How to Create Your First Shopify Project & Set Up Local Development Environment

Creating Your Shopify Store

To get started with Shopify development, follow these simple steps to create a test store.

1. Log in to the Shopify Partners program.
2. Select Create a Dev store to test and build.
3. Enter your store name.
4. Choose Current release under Build version.
5. Select Start with an empty store under Data and configurations.
6. Click Create a development store.

Example

After successfully creating your store, add some test data to begin development.

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Setting Up Your Shopify Local Development Environment

To develop Shopify themes and apps locally, use the Shopify CLI. The official Shopify CLI documentation offers detailed guidance.

Setup Steps

1. Install Node.js version 18.20 or higher.

2. Install a package manager like npm, yarn, or pnpm.

3. Install Git.

4. Install Shopify CLI globally:

   npm install -g @shopify/cli@latest
   

   Note: The -g flag installs the Shopify CLI globally on your system.

5. Verify Shopify CLI installation:

   shopify version
   

6. Navigate to the folder where you want to pull your online store theme.

7. Create a file named shopify.theme.toml with the following content (replace the URL with your store URL):

   [environments.development]
   store = "https://your-store-name.myshopify.com/"
   

8. Pull your theme using the TOML file:

   shopify theme pull -e development
   

9. Run the Shopify theme locally:

   shopify theme dev -e development
   

10. Once satisfied with your changes, push them to your online store:

    shopify theme push -e development