Step-by-step help to choose a platform, prepare documents, handle sales tax and launch.
Launching an online store involves more than picking a template. In the United States you also need a legal business setup, a way to accept payments, a plan for sales tax, clear shipping and return policies, and a realistic timeline.
This section walks through the process in order. It covers a launch roadmap, the documents payment providers and banks usually ask for, how to choose among platforms for your product type, what a realistic timeline looks like, how sales tax works for remote sellers, and how to move from one platform to another without losing traffic or customer data.
You do not have to complete every step before you start experimenting. Many sellers build a small test store on a free trial while they finish paperwork. What matters is that the details line up: business name, address, tax ID and bank account should match across your registration, your payment account and your website, because mismatches are a common reason for delays. Use the launch checklist in the tools area to track what is done and what is left.
Getting Started and Setup
A decision framework for choosing an ecommerce platform by product type, budget, skills, payments, integrations and growth plans, with questions to ask before you commit.
Getting Started and Setup
Which documents and information payment providers, banks and platforms usually ask for when you open an online store, from EIN and bank details to policies and licenses.
Getting Started and Setup
A practical step-by-step roadmap for launching an online store in the United States, from business setup and platform choice to payments, taxes, policies and testing.
Getting Started and Setup
A step-by-step guide to switching ecommerce platforms without losing data, search rankings or sales, including costs, redirects, testing, timing and a payback check.
Getting Started and Setup
A realistic week-by-week timeline for launching an ecommerce store, including payment approval, product setup, sales tax registration, testing and the first month after launch.
Getting Started and Setup
How U.S. sales tax works for online stores, including economic nexus after Wayfair, marketplace facilitator laws, registration steps, exemptions and how platforms help.
