If you're running a Shopify store, you've probably hit a wall with at least one of these questions.
These are the Shopify questions I get asked most often by the small business owners I work with. Whether someone's launching their first Shopify store or looking to improve one they've had for years, these topics come up time and time again.
I'm Elle, Shopify and Klaviyo expert, and your go-to ecommerce big sis. I spend my days helping small business owners cut through the tech overwhelm, boost conversions and actually feel excited about running their online shop again.
Here are ten of the Shopify questions I get asked most often, along with straightforward answers you can put into action today.
1. What should I focus on to improve my Shopify website?
Start small and focus on one thing at a time. Tiny tweaks lead to big results. You don't need to overhaul your whole site in a weekend.
The best place to start is your product pages, since that's usually where the sale actually happens. If you're wondering whether yours are doing enough, here's a quick checklist:
- Content and imagery: high-quality photos, a mix of angles, lifestyle shots, and customer photos where possible
- Build trust: add review stars and testimonials — an app like Judge.me makes this easy
- Easy variant selection: swap dropdowns for visual swatches or buttons (colours, sizes) for a smoother experience
- Persuasive descriptions: concise, benefit-focused, and consistent in tone
- Tabs for extra info: delivery details, size guides and other specifics tucked into tabs so people can find them quickly
- Icons for selling points: highlight things like sustainability or free shipping visually
- Cross-sell: add a "you may also like" section to encourage browsing
Rather than redesigning your whole website, choose one product page and improve that first. Once you're happy with it, use it as the blueprint for the rest of your store.
2. What's the best way to run a clearance or seasonal sale?
Sales work best when they're planned, not rushed. Before you discount anything, think about how customers will actually shop your sale. I'd recommend:
- Create a dedicated sale collection. Move discounted products into one clear collection rather than mixing them into your full-price collections.
- Use Compare-at Prices. This clearly shows the original price alongside the discounted one and is usually much easier for customers to understand than automatic discounts.
- Plan ahead. Apps like Amai Bulk Discount & Sales let you schedule sales in advance, which saves you from making late-night changes when your sale launches.
- Reward your subscribers. Give your email list early access before announcing the sale everywhere else. It's a brilliant way to reward existing subscribers and encourage more people to join your list.
- Update your website. Make sure your announcement bar, homepage banner, navigation and collection pages all reflect your sale.
Pro tip: if your Shopify theme allows, add labels to your products (e.g. "SALE" or "BLACK FRIDAY") so there's no ambiguity for the customer.
3. How do I remove "Taxes included. Shipping calculated at checkout" from my product page?
This is one of those tiny jobs that makes a surprising difference to how polished your product pages feel.
Simply:
- Open your live theme.
- Go to Default Theme Content.
- Search for the phrase.
- Delete it.
- Save.
It's a two-minute job that instantly tidies your product pages.
4. What should go in my meta descriptions?
Meta descriptions are your opportunity to encourage someone to click through from Google.
The easiest approach is to copy the opening sentence of your product description, as long as it's unique and genuinely explains the product.
Aim to keep each one:
- Short
- Unique
- Engaging
- Benefit-led
- Naturally keyword-rich, rather than stuffed
5. How do I create a mega menu?
Mega menus keep a bigger catalogue organised and easy to shop, which is especially important if you sell lots of products.
The simplest way to create one is to build a three-level navigation structure. For example: top level "Cards," second level "Cards by Occasion," third level "Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas."
Some themes will automatically turn this structure into a mega menu; others need a small adjustment in your theme settings to display it properly.
6. What are Shopify tags, and how should I use them?
Tags are labels you add to products, customers or orders to organise them behind the scenes. Their most common use is automatically building collections.
You can do this by tagging a batch of products "Summer", for example, and then creating a collection that automatically pulls in everything with that tag.
Worth knowing: tags aren't visible to customers and don't help with SEO. Don't rely on them for anything you actually want shoppers to see.
7. What are Shopify metafields, and how should I use them?
Metafields store extra information about your products, collections or pages that Shopify doesn't include by default, and unlike tags, they can be displayed on your site. That makes them far more useful for building richer, more informative pages.
Use them to:
- Add product specifications, ingredients or care instructions
- Create custom content sections on product and collection pages
- Add FAQs or icons to product pages
- Build collection filters using Shopify's Search & Discovery
- Connect dynamic content to your theme
For most stores, I'd recommend using metafields over tags wherever you can, as they're simply more flexible.
One of the biggest advantages is that metafields can often do the same job as tags when it comes to organising products into collections. That means, in many cases, you don't need to maintain both. By using metafields to organise your products and power your collection filters, you can save yourself time and avoid managing the same information in two different places.
8. How do I gather and show customer reviews?
Apps like Judge.me make collecting and displaying customer reviews really straightforward.
Once it's set up, you can add review stars directly to your product pages and collections so trust signals are visible before someone even clicks into a product.
9. Which Shopify theme would you recommend?
There isn't one perfect Shopify theme for every business, as it really depends on your products, catalogue size, and the features you actually need.
If you're choosing a new one:
- Pick a Shopify 2.0 theme
- Buy it directly from the Shopify Theme Store so you get free updates and developer support
- Make a list of the features you need before you start browsing, so you're not swayed by design alone
- Test themes on your own store before buying, as they're free to trial until you publish them.
If your current theme is more than three years old, it's worth checking whether an update is available, or whether it's time to move to a newer Shopify 2.0 theme for more design flexibility.
10. What Shopify apps should I add to my store?
Shopify has over 8,000 apps, but you genuinely only need a handful. My rule: only install something that solves a real problem as too many apps slow your store down and adds unnecessary cost.
Some of the apps I regularly recommend include:
- Search & Discovery – collection filters, search and product recommendations
- Judge.me – collecting and displaying customer reviews
- Klaviyo – email marketing and automation
- Shopify Flow – automating repetitive admin tasks
- Shopify Bundles – building product bundles without overselling stock
- Click & Drop – Royal Mail shipping integration
- Smile.io – loyalty and rewards
- Gorgias – customer service and helpdesk
- Matrixify – bulk imports, exports and data management
- Blockify – fraud prevention and bot protection
Start with the basics, as you can always add more later if you genuinely need them.
Got more Shopify questions?
You don't need to know everything or be naturally techy to build a successful ecommerce business. Start with the basics, make your website as easy to shop as possible, and build from there.
If you found this helpful and want ongoing Shopify support, I'd love to welcome you inside Ecomm BFF. You'll get practical Shopify and Klaviyo training, live workshops, personalised feedback and a brilliant community of ecommerce business owners who are all working towards the same goal.
Whether you've got a quick question or need help tackling a bigger project, there's always someone there to help.
