

If you have multiple products to add, the CSV method will save you significant time and effort. This is a very useful way to know when learning how to put products on Shopify.

Step 1: Go to Shopify Admin > Products

Back to the “Products” tab in your admin panel. 

Step 2: Click Import

Spot the “Import” button near the top right of the site? Click on it.

Step 3: Click Add File > Select the CSV File

Click “Add file” and select the CSV file you prepared on your computer. 

📌 Reminder: Your CSV file is the VIP in this method. The uploaded CSV file must match the format from Shopify. You can click the “Download sample CSV” text link to get the correct file and edit it. Here’s a sample:

Step 4: Click Upload and Continue

After uploading your prepared file, choose how you want Shopify to process the file. There are 2 options:

• “Overwrite products with matching handles” will replace the existing value with the new value from the file. If you leave this unchecked, only the new value will be taken.
• “Publish new products to all sales channels” will allow your products to be sold in all channels you have on Shopify (POS, online store, etc.)

Once decided, hit the “Upload and Preview” button to continue.

Step 5: Review the Details > Click Import products

Double-check and ensure everything is correct. Then hit “Import products.” And all the products will be added!

3. How to Add Products from other platforms automatically

3.1. What is Automatic Product Addition?

Automatic product addition involves using third-party apps to import products from external platforms directly into your Shopify store. This method is particularly popular for dropshipping businesses, where you sell stuff without holding inventory. 

Use apps to pull products from suppliers like AliExpress straight to your store. It is your shortcut when learning how to add drop ship items to Shopify. 

💡If you’re interested in dropshipping and don’t know where to start, check out this tutorial How to get started with a prebuilt Shopify dropshipping website for more tips!

3.2. Pros and cons of automatic addition

3.3. Comparison of 3 popular dropshipping apps

There are a bunch of apps out there on the Shopify App Store that can help you automatically add products to your Shopify store for dropshipping. Here’s a quick rundown of the top 3 big players – Zopi, DSer, and Spocket:

3.4. How to add products with Zopi Dropshipping

Zopi Dropshipping – a popular app for connecting with AliExpress, has a free plan and a very friendly user interface for every beginner to start. So, in this guide, we put a focus on Zopi to guide you through the process of how to add multiple products in Shopify automatically.

Step 1: Install Zopi from the Shopify App Store.

Head to the Shopify App Store > Search “Zopi” > click “Install” > Confirm it by tapping on “Install” one more time.

Step 2: Find Products to import

In your Shopify app list >open Zopi. There are two ways to find products using Zopi:

1. Method 1: Search directly in Zopi: Use the search bar to find products by keyword or simply browse categories to check trending products. Once you find something you like, click “Import“.

2. Method 2: Import from AliExpress: Visit AliExpress and find products you want to sell > Copy the product URL > paste that URL into Zopi’s search bar > click “Add to Import List.”

• Get the link from AliExpress:

• Paste to the app and click the “Add to import list” button.

Step 3: Customize and Import products to your store

Go to the “Import List” tab in Zopi. Edit the details, such as name, description, pics, etc, to make them fully yours! Hit “Push all channels” when you finish the customization.

Conclusion

Learning how to add products to Shopify doesn’t have to be painstaking! Whether you’re uploading products to Shopify manually for that personal touch or putting products on Shopify automatically for speed, you’re now a pro with this guide.

Remember that your product pages are often the final touchpoint before a purchase decision, so take the time to make them shine with detailed descriptions, high-quality images, and proper organization. The effort you put into adding products correctly will directly impact your conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

Need more help getting your Shopify store off the ground? With eComStart by your side, you always have the comprehensive resources to go through every step of your eCommerce journey. Don’t forget to follow us for more hands-on experience about running an online store on Shopify!

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