Pre-launch: entity and identity
Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe) is available in 20+ countries. Non-residents typically open Shopify Payments in the US or UK by owning a US LLC or UK LTD. If your resident country is not supported, forming an entity is the correct workaround.
Build phase
- Register a matching .com domain
- Install a premium theme (Dawn, Impulse, or Prestige)
- Add at least 8 real products with high-quality images
- Write clear About, Contact, Refund, Privacy and Terms pages
- Set up Shopify email with matching MX records
Payments setup
Enable Shopify Payments before launch. Provide LLC/LTD documents, EIN/UTR, business bank account and expected volume. If Shopify Payments is unavailable in your country, use Stripe direct + PayPal Business.
Tax setup
Configure US sales tax nexus states (Shopify Tax auto-detects), UK VAT settings, and EU IOSS if selling into Europe. For non-residents with no US physical presence, only marketplace-facilitator sales tax applies for now — Shopify collects nothing extra.
Launch checklist
- Test checkout with a real card and real refund
- Enable abandoned-cart email and SMS flows
- Set up Google Merchant Center and Meta Catalog
- Register Klaviyo, Shopify Email or Omnisend for marketing
- Publish 3–5 blog posts for SEO before ad launch
Post-launch growth
Focus on one paid channel (Meta or Google) and one organic channel (SEO or TikTok) for the first 90 days. Beyond that, add creator partnerships and email/SMS flows.