How to Add a Product to Shopify
Create your first product in Shopify with a title, description, images, pricing, inventory and variants that actually convert.
Every Shopify store starts with one product. This guide walks through the product form field by field so your first listing is complete, searchable and ready to sell.
Before you start
- A Shopify account with admin access
- At least one product photo on a plain background
- Your price, cost and shipping weight
Open your Shopify admin
Log in to your store and select Products in the left sidebar, then click Add product.
Write a title people search for
Use the words a shopper would type. Brand plus product plus key detail works well, for example Merino Wool Crew Socks — Charcoal.
Write the description
Lead with the benefit, then list the specifics. Short paragraphs and a bullet list of specifications outperform one long block of text.
Write for skimmers
Most shoppers read the first line and the bullet list. Put sizing, materials and delivery expectations where they can be scanned in seconds.
Upload media
Add images in the Media section. Use consistent dimensions across your catalogue, name files descriptively and fill in alt text for accessibility and image search.
Set pricing
Enter the price, an optional compare-at price for sale display, and your cost per item so Shopify can report margin. Tick Charge tax on this product if it applies.
Configure inventory
Add an SKU and barcode, then choose whether Shopify tracks quantity. Decide if customers can keep buying when you are out of stock.
Add shipping details
Mark the product as physical and enter the shipped weight. Shipping rates that depend on weight will be wrong without it.
Add variants
If the product comes in sizes or colours, add options in the Variants section. Each combination gets its own price, SKU and inventory.
Complete search listing and organisation
Edit the search engine listing preview to set the page title and meta description, then set product type, vendor, collections and tags.
Publish and check the live page
Set the status to Active, confirm the sales channels, save, then view the product on your storefront on both desktop and a phone.
Watch out
If a product does not appear on your storefront, check that its status is Active and that the Online Store sales channel is selected.
Still stuck? Skip the tutorials.
You've given it a go. If you'd rather have someone sort it out for you, tell us what you need and we'll take it from there.
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Related tutorials
How to Create Product Collections in Shopify
Build manual and automated collections so shoppers can browse your catalogue the way they think about it.
How to Improve Shopify SEO
A practical Shopify SEO checklist covering titles, structure, content, speed and indexing, with no tricks.
Read more elsewhere
Shopify Help Center: Adding and updating products
Shopify's own reference for the product form, including media requirements, variant limits and inventory fields. Useful when you need the authoritative rule rather than an opinion.
Link to an external site. We don't republish other people's content.
